World War 2

  • Treaty of Versailles

    Treaty of Versailles

    the main peace treaty that ended World War I, signed by Germany and the Allied powers on June 28, 1919
  • Japan Invades Manchuria

    Japan Invades Manchuria

    The Empire of Japan's Kwantung Army invaded the Manchuria region of the Republic of China on 18 September 1931, immediately following the Mukden incident
  • Holocaust

    Holocaust

    The Holocaust known in Hebrew as the Shoah was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators
  • Italy Invades Ethiopia

    Italy Invades Ethiopia

    Italy invaded Ethiopia in October 1935, a war that led to the Italian occupation in 1936 and was a precursor to World War II. The invasion was driven by Fascist leader Benito Mussolini's
  • german Remilitarization of Rhineland

    german Remilitarization of Rhineland

    The remilitarisation of the Rhineland began on 7 March 1936, when military forces of Nazi Germany entered the Rhineland, which directly contravened
  • Anschluss

    Anschluss

    The idea of an Anschluss (a united Austria and Germany that would form a "Greater Germany") [b] arose after the 1871 unification of Germany.
  • The Evian Conference

    The Evian Conference

    Between 1933 and 1941, the Nazis aimed to make Germany judenrein (cleansed of Jews) by making life so difficult for them that they would be forced to leave the country. By 1938, about 150,000 German Jews
  • Munich Conference

    Munich Conference

    The Munich Agreement was reached in Munich on 30 September 1938, by Nazi Germany, the United Kingdom, France and Italy.
  • The Wagner-Rogers Bill

    The Wagner-Rogers Bill

    a 1939 U.S. bill that proposed admitting 20,000 German refugee children into the country outside of existing immigration quotas, but it failed to pass
  • The MS St. Louis

    The MS St. Louis

    a German passenger liner famously known for its 1939 voyage where it was denied entry to Cuba and the United States, forcing its Jewish passengers to return to Europe
  • Nazi-Soviet Pact

    Nazi-Soviet Pact

    The Nazi-Soviet Pact, signed on August 23, 1939, directly led to the invasion of Poland by allowing Germany to attack without fearing Soviet intervention. A secret protocol in the pact divided Poland into German and Soviet spheres of influence.
  • Invasion of Poland

    Invasion of Poland

    The aim of the invasion was to disestablish Poland as a sovereign country, with its citizens destined for extermination. German and Slovak forces invaded
  • Battle of the Atlantic

    Battle of the Atlantic

    The Battle of the Atlantic pitted U-boats and other warships of the German Kriegsmarine (Navy) and aircraft of the Luftwaffe (Air Force) against the Royal Navy
  • Cash and Carry

    Cash and Carry

    a policy established by the U.S. Neutrality Act of 1939 that allowed warring nations to purchase goods, including arms, from the United States
  • Battle of Britain

    Battle of Britain

    The British officially recognise the battle's duration as being from 10 July until 31 October 1940, which overlaps the period of large-scale night attacks
  • Destroyers for Bases Agreement

    Destroyers for Bases Agreement

    The destroyers-for-bases deal was an agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom on 2 September 1940
  • Blitzkrieg

    Blitzkrieg

    a World War II military tactic characterized by a swift, coordinated attack using mobile forces like tanks and motorized infantry, supported by close air support from the Luftwaffe
  • Lend and Lease

    Lend and Lease

    The term "Lend-Lease" most commonly refers to the Lend-Lease Act of 1941, a U.S. World War II program that provided military aid (like weapons, ships, and food) to Allied nations whose defense was vital to the U.S.
  • Atlantic Charter

    Atlantic Charter

    The Atlantic Charter was a joint statement by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in August 1941, outlining their goals for the post-World War II world
  • Pearl Harbor

    Pearl Harbor

    The Pearl Harbor National Memorial honors the lives affected by the December 7, 1941 attack, a pivotal moment in history. Museums and ground
  • Battle of Coral Sea

    Battle of Coral Sea

    The Battle of the Coral Sea, from 4 to 8 May 1942, was a major naval battle between the Imperial Japanese Navy and naval and air forces of the United
  • Battle of Midway

    Battle of Midway

    The Battle of Midway was a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II that took place on 4–7 June 1942
  • War Refugee Board

    War Refugee Board

    a U.S. government agency created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in January 1944 to rescue and provide relief to Jews and other victims of Nazi persecution
  • Operation Overlord

    Operation Overlord

    Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Europe
  • Battle of the Bulge

    Battle of the Bulge

    The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive or Unternehmen Wacht am Rhein, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front
  • Liberation of Buchenwald

    Liberation of Buchenwald

    The camp gained notoriety when it was liberated by the United States Army in April 1945; Allied commander Dwight D. Eisenhower visited one of its subcamps
  • Battle of Okinawa

    Battle of Okinawa

    The 82-day battle on Okinawa lasted from 1 April 1945 until 22 June 1945. After a long campaign of island hopping, the Allies were planning to use Kadena Air
  • Hiroshima Little Boy

    Hiroshima Little Boy

    The design was highly inefficient: the weapon used on Hiroshima contained 64 kilograms (141 lb) of uranium, but less than a kilogram underwent nuclear fission.
  • Nagasaki Fat Man

    Nagasaki Fat Man

    A Fat Man device was detonated over the Japanese city of Nagasaki on 9 August 1945. It was the second and larger of the only two nuclear weapons ever used
  • V-J Day

    V-J Day

    Victory over Japan Day (also known as V-J Day, Victory in the Pacific Day, or V-P Day) is the day on which Imperial Japan surrendered ; 15 August is the official
  • United Nations

    United Nations

    an intergovernmental organization established in 1945 with a mission to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among states, promote international cooperation, and serve as a center for harmonizing the actions of nations
  • Nuremberg Trials

    Nuremberg Trials

    The Nuremberg trials were held by the Allies against leaders of the defeated Nazi Germany for plotting and carrying out invasions of other countries
  • Truman Doctrine

    Truman Doctrine

    The Truman Doctrine was a U.S. foreign policy established in 1947 that committed the United States to supporting "free peoples" against communist aggression through military and economic aid. Announced by President Harry S
  • Marshall Plan

    Marshall Plan

    a U.S. initiative to provide foreign aid to Western European countries after World War II, totaling $13.3 billion between 1948 and 1951 to help rebuild their economies
  • Universal Declaration of Human Rights

    Universal Declaration of Human Rights

    It sets out, for the first time, fundamental human rights to be universally protected and it has been translated into over 500 languages.
  • NATO

    NATO

    The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 32 member states—30 in Europe and 2 in North America. Founded in the aftermath of World War II, NATO was established with the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty in 1949.