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Mussolini Takes over Italy's Government
Mussolini's road to becoming dictator of Italy took quite a while longer than it did for Hitler to become Germany's chancellor. Eventually after that, he became prime minister of Italy. Mussolini's goverment had many different people with very different political beliefs. If you spoke out against the government, you were in danger of being harmed.
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Beer Hall Putsch
The Beer Hall Putsch was a failed takeover of the government in Bavaria. Since Hitler failed the coup d'etat he was sentenced to five years in prison. However he was only behind bars for less than a year. While he was in prison he wrote "Mein Kampf", his political autobiography. When he got out of prison, he continued to build up the Nazi power.
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Kellogg-Briand Pact
This was an agreement that showed disapproval at the fact the war was being used as a solution to international conflicts. The pact was signed by 15 other nations. The countries that signed this agreement agreed that all their conflicts would be settled without using war. 62 countries ratified the pact however. The pact itself didn't do much to stop war altogether.
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U.S. Stock Market Crash
On October 29, 1929 billions of dollars were lost, and thousands of investors were wiped out. This eventually turned into the Great Depression. In the 1920's the stock market underwent a rapid expansion. Stock prices began to fall in early October of 1929 and that's when people started to worry. Prices dropped and stocks were only 20 percent of their value.
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Japan Invades Manchuria
Manchuria was attacked by Japan in September of 1931. The League of Nations did nothing about this because they thought it wouldn't lead to war. The Japanese invaded due to a population increase, and Manchuria had very good land.
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WSJ,. 'Troubled Neighborhood'. N.p., 2015. Web. 18 Feb. 2015. -
Hitler Becomes Germany's Chancellor
When the leader of Germany prior met with Hitler before he came to power, he did not think Hitler would be the right person to take over Germany after he passed on. So Hitler ran against him in the next election and after lots of campaigning, and although his opponent got 49% of the vote, Hitler was becoming more recognized. The old leader finally decided to appoint Hitler as chancellor of Germany.
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Japan Withdraws from the League of Nations
Japan withdrew from the League of Nations after they were blamed for all the events that occured in Manchuria. A vote took place to see whether Japan had to take out it's troops that were occupying Manchuria, and Japan lost the vote. Japan's representative stormed out of the room and ignored to orders to take Japan's troops out of Manchuria.
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Nazis Reach a Political Majority in Germany
After Hitler came to power, Germany quickly turned into a police state. People during this time were at risk of imprisonment and being arrested. Hitler made the government so all the social classes united behind hm. He abolished basic freedoms and was guided by racist and oppresive ideas.
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References:
Ushmm.org,. 'Nazi Rule'. N.p., 2015. Web. 18 Feb. 2015. -
First Anti-Semitic Law is passed in Germany
Shortly after Hitler became Germany's chancellor, he started a campaign that boycotted all Jewish businesses. All those businsses were required to have to the Star of David somewhere on them. If these rules were not followed, you could be beaten or your property could be destroyed.
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References:
Ushmm.org,. 'Anti-Jewish Legislation In Prewar Germany'. N.p., 2015. Web. 18 Feb. 2015. -
The Night of the Long knives(Rohm Purge)
The Nazi Storm Troopers, the SA, wanted to take place of the regular German Army, but Hitler started to see the behavior of the SA as a threat to his political career, and to the Nazi movement. Another organization to act as Hitler's body guard, the SS set out to be on full alert. Hitler and the SS sent the leaders of the SA to a prison and ordered for them to be killed. The SS was ordered to find and kill other SA leaders.
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Hitler Openly Announces to his Cabinet that he will defy the Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles put numerous restrictions on Germany after WWI. Hitler said in Mein Kampf that he would not follow the Treaty. Hitler started breaking restrictions such as building up Germany's military, by moving troops into the Rhineland that was a demilitarized zone, invading Austria, and then invading the Sudetenland which was supposed to belong to Czechoslovakia.
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Creation of the Nuremberg Laws
The two laws called the Reich Citizenship Law and the Law to Protet German Blood became known as the Nuremberg Laws. These laws prevented Jews from having German citizenship and it prohibited marriage between Jews and non-Jews. These laws defined being a Jew as a race instead of seeing it as a religion.
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IGCSE History Life In Nazi Germany,. 'Persecution Of The Jews'. N.p., 2015. Web. 18 Feb. 2015. -
Italy Invades Ethiopia
Italy invaded Ethiopia without a declaration of war, so the League of Nations declared Italy an aggressor, but they did nothing about it. The Ethiopians were managing to hold off the Italian forces for the time being, but the Ethiopians were greatly outnumbered, and Italian forces siezed the Ethiopian capital on May 7, and Ethiopia was offically annexed.
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Hinds, David. 'October 3, 1935: Italy Invades Ethiopia | Dreadview'. Steelpulse.com. N.p., 2013. Web. 18 Feb. 2015. -
Hitler Militarizes the Rhineland
Hitler militarizing the Rhineland was breaking the Treaty of Versailles but that didn't stop him. The Rhineland was a demilitarized zone, so Germany was not allowed to put troops in it. Hitler ordered his generals to retreat if France or Great Britain showed that they would make a military stand, but neither did, so Hitler kept his troops there.
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History 12,. 'Early Acts Of Appeasement'. N.p., 2015. Web. 18 Feb. 2015. -
Rape of Nanking
The Japanese moved their fighting south and attacked the city of Shanghai. They siezed their captial, Nanking, on December 13, and everything went downhill from there. As the Japanese occupied this city, they shot any fleeing residents they saw. Chinese Army members were killed, beheaded, and used for other things such as bayonet practice. Thousands of women were raped and then killed. An estimated 40,000 lives were lost.
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Germany Annexes Austria
Germany annexing Austria was another violation of the Treaty of Versailles. Hitler moved his troops into Austria and was greated by enthusiastic crowds of people. Hitler created a Nazi goverment there, and Anschuluss was declared. Austria was a part of Germany until the end of the war.
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WW2DB,. '[Photo] German Troops Marching Into Austria, 12 Mar 1938'. N.p., 2015. Web. 18 Feb. 2015. -
Munich Conference
Hitler wanted control of the Sudetenland, which was part of Czechoslovkia, and he planned to get it one way or another. At the conference, they agreed to give Hitler the territory where the population was 50% or more German. At this conference Hitler got his wish of domination of central Europe.
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Germanhistorydocs.ghi-dc.org,. 'GHDI - Image'. N.p., 2015. Web. 18 Feb. 2015. -
Hitler demands the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia
Hitler wanted the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia so he waas planning to take it, but the Czechs had had fairly good army and it would be difficult to invade. So Hitler invited the British prime minister to his home and told him that if Great Britain didn't help him that he would invade Czechoslovakia, but he was told his plans weren't acceptable. Hitler made a 4-power agreement and to avoid war, it was given to him if he didnt't make anymore territorial demands in Europe.
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Kristallnacht
On this day, Nazis in Germany set fire to synagogues, destroyed and vandalized Jewish homes, schools, and businesses, and murdered close to 100 Jewish people. Around 30,000 men that were Jewish were arrested and sent off to concentration camps. After this event, things for the Jewish people got worse and worse.
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References:
Aptowitzer, Elana, and Elana Aptowitzer. 'INJUSTICE: 75 Years Since Kristallnacht, Nazis Still Roam Free'. Landmark Report. N.p., 2015. Web. 18 Feb. 2015. -
Einstein's Letter to FDR, "The Manhattan Project"
Einstein knew of a large stock of uranium would possibly be falling into Nazi hands. He was going to write to he Beligian Queen who he knew, but he was advised to write directly to the President. Einstein was willing to write this letter to the President. There were two drafts written of the letter and after he decided which letter to send, he sent it. The letter however did not reach the President quickly.
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Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
This was a non-aggression pact signed by Hitler and Stalin. According to the pact, if the invasion of Poland was a sucess, Russia would get control of Latvia, Estonia, and Finland. Germany would get control of Lithuania and Danzig, and Poland would be split into three major parts between the two countries.
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References:Histrodamus.ee,. 'The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact | Histrodamus.Ee'. N.p., 2015. Web. 18 Feb. 2015. -
Nazi Invasion of Poland
The Nazi invasion was the start of WWII. The Nazis started to invade Poland but Britain and France ordered their withdrawl from the country or there would be war. Germany did not give in to this ultimatum and war was delcared on Germany by several countries including France and Britain. The invasion of Poland continued however and was a sucess for Germany.
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Lend Lease Act
This act was passed so the United States could aid the foreign countries that were important to the defense of the U.S. This act allowed the U.S. support its war interests, without actually being in the war itself. Although this act was passed to stay out of the war, it actually brought the U.S. closer to entering into the war.
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Iipdigital.usembassy.gov,. 'Lend-Lease: Facts And Numbers | IIP Digital'. N.p., 2015. Web. 19 Feb. 2015. -
Evacuation of Dunkirk
The German forces were continuing their advance into France, and the Allied forces knew they could be wiped out if they didn't evacuate. They moved south to the port of Dunkirk, and waited for ships to come get them from England. Eventually an array of other ships started helping them evacuate as well. Hitler also ordered his tanks to a halt during this time so that was in the Allies favor. The evacuation went better than expected and only 40,000 men were left behind.
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France Surrenders
Paris had fallen and German was very close to conquering France. Henri Petain the french prime minister, announced he was going to sign an armistice with the Nazis. The armistice was signed and more than half of France would now be occupied by the Germans.
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Rarenewspapers.com,. 'France Surrenders... - Rarenewspapers.Com'. N.p., 1940. Web. 19 Feb. 2015. -
Battle of Britain
German and British forces clashed in the air and locked in the largest bombing campaign to that date. The British Royal Airforce had gained superiority over the German Luftwaffe when they had stopped them from continuing to target British air bases, military posts, and the civilian population. This victory in the air ultimately stopped a ground invasion.
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The Tripartite Pact
This was a pact signed by Germany, Italy and Japan forming the Axis Powers. This pact said that if one if the nations got attacked by another nation not already involved in the war, that the other two nations would provide help. This pact was also designed to make America stay off the side of the Allies and to stay neutral.
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Operation Barbarossa
On June 22, 1941 Hitler planned to invade the Soviet Union, despite the non-aggression pact they had signed. The failure of Operation Barbarossa was a crucial turning point because the Nazis were forced to fight a two-front war against an enemy that had possession of superior resources.
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The Bombing of Pearl Harbor
On this day, hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked the American naval base near Honolulu, Hawaii. The Japanese attacked because they saw it as a threat. The attack lasted about two hours, but the aftermath was devastating. The Japanese had sunk or damaged 19 ships including 8 battleships. Over 2,300 Americans were killed and over 1,100 were wounded. This attack ultimately led to the United States' entry into WWII.
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Creation of the United Nations
President Roosevelt and Winston Churchill issued a declaration that was signed by 26 countries who were against the Axis Powers. The countries that signed the declaration vowed to try to keep the peace. Originally it was composed of mainly Allies in WWII, European countries, commonwealth countries and nations of the Americas.
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The Wannsee Conference and the “Final Solution”
This conference was attended by high ranking Nazi party and German government officials. They met to discuss the topic of the "Final Solution of the Jewish Question". The "Final Solution" was a systematic killing of the Jews. Hitler authoritized the idea of a mass murder.
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Bataan Death March
This was a march of more than 50 miles up the peninsula to a prison camp after the American and Filipino soldiers surrendered to the Japanese. The prisoners were subjected to terrible cruelties. Many prisoners were killed by things such as being shot or beheaded or just left on the side of the road to die.
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Doolittle Raid
This raid was America striking back after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. Each of the fifteen planes that were part of the raid were carrying four bombs. Thirteen planes dropped their bombs on Tokyo and the rest dropped their bombs on Nagoya, Osaka, and Kobe. After they had finished dropping their bombs on their assigned targets, they flew until their planes ran out of fuel.
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Battle of Midway
Allied code breakers had broken a Japanese code that revealed that the Japanese were heading towards Midway Island, where a key American airfield was located. American forces knew the attack was coming, so they hid, and waited for the Japanese to begin their attack. As the Japanese planes got in their air, American planes swooped in to attack the Japanese fleet. This resulted in an Allied victory.
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Battle of Stalingrad
Hitler and his troops were making good pace going into the Soviet Union and towards the prize capital city of Stalingrad, but when winter hit, the Germans were not prepared at all and this slowed them down. They were running out of food and ammunition. The Germans grew weaker and this resulted in an important Allied victory.
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Operation Torch
This was the Allied invasion of French Africa. Starting in North Africa, the Allies planned to move up the "soft underbelly" of Europe after they invaded Sicily. They also planned to invade Algeria and Morocco because both countries were in relation with the Nazis so that made them a target. The key to this operation however was a sucessful landing on the beaches. Luckily all the landings were a sucess and so was the operation.
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Island Hopping (date for Buna-Gona Campaign)
Japanese troops had dug in on hundreds of islands across the ocean. The Allies had develop a plan to fix this problem. General Douglas MacArthur believed that storming each island woul take too long, they instead decided to "island hop". In this process they would seize islands that were not well defended and were closer to Japan.
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Operation Overlord and D-Day
This was the name given to the Allied invasion of France. D-Day was the start of Operation Overlord. The Allies planned to land on the beaches and to move forward from there. This plan included moving over 100,000 men and nearly 13,000 vehicles. This operation had built into it movement of a total of 3 million men. This operation was so carefully planned and was a huge sucess despite the casualites.
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Operation Valkyrie
This was a failed assassination attempt of Hitler. They planned to kill Hitler and this would give the plotters control of the government so they could try and end the war. A breifcase with a bomb planted in it was brought into the conference attended by Hitler. They laid it by Hitler and when the bomb exploded, it killed four people but Hitler was not one of them. The plotters were convicted of treason and were executed.
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Discovery of Majdanek
Majdanek was located four kilometers from the city center of Lublin. It was out in the open, so it could not be more public or accessible. When the Soviet Army discovered this camp although when they got there, it was empty and burned in attempts to mask its presence. This was the first major concentration camp discovered by those fighting against the Germans. In the following weeks, the Soviets liberated other abandoned camps.
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Battle of the Bulge
This was Hitler's last offensive when he attacked through the Ardennes Forest in Belgium in attempts to separate the British and US forces. The defense put up by the American forces, like fighting in small groups in the below zero cold and snow, this all helped stop the German advance. The Germans and Allies both suffered a lot of casualties, but this was an important Allied victory.
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Hitler's Suicide
Hitler knew that the Soviet troops were closing in on him. Hitler and his wife ate lunch and began the plans for their suicide. He supervised the poisoning of his dog and her puppies and then he and his wife went down to the bunker, and bit into thin glass vials of cyanide. As he did this, he also shot himself in the head.
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V-E Day
This was victory in Europe day. On this day, the German troops laid down their arms and surrendered. The German surrender was realized in a final cease-fire.
References:
Www1.toronto.ca,. 'V-E Day And V-J Day: The End Of World War II In Toronto, 1945 - Toronto Archives - Your City | City Of Toronto'. N.p., 2015. Web. 19 Feb. 2015. -
Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
On this day, an American bomber plane dropped the world's first deployed atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima in Japan. The explosion killed 80,000 wiping out 90% of the city. Thousands of other would later die of exposure to radiation. Three days later, another American bomber plane dropped a second atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Nagasaki. This explosion only killed about 40,000 people. The emperor of Japan then announced Japan's surrender in WWII.
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V-J Day
This was the day that Japan surrendered to the Allies, effectively ending WWII. The end of the war was drawing to a close starting with the atomic bombs. Right after Japan accepted the surrender terms, they awaited a few tense days until the surrender was confirmed. Soon after, cease-fire orders were issued to the Allies
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Skylighters.org,. 'Skylighters, The Web Site Of The 225Th AAA Searchlight Battalion: The V-J Day Page'. N.p., 2015. Web. 19 Feb. 2015. -
The Nuremberg Trials
After the war had ended, some of the people who were responsible for the crimes committed during the Holocaust were brought out to be put on trial. Twelve Nazis were sentenced to death. Most of the people who were being accused of these crimes, admitted to what they had done. The people who were directly involved in the killings got the most severe sentences. Had Hitler not committed suicide he would have been part of these trials as well.
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The Japanese War Crime Trials
The hearing of the case against 28 Japanese military and government officials who were accused of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in WWII took place on this day.The trial ended up with 25 of 28 defendants being found guilty. Death sentences were passed for seven of the men. Sixteen were sentenced to life imprisonment.
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References:
Archives.gov,. 'Prologue: Selected Articles'. N.p., 2015. Web. 19 Feb. 2015. -
The beginning of the Cold War
Tension between the United States and U.S.S.R. continued even after World War II. The Cold War was marked as the continuous rivalry between the two former World War II Allies.
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References:
historyrocket,. 'Summary Of The Cold War'. N.p., 2015. Web. 19 Feb. 2015.
