-
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was the major peace treaty that ended WWI and forced Germany to pay immense reparations to the allies. -
Stalin becomes the Soviet premier
The former general secretary of the Bolshevik party, Stalin was able to consolidate power and after Lenin died quickly took control of the communist government, assassinating his opponent Trotsky in the process -
Mussolini comes to power in Italy
Italian politician, journalist and leader of the National Fascist Party who took control of the Italian government and became on eof Nazi Germany's biggest allies -
Stalin launches the first of his five-year plans
The first and central step of Stalin's 5 year plans was the rapid industrialization of the Soviet Union -
Hitler becomes Chancellor
On this day in 1933, President Paul von Hindenburg names Adolf Hitler, leader or fÜhrer of the National Socialist German Workers Party (or Nazi Party), as chancellor of Germay. -
Dachau opens
The first concentration camp opened in Germany to hold political prisoners -
Nuremberg Laws Pass
The Nuremberg Laws were anti-Jewish statutes enacted by Germany on September 15, 1935, marking a major step in clarifying racial policy and removing Jewish influences from Aryan society. -
Period: to
Spanish Civil War
This was civil war fought between the Republicans who were loyal to the democratic Spanish Republic and the rebel group the Nationalists -
Austrian Anschluss
Germany brought Austria into their empire before the start of WWII -
Germany annexes the Sudetenland
The Sudetenland was the multiple areas of native German speakers that found themselves in the nation of Czechoslovakia after WWI -
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht was a series of deadly attacks against Jews throughout Germany and Austria, named Kristallnacht because of the multitude of broken glass scattered through the streets -
Nazi-Soviet Pact signed
Germany and the Soviet Union surprised the pre-WWII world by signing a nonaggression pact -
Germany invades Poland
The German-Soviet pact decided that Poland was to be divided between the Soviets and Germany so Hitler was able to invade wihtout fear of Soviet intervention -
Germany invades Norway and Denmark
Germany invades the Nordic countries as a preemptive strike against a planned Franco-British occupation of Norway -
Auschwitz is opened
Auschwitz, the first and most significant of the Nazi "death camps" is opened in southern Poland -
Germany invades the Soviet Union
Code named Operation "Barbarossa", Nazi Germany invades the U.S.S.R. in order to quickly dispatch them, although that plan ultimately failed -
Pearl Harbor attacked by the Japanese
Japanese planes attacked the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Territory. The bombing killed more than 2,300 Americans. -
Period: to
Battle of Stalingrad
Germany and it's allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad, which was the eastern boundary of Europe and Russia -
British defeat the Germans at El Alamein
Part of the African front of the war. -
D-Day
The Allies' Normandy landings as part of a counterinvasion of German controlled France was the bloodiest single day battle of WWII -
Period: to
Battle of the Bulge
Part of German offensive campaign into France and Belgium, bloodiest battle of the war. -
Auschwitz is liberated
Jewish prisoners are finally released by approaching Soviet troops -
Yalta Conference
The meeting of the heads of government of the United States, United Kingdom and the Soviet Union -
Germany surrenders
Geramny officially surrenders to the allies, bringing and end to European conflict. -
Period: to
Nuremberg Trials
The prosecution of German war criminals