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German Parliament Passes Enabling Act
- Passed on March 24th, 1933
- German government was not able to put their own laws into effect without consent of Germany’s parliament
- Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party were the ones that needed this law passed.
- Intimidation was used to make sure those laws got passed.
- This act became an important event that started Hitlers Dictator ship.
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The Gestapo is Born
- The Gestapo was born on April 26, 1933. -The founder of the Gestapo was Hermann Goring. -The Gestapo were the secret police of Nazi Germany and German occupied Europe. -There were 150,000 informants in Nazi Germany. -They would report anti-Nazi views to the Gestapo. -The Gestapo helped the SS round up and deport the Jews to concentration camps. -At many concentration camps the Gestapo had offices.
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Nuremberg Laws announced
-The Nuremberg Laws were Announced on September 15th, 1935.
-Nuremberg Laws were first put into effect in the province of Bavaria.
-The laws were used to separate the Jews from non-Jews, so that they could start eliminating their rights.
-Jews could not fly the German Flag and were forbidden “to employ in domestic service female subjects of German or kindred blood who are under the age of 45." -
Rome Berlin Axis Announced
- Rome Berlin Axis was announced on October July 7, 1937
- The agreement was signed by minister Galeazzo Ciano.
- The Rome-Berlin Axis was a team up formed between Italy and Germany.
- The Axis was a cause of WW2 because it United the fascist powers and divided Europe into hostile camps.
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Japan Invades China
- China was invaded by Japan on July 7, 1937
- Japan Lacked resources
- They could get resources by invading China
- Shots were fired from both sides near the Marco Polo Bridge.
- That incident gave Japan a reason to invade China.
- That allowed Japan to get the resources from China.
- The U.S. reaction was that Japan needed to get out of China.
- This was the first event that led to Pearl Harbor.
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Germany's Anschluss with Austria
-Germany’s Anshluss with Austria took place on March 12, 1938
-In 1939 Hitler felt strong enough to plan a union (Anshluss with Austria)
-It was forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles so Hitler had to be careful because in the Treat of Versailles it said that Austria and Germany couldn’t be unified.
-Hitler then began ordering the Austrian Nazi Party to make as much trouble they could.
-This happened because Hitler wanted all German-speaking nations in Europe to be party of Germany. -
Munich Agreement Signed
-The agreement was signed on September 30, 1938.
-British and France minsters Neville And Edouard Daladier.
-Czechoslovakia's government hoped that Britain and France
would help them defend their country from Hitler.
-Britain and France didn’t want to be involved.
-British Minister made two trips and offered Hitler agreements.
-Hitler declined and started to up his demands.
-In the end both British and France Ministers knew they were unprepared for war -
Kristallnacht
-Known as “Night of the Broken Glass”
-Lasted November 9-10, 1938
-During the two days Germans were torching Synagogues,
vandalized Jewish Homes, schools, and businesses.
-About 100 Jews were killed.
-30,000 Jews were arrested.
-One cause of Kristallnacht was a 17 year-old boy killed Ernst Von Rath a German diplomat because the Germany exiled his parent to Poland Hanover. -
Non-Aggression Pact Signed Between Germany and USSR
-Signed on August 23, 1939
-Hitler and Stalin signed it
-It meant that both won’t use military against each other for the next 10 years.
-Hitler used this pact to make sure when invading Poland he will be unopposed.
-Stalin used this pact to keep peaceful terms with Germany to have time to build his military.
-The Nazi’s were the first one’s to break this pack. They started to invade the Soviet Union in June, 1941. -
Germany Invade Poland
-On September 1, 1939 is when Germany started to invade Poland
-On that day German forces started to attack on land and by air.
-Hitler was seeking to regain lost territory and ultimate rule over Poland.
-Blitzkrieg was the prime strategy that the Germans used to invade Poland.
-Blitzkrieg was a German strategy that used most air attacks. It was known as the “Lightning War”.
-Once Hitler had control he began to murder all anti-Nazi. I didn’t
matter what race or religion they were. -
GB and France Declare War on Germany
-To respond to the invasion of Poland, Great Britain and France
declared war against Germany On September 3, 1939.
-The Germans made the first attack against Britain.
-A British Ocean liner called Athena was sunk by a German U-30 submarine.
-There were 1,100 passengers.
-117 of those 1,100 lost their lives and 28 of those 117 who died were Americans.
-Roosevelt heard about it but was unfazed by the tragedy and still declared the United States neutral. (Staying out of European affairs). -
Poland Surrenders to Germany
-Poland surrenders to Hitler on September 27,1939.
-150,000 Polish troops were taken as prisoners.
-German had taken over Warsaw within 26 days.
-The defeat of Poland had become reality when the Soviet Army crossed into eastern Poland.
-Nazis murdered doctors, teachers, priests, land owners and business headers.
-Nazis targeted Catholic and Priests.
-The Nazis started to build ghettos right away and that was where hundred and thousands of Poland Jews were relocated. -
Yellow Stars required to be worn by Polish Jews over age of 10
-Rein Hard Heydrich recommended that Jews should be required to wear badges to identify them.
-After Kristallnacht on November 9-10, 1938 all Jews in Germany were required to wear the identifying badge on November 23, 1939.
-After invading Poland. German officials made it required for all Polish Jews to wear a badge.
-To the Germans this made it easier to separate those from society that should be in ghettos.
-Those Jews who failed to wear the badge were punish hardly and most of them died. -
Germany attacks France
-Erich Von Marstien proposed the next target France.
-The attacks began on May 10, 1940
-German troops crossed the Meuse River and broke through the French line.
-It was hilly and was a big forest so Germans used the Blitzkrieg strategy.
-Blitzkrieg strategy was a combination of land and air attacks.
-One attack was able to break through the France frontier.
-That was the fall of France. -
Italy enters WW2
-Italy enters when the France surrenders to Germany on June 10, 1940.
-On September 27, 1940 Germany, Italy, and Japan signed Tripartite which was known as the Axis Alliance.
-This was the true start of WWII.
-Italy’s first attack was on Greece, but Greece won that battle.
-This loss made Germany worried because securing their southeaster flank in Balkan.
-This showed that Italy was really low on material from the start and in the end Italy was the first to surrender. -
Germany Defeats France
-Germany's Final attack was on Paris on June 10 and 13.
-German troops entered Paris on June 14, 1940,
-When this happened the French government fled to Bordeaux.
-That attack was the last attack that France could withstand.
-The attack was enough for Hitler to conquer.
-This attack came with the surrender of France on June 25, 1940. -
Battle of Britain Begins
-July 10, 1940 the Battle of Britain begins.
-Germans started with long series of bombing.
-120 German bomber struck a British shipping Convoy.
-70 other bombers bombed a dock yard in South Whales.
-German had more troops but Britain still had an advantage.
-Britain's fighters had effective radars so a surprise attack was unlikely.
-Britain's air crafts were really high quality that it’s spitfires could turn tighter than Germany’s ME109s.
-Britain still needed stiff upper lip and aluminum. -
Tripartite Pact Signed
-The Tripartite Pact was signed on September 27, 1940.
-The Tripartite Pact was also known as the Berlin Pact, it was an agreement between Germany, Italy and Japan.
-The signing of the Tripartite Pact made Germany, Italy and Japan become allies.
- It was important because it created a defense alliance between countries and was largely intended to deter the US from entering the conflict. -
Battle of Britain Ends
-October 31, 1940 Hitler called of the invasion of Great Britain.
-Both sides suffered many major losses like military soldiers and resources.
-Great Britain's Air force was still able to weaken Germany’s highly trained air force.
-If Great Britain wasn’t able to hold of Germany’s Air force then Hitler would have kept pushing the Operation Sea lion.
-Britain's victory showed courage of Great Britain's military and its people. -
Operation Barbarossa Begins
-The Operation Barbarossa Began on June 22, 1941
-Barbarossa was the code name for the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union.
- Hitler launched his armies eastward in a massive invasion of the Soviet Union.
- The Germans severely underestimated there opponent.
-Barbarossa was the crucial turning point in WW2.
- It ‘s failure forced Germany to fight a two-front war -
Battle of Moscow
-The Battle of Moscow began on September 30, 1941.
-The Soviet Army attacked north of Moscow, Russia, capturing many trucks and field guns.
-The Battle of Moscow is considered one of the most important battles in the war between the Axis Powers and the USSR, because the Soviets were able to successfully prevent the most serious attempt to capture their capital. -
Operation Barbarossa Ends
-The Operation Barbarossa Ends on December 5, 1941.
-It was the code name for German invasion of the Soviet Union.
-On December 5th Soviets launched a surprise counter offense.
-The Germans were forced into a retreat, even thought Hitler called to defend every foot of ground
-The Russian succeeded in crushing all of Hitler's plans.
-Hitler was mad and dismissed the commander in chief
-Over 750,000 Germans had died.
-The Barbarossa ended up failing mainly because of poor strategic planning. -
Pearl Harbor attacked by Japan
-Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japan on December 7, 1941.
-Pearl Harbor was a surprise attack on the US naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu Island, Hawaii.
-Japan badly damaged most of the US Pacific fleet and caused thousands of casualties.
-It also destroyed 188 US aircraft and sank or destroyed 19 Navy ships.
- Killing 2,403 and wounding another 1,178.
-What Japan thought would be an awful loss for the US became a victory in the end and a crucial turning point in America’s Pacific campaign. -
US Declares War on Japan
-US declares war Japan on December 8, 1941
-FDR asked congress to declare war in response to the surprise attack in Pearl Harbor
-Japan's Axis allies, including Nazi Germany, declared war on the US just day after the attack
-This brought the US into WW2 -
Wannsee Conference/ Final Solution
-January 20, 1942 there was a conference in Wannssee where many Germans and Nazi member got together to talk about the persecution of Jews
-This plan to persecute the Jews was known as the Final Solution
-Code name for an operation to take out European Jews
-General Heydrich estimated that 11 million Jews would be persecuted
-The Nuremberg laws were used to help them figure out who was a Jew and who was not -
Battle of Midway
-Began on June 4, 1942
-Yamamoto was the commander and had a three step plan to succeed
-First was an air attack on Aleutian Islands
-Second was to invade the island with troops and soldiers
-Third was to ambush soldiers from Pearl harbor as they were trying to attack Japan
-This plan started to fall apart when the US was able to break Japans communication codes
-At the end the US ended up bombing all 4 Japanese carriers
-That would end the Battle of Midway -
US Begins "Island hopping" Campaign
-US began island hopping in August of 1942
-The goal was to capture islands in the South and Central Pacific until Japan came within American bombers
-First they would invade islands that weren't as well defended as others
-The Central Pacific began with invading Tarawa
-The US tried to capture islands in Marshall and Mariana
-In the end a huge assault was on its way towards Japan
-The Pacific was under allied control -
Battle of Stalingrad
-The battle of Stalingrad started on August 23, 1942
-Fought between Russian forces and the Axis Powers
-This was one of the bloodiest and largest battle in modern warfare
- 2 million men were killed or injured
-Germany had their eye on Stalingrad before the battle started because it was the industrial center for Russia
-Russia lost about 200,000 men
-In February Russia regained control over Stalingrad and won the battle -
D-Day
-D-day began on June 6, 1944
-Battle of Normandy was known as D-day
-Allied Troops were able to get rid of Nazi Germany In Western Europe
- Code name for this operation was "operation overload"
-This was the largest military assaults in history
-The following Spring the allies were able to defeat Germany
-During D-day there were 12,000 casualties on Omaha Beach
-156,000 Americans were able to take over Normandy beaches
-4,000 allied troops lost their lives -
Allied Troops Free Paris
-Allied troops free Paris starting on August 24, 1944
-They were fighting to take back Paris from Germany
-During the time when Germany occupied Paris there many men who were in the resistance and when they heard that the allied troops came in the resistance came out of hiding and started to attack German officers.
-On August 25, 1944 Germany surrendered Paris to America and this battle ended the 4 year occupation of Paris for Germany. -
US Troops Land on Philippines
-US troops land in the Philippines on January 9,1945
- Douglas MacArthur, who was the commander of the the US troops that were in the South Pacific landed in Luzon, Philippines
- The Philippines was such an important place because of its strategic location, but its had been control by Japan since 1942.
-Japan stationed 430,000 troops throughout the Philippines so they wouldn’t lose the chain of Islands, but the US ended up winning. -
US Captures Iwo Jima
-The US captures Iwo Jima on February 19, 1945.
- It would be used for planes to land and take off
- The Marines were the first ones to land there It was expected to take a week to take over the island but that did not happen.
-The first day of battle 30,000 marines landed on the island. When they landed they were attacked so they had thought they the bombs had killed most Japanese.
-After the 36 days of fighting the US had taken over and raised the flag on top of the mountain -
Battle Captures Okinawa
-The US Captured Okinawa on April 1, 1945.
-The battle of Okinawa was the last major battle of WW2 it was the bloodiest battle in the Pacific.
-They need to win the war in the first east and the last thing they needed was Okinawa.
- Around 180,000 US Army and Marine corps took off to the pacific island.
- It resulted with over 100,000 Japanese casualties and 50,000 allied casualties.
-This invasion was also apart of the Operation Iceberg -
Hitler Commits Suicide
-Hitler committed suicide on April 30, 1945
-Hitler was in a bunker under his house in Berlin
-He committed suicide by swallowing a cyanide capsule and shooting himself
-Shortly after German heard the news they surrendered to all allies
-German became weak and lost the Battle of Stalingrad. -
VE Day
-VE day was on may 8, 1945.
-VE day is victory in Europe day.
-It is when Germany surrendered to all allied forces.
- It was celebrated as a public holiday in the US.
-On this day millions of people celebrated Allied victory in Europe.
-Hitler committing suicide was the cause of VE day because Germany had surrendered to all allied forces. -
Atomic Bomb Dropped on Hiroshima
-The Atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945.
-Paul Tibbets who flew the B-29 bomber dropped the bomb on Hiroshima.
-The city of Hiroshima was chosen as a target to bomb because of its military importance.
-The explosion killed about 90 percent of the population and killed many more after because of radiation exposure.
- He made the decision to drop the bombs on strategic cities.
-His intentions were to save Americans lives. -
Atomic Bomb Dropped on Nagaskai
-The Atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki on August 6, 1945.
-The code name for this bomb was “fat boy”.
-Nagasaki was a ship building center.
-This killed between 40,000 and 80,000 people
- Japan would finally surrender after these bombs were dropped on both Hiroshima and Nagasaki
- This would be the second bomb to be dropped that day.
-It was bigger than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. -
Japan Formally Surrenders to US
-By late summer of 1945 the defeat of Japan was most definite.
-The bombing in Japan left the country and economy in such devastation.
-With such devastation it left Japan one choice and that was to surrender.
-On Sunday September 2, about 250 allied forces anchored in Tokyo Bay where Japan would formally surrender.
- Flags of Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States stood on the deck of Missouri.
-Minister Normoru Shigemitsu signed for the Japanese government.
