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The Holocaust
The holocaust began as seperation of the Jews from the Germans, but quickly became genocide. The Nazi Army began taking the Jews out of the ghettos and sending them to concentration camps where they would either work or be killed. The majority of women and children were killed instantly and men would be sent to work unless there was something wrong with them. Aproximately six million Jewish people were killed during the Holocaust. -
Munich Conference
The Munich Conference was held on September 29, 1938 so European countries could meet with Hitler about his most recent annexation and his plans for the future. The leaders of France, Italy, Germany, and Great Britain met in Munich so they cna discuss the German annexation of The Sudetanland. He could only annex the Sudetenland if he promised not to invade any other parts of Czechoslovakia. -
Non-Aggression Pact
The non-aggression pact between Germany and Soviet Unionn was to maintain peace in Europe. Germany broke the pact in June of 1941 when they invadeed the Soviet Union.Joseph Stalin saw the pact as a way to keep peace with Germany and allowed him enough time to build up his military. The pact also had a secret agreement that the two nations would divide up the rest of Europe. -
Germany invades Poland
After signing a non-aggresion pact with Poland in January of 1934, he breaks the pact and he invades them. Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939 to annex territories they lost to the Treaty of Versailles. Germany occupied the remainder of Poland when they invaded the Soviet Union in 1941. -
Japan invades China
The Japanese invaded China and said it was because they were fired upon by Chinese troops. The Chinese put up little resistnace due to the fact that they weren't ready to fight. Within five months of fighting, over one million Chinese people had died. -
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Blitzkreig
Blitzkreig was the German's air force battle tactic. It means lightning war in English. The German air force would try and send every unit in at once and surprise the British army and defeat them quickly. It didn't necessarilly work. -
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Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain was the first all air battle of WWII. Germans used the Blitzkreig battle tactic to try and defeat the British forces.The German forces saw this victory as a prelude to invade Britain. The battle lasted from July to October of 1940. -
Lend-Lease Act
The Kend-Lease Act provided the U.S. with a way to lend military supplies to Allied powers without vioating the Neutrality Acts. The US would send military equipment to Great Britain when they needed it without the need for payment.Many people feared that allowing the US to send arms to Great Britain would take us one step closer to war, and it did. -
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Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the name given to the German invasion of Russia. The Germans attacked in three groups, Army Group North, Army Group Centre, and Army Group South. Although Russia had a larger army, they were suffering many fatalities.Hitler's primary target in the invasion was Moscow. -
Pearl Harbor
On December 7, 1941, the Japanese military flew over to Hawaii and bombed Pearl Harbor. In just two hours, three thousand people were killed and injured. The following day the president declared war on Japan. Three days after, Germany and Italy also declared war on The United States. The United States was officially in the war two years after it started. -
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Bataan Death March
The Bataan Death March was the Japanese soldiers forcing the American and Fillipino troops to march northward to beheld captive. Most soldiers died on the march there. Causes of death include;abuse by the Japanese, disease, too much sun, lack of food, and lack of water. Aproximately 5,200 Americans died on this march. -
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Battle of Midway
The Japanese military targeted the small island of Midway to fight the American military. The Japanese used almost their entire fleet in this battle. The Americans cracked the Japanese codes and figured out their entire battle strategy and used the element of surprise to their advantage. The Americans defeated them by sinking all of their warships and taking down their planes forcing them to withdrawl. -
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Battle of Stalingrad
The battle of Stalingrad was considered the turning point of the war in Europe. The main task of the German army was to capture all of the oil fields in Stalingrad. Their final target was to have Baku. After this defeat the German army was in full retreat. -
D-Day
On June 6, 1944 about 160,000 allied troops came into Normany, France to fight Germany. Aproximately nine thousand Allied soldiers died. D-Day allowed the Allied troops to begin taking down Nazi Germany and end the war. -
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Battle of the Bulge
In the Battle of the Bulge, the German army called their operation "Watch the Rhine". Operation Watch the Rhine to try and split the American and British forces in France. American forces stopped German advances just before they reached their target. It was a victory for the American defences. Germans began to retreat all troops from the bulge. The Germans suffered aproximately 100,000 casualties while Americans only 81,000. -
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Battle of Iwo Jima
The Japanese were expecting the American forces on the island. When the Americans arrived they were surprised with the amount of weaponry they had. Although it was considered a loss for Americans, it turned out to benefit us in the long run. -
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Battle of Okinawa
Okinawa was the last and biggest battle of the Pacific. After the 72 day battle, Japan had lost 77,000 soldies while Americans only lost 14,000. The Japanese decided to use their suicide missions instead of their normal fighting tactics. The commanding generals on each side died in battle. -
V-E Day
V-E Day is also known as Victory in Europe Day. On May 8,1945, the United States and Great Britain defeated the German army in Europe. Russians celebrate V-E Day on May 9. That was the agreed date to alert the press and people of the end of the war. -
Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
The United States dropped the first two atomic bombs ever used in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan in 1945. The explosion alone of the first bomb killed eighty-thousand people instantly and another forty-thousand from the second one, thousands more died slowly of radiation exposure. The Japanese Emperor surrendered on August 15, 1945. The making of these bombs was called The Manhattan Project to keep them a secret. -
V-J Day
Victory over Japan day, or better known as V-J Day, occured on September 2, 1945 when the Japanese surrendered to the United States. The Japanese surrender took place on The U.S.S. Missouri in Tokyo Bay. Japan's surrender was six months after V-E Day. V-J Day was the official end of World War II. -
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact was a signed agreement that put The Soviet Union in charge of seven other European countries' armed forces. The members of the Warsaw Pact were Soviet Union, Albania, Poland, Romania, Hungary, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria. The Warsaw Pact was brought up in reaction to Western Germany remilitarizing, In March of 1991 the Warsaw Pact was dissolved.