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Adolf Hitler's rise to power in Germany
In Germany HItler had followed a path to power similar to Mussolini's. At the end of world war 1 Hitler had been jobless solider drifting around Germany. In 1919 he joined a struggling group called the National Socialist German worker's party better known as the Nazi party. He soon became such a powerful leader that he became a public speaker and organizer that he quickly became the party leader and promised to bring Germany out of chaos. -
Mein Kampf
Adolf Hitler wrote a book called Mein Kampf ( My struggle ), Hitler set forth the basic beliefs of Nazism that became the plan of action for the Nazi party. -
Benito Mussolini's fascist government in Italy
Benito Mussolini was establishing a totalitarian regime in Italy, where unemployment and inflation produced bitter strikes, some communist led. Due to the threats and fear middle and upper class demanded stronger leadership Mussolini took advantage of the situation and played the fears and economic collapse and communism. By 1921, Mussolini had established the Fascist Party. Fascism stressed nationalism and placed the interests of the state above those of individuals. -
Japanese invasion of Manchuria
Ignoring the protests of more moderate Japanese officials, the militarists launched a surprise attack and seized control of
the Chinese province of Manchuria in 1931. Within several months, Japanese troops controlled the entire province, a large region about twice the size of Texas, that was rich in natural resources. -
Storm troopers
Storm troopers were men who were unemployed and turned to Hitler to their last hope. Storm troopers were specialist soldiers of the German Army in world war 1 last years of war they were trained to fight with infiltration tactics part of the Germans new method of attack on enemy trenches. -
Third Reich
Hitler established the Third Reich or Third German empire. According to Hitler the, Third Reich would be a ''Thousand- Year Reich'' - it would last for a thousand years. -
Hitler's military build up in Germany
In 1933, Hitler pulled Germany out of the League. In 1935, he began a military buildup in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. A year later, he sent troops into the Rhineland, a German region bordering France and Belgium that was demilitarized as a result of the Treaty of Versailles. -
Hitler invades the Rhineland
A year later,HItler sent troops into the Rhineland, a German region bordering France and Belgium that was demilitarized as a result of the Treaty of Versailles. -
Mussolini's invasion of Ethiopia
Mussolini's first target was Ethiopia one of Africa's few remaining independent countries. By the fall of 1935 ten of thousand italian soldiers stood ready to advance of Ethiopia. When the invasion began the League Of Nations response was an ineffective boycott it did nothing. By May 1936, Ethiopia had fallen. In desperation,Haile Selassie, the ousted Ethiopian emperor, appealed to the League for assistance but nothing was done. -
Francisco Franco
In 1936, a group of Spanish army officers led by General Francisco Franco, rebelled against the Spanish republic. Soon revolts broke out all over Spain, and the Spanish civil war began. The war aroused all around the war about 3,000 Americans formed the Abraham Lincoln Battalion and traveled to Spain to fight against Franco. Francisco was a spanish general and politician who ruled over Spain as a dictator. -
Francisco Franco part 2
. The Western democracies remained neutral. Although the Soviet Union sent equipment and advisers, Hitler and Mussolini backed Franco’s forces with troops weapons, tanks, and fighter planes. The war forged a close relationship between the German and Italian dictators, who signed a formal alliance known as the Rome-Berlin Axis.After a loss of almost 500,000 lives, Franco’s victory in 1939
established him as Spain’s fascist dictator. Once again a totalitarian
government ruled in Europe. -
Rome-Berlin Axis
The war forged a closer relationship between the German and Italian dictators, who signed a formal alliance known as the Rome-Berlin Axis. After a loss of almost 500,000 lives, Franco’s victory in 1939 established him as Spain’s fascist dictator. Once again a
totalitarian government ruled in Europe. -
Hitler's Anschluss
On March 12, 1938, German troops marched into Austria unopposed. A day later, Germany announced that its Anschluss, or “union,” with Austria was complete. The United States and the rest of the world did nothing. -
Munich Agreement
On September 30, 1938, they signed the Munich Agreement, which turned the Sudetenland over to Germany without a single shot being fired.It was a settlement by Germany, Great Britain, France and Italy that permitted German annexation of the, Sudetenland, in Western Czechoslovakia. -
Joseph Stalin's totalitarian government in the Soviet Union
Joseph took control over his country and focused on creating a model communist state, in doing so he made both agricultural and industrial growth the prime economic goals of the soviet Union. By 1939, Stalin had firmly established a totalitarian government that tried to expert complete control over its citizens. In a totalitarian state, individuals have no rights, and the government suppresses all opposition. -
Blizkrieg
This invasion was the first test of Germany’s newest military strategy, the blitzkrieg, or lightning war. Blitzkrieg made use of advances in military technology—such as fast tanks and
more powerful aircraft—to take the enemy by surprise and then quickly crush all opposition with overwhelming force. -
Britain and France declare war on each other
On September 3, two days following the terror in Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany. The blitzkrieg tactics worked perfectly. Major fighting was over in three weeks, long before France, Britain, and their allies could mount a defense. Britain and France declared war on Germany due to the invasion of Poland. -
Nonaggression pact
As tensions rose over Poland, Stalin surprised everyone by signing a nonaggression pact with Hitler. On August 23, 1939 fascist Germany and communist Russia now committed never to attack each other. Germany and the Soviet Union also signed a second, secret pact, agreeing to divide Poland between them. The two countries agreed to take no military action against each other for the next 10 years. -
HItler's invasion on Denmark and Norway
Suddenly, on April 9, 1940, Hitler launched a surprise invasion
of Denmark and Norway in order “to protect [those countries’] freedom and independence.” But in truth, Hitler planned to build bases along the coasts to strike at Great Britain. -
Phony War
For the next several months after the fall of Poland,
French and British troops on the Maginot Line, a system of fortifications built along France’s eastern border, sat staring into Germany, waiting for something to happen. The phony war was an eight month period were there was only one military land operation and nothing happened. -
HItler's invasion of the Netherlands
Next, Hitler turned against the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg, which were overrun by the end of May. The phony war had ended. -
Germany and Italy's invasion of France
A few days later, Italy entered the war on the side of
Germany and invaded France from the south as the
Germans closed in on Paris from the north. On June 22,
1940, at Compiègne, as William Shirer and the rest of the
world watched, Hitler handed French officers his terms of
surrender. -
Marshal Philippe Petain
Germans would occupy the northern part of
France, and a Nazi-controlled puppet government, headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain, would be set up at Vichy,
in southern France. -
The Battle of Britain
On a single day—August 15—approximately 2,000 German planes ranged over Britain. Every night for two solid months, bombers pounded London. The Battle of Britain raged on through the summer and fall. Night after night, German planes pounded British targets. At first the Luftwaffe concentrated on airfields and aircraft. Next it targeted cities. -
Lend-Lease Act
By late 1940, however, Britain had no more cash to spend in the arsenal of democracy. Roosevelt tried to help by suggesting a new plan that he called a lend-lease policy. Under this plan, the president would lend or lease arms and other supplies to “any country whose defense was vital to the United States.” -
Pearl Harbor Attack
Early the next morning,a Japanese dive-bomber swooped low over Pearl Harbor—the largest U.S. naval base in the Pacific. The bomber was followed by more than 180 Japanese warplanes launched from six aircraft carriers. As the first Japanese bombs found their targets, a radio operator flashed this
message: “Air raid on Pearl Harbor. This is not a drill.”
For an hour and a half, the Japanese planes were barely disturbed by U.S. antiaircraft guns and blasted target after target. -
Office of Price Administration
Because of the war and supplies decreasing many people and consumers were demanding goods. Roosevelt responded to this threat by creating the Office of Price Administration. . The OPA fought inflation by freezing prices on most goods. Congress also raised income tax rates and extended the tax to millions of people who had never paid it before. The higher taxes reduced consumer demand on scarce goods by leaving workers with less to spend. -
Pearl Harbor Attack part 2
In less than two hours, the Japanese had killed 2,403
Americans and wounded 1,178 more. The surprise raid had
sunk or damaged 21 ships, including 8 battleships—nearly
the whole U.S. Pacific fleet. More than 300 aircraft were
severely damaged or destroyed. These losses constituted
greater damage than the U.S. Navy had suffered in all of
World War I. By chance, three aircraft carriers at sea
escaped the disaster. Their survival would prove crucial to
the war’s outcome. -
Office of Price Administration part 2
n addition the government encouraged Americans to use their extra
cash to buy war bonds. As a result of these measures, inflation remained below 30 percent—about half that of World
War I—for the entire period of World War II. -
Battle of the Atlantic
The German aim in the Battle of the Atlantic was to prevent food and war materials from reaching Great Britain and the Soviet Union. In the first four months of 1942, the Germans sank 87 ships off the Atlantic shore. Seven months into the year, German wolf packs had destroyed a total of 681 Allied ships in the Atlantic. Something had to be done or the war at sea would be lost. -
Operation Torch
While the Battle of Stalingrad raged, Stalin pressured Britain and America to open a “second front” in Western Europe. He argued
that an invasion across the English Channel would force Hitler to divert troops from the Soviet front. Churchill and Roosevelt didn’t think the Allies had enough troops to attempt an invasion on European soil. Instead, they launched Operation Torch, an invasion of Axis-controlled North Africa, commanded by American General Dwight D. Eisenhower. -
Women's Auxiliary Army Corps part 2
The law gave the WAACs an official status and salary but few of the benefits granted to male soldiers. In July 1943, after thousands of women had enlisted, the U.S. Army dropped the “auxiliary” status, and granted WACs full U.S. Army benefits. WACs worked as nurses, ambulance drivers, radio operators, electricians, and
pilots—nearly every duty not involving direct combat. -
War Productions Boards
The War Production Board (WPB) assumed that responsibility.
The WPB decided which companies would convert from
peacetime to wartime production and allocated raw materials to key industries. The WPB also organized drives to collect scrap iron, tin cans, paper, rags, and cooking fat for recycling into war goods. -
Battle of the Atlantic
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hitler ordered submarine raids against ships along America’s east coast. The German
aim in the Battle of the Atlantic was to prevent food and war materials from reaching Great Britain and the Soviet Union.In the first four months of 1942, the Germans sank 87 ships
off the Atlantic shore. Seven months into the
year, German wolf packs had destroyed a total of 681 Allied ships in the Atlantic. Something had to be done or the war at
sea would be lost. -
Battle of Stalingrad part 1
In the summer of 1942, the Germans took the offensive in the southern Soviet Union. Hitler hoped to capture Soviet oil fields in the Caucasus Mountains. He also wanted to wipe out Stalingrad, a major industrial center on the Volga River. The German army confidently approached Stalingrad in August 1942 The Luftwaffe—the German air force—prepared the way with nightly bombing raids over the city. Nearly every wooden building in Stalingrad was set ablaze. -
Battle of Stalingrad part 2
The situation looked so desperate that Soviet officers in Stalingrad recommended blowing up the city’s factories and abandoning the city. For weeks the Germans pressed in on Stalingrad, conquering it house by house in brutal hand-to-hand combat. By the end of September, they controlled nine-tenths of the city—or what was left of it. Another winter set in Soviets saw the cold as an opportunity to roll fresh tanks across the frozen landscape and begin a massive counterattack. -
Women's Auxiliary Army Corps
The military’s work force needs were so great that Army Chief of Staff General George Marshall pushed for the formation of a Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC). Marshal said that there are duties that are being performed by soldiers that are be done better by women. Marshal in support of this there is a bill to help establish the Women's Auxiliary Army corps. Under this bill, women volunteers would serve in noncombat positions. The WAAC became a law on May 15 1942. -
Internment
General Delos Emmons, However, he was eventually forced
to order the internment, or confinement, of 1,444 Japanese Americans, 1 percent of Hawaii’s Japanese-American population. -
Manhattan Project
Roosevelt responded by creating an Advisory Committee on Uranium to study the new discovery. In 1941, the committee reported that it would take from three to five years to build an atomic bomb. To shorten that time, the OSRD set an intensive program in 1942 to develop a bomb as quickly as possible. Because much of the early research was performed at Columbia University in Manhattan, the Manhattan Project became the code name for research work that extended across the country. -
Unconditional surrender
At this meeting, two leaders agreed to accept only the unconditional surrender of the Axis powers. That is, enemy nations would have to accept whatever terms of peace Allies dictated. The two leaders also discussed where to strike next. The Americans argued that the best approach to victory was to assemble a massive invasion fleet in Britain and to launch it across the English Channel, through France, and into the heart of Germany. Churchill, thought be safer to first attack Italy -
U.S convoy system
The Allies responded by organizing their cargo ships into convoys. Convoys were groups of ships traveling together for mutual protection, as they had done in the First World War. The convoys were escorted across the Atlantic by destroyers equipped with sonar for detecting submarines underwater. Accompanied by airplanes that used radar to spot U-boats on the ocean’s surface.Improved tracking, Allies were able to find and destroy German U boats faster than the Germans could build them. -
The Battle of the Bulge part 2
Elite German troops—the SS troopers—herded the prisoners into a large field and mowed them down with machine guns and pistols.
The battle raged for a month. When it was over, the Germans had been pushed back, and little seemed to have changed. But, in fact, events had taken a decisive turn. The Germans had lost 120,000 troops, 600 tanks and assault guns, and 1,600 planes in the Battle of the Bulge—soldiers and weapons they could not replace. Nazi had to retreat. -
Bloody Anzio
This battle, “Bloody Anzio,” lasted four months—until the end of May 1944—and left about 25,000 Allied and 30,000 Axis casualties. During the year after Anzio, German armies continued to put up strong resistance. The effort to free Italy did not succeed until
1945, when Germany itself was close to collapse -
D- Day
The Allied invasion, code-named Operation Overlord, was originally set for June 5, but bad weather forced a delay. Banking on a forecast for clearing skies, Eisenhower gave the go-ahead for D-Day—June 6, 1944, the first day of the invasion. Shortly after midnight, three divisions parachuted down behind German lines. They were followed in the early morning hours by thousands upon thousands of seaborne soldiers—the largest land-sea-air operation in army history. -
D- Day part 2
Despite the massive air and sea bombardment by the Allies, German retaliation was brutal, particularly at Omaha Beach Despite heavy casualties, the Allies held the beachheads. After seven days of fighting, the Allies held an 80-mile strip of France. Within a month, they had landed a million troops, 567,000 tons of supplies, and 170,000 vehicles in France. Many people were yelling and screaming there was blood everywhere and people were dropping. -
Korematsu V. United States
In 1944, the Supreme Court decided, in Korematsu v. United States, that the government’s policy of evacuating Japanese
Americans to camps was justified on the basis of “military necessity. -
The Battle of the Bulge
On December 16, under cover of dense fog, eight German tank divisions broke through weak American defenses along an 80-mile front. Hitler hoped that a victory would split American and British forces and break up Allied supply lines. Tanks drove 60 miles into Allied territory, creating a bulge in the lines that gave this desperate last ditch offensive its name, the Battle of the Bulge. Germans swept westward, captured 120 American GIs near Malmédy. -
V-E Day
On May 8, 1945, the Allies celebrated V-E Day—Victory in
Europe Day. The war in Europe was finally over. -
Harry s. Truman
Harry was the 33rd president of the United States from 1945 to 1953, succeeding upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt after serving as vice president. He implemented the Marshall Plan to rebuild the economy of Western Europe, and established the Truman Doctrine and NATO. By September 1944, the Allies had freed France, Belgium, and Luxembourg.Helped elect Franklin Roosevelt to an unprecedented fourth term in November, along with his running mate, Senator Harry S. Truman. -
Death of Hitler
On April 29, he married Eva Braun, his longtime companion. The same day, he wrote out his last address to the German people in it be blamed the jews for starting the war and and his generals for losing it. The next day Hitler shot himself while his new wife swallowed poison. In accordance with Hitler’s orders, the two bodies were carried outside, soaked with gasoline, and burned.
