WWII - Road to War

Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany

Jan 30, 1933

Hitler was named the Chancellor of Germany.

Great Purge

Dec 13, 1934

Stalin begins his great purges on soviet citizens.

Neutrality Act

Aug 31, 1935

Congress passes the first of three neutrality acts banning the sale of arms to countries at war. For foreign countries to get weapons over seas they needed an export license.

Italy Invades Ethiopia

Oct 5, 1935

Italy invades Ethiopia leaving 200 soldiers dead for Ethiopia.

Munich Conference

Sep 30, 1938

Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, French Premier Edouard Daladier, and British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain sign the Munich Pact, which seals the fate of Czechoslovakia, virtually handing it over to Germany in the name of peace.

Invasion of Poland

Sep 1, 1939

General Interest 1939
Germans invade Poland
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At 4:45 a.m., some 1.5 million German troops invade Poland all along its 1,750-mile border with German-controlled territory. Simultaneously, the German Luftwaffe bombed Polish airfields, and German warships and U-boats attacked Polish naval forces in the Baltic Sea. This declared the start of World War II.

Congress repeals embargo

Sep 21, 1939

Roosevelt appears before Congress and asks that the Neutrality Acts, a series of laws passed earlier in the decade, be amended. Roosevelt hoped to lift an embargo against sending military aid to countries in Europe facing the onslaught of Nazi aggression during World War II.

Germany defeats France

May 13, 1940

Germany invades France and attacks Britain by air.

Roosevelt trades destroyers for bases

Sep 27, 1940

Roosevelt sends 50 destoyers over to Britain in trade for bases over in the Western Hemisphere.

Lend - Lease Act

Jan 10, 1941

Franklin Roosevelt introduces the lend-lease program to Congress. The plan was intended to help Britain beat back Hitler’s advance while keeping America only indirectly involved in World War II.