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Benito Mussolini
In March 1919, Mussolini formed the Fascist Party, galvanising the support of many unemployed war veterans. He organised them into armed squads known as Black Shirts, who terrorised their political opponents. In 1925 made himself dictator, taking the title 'Il Duce'. -
Joseph Stalin
Served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee from 1922 until his death in 1953.President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill agreed to limited cooperation with Stalin on not letting Germany win, concluding that Nazi Germany was, in fact, far worse a threat than Communist Russia. In return, Stalin pledged his aid in the war against Japan once Germany had been defeated. -
Kellog-Briand Pact
Treaty between the United States and France that attempted to outlaw war. The treaty was based on the hope that diplomacy and the weight of world opinion would be powerful enough to prevent nations from resorting to the use of force. -
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler created a new party called the NAZis. German armed forces invaded Poland and henceforth Hitler's main energies were devoted to the conduct of a war he had unleashed to dominate Europe and secure Germany's "living space." -
Third Reich
In his publication of 'The Third Reich' Moeller envisioned the rise of an anti-liberal, anti-Marxist Germanic Empire in which all social class divisions would be reconciled in national unity under a charismatic "Führer" -
Quarantine Speech
FDR was trying to suggest an alternative to open war in Europe and Asia by way of a US "quarantine" of aggressors like Mussolini, and the rulers of Japan. -
Hirohito Advised to Invade
Emperor Horohito was advised by his cheifs of staff and prime minister Fumimaro Konoe to invade the rest of China. -
Munich Pact
The forming of the pact between Germany, Italy, France, and Great Britain served as appeasement purposes, securing Great Britain’s and France’s agreement to Adolf Hitler’s Demands. -
Non-Agression Pact
On August 23, 1939, Ribbentrop and Molotov signed the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact. Since fighting a two front war in World War I had split Germany's forces, it had weakened and undermined their offensive; thus, played a large role in Germany losing the First World War. Hitler was determined not to repeat the same mistakes. So Hitler planned ahead and made a pact with the Soviets which is the Non-Agression Pact. -
Blitzkreig
means"lightning war" ir was a massive german sudden attack hit Poland from three directions. Used a coordinated assault by tanks and planes, folllowed by motorized vehicles and infantry. -
Winston Churchill
Prime minister of Britain. To many people in Britain, Churchill’s stand against Nazism and all it stood for, summarised why the war was being fought -
Battle of Britain
In July 1940, Hitler ordered his forces to invade Britain. As a prelude to the cross-Channel invasion, the German Air Force (the Luftwaffe) was to overpower Britain's air defenses. In the ensuing Air War between the German and Allied Air Forces, which lasted through the end of October 1940 and resulted in the defeat of the Luftwaffe -
Selective Service Act
The United States instituted the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, which required all men between the ages of 21 and 45 to register for the draft. This was the first peacetime draft in United States' history. Those who were selected from the draft lottery were required to serve at least one year in the armed forces. Once the U.S. entered WWII, draft terms extended through the duration of the fighting. By the end of the war in 1945, 50 million men between eighteen and forty-five had re -
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Second Great Migration
The Great Migration was the migration of millions of African Americans from the south to the north, midwest and west. This was from 1941 to 1970. -
Four Freedoms
Speech made by president Roosevelt. The first is freedom of speech and expression--everywhere in the world. The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way-- everywhere in the world. The third is freedom from want . . . everywhere in the world. The fourth is freedom from fear . . . anywhere in the world. -
Lend Lease Act
Lend-Lease was a program of the United States Federal government during World War II which enabled the United States to provide the Allied nations with war material while the US was still officially a neutral country. The Lend-Lease program began in March 1941, nine months before the US entered the war in December of 1941. -
WAC Created
In 1941 Edith Nourse Rogers introduced a bill to establish a Women's Army Auxiliary. On May 15, 1942 it was created the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps . Then in 1943 it became the Women's Army Corps (WAC). -
Neutrality Acts
On August 31, 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Neutrality Act, the first of four Neutrality Acts that would pass in the 1930s. The purpose of the act was to try and keep America out of the escalating hostilities in Europe that would eventually lead to World War II. In December 1941, the act was rendered moot by the bombing of Pearl Harbor and America's subsequent entry into World War II. -
Pearl Harbor
As Japanese diplomats wrangled in Washington D.C., Japanese navy sailed for Pearl Harbor. There misson was to eradicated the naval and air prescence in the Pacific. This was a surprise attack. -
War Bonds
During World War II the government and even radio and movie stars worked hard to convince people to buy war bonds. These bonds were kind of like loans to the government. People would buy bonds and the government promised to return them with interest after ten years or more. War bonds or defense bonds were bought by purchasing stamps for 10 or 15 cents each. The stamps were then pasted into booklets that could be turned in when full for a $25 war bond. -
MacAurthur Strikes
At 03:30 local time December 8, 1941 Sutherland learned of the attack on Pearl Harbor and informed MacArthur. At 05:30, the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, General George Marshall, ordered MacArthur to execute the existing war plan, Rainbow Five. MacArthur had done nothing. -
The Phillipines Fall
Douglas MacArthur positions his forces to repel the Japanses attack. He did not correctly measure the strength of the oponent and the Japanese took the Phillipines. -
Declaration of the WPB
In January 1942 the government set up the War Production Board to oversee the conversion of peacetime industry to war industry. -
Rosie The Riveter Song
Rosie the Riveter was the image if a muscular, determined worker that graced magazines and posters. The image was not based on one woman. In 1942 a song was used about Rosie by Redd Evans and John Jacob Loeb. It was entitled 1942. -
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The Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was a research and development program by the United States with the United Kingdom and Canada that produced the first atomic bomb during World War II. From 1942 to 1946, the project was under the direction of Major General Leslie Groves of the US Army Corps of Engineers. It cost several billions of dollars and employed tens of thousands of people. -
Interment Authorization
Japanese interment was the rlocation in the U.S. of approximately Japanese Americans who lived along the Pacific. They were sent to camps called War Relocation Camps. On this day FDR authroized the interment with the Executive Order 9066, which the military could designate areas of exclusion . -
The Road to Rationing
Rationing was used hugely in WW2. Rationing is a an item used i WW2 to buy things in small amounts. Once the economy had shifted to war production cosumer goods had pretty much taken a back seat. Then rationing use began. In May 1942 the U.S. Office of Price Administration froze prices on almost all of the everyday goods. Then ration books and coins were administred to American families. -
Battle of Midway
Admiral Chester Nimitz found out about Admiral Yamamoto's, commander of Japanse forces in the Pacific, plan to take Midway and establish a military presence in the Aleutians. In response Nimitz sent available air craft carriers to Midway. The Japanes commenced their attack on June 4, 1942. The U.S. came out victorius in the most important battle of WW2. This was the turning point of the war. -
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Stalingrad (Battle)
In 1942 Hitler sought to capture Stalingrad to acheive his goal of controlling the rich Caucasus oil feilds. This was quite a long battle but it finally ended in Janiary 1943. The German troops had surrendered. -
George Patton
In the US Army's build-up prior to World War II, Patton took the division to the Desert Training Center in California. Given command of the I Armored Corps, Patton relentlessly trained his men in the desert through the summer of 1942. In this role, Patton led the Western Task Force during Operation Torch which saw his men capture Casablanca, Morocco in November 1942. -
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Casablanca Conference
Roosevelt and Churchill met in Casablanca, Morocco to plan their next move. At this conference they decided to increase bombing of Germany & invad Italy. Also FDR announced that the Allies would only accept unconditonal surrender which was basically giving up comnpletely. -
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Teheran Conference
Roosevelt and Churchill to Teheran, Iran to have a face-to-face meeting with Stalin. After years of war finally the British and the U.S. would invade france. Also out of this conference came the Big Three or Declaration of Three Powers. -
D-Day
The allies hit Germany with major force. It was the largest amphibious operation ever to take place. Allied land forces that saw combat in Normandy came from Canada, the Free French Forces, the United Kingdom, and the United States. -
Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 becomes G.I. Bill of Rights
This Bill granted veterans a variety of benefits. Benefits included low-cost mortgages, loans to start a business or farm, cash payments of tuition and living expenses to attend college, high school or vocational education, as well as one year of unemployment compensation. It had an enorous impact on American Society. -
Court Reaches a Decision
Fred Korematsu was a Japanese-American man who decided to stay in San Leandro, California and knowingly violated Civilian Exclusion Order No. 34 of the U.S. Army. He argued that the Executive Order 9066 was unconstitutional and that it violated the 14th amendment to the United States Constitution. He was arrested and convicted. On December 18. 1944 the court decided with a 6-3 decision that the exclusion was unconstitutional. -
Battle of the Bulge
This was known as the counterattack from the attck on Paris. This attack almost succeded. Germany had caught allies by surprise , created a bulge in the Amercian line , and capture key towns. The skies then were snowy and cloudy which prevented the Allies from exploiting their air superiority. But at Bastogne American forces got Britain. On December 23, 1944 when the skies cleared the allies attacked Germany. In the end the Allies prevailed. -
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Nuremburg Trials
This was a series of military tribunals, held by the Allied forces of World War II, most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political, military, and economic leadership of the Nazi Germany. The trials were held in the city of Nuremberg, Bavaria, Germany, from 1945-1946. -
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Battle of Iwo Jima
This was one of the fiercest battles in the island using the island hopping campaign. This was a major battle in which the United States Armed Forces fought for and captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Japanese Empire. The American invasion had the goal of capturing the entire island, including its three airfields.[2 This month-long battle included some of the fiercest and bloodiest fighting of the War in the Pacific of World War II. -
Battle of Okinawa
The Battle of Okinawa was fought on the Ryukyu Islands of Okinawa and was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War of World War II. It took place in April 1945. -
V-E Day ( Victory in Europe Day)
This was the public holiday celebrated May 8 1945 ( May 7, 1945 in Commonwealth countries) to mark that the Allies accepted unconditional surrender of the armed forces of Nazi Germany. -
Potsdam Conference
July 1945 an altered big three met in the Berlin suburb of Potsdam. Stalin, Churchill, and Truman, gathered to decide how to administer punishment to the defeated Nazi Germany. The three decided to divide Germany into 4 zones of occupation: Soviet, American, British, amd French. They agreed to new borders and free elctions for Poland and recoginzed the Soviets' right to claim reparations for war damages from the German sector they controlled. -
V-J Day
The Allies celebrated Victory in Japan Day which was the day that the Surrender of Japan occurred, effectively ending World War II. -
Airdrops
Is a relatively new method of delivering people, supplies and equipment into difficult-to-reach or enemy-held areas. Also to resupply otherwise inaccessible troops, who themselves may have been airborne forces. -
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Babyboomer Wave
A baby boomer is a person who was born during the demographic post-World War II baby boom between the years 1946 and 1964, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. -
Middle Class
Amid the difficulties and excitement of postwar recovery, economic expansion, and renewed conflict, people turned to fashion for relief from their worries and for ways to express themselves. Soldiers returned from the war eager to return to normal life, to buy homes, start families, and hold regular jobs. There was a national enthusiasm for a return to normality that created pressures for people to conform to standards of dress and behavior. -
Levittown
The Levitt family began and perfected their home construction techniques during World War II with contracts to build housing for the military on the East Coast.In 1946 the Levitt company acquired 4,000 acres of potato fields in Hempstead and began to build not just the largest single development by a single builder but what would be the country's largest housing development ever.
