1939 Nazi-Soviet Pact signed; thus sealing Poland’s fate

WWII officially begins; Invasion of Poland; alliances scramble to mobilize

“Allied” countries of Europe begin to prepare to resist Nazism

First signs of the “yellow star of David” for the Jewish population in Poland

1940 Beginning of Nazi “domino” effect over Europe – Norway, Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and France

England is next in line to fall to Third Reich; Battle of Britain

Germany, Italy and Japan join to become the “Axis Powers”

1941 USA remains out of European conflict; FDR signs the Lend-Lease Act

Germany invades the Soviet Union; called Operation Barbarossa

Churchill and FDR sign the Atlantic Charter, which agrees to promote peace and democracy around the world

Babi Yar incident by the SS during Operation Barbarossa

Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

alliances completely form Axis and Allies

1942 All Axis and Allied countries are rationing supplies and expecting a long, drawn-out conflict

The Philippines fall to the Japanese

Exec Order 9066 creates Japanese internment camps in Western USA; “Doolittle Raid”

Battle of Coral Sea

Bombing of Germany begins; V-1 efforts to delay Allied plans

Battle of Midway; turning point of the war in the Pacific

Battle of Guadalcanal; first episode of the Allied “island-hopping strategy” in the Pacific

Battle of El Alamein; Operation Torch

1943 Battle of Stalingrad; turning point of the war in Europe

Warsaw Ghetto uprising

Beginning of the Invasion of Italy, otherwise known as the “soft underbelly of Nazi Germany”; Mussolini removed from power

Surrender of Fascist Italy to the Allies

1944 ”D-Day,” otherwise known as the Normandy Invasion or Operation Overlord

Soviet counter-offensive against the German onslaught; Operation Bragration

Assassination attempt on Hitler; fails; enormous retaliation through tortures and executions

Battle of Leyte Gulf; “Kamikaze” introduced to turn tide of war in Pacific

Battle of the Bulge

1945 Soviet forces push toward Berlin from the East; American/British forces push from the South and West

Nazis evacuate concentration/death camps to hide from Allied discovery; Auschwitz and Buchenwald

Massive bombing of Nazi Germany; V-2 efforts to turn tide of war in Europe

Battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa

FDR dies; Truman becomes president of USA

Mussolini captured and executed

Hitler commits suicide, along with numerous other key Nazis; Germany unconditionally surrenders

1945 Manhattan Project succeeds; atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Unconditional surrender of Imperial Japan

War crimes trials held in Nuremberg, Germany

Beginning of the Cold War…