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What were the causes of World War II in Europe?
Throughout this unit we will be discussing human rights abuses during WWII. The best known human rights abuse is known as the Holocaust and resulted in the deaths of approximately 11 million people including Jews, Gypsies, homosexuals, the mentally/physically disabled, and Communists. Since the Holocaust is such a sensitive and emotional topic, this timeline will introduce the topic but we will discuss much of it in the classroom.
What aspects of Japanese history and culture brought about its role in WWII?
On September 1, 1939, Hitler's troops invaded Poland and by September 3rd WWII had begun.
In October 1939, Hitler authorized the death by euthanasia of the mentally and physically handicapped who were deemed "unworthy of life."
The Neutrality Act of 1939 provided aid to France and Great Britain while continuing American isolationism.
In 1940, German forces swept through France, surrounding the Allies and trapping them on the northern coast of France at Dunkirk.
On June 22, 1940, the French government signed an armistice with Germany, which divided the country and effectively ended France's military participation in WWII.
From June 1940 to May 1943, the Axis and Allied forces fought in various North African countries, including Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco.
Between July and October 1940, the German Luftwaffe and British Royal Air Force (RAF) fought the first military campaign completely in the air. By September 1940, Germany had changed tactics and was bombing major British cities persistently.
In September 1940, Germany, Italy, and Japan signed a pact that they would provide each other mutual assistance for a period of ten years.
On March 11, 1941, Congress passed the Lend-Lease Act, which allowed the US to provide aid to Allied countries that could no longer afford the "cash and carry" program initiated under the Neutrality Act of 1939.
In June 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union in the largest military operation to date, codenamed Operation Barbarossa.
On December 7th, 1941 Japanese air and naval forces attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. As a result of this attack, the US declared war on Japan on December 8th. Germany and Italy then declared war on the US and the Americans reciprocated, officially entering WWII.
Shortly after entering into war with Japan, the US government passed Executive Order 9066, which allowed the military to create "exclusion zones" in which certain people could not reside.
When the Allies surrendered to the Japanese in the Philippines in 1942, they were forced to march under hostile conditions with many dying along the way.
In May 1942, the Army created an auxiliary women's unit (later shortened to the Women's Army Corps or WAC).
In June 1942, US and Japanese forces fought near Midway Atoll in the Pacific Ocean.
In July 1942, the Germans again attempted offensive measures in the USSR aimed at the oil-rich south.
In August 1942, US soldiers landed on Japanese-occupied Guadalcanal in an attempt to retake the island.
In summer 1943, the Allies began attacking Axis forces in Italy. By spring 1945, the Italian government had surrendered and German troops in northern Italy were taken.
In June 1944, Allied forces initiated the largest seaborne invasion in history as they landed on the beaches of Normandy in France.
With Japanese losses mounting, Prime Minister Hideki Tojo stepped down as Prime Minister.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt wins unprecedented fourth presidential term.
After the successful D-Day invasion, Hitler launched a counteroffensive in late 1944 in an attempt to recapture an important harbor at Antwerp, Belgium.
In February 1945, Allied bombers destroyed the German city of Dresden in one of the most controversial Allied actions of the war.
In early 1945, American marines in the Pacific fought the Japanese to take control of the island of Iwo Jima.
As the Allies closed in on Axis forces and WWII in Europe was nearing its end, President Roosevelt suffered a fatal cerebral hemorrhage.
While attempting to flee the oncoming Allied army, Mussolini is captured and shot.
Faced with mounting defeats, Hitler took his own life.
After six years, WWII in Europe ends with Germany's unconditional surrender.
Three months after V-E Day, the US dropped an atom bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima on August 6th. On August 9th, they dropped a second atom bomb on Nagasaki.
After the devastation of two atomic bombs and the USSR's declaration of war, Japan agrees to unconditional surrender, which ended WWII.
What happened after the war?
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