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Adolf Hitler becomes the leader of the National Socialist (Nazi) Party on July 29th, 1921.
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On October 31st, 1922, Benito Mussolini is appointed as the Prime Minister of Italy.
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On December 6th, 1929, Josef Stalin is the one dictator of the USSR.
*Don't know the exact date, only that he came to power after the previous leader had a stroke. -
Japan's army seizes Manchuria, China.
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On January 30th, 1933, Adolf Hitler, leader of the Nazi Party, was named Chancellor of Germany.
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On May 1st, 1935, Congress passes the Neutrality Act, which was supposed to keep the United States neutral during World War II.
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On October 3rd, 1935, the Italian army invades the African country of Ethiopia.
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Hitler sends German troops into the Rhineland of Germany, violating the Versailles Treaty.
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In 1936, Militarists take control of the Japanese government, turning the country into a "war machine."
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Japan's newly militarized army invades and pillages Nanjing, China, killing over a quarter of a million people there. Goes on for two months.
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The leaders of Britain and France meet with Adolf Hitler of Germany to discuss Germany's demand for the Sudentenland of Czechoslavakia. Germany is given the Sudetenland to get "peace with honor", but the Czechs are not consulted about this decision.
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The Munich Pact is signed, giving the Sudentenland, formerly of Czechoslovakia, back to Germany.
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In 1938, Nazis begin rounding up Jewish citizens and deporting them to labor camps. Kristallnact is the night of the broken glass. During it, 7,500 Jewish businesses are looted, 191 synagogues are set on fire, almost 100 Jews are killed, and many more are deported.
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Germany and Russian representatives sign the Nazi-Soviet Pact, which is an agreement that the two countries will not attack one another.
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The Nazis invade Poland. As a result, Britain and France declare war on Germany. The beginning of World War II.
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(March - June 25) Hitler invades the Allied nation of France and it is forced to surrender. France is divided into occupied and unoccupied zones.
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The Nazis invade Norway, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Denmark, and Belgium, taking control of each.
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During The Battle of Britain, the British Royal Air Force defeats Germany's Air Force to prevent the invasion of their island. Ends October 31st.
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To boost military strength, the United States begins a draft for able men to serve in the military, even though they are still neutral in World War II and in a peacetime.
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Hitler breaks the Nazi-Soviet Pact with the Russia, Stalin's country, and invades. The USSR then joins England fighting against the Germans.
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President Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of Great Britain, meet on a British battleship and write up the Atlantic Charter.
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(22-26) The Japanese army invades French Indochina. (Viet. Laos, Cambodia.)
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U.S. naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, is attacked by Japanese Naval and Air forces. As a result, the U.S. declares war on Japan, and its allies Germany and Italy declare war on the U.S. two days later. The attack destroyed aircraft and naval vessels of the United States, and killed 2,355 of its service men and 68 civillians.
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Japanese American citizens are deported to intern camps within the United States because of discrimination and distrust against them over the course of the year of 1942.
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The Philippines fall to the nation of Japan after an invasion by Japan's military forces. A result of this is the Bataan Death March.
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(Jun 4 - 7) The Battle of Midway was a turning point in the war in the Pacific, the end result being the Japanese no longer having control of the Pacific.
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(Goes from August 23 1942 to February 2 1943.)
The Nazis attempt to invade Russia at Stalingrad and take Moscow, Russia's capital, but the Russian troops stop their advance and save the capital. -
In North Africa, British and U.S. forces defeat those of Germany and Italy, who had invaded earlier in the war.
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Zoot Suit Riots take place in Los Angeles, California throughout June of 1943.
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Italy surrenders to the Allied forces and Benito Mussolini is dismissed as its Prime Minister.
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The Allies invade France at Normandy. The invasion is called D-Day.
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The French city of Paris is taken back from German occupation by the Allied Forces.
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(December 16th, 1944 - January 25th, 1945.) The Battle of the Bulge was the last offensive attack by Germany's forces. Allied forces win and continue to be on the offensive against Germany.
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United States forces return to the Philippines, which had previously fallen to Japan, and fight to reclaim them.
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President Franklin D. Roosevelt dies and his Vice President, Harry S. Truman, steps up to the position of President.
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V-E (Victory in Europe) Day. World War II is over in Europe. Prisoners in concentration camps are liberated.
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(6-9) First Atomic Bombs dropped on the nation of Japan by U.S. aircrafts. First one is on Hiroshima, August 6th and the second is on Nagasaki, August 9th.
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V-J (Victory in Japan) Day. Japan surrenders to the Allied forces, partially due to the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki several days prior.
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For the first time, War Crimes Trials are held. After World War II comes to an end, the trials are held in Nuremburg, Germany; Manila, Philippines and Tokyo, Japan.
