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Neutrality Acts
- The Neutrality Acts were passed by the United States Congress in the 1930s in response to the events that led to World War II.
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Nuremberg Laws
- New laws were announced by the Nazis which embodied many of the racial theories common in Nazi ideology
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Second Sino-Japanese War
- China fought Japan with aid from the Soviet Union and the United States.
- The start of the full-scale Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937 is considered to have been the beginning of World War II.
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Kristallnacht
- Nazis in Germany torched synagogues, vandalized Jewish homes, schools, and businesses, and killed close to 100 Jews.
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Blitzkrieg
- Germany quickly overran much of Europe and was victorious for more than two years by relying on this military tactic
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German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact
- The pact permitted Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union to carve up spheres of influence in eastern Europe, while pledging not to attack each other for 10 years.
- The pact fell apart in June 1941, when Nazi forces invaded the Soviet Union.
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War declared on Germany by Poland, Great Britain, and France
- in response to Hitler's invasion of Poland, Britain and France, both allies of the overrun nation declare war on Germany
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"Cash and Carry"
- This policy replaced the Neutrality Acts of 1937, by which belligerents could purchase only nonmilitary goods from the United States
- This revision allowed the sale of military arms to belligerent nations a cash-and-carry basis
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Poland Ceases to Exist
- The entirety of Poland was annexed and divided by Germany and the Soviet Union following the German-Soviet Non-Aggression pact
- After the attack on the Soviet Union in 1941, the entirety of Poland was occupied by Germany.
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Nazis Invade Denmark, Norway, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg
- With countries quickly falling into Nazi hands, neutral countries were pulled into war.
- Canada became one of Britain’s strongest allies as France fell.
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Germans Take Vichy France
- The Franco-German Armistice divided France into two zones
- One was under German military occupation and one was left to the French in full sovereignty
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Luftwaffe and RAF Bombings (Battle of Britain)
- the Royal Air Force defended the United Kingdom against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force, the Luftwaffe
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Selective Training Service Act
- the first peacetime conscription in U.S. history
- increased the personnel of the armed forces of the United States and provided for its training
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Tripartite Pact
- agreement concluded by Germany, Italy, and Japan created a defense alliance between the countries
- was largely intended to deter the U.S. from entering the war
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Lend-Lease Plan
- provided for military aid to countries whose defense was vital to the security of the U.S.
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Hitler breaks Stalin Agreement
- The Nazi-Soviet pact was a pact of convenience. Hitler used the pact to make sure Germany was able to invade Poland unopposed.
- Hitler violated the pact when Nazi forces invaded the Soviet Union.
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Executive Order #8802
- This executive order was signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to help eliminate racial discrimination in the nation's defense industry.
- The executive order did not establish full employment equality, but it did establish a Fair Employment Practices Committee.
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U.S. Cut Off Trade With Japan
- In response to Japanese occupation of key airfields in Indochina, the U.S. froze Japanese assets
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Atlantic Charter
- The Atlantic Charter was a joint declaration issued by the U.S. and Great Britain.
- It set out their goals for the time following the end of the war, and was supported by 26 Allied nations.
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Attack on Pearl Harbor
- More than 2,400 Americans died in the attack, including civilians, and another 1,000 people were wounded.
- This event led the U.S. to enter the war
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U.S. Declares War
- the United States Congress declared war on the Empire of Japan in response to that country's surprise attack on Pearl Harbor
- big turning point in the war
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Battle of Bataan
- U.S. surrendered Bataan Peninsula on the main Philippine island of Luzon to the Japanese
- the approximately 75,000 Filipino and American troops on Bataan were forced to make an arduous 65-mile march to prison camps (Bataan Death March)
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U-boat Attacks
- German U-boats attacked merchant ships along the Eastern Seaboard of North America
- the U-boats killed 5,000 seamen and passengers
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Executive Order #9066
- This order authorized the removal of any or all people from military areas “as deemed necessary or desirable.”
- The military then defined the entire West Coast, home to the majority of Americans of Japanese ancestry or citizenship, as a military area.
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Battle of Midway
- The U.S. Navy’s victory in the air-sea battle and its successful defense of the major base located at Midway Island crushed Japan’s hopes of neutralizing the United States
- effectively turned the tide of the war in the Pacific
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Battle of Stalingrad
- brutal military campaign between Russian forces and Nazi Germany and the Axis powers
- ultimately turned the tide of World War II in favor of the Allied forces
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Second Battle of El Alamein
- Allied victory
- the first big success against the Axis since Operation Crusader in late 1941
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Island Hopping Strategy
- a military strategy employed by the United States to gain military bases and secure the many small islands in the Pacific
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Liberation of Nazi Concentration Camps
- As Allied troops moved across Europe, they began to encounter tens of thousands of concentration camp prisoners.
- Soviet, American, and British forces liberated these concentration camps.
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D-Day
- largest seaborne invasion in history
- resulted in the Allied liberation of Western Europe from Nazi Germany’s control
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Baltic Offensive
- The Baltic states were occupied and annexed, becoming the Soviet socialist republics of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
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Battle of the Bulge
- “the greatest American battle of the war”
- German troops’ failure to divide Britain, France and America with the Ardennes offensive paved the way to victory for the allies
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Korematsu v. U.S.
- Following Executive Order 9066, a Japanese-American man chose to stay at his residence rather than obey the order to relocate.
- He was arrested and convicted of violating the order.
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Yalta Conference
- meeting of three World War II allies: U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin
- Allied leaders discussed the post-war fate of defeated Germany and the rest of Europe and the formation and operation of the new United Nations
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Battle of Iwo Jima
- military campaign between U.S. Marines and the Imperial Army of Japan
- U.S. victory
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VE Day
- the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces
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Potsdam Conference
- the last of the World War II meetings held by the “Big Three” heads of state
- various agreements on the German economy, punishment for war criminals, land boundaries and reparations
- issued a declaration demanding “unconditional surrender” from Japan
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Atomic Bomb Dropped - Hiroshima
- The explosion wiped out 90 percent of the city and immediately killed 80,000 people. Tens of thousands more later died of radiation exposure.
- This increased tensions between the U.S. and Japan.
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Atomic Bomb Dropped - Nagasaki
- The explosion killed an estimated 40,000 people.
- This bombing is what led to Japan’s unconditional surrender.
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VJ Day
- VJ Day celebrates Japan's surrender after the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings.
- This surrender effectively ended WWII.
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Geneva Convention
- As the result of Germany carrying out horrific acts on and off the battlefield and within their military prison camps and civilian concentration camps, the Geneva conventions were expanded to protect non-combatant civilians.
- the new articles added provisions to protect medical personnel, facilities and equipment, wounded and sick civilians accompanying military forces, military chaplains, and civilians who take up arms to fight invading forces.
