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Hitler Becomes Chancellor
On this day, Adolf Hitler, leader of the Nazi Party was named Chancellor of Germay by President Paul von Hindenburg. This day marked a crucial turning point for Germany and, ultimately, for the world. His plan, embraced by much of the German population, was to do away with politics and make Germany a powerful, unified one-party state. -
Nuremberg Laws in Effect Against Jews
The Nuremberg Laws were one of the first steps towards the Holocaust. They were created by the Nazi's. They were introduced in the city of Nuremberg to the citizens of Reich. These were the first legal documents that -
Italy into Ethiopia
Benito Mussolini, the leader of Italy, wanted to invade Ethiopia to boost his country's national prestige after the failed attempt to colonize the former country in the late 1890's. Also he incident at the Wal-Wal Oasis. Mussolini refused the League of Nations umpire in dispute (it was ineffective) and proceeded to attack and establish control of Ethopia. -
Italy, Germany and Japan Signed Anti-comintern Pact, Against Russia
The anti-comintern pact was disguised as an effort to fight the influence of the Communist International (Comintern). In secret, the pact stated that if any of the signatories become involved in a war against the Soviet Union, the other party would stay neutral. These countries also agreed that they would not become involved in political treaties or pacts with the Soviet Union and if they declared war, the countries would protect their common interests. -
Anschluss- Germany Takes Over Austria With No Fighting
Hitler wanted all German-speaking nations in Europe to be a part of Germany. He made plans on re-uniting Germany with Austria. Under the Treaty of Versailles, however, Germany and Austria were forbidden to be unified. Austrian Chancellor Schuschnigg, bullied by Hitler during a meeting at Hitler’s retreat home in Berchtesgaden, agreed to a greater Nazi presence within Austria. Schuschnigg hoped that agreeing to Hitler’s demands would prevent a German invasion. However that was not the case. -
Full Invasion and Takeover of Czechoslovakia
Hitler invaded Sudentenland in Czechoslovakia unopposed because of the Munich Agreement he signed with Chamberlain. He was appeased that land because the Allies did not want to start another war and he wanted to take control over the land of Czechoslovakia since a lot of Germans lived there. Plus, Sudenteland was home to many resources of Czechoslovakia. -
German-Soviet Non-Aggresion Pact
Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union signed the German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact, which stated that the two countries will take no military action against each other for the next 10 years. Soviet leader Joseph Stalin agreed with the pact as it ensured his nation will be on peaceful terms with Nazi Germany and give him the time needed to mobilize his army. However, Hitler used the pact to make sure Germany could easily invade Poland. -
Germany Invades Poland With Blitzkrieg Warfare
The “blitzkrieg” strategy: bombing early on to destroy Poland's railroads, communication lines, air capacity and massive land invasion with more than 2,000 tanks and over 1,000 planes. The army broke through Polish defense because the German army struck the border and advanced on Warsaw. Poland hoped to defend themselves until they received military aid; however, the Soviet Army soon attacked. -
Britain Declares War on Germany
On September 1, 1939 German troops swarmed across the Polish border known as the 'lightening war'. Britain and France had promised to defend Poland in case of an attack. As a result, the two countries sent ultimatums to Hitler demanding his withdrawal from Poland but he did not respond. Prime Minister Chamberlain then declared war on Germany and World War II had begun. -
Battle of the Atlantic
The Battle of the Atlantic was the long struggle between the Convoy System and the Wolf Packs of German submarines. Submarines would hunt down ships and surround them to sink the convoys with the purpose of ridding the resources travelling to Europe. By 1943, Britain found ways to better track German communications and U-boat movements while Canada sent ships to help protect British ports. To honour them for their role, the Allies put the entire northwest Atlantic under Canadian control. -
Canada Declares War on Germany
On September 7th, Parliament met in special session to decide whether they would join when Britain declared war. Then, on September 9th, they agreed to support Britain and France. Thus, on September 10th, King George VI announced that Canada had declared war on Germany as well. -
Battle of Britain
It was the first military campaign fought wholly in the air. The Royal Air Force defended the United Kingdom against the German Air Force (Luftwaffe.) Hitler wanted to launch his armies over the English Channel, but had to eliminate the RAF first. RAF was successful in defending Britain despite months of attacks on air bases, military posts and civilian population by the German Air Force. -
Invasion of Soviet Union
Also known as the operation of Barbarossa. It occurred because Hitler desired to take over the Soviet Union so that it could be repopulated by Germans and he wanted their resources. Although Germany had signed a non-aggression pact with the USSR, the agreement was a plan to prepare for war. German forces advanced 200 miles in, destroyed 4,000 aircrafts, and hurt 600,000 troops. But, Hitler's plan to conquer the Soviet Union before winter had failed and that was a turning point in the war -
Pearl Harbour Attack
It was a surprise aerial attack on the American naval base at Pearl Harbour near Hawaii. Hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked and destroyed 20 American naval vessels, 8 battleships and approximately 300 airplanes. More than 2,000 American solders and sailors died in the attack. It was the Battle of Pearl Harbour that provoked the entry of the United States into WW2 -
Japanese-Canadian Internment
The Japanese raid on Pearl Harbour triggered war between Canada and Japan which caused racism towards Japanese Canadians. White farmers, merchants and political leaders believed they were spies. As a result, the Canadian government stripped Japanese Canadians of their property and used that money to put 21 000 of them into camps located in British Columbia. They were not allowed to travel or get their ‘rights’ back until April 1, 1949. Over 4000 Japanese Canadians were deported back to Japan. -
Battle of El Alamein
The Battle of El Alamein was when German forces that were threatening to seize Egypt and the Suez Canal were defeated by the British. Operation Barbarossa had pushed the Russians back. Also the U-boats effecting Britain in the Battle of the Atlantic and western Europe was in the control of the Germans. If Germans got to the Suez Canal, the Allies would not be able to stop them and Hitler would have gained access to Middle Eastern Oil Supplies. -
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Battle of Stalingrad
It was the bloodiest battle of World War II in which Nazi Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad located in Southern Russia. The Soviet was successful in defending the city which was known for being Russia's center of communications. Hundreds of thousands of German soldiers were killed or captured in the months-long battle. Germany’s defeat in the battle prevented Germany from seizing Russian oil fields (turning point for Allies.) -
Dieppe Raid
5000 troops of the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division, 1000 British commandos, and 50 American Army rangers attacked the French coast port of Dieppe on the English Channel Coast. The purpose was to raid the German-occupied, Dieppe, over water, and then to hold the port for a short period of time. However, German defenses were on the alert. Less than 10 hours after the landings, the last Allied troops had all been either killed, evacuated, or became prisoners in Germans hands -
Italian Campaign
It was a series of Allied beach landings and battles from Sicily and southern Italy up the Italian mainland towards Germany. The Allies decided to use Italy to attack enemy territory in Europe and to divert German resources from the Eastern Front. The German and Italian forces were unable to prevent the Allied capture of the island, but they succeeded in evacuating most of their troops to the mainland -
D-Day
Largest amphibious (water) invasion in history. Allied troops- 156,000 American, British and Canadian forces- landed on five beaches along the German occupied Normandy coast of France. Despite intense German opposition and large American casualties, the landings succeeded and the liberation of western Europe from Hitler had begun. The Normandy landings are known as the beginning of the end of war in Europe. Despite the success, there were 340 Canadian casualties and 574 wounded. -
Germany Surrenders - VE Day
By spring of 1945, the Soviets were approaching Berlin from the east and the Western Allies were approaching it from the west. Knowing that defeat was inevitable, Hitler committed suicide in his Berlin bunker on April 30th. On May 7, 1945, Germany signed an unconditional surrender at Allied headquarters, which would come into effect the next day, ending the European conflict of World WW2. -
Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima
America decides to use atomic bombs on two Japanese cities: Hiroshima and Nagasaki because the former wanted to force Japan to surrender quickly to minimize American casualties. An American bomber dropped the world's first deployed atomic bomb over Hiroshima. The explosion wiped out 90 percent of the city and immediately killed 80,000 people. Tens of thousands more would later die of radiation exposure. -
Atomic Bomb on Nagasaki
Despite the surrender of Germany, Japan vowed to fight to the bitter end in the Pacific although they had little chance of winning. Japan’s militarist government rejected the Allied demand for surrender who threatened the Japanese with 'destruction' if they refused. After Hiroshima, Nagasaki was bombed causing 22.7% of buildings to be destroyed and deaths ranged between 50,000 and 100,000.
