Timeline of World War 2

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    The Holocaust

    The Holocaust was Nazi Germany's deliberate murder of approximately six million European Jews and at least five million prisoners of war. During the war, the Nazi regime and their collaborators systematically murdered over six million Jewish people.
  • Hitler Becomes Dictator of Germany

    Hitler Becomes Dictator of Germany
    With the death of German President Paul von Hindenburg. Chancellor Adolf Hitler becomes the absolute dictator of Germany under the title of Fuhrer, or “Leader.
  • The Anschluss

    The Anschluss
    The Anschluss was the Nazi German regime's first act of territorial aggression and expansion. The Anschluss was widely popular in both Germany and Austria.
  • Miracle of Dunkirk

    Miracle of Dunkirk
    involved the rescue of more than 338,000 British and French soldiers from the French port of Dunkirk between 26 May and 4 June 1940.
  • The Blitz

    The Blitz
    The Blitz began on 7 September, 'Black Saturday', when German bombers attacked London, leaving 430 dead and 1,600 injured. London was then bombed for 57 consecutive nights, and often during the daytime too. London experienced regular attacks and on 10-11 May 1941 was hit by its biggest raid.
  • Operation Barbarossa

    Operation Barbarossa
    On 22 June 1941, Germany began a major attack on the Soviet Union, the communist state that consisted of Russia and a number of neighboring countries.
  • Pearl Harbor

    Pearl Harbor
    On the morning of December 7, 1941, Japan attacked the US naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The surprise attack by some 350 Japanese aircraft sunk or badly damaged eighteen US naval vessels, including eight battleships, destroyed or damaged 300 US aircraft, and killed 2,403 men.
  • Battle of Midway island

    Battle of Midway island
    the United States destroyed Japan's first-line carrier strength and most of its best trained naval pilots.
  • D-Day

    D-Day
    The D-Day operation of June 6, 1944, brought together the land, air, and sea forces of the allied armies in what became known as the largest amphibious invasion in military history.
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    Dropping the Atomic Bombs

    The bombings killed between 129,000 and 226,000 people, most of whom were civilians, and remain the only use of nuclear weapons in an armed conflict.