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Neautrality Act
President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the 1937 Neutrality Act, which bans travel on belligerent ships, forbids the arming of American merchant ships trading with belligerents, and issues an arms embargo with warring nations. -
Naval Expansion Act
The U.S. Congress passes the Naval Expansion Act giving President Franklin D. Roosevelt one billion dollars to enlarge the navy. -
Hitler Aims For Sudetenland
Adolf Hitler is poised to invade and conquer the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia. -
Sududentland And Appeasement
Leaders of France and Great Britain meet with representatives from Germany, including Adolf Hitler, to discuss Germany's demands, ultimately granting Hitler the Sudetenland in the hopes of gaining "peace with honor." The Czechs are not consulted. -
Kristallnacht
During the German Kristallnacht or the Night of Broken Glass, 7500 Jewish businesses are looted, 191 synagogues are set afire, nearly 100 Jews are killed, and tens of thousands are sent to concentration camps. -
St. Louis Refusal
Passenger ship St. Louis, containing 907 Jewish refugees, begins its journey back to Europe after the United States refuses to grant it permission to dock. -
Stalin and Hitler Sign Non-Aggression Pact
Germany and the Soviet Union agree to a nonaggression pact leaving the Soviets free to strengthen their western frontier, and Hitler free to attack Poland. -
Germany Invades Poland
German troops invade Poland on the ground while Hitler's air force bombs Polish cities from the sky. -
Britain And France Declare War
Britain and France declare war on Germany honoring their commitment to Poland.President Franklin D. Roosevelt invokes the Neutrality Act but notes, "Even a neutral cannot be asked to close his mind or his conscience." -
Hitler Defeats France
Britain forces retreat from France and Adolf Hitler's armies defeat French forces. -
Fleet Moved To Pearl Harbor
President Franklin D. Roosevelt moves the United States Pacific Fleet base from San Diego, California to Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. -
Germany Invades Soviet Union
Germany invades the Soviet Union violating the Nonaggression Pact. U.S. Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson estimates that it will take Hitler less than three months to conquer the Soviet Union. -
Pearl Harbor
Japanese fighter planes attack the American base at Pearl Harbor destroying U.S. aircraft and naval vessels, and killing 2,355 U.S. servicemen and 68 civilians. -
US At War
Germany and Italy, Japan's axis partners, declare war on the United States. The United States declares war on Germany, Italy, and Japan. -
Churchill and Roosevelt's Plan
Prime Minister Winston Churchill and President Franklin D. Roosevelt meet in Casablanca in North Africa to plan attacks on all fronts, to invade Sicily and Italy, to send forces to the Pacific, and to better aid the Soviet Union. -
D-Day
The first of nearly 3 million Allied soldiers arrive in Normandy, on the northern shores of France. -
Hiroshima
The United States drops an atomic bomb—the first to be used in warfare—on Hiroshima, killing 75,000 people instantly, and injuring more than 100,000. -
WW2 Ends
A formal surrender ceremony is conducted in Tokyo Bay on the U.S. battleship Missouri. World War II officially ends.
