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Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was signed to end WWI and to punish Germany. President Wilson created a peace treaty that was meant to prevent another world war by creating the League of Nations and letting countries have authority over their boundaries. This treaty overly punished Germany by implementing extreme reparations and limiting the German army. The treaty was ineffective because the League of Nations wasn't strong and didn't include the U.S. and created resentment from the Germans. -
Creation of the USSR
The USSR was established after the Russian Civil War. The USSR was a socialist state that was led by Vladimir Lenin. Once Stalin took control he designed a secret police to prevent resistance and pushed the USSR towards industrialization. Stalin was a totalitarian dictator who controlled every aspect of the nation and the citizens. The creation of the USSR caused tension between all the European countries due to the fear of socialism. -
Great Depression
Due to Germany's economy suffering from the reparation payments they began taking loans from the United States. When the U.S. stock market crashed this deeply affected Germany along with the rest of Europe. The United States cancelled all foreign aid. The Great Depression was a major cause for the rise of dictators like Mussolini and Hitler. This was because people were desperate for change and these leaders offered quick solutions with no nuance. -
Appeasement Policy
The Appeasement Policy was created by Great Britain and France to try and placate Germany and Hitler who had recently unified with Austria and was attempting to take Sudetenland. This policy allowed Hitler to do these things because Britain and France believed this would cause Hitler to stop his annexation. Obviously this didn't work and Hitler seized Czechoslavakia. This event was important because it marks the beginning of the war. -
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht also known as The Night of Broken Glass occured in Germany. The Night of Broken Glass was when Nazi groups looted Jewish property, attacked Jewish people, and burned down synagogues. These acts of violence were not stopped by the police on orders from the government and instead they attacked the Jewish victims. This event is so signicant because it shows how despised the Jewish population was in Germany and that they would not be protected by the government. -
Germany Captures France
The fall of France was extremely monumental because it left Britain as the only Allied power until the U.S. joined the war. Once France was under Nazi control anti-jewish laws were immediately passed. These laws removed Jewish people from the military and legalized apprehending foreign Jewish people. It took over four years to free France but not before the persecution of 78,000 Jewish people. -
Dunkirk
Dunkirk was the mass evacuation of British and French soldiers at a beach in Dunkirk. The importance of this event was shown by the desperation of the Allied forces. This was made clear with they put out a call for civilian ships to join the evacuation effort. By the end of the evacuation they were able to get around 338,000 soldiers out. Although this was a massive amount of soldiers evacuated there was still 90,000 soldiers left behind to the Germans. -
Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was the event that caused the U.S to join WWII which changed the course of the world. The U.S. declared war on December 8th, 1941. This attack was a major aggrievance for the U.S. whose naval and air forces were damaged. This event was very important because the U.S. followed a strict isolationist policy and joining the war ended this arrangement. This event was also important because while the U.S. was weakened Japan took Singapore and the Dutch East Indies. -
Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was one of the most important battles and a major turning point of the war. Hitler wanted to take the city because it was named for Stalin and it was a major industrial center. When the Soviet army countered the German forces they were able to surround the army. Even after this Hilter refused to retreat and with winter beginning the German army was struggling. This was the event that made it clear that the Germans could not defeat the USSR. -
D-Day
D-day was the invasion of northern France by American, Canadian, and British soldiers. D-day was extremely significant because it was the largest air, land, and naval operation at the time. This operation was also important because it led to the release of France from Nazi control. The leaders of the operation spent weeks leading up to D-day tricking Germany into thinking they were invading other locations such as Norway. D-day resulted in a victory for the Allied forces and access to Germany. -
Bretton Woods Conference
The Bretton Woods Conference was held to design the new world economic system and rebuild the economy after the defeat of Germany and Japan. This conference was also held to create the world bank. While the Soviets were not involved because of the capitalistic features, the system helped stimulate the economy. The International Monetary Fund was created regulate exchange funds and maintain financial security globally. -
Battle of the Bulge
This battle was the last major offensive for the Germans. It was also the largest amount of causalities for the United States. The German army took the Allies by suprise who were not expecting a German attack. This allowed the Germans to make quick progress. But because they were moving so fast they were short on supplies which severely weakened them. This battle destroyed any remaining morale for the Germans and further showed the end of the war was approaching. -
Iwo Jima
This battle was an important step towards invasion by the Americans and a way to weaken the Japanese air force. It's also known as one of the bloodiest battles in Marine Corps history. Iwo Jima was a small Japanese island heavily defended. The Japanese army were aware they couldn't win the battle and decided to try and kill as many soldiers as possible. The battle was extremely bloody and killed 6,000 American soldiers and 19,800 Japanese soldiers. -
Potsdam Conference
The Potsdam conference was a meeting of the Allied forces during the war. This conference's purpose was to work out the problems between the Soviets and the United States. The United States was refusing to loan $6 billion to the USSR. They were also upset that Stalin had refused free elections in Eastern Europe and put dictators in charge of these countries. This was also when Truman was informed that the atom bomb test was a success and they didn't need Soviet help to invade Japan. -
Marshall Plan
After the end of the war the entirety of Europe was decimated from the battles. The damage to Europe also extended to their economies. A major point of the plan was to not overly punish Germany as this was a major mistake in the Treaty of Versailles. The Marshall Plan included the United States giving $13 billion to Europe to help repair. This plan was a success and stabilized the economy and increased production rates. Another motivation for the plan was preventing communism from taking root.