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Great Depression Begins.
This date begins the Great Depression, where thousands of banks close and stock prices drop to being almost worthless. This also helps start WWII, as Germany is hit especially hard by it and looks for a scapegoat in the Jews. -
Japan conquers Manchuria in northern China
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Hitler Becomes Chancellor of Germany
Adolf Hitler becomes the German Chancellor on this date. He overthrows the constitution and takes total government control immediately. -
Roosevelt First Elected President
Franklin D. Roosevelt was inaugurated as president of the U.S. on this day. He will serve for president until 1945, through the Great Depression and through WWII. -
Nuremburg Laws
These laws were the beginning anti-Jewish laws in Germany. The two passed on this date prohibited marriage between Jews and prevented Jews from having German citizenship. -
Hitler and Mussolini Form the Rome-Berlin Axis
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Japan Invades China
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Germany Invades Austria
This event led to Austria being annexed by Germany. Germany then spreads its anti-Jewish legislation to Austria. -
Britain's Appeasement of Germany
Neville Chamberlain meets with Hitler in Munich to meet his demands of control over the Sudetenland to avoid war. -
Kristallnacht
A night of anti-Jewish violence in Austria and Germany in which the storefronts and windows of Jews were smashed. It lasted through the 9th and into the 10th -
o Germany & Soviet Union have a nonaggression pact
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Germany Invade Poland
Germany begins WWII by invading Poland using lightning warfare, or blitzkrieg. They heavily bomb the country. -
Tuskegee Airmen
This was a group of distinguished African-American pilots in the U.S. Military. They experienced racial discrimination in and out of the military. -
Germany invades Denmark, Norway, Belgium, and France
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German Air Force Bombs London and other Civilian Targets in the Battle of Britain
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Japan Joins the Axis Powers
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Lend-Lease Act
This act was signed in by FDR and allowed the U.S. to lend weapons and supplies to its allies. -
Germany Invades the Soviet Union
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The Nazis Implement the “Final Solution”
This was the day that Germany sent out killing squads in their invasion of the Soviet Union to kill Jews. It was followed up by the construction of concentration camps, as the “Final Solution” was to kill the Jews -
Pearl Harbor
Japanese aircraft attack the U.S. base of Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. This begins the war between the U.S. and Japan, eventually dragging the U.S. into war with the Axis powers. FDR describes it as a day that will live in infamy. -
Manhattan Project
Led by J. Robert Oppenheimer, this top-secret project was meant to create an atomic bomb. A notable physicist involved in it, and my personal favorite, was Richard Feynman. -
Rosie the Riveter
Rosie was the mascot for the women workforce in WWII, as they took over the jobs typically held by men. Women were typically discouraged from taking these jobs, as people wanted them to stay in their place in society. -
Japanese-American Incarceration
FDR orders the incarceration of Japanese-Americans in Executive Order 9066. This was due to general racism and due to fear that they were part of the “5th column.” -
Bataan Death March
After the Battle of Bataan, 60,000-80,000 American and Filipino soldiers were forced to walk over 65 miles to a camp by Japanese soldiers. Those who couldn’t take it were killed. About 10,000 died over the journey. -
Battle of Midway
This naval battle was a turning point for the U.S. in the war in the Pacific. 4 Japanese aircraft carriers were sunk along with 1 American one. -
British Forces Stop the German Advance at El Alamein
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Guadalcanal
Soldiers marched onto the island on this day and the fighting lasted 6 months before the Americans won. It was the first major land victory for the U.S. in the war in the Pacific. -
German Forces Surrender at Stalingrad
After months of fighting, Germany finally surrenders at Stalingrad due to being overwhelmed by the sheer number of Soviet soldiers. This was a key event in putting Germany on the defensive. -
D-Day
British, U.S., and Canadian soldiers stormed beaches in France after planes had bombed the coastline. This was meant as a last-ditch effort to win the war, to invade Germany from the English Channel. -
Battle of the Bulge
This was a major German offensive battle in Belgium as an attempt to stop the allied forces from reaching Germany. -
Yalta Conference
This was a conference held by the big three of WWII (Roosevelt, Chamberlain, and Stalin) to determine the guidelines for a post-war Europe held in Yalta of the Soviet Union. -
Iwo Jima
The U.S. wanted to bomb Japan, but needed bases closer to Japan. Iwo Jima was one of the places they chose. -
Okinawa
This was the second island the U.S. invaded to set up bases near Japan. The U.S. successfully invaded it in June. The total cost for invading the two islands was around 18,000 U.S. men died, but about120,000 Japanese soldiers died, too. -
Roosevelt Dies, Truman Becomes President
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Allied Forces Advance on Berlin, Germany Surrenders
After Hitler commits suicide and Berlin is surrounded by the allied forces, they sign a surrender to the western allied on the 7th and one to the Soviets on the 9th. -
Formation of the United Nations
50 nations met in San Francisco to discuss a new peacekeeping organization to replace the weak and ineffective League of Nations a month earlier. All 50 nations ratified the charter, 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 U.S. is a member of the U.N. -
Potsdam Conference
Allies held the Potsdam Conference to plan the war’s end. The decision was made to put the Nazi war criminals on trial. It lasted through August of 1945. -
Atomic Bombs Dropped on Hiroshima & Nagasaki
The U.S. threatened to reduce Japan to a wasteland if they didn’t surrender, but Japan ignored them. The first bomb was dropped on the 6th, and Japan still didn’t surrender after that. So the U.S. dropped the second bomb on the 8th. Japan surrendered about a week later. -
Japanese Officials Sign an Official Letter of Surrender on the U.S.S. Missouri, Ending World War II
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Nuremburg Trials
There were 24 defendants, including some of Hitler’s top official. Hermann Goering was the creator and head of Gestapo (secret police). He was charged with crimes against humanity. 19 found guilty, 12 sentenced to death. People are responsible for their actions, even in wartime. The trials lasted for just under a year. -
Marshall Plan
Congress approved Secretary of State George Marshall’s plan to help boost European economies. The U.S. gave more than $13,000,000 to help the nations of European get back on their feet.