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Hitler Invades Norway
Nazi germany invasion of Norway!Norway was invaded by Nazi Germany on April 9th 1940. Hitler had issued the order for the invasion of Norway on March 1st under the code word “Weserübung”. The order also included the invasion and occupation of Denmark. It was the start of war in Western Europe - and an end to the 'Phoney War'. -
Winston Churchill Becomes Britain's Prime Minister
Winston Churchill becomes British Prime Minister for the second time, London, England. Friday 10 May 1940 was one of the most dramatic days in British history. The government was in disarray as Winston Churchill became PM and, on the continent, Germany ended the Phoney War by invading the Low Countries. -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor Day AttackOn the morning of December 7, 1941, the Japanese launched a surprise air attack on the U.S. Naval Base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. After just two hours of bombing, more than 2,400 Americans were dead, 21 ships had either been sunk or damaged, and more than 188 U.S. aircraft destroyed. -
Declaration of U.N. Signed
U.N. Universal Declaration of Human RightsOn New Year’s Day 1942, President Roosevelt, Prime Minister Churchill, Maxim Litvinov, of the USSR, and T. V. Soong, of China, signed a short document which later came to be known as the United Nations Declaration and the next day the representatives of twenty-two other nations added their signatures. This important document pledged the signatory governments to the maximum war effort and bound them against making a separate peace. -
Car Production in U.S. Stops
American Industrial Production During WW2Car materials and manufacturing plants were dedicated to the production of war items during wwII. -
Bataan Death March
The Bataan Death March and CampsAfter the April 9, 1942, U.S. surrender of the Bataan Peninsula on the main Philippine island of Luzon to the Japanese during World War II (1939-45), the approximately 75,000 Filipino and American troops on Bataan were forced to make an arduous 65-mile march to prison camps. The marchers made the trek in intense heat and were subjected to harsh treatment by Japanese guards. Thousands perished in what became known as the Bataan Death March. -
Rationing of Food in U.S. Starts
Smithsonian Education - Idealabs: U.S. Rationing During WWIIDuring the Second World War, you couldn't just walk into a shop and buy as much sugar or butter or meat as you wanted, nor could you fill up your car with gasoline whenever you liked. All these things were rationed, which meant you were only allowed to buy a small amount (even if you could afford more). The government introduced rationing because certain things were in short supply during the war, and rationing was the only way to make sure everyone got their fair share. -
Casablanca Conference
Casablanca ConferenceThe Casablanca Conference was a meeting between U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in the city of Casablanca, Morocco that took place from January 14–24, 1943. The most notable developments at the Conference were the finalization of Allied strategic plans against the Axis powers -
Invasion of Normandy on D-Day
D-DayJune 6, 1944, 160,000 Allied troops landed along a 50-mile stretch of heavily-fortified French coastline to fight Nazi Germany on the beaches of Normandy, France. More than 5,000 Ships and 13,000 aircraft supported the D-Day invasion, and by day’s end on June 6, the Allies gained a foot- hold in Normandy. The D-Day cost was more than 9,000 Allied Soldiers. -
Battle of the Bulge
WWII in HD: Battle of the Bulge As the Allies attempted to penetrate across the western border of Germany in late 1944, the Germans tried one last gambit to reverse their fortunes. Operation “Watch on the Rhine” was intended to split British and US forces in northern France. -
Yalta Conference
Churchill, Stalin and Roosevelt meet in YaltaThe Yalta Conference took place in a Russian resort town in the Crimea from February 4–11, 1945, during World War Two. At Yalta, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin made important decisions regarding the future progress of the war and the postwar world. -
FDR Dies
FDR Dies, 1945At 1 PM on April 12, FDR grabbed his head complaining of a sharp pain. The president was suffering a massive cerebral hemorrhage that would end his life. -
Hitler Commits Suicide
Hitler Commits Suicide Held up in a bunker under his headquarters in Berlin, Adolf Hitler commits suicide by swallowing a cyanide capsule and shooting himself in the head. Soon after, Germany unconditionally surrendered to the Allied forces, ending Hitler's dreams of a "1,000-year" Reich. -
Holocaust Ends
Disturbed - Never Again With the combination of Hitler's death and America's pressure, Europe surrenders. -
U.S. drops bomb on Hiroshima
U.S. Drops Atomic Bomb On Hiroshima, Japan The United States becomes the first and only nation to use atomic weaponry during wartime when it drops an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Though the dropping of the atomic bomb on Japan marked the end of World War II, many historians argue that it also ignited the Cold War. -
U.S. Drops Bomb on Nagasaki
Atomic bombing of Nagasaki A second atom bomb is dropped on Japan by the United States, at Nagasaki, resulting finally in Japan's unconditional surrender. -
Japan Surrenders
HD Stock Footage WWII Japanese Surrender USS Missouri Aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, after the bombs are dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan formally surrenders to the Allies, bringing an end to World War II. -
ENIAC Completed
ENIAC: The First Computer ENIAC was the first electronic general-purpose computer. It was Turing-complete, digital, and capable of being reprogrammed to solve "a large class of numerical problems". -
First Meeting of the U.N.
First Filming Of UN In Session (1946)The first General Assembly of the United Nations, comprising 51 nations, convenes at Westminster Central Hall in London, England. -
Jackie Robinson Joins the Dodgers
Jackie Robinson Documentary Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey announced he had purchased the contract of Jackie Robinson, setting the stage for Robinson to break Major League Baseball’s color barrier. -
India and Pakistan Gain Independence from Britain
India and Pakistan Gain IndependenceThe Indian Independence Bill, which carves the independent nations of India and Pakistan out of the former Mogul Empire, comes into force at the stroke of midnight. The long-awaited agreement ended 200 years of British rule and was hailed by Indian independence leader Mohandas Gandhi as the "noblest act of the British nation." -
Chuck Yeager Becomes First to Break the Sound Barrier
Chuck Yeager Breaks The Sound BarrierU.S. Air Force Captain Chuck Yeager becomes the first person to fly faster than the speed of sound, 761 Mph. -
Gandhi is Assassinated
Eyewitness: Mahatma Gandhi AssassinationMohandas Karamchand Gandhi, the political and spiritual leader of the Indian independence movement, is assassinated in New Delhi by a Hindu fanatic. -
Nation of Israel Proclaimed
Jewish Agency Chairman David Ben-Gurion proclaims the State of Israel, establishing the first Jewish state in 2,000 years. -
Cease Fire in Palestine
Exchange Of Prisoners Of War In PalestineThe 1949 Armistice Agreements are a set of agreements signed during 1949 between Israel and neighboring Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria. The agreements ended the official hostilities of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and established Armistice Demarcation Lines between Israeli forces and the forces in Jordanian-held West Bank. -
Communist People's Republic of China Proclaimed
Mao's Communists Take Over ChinaNaming himself head of state, communist revolutionary Mao Zedong officially proclaims the existence of the People's Republic of China.
