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The Great Depression Begins
The Treaty of Versailles, signed in 1919, caused the economic
depression after the "Great War" or as we know it, WWI -
Japan Conquers Manchuria
Kwantung Army of the Empire of Japan invaded Manchuria immediately following the Mukden Incident. -
Franklin D. Roosevelt Becomes U.S.President
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, commonly known by his initials FDR, was an American statesman and political leader who served as the 32nd President of the United States. He led through the Great Depression and WWII. -
1st Concentration Camp in Germany
Dachau concentration camp was the first regular concentration camp established by the National Socialist (Nazi) government. -
Italy Invades Ethiopia
A border incident between Ethiopia and Italian Somaliland that December gave Benito Mussolini an excuse to intervene. Rejecting all arbitration offers, the Italians invaded Ethiopia on October 3, 1935. -
German Troops Occupy Rhineland, Violating the World War I Treaty of Versailles
German troops marched into the Rhineland. This action was directly against the Treaty of Versailles which had laid out the terms which the defeated Germany had accepted. -
Japan Invades China
Japanese claimed that they were fired on by Chinese troops at the Marco Polo Bridge near Beijing. Using this as an excuse, the Japanese launched a full-scale invasion of China using the conquered Manchuria as a launching base for their troops. -
Germany Invades Poland
The German-Soviet Pact of August 1939, which stated that Poland was to be partitioned between the two powers, enabled Germany to attack Poland without the fear of Soviet intervention. -
Britain and France Declare War On Germany
In response to Hitler’s invasion of Poland, Britain and France, both allies of the overrun nation declare war on Germany. -
France Falls to the Nazis
In the Second World War, the Battle of France, also known as the Fall of France, was the successful German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, defeating primarily French forces. -
Japan Attacks Peral Harbor
President Franklin Roosevelt called December 7, 1941, "a date which will live in infamy." On that day, Japanese planes attacked the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Territory. The bombing killed more than 2,300 Americans. -
Millions of U.S. Women Join Workforce For War Effort
During World War II, some 350,000 women served in the U.S. Armed Forces, both at home and abroad. They included the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots, who on March 10, 2010, were awarded the prestigious Congressional Gold Medal. -
B-17 Flying Fotress
The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engine heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps. -
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive campaign launched through the densely forested Ardennes region of Wallonia in Belgium, France, and Luxembourg on the Western Front toward the end of World War II in Europe. -
Germany Surrenders WWII
On May 7, 1945, Germany officially surrendered to the Allies, bringing an end to the European conflict in World War II. -
Nuremberg War Crimes Trials Begin
Held for bringing the Nazi war criminals to justice.
