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Hitler Becomes Chancellor
Adolf Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany -
Mussolini Invades Ethiopia
Italy, under the rule of Benito Mussolini invades Ethiopia. -
Neutrality Act
President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the 1937 Neutrality Act, which bans travel on belligerent ships, forbids the arming of American merchant ships trading with belligerents, and issues an arms embargo with warring nations. -
Japan Defeats China
The Japanese defeat Chinese forces in a clash near Peking, taking control of North China. -
Attack on the Panay
Japanese warplanes dive-bomb the American gunboat Panay in the Yangtze River in China. Japan apologizes and pays reparations for the lives lost. -
March of Time
Time Inc. releases an anti-Nazi propaganda newsreel entitled March of Time in Nazi Germany. -
Anschluss
German Chancellor Adolf Hitler declares Austria part of the Third Reich. -
Mussolini Joins Hitler
In a speech in Rome, Benito Mussolini, fascist leader of Italy, promises to fight the democracies alongside Adolf Hitler's should war break out. -
Kristallnacht
During the German Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass), 7500 Jewish businesses are looted, 191 synagogues are set afire, nearly 100 Jews are killed, and tens of thousands are sent to concentration camps. -
Germany Invades Poland
Germany invades Poland on land and in the air. Beginning of WWII -
Britain and France Declare War
Britain and France declare war on Germany honoring their commitment to Poland.President Franklin D. Roosevelt invokes the Neutrality Act but notes, "Even a neutral cannot be asked to close his mind or his conscience." -
Hitler Seizes Low Countries
Adolf Hitler takes neutral Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Holland, and Luxembourg. -
Bombing of France
German fighter planes and ground troops pummel France. -
France Surrenders
France, crushed, surrenders to Germany and signs an armistice. Great Britain now stands alone against the Axis powers. -
Japan Joins Axis Powers
Responding to the embargoes imposed by the United States, Japan joins the German-Italian coalition. -
Germany Invades Soviet Union
Germany invades the Soviet Union violating the Nonaggression Pact. U.S. Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson estimates that it will take Hitler less than three months to conquer the Soviet Union. -
Bombing of Pearl Harbor
Japan launched surprise attack against US, bombing Pearl Harbor, destroying 20 vessels, and killing 2,000 soldiers -
US at War
Germany and Italy, Japan's axis partners, declare war on the United States. The United States declares war on Germany, Italy, and Japan. -
Italy Surrenders
The Italian government officially surrenders to the Allied powers; still, German forces occupy much of Italy. -
D-Day
The Allied powers crossed the English Channel and landed on the beaches of Normandy, France, beginning the liberation of Western Europe from Nazi control during World War II. -
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. -
Germany Surrenders
The German army signs an unconditional surrender. -
Victory in Europe
Great Britain and the United States celebrate Victory in Europe Day. Cities in both nations, as well as formerly occupied cities in Western Europe, put out flags and banners, rejoicing in the defeat of the Nazi war machine. -
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. -
Nagasaki
A second atomic bomb is dropped in Nagasaki. -
Japan Surrenders
Japan formally surrenders to the Allies, bringing an end to World War II.
