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Great Depression Begins
“Black Tuesday (the stocks fell more than 75 percent) The Great Depression began due to the U.S. stock market crash. The economic decline affected the whole world. When the American economy failed so did Europe’s because many European countries previously had borrowed money from U.S. banks. -
Japan conquers Manchuria in northern China
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Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany
Hitler became the Chancellor of Germany after rebuilding the Nazi Party in 1925. He decided he needed to obtain power by democracy and not by force. Hitler used the Depression to blame Jews and Communists which led to him becoming Chancellor. -
Roosevelt first elected president
Date of inaguration (elected in 1932). The military removed veterans while they sought bonuses from Washington. This led to Americans turning against Hoover and therefore Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected. -
Nuremberg Laws
(not exact date)-- these were anti-Semitic laws against Jews and other victims of the Nazi party. -
Hitler & Mussolini form the Rome-Berlin Axis
(not exact date)-- summer of 1936 -
Japan invades China
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Germany invades Austria
Since Austria was a primarily German speaking area, many residents of Austria and Germany welcomed the unification. Hitler set his sights upon German speaking area to seem like it was unification. (not exact date-- but general in the year) -
Kristallnacht
Violent anti-Jewish attacks -
Germany & Soviet Union have a nonaggression pact
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Germany invades Poland - blitzkrieg
this was known as “lightning war” because it stressed speed and surprise with the use of tanks, troops, and planes. -
Britain’s appeasement of Germany
The Munich Agreement was part of the British and French policy of appeasement, to meet Germany’s demands in order to avoid war. (not exact date) -
Germany invades Denmark, Norway, Belgium, and France (Vichy France)
(general month) Denmark and Norway were invaded after Germany invaded Poland and Poland fell. June 1940—Belgium and France, -
Rosie the Riveter
(general year) Since so many men were fighting overseas, the demand for women workers rose drastically. The country promoted “Rosie the Riveter” as an image of a strong woman hard at work which was a symbol for the new group of workers. -
German air force (Luftwaffe) bombs London and other civilian targets in the Battle of Britain
(general summer) -
Japan joins the Axis Powers
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Tuskegee Airmen
(general year) About 1 million African Americans served in the armed services but because of racial prejudice, they served in segregated units—one unit was the Tuskegee Airmen, African-American pilots and crew members who served with honor in North Africa and Europe. -
Lend-Lease Act
this act allowed the United States to lend weapons to the Allies. The United States sent Great Britain the Soviet Union, and the other Allies about $50 billion worth of weaponry goods. (general year) -
Germany invades the Soviet Union
(general month) -
Pearl Harbor
Japan had joined the Axis alliance one year prior and after Hideki Tojo came to power, they planned to conquer multiple Asian and Pacific territories and in their eyes only the U.S. Navy showed as being a threat. Japanese warplanes bombed the huge American naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii (surprise attack) -
Japanese-American incarceration
In response to the anti-Japanese efforts after the bombing of Pearl harbor, an order was signed by President Roosevelt that allowed for the removal of Japanese Americans -
Manhattan Project
this was a top-secret program to build an atomic bomb. They worked for three years to construct the weapon. President Truman told Japan that if it did not surrender, it faced destruction. The Japanese refused to give in August 6, 1945, atomic bomb on Hiroshima August 9, Nagasaki. -
Bataan Death March
more than 70,000 Filipino and American troops surrendered to the Japanese on the Bataan Peninsula in the Philippines. From there, the Japanese marched the soldiers over 65 miles to a prison camp. On the way, about 10,000 prisoners died from shootings, beatings, or starvation. -
British forces stop the German advance at El Alamein
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Battle of Midway
The U.S. victory over Japanese off Midway Island that proved to be the turning point of the war. -
Guadalcanal
American troops made their first major land victory against the Japanese on the island of Guadalcanal. Code talkers played a large role to keep Japanese intelligence form breaking American codes; the U.S. military had begun using the Navajo language to transmit important messages. -
German forces surrender at Stalingrad
In September 1942, the German forces attacked the Russian city of Stalingrad, an important industrial center. As winter came, the German commander begged Hitler to let him retreat but Hitler refused. Fighting continued throughout winter. Soviet troops drove tanks across the frozen landscape and launched a massive counterattack that trapped the Germans and cur off their food and supplies. Many thousands of Nazi soldiers froze or starved to death then the remaining German troops surrendered. -
D-Day
Allied invasion of France. This was commanded by General Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe. On June 6, shortly after midnight, Allied paratroopers a glider borne forces landed behind German lines inn Normandy, a region of Northern France. This was the largest land0sea-air operation in history. -
Battle of the Bulge
Final German assault in Ardennes region of Belgium and Luxembourg. -
Yalta Conference
Allied leaders met in the Soviet resort of Yalta. Attending the conference were Roosevelt, Churchill and staling. Conference where Allies planned the post-war world -
Iwo Jima
U.S. Marines invaded Iwo Jima. United States wanted to establish bases closer to the mainland in order to bomb Japan. -
Okinawa
U.S. invaded Okinawa a few months after invading Iwo Jima. -
Roosevelt dies, Truman becomes president
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Formation of the United Nations
50 nations met in San Francisco to discuss a new peacekeeping organization ot replace the weak and ineffective League of Nations -
Formation of the United Nations (ratification)
all 50 nations ratified the charter creating a new international peacekeeping body known as the United Nations. President Roosevelt had urged Americans not to turn their backs on the world again. Unlike the League of Nations, the united States is a member of the United Nations. -
Potsdam Conference
.Allies held the Potsdam Conference to plan the war's end. The decision was made to put Nazi war criminals on trial -
Hiroshima
Japanese city that was hit by the first atomic bomb -
Nagasaki
Another Japanese city that was hit by the second bomb. Was made in order to have Japanese surrender -
Japanese officials sign an official letter of surrender on the U.S.S. Missouri, ending World War II
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Nuremberg Trials
(Ended October 1, 1946).
24 defendants, including some of Hitler's top official. Hermann Goering- creater and head of Gestapo (secret police) was charged with crimes against humanity. 19 were found guilt and 12 were sentenced to death. People are responsible for their actions, even in wartime. (message) -
Marshall Plan
Congress approved Secretary of State George Marshall's plan to help boost European economies. The U.S. and various European countries gave more than $13 billion to help the nations of Europe get back on their feet.
(not exact date)
