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Joseph Stalin's Totalitarian government in the Soviet Union
In a totalitarian state, individuals have
no rights, and the government suppresses all opposition. -
Benito Mussolini's fascist government in Italy
Mussolini wanted to establish a totalitarian regime in
Italy, where unemployment and inflation produced bitter strikes, some communist-led. But established the Fascist Party instead. Fascism stressed nationalism and
placed the interests of the state above those of individuals. -
Mein Kampf
Translated as "My Struggle". it was a book written by Hitler setting forth the basic beliefs of the Nazi Party -
Adolf Hitler's rise to power in Germany
After WWI he was a soldier with no job and was wandering around. He then joined a German Worker's Party, better known as the Nazi Party, he was known for his powerful speaking and became leader or Der Furer of the party and promised to bring Germany out of chaos -
Storm troopers
By 1932, some 6 million Germans were unemployed. Many men who
were out of work joined Hitler’s private army, the storm troopers. -
Third Reich
What Hitler created when he became chancellor in place of the democratic Weimar Republic. -
Japanese invasion of Manchuria
The militarists launched a surprise attack and seized control of
the Chinese province of Manchuria in 1931. -
Hitler's military build-up in Germany
He sent troops into
the Rhineland, a German region bordering France and Belgium that was demilitarized
as a result of the Treaty of Versailles. The League did nothing to stop Hitler. -
Mussolini's invasion of Ethiopia
Meanwhile, Mussolini began building his new Roman
Empire. His first target was Ethiopia, one of Africa’s few
remaining independent countries. By the fall of 1935, tens
of thousands of Italian soldiers stood ready to advance on
Ethiopia. -
Francisco Franco
In 1936, a group of
Spanish army officers led by General Francisco Franco,
rebelled against the Spanish republic. -
Rome-Berlin Axis
The war forged a close
relationship between the German and Italian dictators, who
signed a formal alliance known as the Rome-Berlin Axis -
Munich Agreement
The führer declared that the
annexation of the Sudetenland would be his “last territorial demand.” In their
eagerness to avoid war, Daladier and Chamberlain chose to believe him. On
September 30, 1938, they signed the Munich Agreement, which turned the
Sudetenland over to Germany without a single shot being fired. -
Nonaggression pact
As tensions rose over Poland, Stalin surprised everyone by signing a
nonaggression pact with Hitler. -
Blitzkrieg
This invasion was the first
test of Germany’s newest military strategy, the blitzkrieg, or lightning war. -
Britain and France declare war on Germany
On September 3, two days following the terror
in Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany. -
Phony War
U.S. tactic to trick Hitler by setting up fake tanks and war units. -
Hitler's invasion of Denmark and Norway
Hitler invaded these places to build bases along the coast and strike Great Britain. -
Hitler's invasion of the Netherlands
Hitler turned against the Netherlands,
Belgium, and Luxembourg, which were overrun by the end of May. The phony
war had ended. -
Germany and Italy's invasion of France
Hitler’s generals sent their tanks
through the Ardennes, a region of wooded ravines in northeast France, thereby
avoiding British and French troops who thought the Ardennes were impassable.
The Germans continued to march toward Paris. -
Marshal Philippe Petain
Germans would occupy the northern part of
France, and a Nazi-controlled puppet government, headed
by Marshal Philippe Pétain, would be set up at Vichy,
in southern France. -
The Battle of Britain
Germany also launched an air war at
the same time. The Luftwaffe began making bombing runs over Britain. Its goal was to gain total control of the
skies by destroying Britain’s Royal Air Force (RAF). Hitler
had 2,600 planes at his disposal. -
Pearl Harbor attack
Early the next morning,
a Japanese dive-bomber swooped low over Pearl Harbor—
the largest U.S. naval base in the
Pacific. The bomber was followed by
more than 180 Japanese warplanes
launched from six aircraft carriers. -
Internment
However, he was eventually forced
to order the internment, or confinement, of 1,444 Japanese Americans, 1 percent
of Hawaii’s Japanese-American population. -
Korematsu v. United States
In 1944, the Supreme Court decided, in
Korematsu v. United States, that the government’s policy of evacuating Japanese
Americans to camps was justified on the basis of “military necessity.” -
Battle of the Atlantic
In the first four
months of 1942, the
Germans sank 87 ships
off the Atlantic shore.
Seven months into the
year, German wolf packs
had destroyed a total of
681 Allied ships in the
Atlantic. -
U.S. convoy system
At the same time, the United States launched a crash shipbuilding program.
By early 1943, 140 Liberty ships were produced each month. Launchings of Allied
ships began to outnumber sinkings. -
Operation Torch
Stalin launched
Operation Torch, an invasion of Axis-controlled North Africa, commanded by
American General Dwight D. Eisenhower.
In November 1942, some 107,000 Allied troops, the g -
Unconditional surrender
The Italian government
forced dictator Benito Mussolini to resign. On July 25, 1943, King Victor Emmanuel
III summoned Il Duce (Italian for “the leader”) to his palace, stripped him of power,
and had him arrested. “At this moment,” the king told Mussolini, “you are the -
Bloody Anzio
This battle, “Bloody
Anzio,” lasted four months—until the end of May 1944—and left about 25,000
Allied and 30,000 Axis casualties. During the year after Anzio, German armies
continued to put up strong resistance. The effort to free Italy did not succeed until
1945, when Germany itself was close to collapse. -
D-Day
D-Day—June 6, 1944, the first day
of the invasion of Northern France -
V-E Day
General Eisenhower accepted the unconditional surrender of
the Third Reich. On May 8, 1945, the Allies celebrated V-E Day—Victory in
Europe Day -
Lend-Lease Act
Under this plan, the president would lend
or lease arms and other supplies to “any country whose defense was vital to the
United States.” -
Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps
military’s work force
needs were so great that Army Chief of Staff General
George Marshall pushed for the formation of a Women’s
Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC). “ -
Manhattan Project
Project organized by Roosevelt to create the atom bomb. -
Harry S. Truman
When president Roosevelt was posing for a picture, he died of a stroke and the vice president. Harry Truman, became president. -
War Productions Board
Fundraiser for the war. Colect paper and scrap iron for war supplies. During the five month long drive, kids collected 36 million pounds. -
Hitler invades the Rhineland (532)
he sent troops into
the Rhineland, a German region bordering France and Belgium that was demilitarized
as a result of the Treaty of Versailles. The League did nothing to stop Hitler. -
Hitler's Anschluss
The Paris Peace Conference following World War I had created
the relatively small nation of Austria out of what was left
of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The majority of Austria’s 6
million people were Germans who favored unification with
Germany. On March 12, 1938, German troops marched into
Austria unopposed. A day later, Germany announced that its
Anschluss, or “union,” with Austria was complete. -
Battle of Stalingrad
In the summer of 1942, the Germans took the offensive in the southern
Soviet Union. Hitler hoped to capture Soviet oil fields in the Caucasus Mountains.
He also wanted to wipe out Stalingrad, a major industrial center on the Volga
River. Despite the staggering death toll,
the Soviet victory marked a turning point in the war. -
Death of Hitler
Hitler shot himself in the head after the Nazis lost the war April 29, 1945. -
Office of Price Administration
The OPA fought inflation by freezing
prices on most goods.
