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Hitler becomes chancellor
Adolf Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany. -
Hitler is Time Man of the Year
Time magazine prints its 1938 Man of the Year edition choosing Adolf Hitler for the title, but does not show the Nazi leader's face on the cover of the publication. -
Hitler and Stalin sign Non-Aggression Pact
Germany and the Soviet Union agree to a nonaggression pact leaving the Soviets free to strengthen their western frontier, and Hitler free to attack Poland. -
Germany Invades Poland
Germany invaded Poland, the act that started World War II. -
Hitler defeats France
Britain forces retreat from France and Adolf Hitler's armies defeat French forces. -
US withholds gas from Japan
The United States orders gasoline withheld from Japan sparking protest from the Japanese government. -
Germany invades Soviet Union
Germany invades the Soviet Union violating the Nonaggression Pact. -
Roosevelt warns Japan
President Franklin D. Roosevelt warns the Japanese government to cease all aggression toward neighboring countries or else face United States forces. -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
Japan attacked fleets on Pearl Harbor. -
Italy surrenders
The Italian government officially surrenders to the Allied powers -
D-Day
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Yalta
The Allied powers meet in Yalta to negotiate Soviet dominance in Eastern Europe. -
FDR dies
President Franklin D. Roosevelt dies of a cerebral hemorrhage in Warm Springs, Georgia. -
Mussolini dies
Italian insurgents capture Mussolini, murder him, and mutilate his body. -
Hitler commits suicide
Adolf Hitler commits suicide in Berlin. -
Victory in Europe
the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces. -
Big Three in Potsdam
Allied leaders meet in Potsdam, Germany to send an ultimatum to Japan. Japanese military leaders ruling the government issue no surrender. -
Hiroshima
The United States drops an atomic bomb—the first to be used in warfare—on Hiroshima, killing 75,000 people instantly, and injuring more than 100,000. -
Atomic bomb dropped in Nagasaki
Second atomic bomb is dropped. -
Japan surrenders
brought the hostilities of World War II to a close -
World War II ends
A formal surrender ceremony is conducted in Tokyo Bay on the U.S. battleship Missouri. World War II officially ends.
