Timeline 1933-45

click image to enlarge These Were the Big Days By the Associated Press, Published in The Stars And Stripes Tuesday, May 8, 1945 The first shot of World War II in Europe was fired 20 years, 9 months, 19 days and 18 hours after the last shot of World War I was fired. It was fired from the 13,000 ton German gunnery training battleship Schleswig Holstein (Captain Gustav Kleikamp) which was on a visit to Poland to honour the sailors lost on the German cruiser Magdeburg sunk in 1914, some of whom were buried in Danzig. It was anchored in Danzig (now Gdansk) harbour at the mouth of the River Vistula. At 4.30 am on September 1, 1939, the ship moved slowly down the Port Canal and took up position opposite the Westerplatte (an area containing Polish troop barracks, munition storage and workshops) and at 4.47 am, at point blank range, the order to "Fire!" was given. World War II had begun. Seven days later, on September 7, after a heroic defence by Major Henryk Sucharski and his troops, and a devastating attack by Stuka dive bombers, the 200 man Westerplatte Garrison surrendered. Early on the morning of December 8, 1941, the Second World War in the Pacific was begun with an amphibious attack by Imperial Japanese Army troops on the Northeast coast of British Malaya. Within hours they pushed their way inland despite heavy transport losses at the hands of the few British aircraft that were in the area. Other attacks at locations across the Pacific followed in rapid succession, the largest of them aimed at the giant American naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, where it was still December 7. The USA was leading an international movement to isolate Japan economically and thus force them to withdraw from China. The USA plan was to cut off credit to the Japanese which would prevent them from being able to purchase petroleum. Japan received petroleum (an absolutely vital economic and military commodity, then as it is now) from three sources: The USA, Dutch east indies (Indonesia) and Burma (British controlled in the 1940's). The USA inspired movement included all three sources. Japan would not accept a withdrawal from the Chinese war and instead began planning a first strike against the USA navy. Eliminating or reducing the USA naval forces in the Pacific would make the Japanese navy paramount, and thus Japan would be able to defeat the economic consequences of the USA ultimatum. After eliminating the USA navy Japan planned to occupy the Dutch East Indies and Burma, thus gaining control of enough oil to run their military and economy. The strike on Pearl Harbor did exactly as hoped by the Japanese. The USA fleet was crippled. The Dutch lacked forces to repel the Japanese. The British navy (as ordered by Churchill) sent forces to defend their areas but these were totally inadequate for the job and were decimated quickly. Japan occupied all the oil producing areas and settled down to a war of attrition against the USA, which they hoped would wear down the USA politically and enable them to keep their conquests. November 11, 1918 World War One Armistice signed. Canadian General Andrew McNaughton, said regarding the defeat of Germany: "We have them on the run. That means we will have to do it over again in another 25 years." (In 21 years, Germany will again be at war with the West.) March 31, 1919 French Marshal Ferdinand Foch says to leaders of Great Britain and the USA that without the Rhine frontier in French possession, the Versailles settlement would be no more than "the armistice for twenty years". April, 1919 Quotes by French Marshal Ferdinand Foch to a British newspaper: "And next time, remember, the Germans will make no mistake. They will break through into Northern France and will seize the Channel ports as a base of operations against England.". April 22, 1919 Protocols for an alliance among France, Great Britain, and the USA are agreed on: Great Britain and USA make guarantees to France in the event of German aggression. The Rhineland is to be under Allied occupation for fifteen years. The document is signed by US President Woodrow Wilson and British Prime Minister David Lloyd George. June 28, 1919 In Versailles, France, the peace Treaty of Versailles is signed. In Versailles, France, British Prime Minister David Lloyd George and French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau sign the Treaty of Guarantee. The treaty calls for Great Britain and the USA to come to France's immediate aid if Germany makes an unprovoked assault on the country. (The treaty is not ratified by the American senate, so does not come into force.) In Germany, Werner von Blomberg, Johannes Blaskowitz, and other German staff officers begin considering how to regain the Saar valley, the Polish Corridor, Memel, and remilitarize the Ruhr area, if necessary by war. January 16, 1920 League of Nations meets for the first time February 21, 1921 France and Poland make a secret military agreement, specifying that if Germany attacks either nation, the other will assist in defence. If Poland is attacked by Soviet Russia, France is to hold Germany in check on land and at sea. July 29, 1921 Adolf Hitler assumes control of National Socialist German Workers (Nazi) Party February 6, 1922 A treaty limiting naval armament is signed by the United States, Great Britain, France, Italy, and Japan. The limits set for total tonnage of major naval ships are: USA 525,000, Great Britain 525,000, France 175,000, Italy 175,000, Japan 315,000. October 24, 1922 Benito Mussolini calls for fascist "Blackshirts" to March on Rome October 29, 1922 Mussolini appointed Premier by King Victor Emmanuel III November 8-9, 1923 Hitler's Munich Beer Hall Putsch fails The Swedish book Social-Demokraten writes: "Encircle Germany with zones . . . treat her as the dangerous lunatic of Europe, take every precaution against her, and one day Germany will break out of her cell with the demoniac force of the lunatic." February 26, 1924 Trial against Hitler in Munich begins April 1, 1924 Hitler sentenced to 5 years labor but General Ludendorff acquitted September 6, 1924 Assassination attempt on Mussolini fails December 20, 1924 Adolf Hitler freed from jail early January 3, 1925 Mussolini dismisses Italian parliament, begins to assume dictatorial powers July 18, 1925 Hitler's autobiography, Mein Kampf, is published October 16, 1925 In Locarno, Switzerland, the Pact of Locarno is signed by Germany, Belgium, Great Britain, France, Italy, Poland, and Czechslovakia. The nations agree to a mutual guarantee of existing borders, and to make peaceful settlements of disputes. In Locarno, the Treaty of Mutual Guarantee is signed by Great Britain, Belgium, France, Germany, and Italy. Germany and Belgium, and Germany and France agree to not attack or invade each other. France and Poland sign a Treaty of Mutual Guarantee, to immediately aid the other if attacked by Germany. April 24, 1926 Germany and the Soviet Union sign the Treaty of Berlin. If one country is attacked, the other is to remain neutral. September 8, 1926 Germany is admitted to full membership in the League of Nations. March 19, 1927 Bloody battles between communists and nazis in Berlin August 27, 1928 The Pact of Paris (Kellogg-Briand Pact) is signed by the USA, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Poland. The countries condemn recourse to war, renouncing it as an instrument of national policy in relations with one another. February 9, 1929 A Protocol renouncing war as an instrument of national policy is signed by the Soviet Union, Estonia, Latvia, Poland, and Romania. July 24, 1929 The Treaty of Paris becomes effective, with 31 more countries signing compliance. October 29, 1929 Wall Street Stock Market crashes April 22, 1930 U.S., Britain and Japan sign London Naval Treaty September 14, 1930 Nazis gain 107 seats in German election October 13, 1930 New German Reichstag opens with 107 NSDAP'ers (NationalSozialistische Deutsche ArbeiterPartei - National Socialist German Workers’ Party - NAZI Party) in uniform September 18, 1931 Japanese Army invades Manchuria January 21, 1932 Finland and the Soviet Union sign a five-year Pact of Non-Agression. February 2, 1932 In Geneva, a World Disarmament Conference begins. July, 1932 At a Conference in Lausanne, the Allies agree to cancel war reparation payments by Germany. July 25, 1932 Poland and the Soviet Union sign a five-year Non-Aggression Pact. [42.21] [406.145] November 8, 1932 Franklin Delano Roosevelt elected President of the United States November 29, 1932 France and the Soviet Union sign a Pact of Non-Agression. January 1, 1946 Emperor Hirohito of Japan announces he is not a god January 10, 1946 U.N. General Assembly meets for 1st time in London March 1, 1946 British Government takes control of Bank of England, after 252 years March 5, 1946 Winston Churchill gave a speech at Westminster College, in Fulton, Missouri. Churchhill introduced the phrase "Iron Curtain" to describe the division between Western powers and the area controlled by the Soviet Union. As such the speech marks the onset of the Cold War. March 11, 1946 Former Auschwitz Kommandant Höss, posing as a farm worker, is arrested by the British. He testifies at Nuremberg, then is later tried in Warsaw, found guilty and hanged at Auschwitz, April 16, 1947, near Crematory I. "History will mark me as the greatest mass murderer of all time," Höss writes while in prison, along with his memoirs about Auschwitz. April 8, 1946 League of Nations assembles for last time. Ten days later the League of Nations dissolves, 3 months after United Nations starts April 29, 1946 28 former Japanese leaders indicted in Tokyo as war criminals June 3, 1946 International Military Tribunal opens in Tokyo against 28 Japanese war criminals July 16, 1946 U.S. court martials 46 SS to death (Battle of Bulge crimes) in Dachau September 30, 1946 22 Nazi leaders found guilty of war crimes at Nuremberg, Von Ribbentrop and Goering sentence to death by Nuremberg trial 12 war criminals were sentenced to death in Nuremberg October 16, 1946 Göring commits suicide two hours before the scheduled execution of the first group of major Nazi war criminals at Nuremberg. During his imprisonment, a (now repentant) Hans Frank states, "A thousand years will pass and the guilt of Germany will not be erased." Frank and the others are hanged and the bodies are brought to Dachau and burned (the final use of the crematories there) with the ashes then scattered into a river. 10 Nazi leaders hanged as war criminals after Nuremberg trials December 9, 1946 23 former SS doctors and scientists go on trial before a U.S. Military Tribunal at Nuremberg. Sixteen are found guilty, with 7 being hanged. December 24, 1946 U.S. General MacNarney gives 800,000 "minor Nazi's" amnesty. A week later President Truman officially proclaims end of WW II September 15, 1947 Twenty one former SS Einsatz leaders go on trial before a U.S. Military Tribunal in Nuremberg. Fourteen are sentenced to death, with only 4 (the group commanders) actually being executed. The other death sentences are commuted.

The modern world is still living with the consequences of World War II, the most titanic conflict in history. 70 years ago on September 1st 1939, Germany invaded Poland without warning sparking the start of World War Two. By the evening of September 3rd, Britain and France were at war with Germany and within a week, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa had also joined the war. On land, sea and in the air, Poles fought Germans, Italians fought Americans and Japanese fought Australians in a conflict which was finally settled with the use of nuclear weapons. World War II involved every major world power in a war for global domination and at its end, more than 60 million people had lost their lives and most of Europe and large parts of Asia lay in ruins.

1933

January 30 - Adolf Hitler is appointed Chancellor of Germany.
February 15 - A gunman, Giuseppe Zingara, tries to assassinate President-elect Franklin Roosevelt. The Mayor of Chicago is hit and later dies.
March 4 - Franklin D. Roosevelt is inaugurated as the 32nd President of the United States.
March 5 - The Nazi party wins 288 votes in the German General election, more than twice the number gained by their rivals the Social Democrats.
March 12 - President Roosevelt's first "Fireside Chat" to the American people broadcast on the radio.
April 19 - President Roosevelt announces the removal of the U.S. dollar from the Gold Standard.
November 17 - The U.S. recognizes the Soviet Union and begins trade.

General

• Roosevelt's "New Deal" legislation includes:
  - The Agricultural Adjustment Act
  - Federal Securities Act
  - The Federal Emergency Relief Act
  - National Industrial Recovery Act
  
• Germany opens "concentration" camps for enemies of the regime.
  
• In December Prohibition is repealed (21st Amendment).

1934

March 24 - The Tydings-McDuffe Act establishes the independence of the Philippines from the U.S.A. from 1945.
June 29-30 - "The Night of the Long Knives" in Germany. Hitler purges the S.A. and its leader Ernst Rohm, executing many of his rivals.
August 6 - U.S. marines withdraw from Haiti after 19 years of military occupation.

General

• Heinrich Himmler takes control of the secret police in Germany.
• A Federal Farm Mortgage Corporation is set up to reduce the number of farm closures.
• The Fraternal Council of Negro Churches is established to campaign for social change.
• Fugitives Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow are killed in Louisiana.
• Golfs U.S. Masters is played at Augusta Georgia for the first time.

1935

March 16 - Germany introduces conscription, contravening the disarmament clauses of the Treaty of Versailles.
September 15 - At the Nazi Party's Nuremburg rally, Adolf Hitler proclaims the anti-Jewish "Nuremhurg Laws". They restrict Jewish employment, marriage to non-Jews and sexual relations with non-Jews. The swastika becomes the national flag.
October 2 - Italy invades Ethiopia.

General

• The National Labor Relations Act outlaws unfair practices by employers and establishes the right to form trade unions.
• Storms exacerbate the "dust bowl" in the America mid-west.
• More "New Deal" legislation is introduced in the U.S. by Roosevelt, including:
  - The Resettlement Administration.
  - Rural Electrification Administration.
  - The Social Security Act.
  James J. Braddock wins the heavyweight boxing title from Max Baer.

1936

March 7 - German troops occupy the de-militarized area of the Rhineland in contravention of the Treaty of Versailles.
July 17 - An army mutiny in Spanish Morocco, led by Francisco Franco, ignites the Spanish Civil War.
November 3 - Roosevelt is re-elected as U.S. president with 523 electoral college votes. His opponent, the Republican Alfred London, wins only 8 votes.
December 11 - Edward VIII abdicates the British throne in the crisis created by his desire to marry Wallis Simpson. His brother becomes King George VI.

General

• The Hoover Dam opens on the Colorado river.

1937

April 27 - The German Condor Legion bomb Guernica in the Spanish Civil War.
May 6 - The German airship "Hindenburg" explodes whilst landing in New Jersey. 36 people are killed.
August 8 - The Japanese attack Shanghai in the Sino-Japan war.
December 5 - Japanese troop captures Nanking. Atrocity known as the Rape of Nanking ensues with loss of 250,000 lives.

General

• The National Housing Act creates the United State Housing Authority to help make housing more affordable to low income families.
• The Golden Gate bridge opens in San Francisco.
• Joe Louis wins the heavyweight boxing title.

1938

February 4 - Hitler makes himself Commander in Chief of the army.
March 12 - German troops enter Austria.
September 29/30 - Prime Ministers Chamberlain (Britain) and Daladier (France) agree to allow the German occupation of the Sudetenland (German speaking region of Czechoslovakia), at the Munich Conference.
November 9/10 - "Kristall nacht" in Germany. Jewish homes, synagogues and shops are looted and burned.

General

• A minimum wage (40 cents/hr) is established in the U.S. under the Labor Standards Act.
• Hysteria is caused in the U.S. by Orson Welles' CBS radio broadcast of his play, War of the Worlds.

1939

January 26 - Barcelona falls to Franco in the Spanish Civil War. His new government is recognized a month later by France and Britain. The U.S. recognizes the Nationalist regime on April 1.
April 7 - Spain joins Italy, Germany and Japan in the Anti-Comintern Pact
May 22 - Hitler and Mussolini sign a 10-year alliance, the "Pact of Steel."
July 16 - The United States revokes its 1911 trade agreement with Japan.
August 23 - The Nazi-Soviet Pact with secret clauses for the carve-up of Eastern Europe is signed.
August 23 - British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain warns Hitler that Britain will stand by Poland.
September 1 - Germany invades Poland.
September 3 - Britain and France declare war on Germany.
September 17 - The Soviet Union invades Poland from the East.
September 28 - The Polish army offers its formal surrender to the Germans.
November 4 - President Roosevelt amends the 1937 Neutrality Act, allowing Britain and France to purchase arms on a "cash and carry" basis.

General

• Albert Einstein writes to President Roosevelt, warning of the dangers of German atomic power prompting an acceleration in atomic research and the beginnings of the Manhattan Project.
• Lou Gehrig retires after making 2,130 appearances for the New Yankees.
• NBC begins the first regular television service in the U.S.

1940

April 9 - German troops invade Norway and Denmark.
May 10 - Germany invades Holland, Belgium and Luxemburg and outflanks the French border fortifications, the "Maginot Line", by attacking through the reputedly impenetrable Ardennes forest.
May 26-June 4 - Over 300,000 British and French troops, trapped on the beaches of Dunkirk by the German advance, are evacuated in a remarkable recovery operation.
June 22 - France concludes an armistice with Germany. The country is divided into a zone of German occupation in the north and west and an area of French control administered from Vichy.
August 15 - As the aerial battle for supremacy between the Luftwaffe and the British Royal Air Force intensifies over southern England, the R.A.F. shoot down 180 German planes.
September 7 - The first massive bombing raids on London, the "Blitz" begins.
November 5 - President Roosevelt is elected for an unprecedented third term by 449 electoral college votes, to opponent Wendell Wilkie's 82.

General

• The French government at Vichy strips Jews of citizenship and bans them from public service.
• Nylon stockings, Colonel Sanders "Kentucky Fried Chicken" and the Willy's jeep are introduced in the U.S.

1941

March 11 - President Roosevelt's LendLease Bill is finally signed. It allows for massive sales of aid to allies whose security is vital to American interests.
April 6 - Hitler invades Greece and Yugoslavia.
June 22 - Operation Barbarossa, the largest invasion force in history, is launched against the Soviet Union as Germany attacks with three army groups.
July 26 - Roosevelt freezes all Japanese assets in the U.S. and levies embargoes on Japan.
July 27 - The German army reaches the Ukraine, deep into the Soviet Union.
August 14 - Roosevelt and Churchill sign the Atlantic Charter.
October 1 - The Germans close in on Moscow. The Soviet government leaves Moscow, but Joseph Stalin stays behind.
November 13 - The U.S. Congress amends the Neutrality Act, allowing U.S. merchants to enter war zones and be armed.
December 5 - Winter tightens its grip in the Russian heartland and after holding two German attempts to capture Moscow, the Soviet Red Army launches a counter-offensive.
December 7 - Japanese imperial forces launch a surprise attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
December 8 - U.S. and Britain declares war on Japan.
December 11 - Germany and Italy declare war on the U.S..
December 25 - Hong Kong surrenders to Japan.

General

• As the German army advances in Eastern Europe, special units begin the systematic elimination of Jews.
• Roosevelt establishes the Fair Employment Practices Commission to investigate racial discrimination in employment.
• The Mount Rushmore Memorial in Vermont is completed.

1942

January 1 - 26 nations sign the Declaration of the United Nations, forming a coalition against the Axis powers.
January 11 - Japanese forces capture Kuala Lumpur in Malaya.
February 15 - Over 70,000 British and Commonwealth troops are captured as the British garrison surrenders at Singapore.
April 9 - U.S. and Philippines forces surrender on Bataan.
April 18 - Famous "Doolittle Raid" on Tokyo shatter Japanese myth of impregnability of the mainland.
May 4 - Battle of the Coral Sea.
May 6 - Beginning of the Bataan Death March.
June 4 - In the Battle of Midway, U.S. planes sink four Japanese aircraft carriers.
June 21 - Erwin Kommel's Afrika Korps take the vital British stronghold at Tobruk in Libya.
July 28 - The Germans capture Rostov and much of the Northern Caucasus.
August 7 - United States marines capture Henderson Airfield on Guadalcanal and hold it against Japanese counterattacks.
September 13 - The crucial Battle for Stalingrad begins. Leningrad, Moscow and Stalingrad become the rocks of Soviet resistance on the Eastern Front.
October 23 - The German army suffers its first defeat against British forces at El Alamein in North Africa.
November 7 - In Operation Torch, Allied forces land in Morocco and Algeria under the command of General Eisenhower.

General

• U.S. automobile production is suspended to maximise war production.
• Gasoline and sugar are rationed and "Victory Gardens" are introduced to increase food production.
• The War Relocation Authority begins to move over a hundred thousand Japanese Americans from the Pacific Coast into internment camps.
• In Chicago, physicist Enrico Fermi creates the first controlled chain-reaction in a nuclear reactor.

1943

January 2 - The German army begins to retreat from the Caucasus.
January 12 - At the Casablanca Conference Churchill and Roosevelt agree to pursue an unconditional German and Japanese surrender.
January 31 - The German army defending Stalingrad surrenders.
May 11 - At the Washington Conference, Roosevelt and Churchill agree on an invasion strategy for Europe. The Mediterranean will come first, through Sicily and then mainland Italy, followed by an invasion in northern Europe.
May 11 - U.S. forces land in the Aleutian Islands.
July 10 - Operation Husky: British and American forces land on Sicily.
July 25 - Benito Mussolini is removed as Italy's Prime Minister and replaced by Badoglio.
September 3 - Italy offers its unconditional surrender, leaving the German army to light alone in the defense of the Italian Peninsular.
September 9 - Allied forces land at Salerno.
November 1 - U.S. Marines begin to recapture territory in the Solomon Islands.
November 28 - At the Tehran Conference, Churchill and Roosevelt brief Stalin on the plans for the Allied invasion of France.

General

• The U.S. congress approves the "PayAs-You-Go" scheme whereby employers will deduct income tax from salaries and wages.
• Race riots break out in Detroit, following large-scale African American migrations to the north.

1944

January 22 - U.S. and British troops land at Anzio in Italy.
March 6 - U.S. bombers begin daylight raids on Berlin.
May 18 - German resistance at Monte Cassino finally ends. The defeat allows the Allies to break out from Anzio.
June 4 - Allied forces enter Rome.
June 6 - Operation Overload begins on "D-Day". Allied troops land on five assault beaches in Normandy.
July 15 - U.S. forces capture Saipan in the Marianas.
July 20 - Hitler narrowly escapes an assassination attempt as a bomb explodes dose to him at Rastenberg in East Prussia.
August 10 - U.S. forces liberate Guam.
August 14 - Operation Dragoon, Allies land on the French Mediterranean coast.
August 24 - A French armoured unit enters Paris, followed by Charles de Gaulle, leader of the Free French.
September 17 - In Operation Market Garden, U.S. and British airborne troops attempt to seize vital bridges in the Netherlands.
October 25 - Battle of Leyte Gulf: the U.S. navy destroys four aircraft carriers, three battleships, ten cruisers and nine destroyers of the Japanese navy.
November 3 - President Roosevelt wins an unprecedented fourth term with 432 electoral votes to Thomas Dewey's 99.
November 24 - B-29 bombers from Saipan begin heavy bombing raids on Tokyo.
December 16 - The Germans launch a counter-offensive, in the Ardennes, the "Battle of the Bulge."

General

• An international conference at Dumbarton Oaks, Washington DC establishes the structure of a future United Nations.
• A conference at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire establishes the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

1945

February 4 - The Yalta Conference begins: the Allies prepare their plans for a post-war settlement.
February 19 - U.S. Marines attack Iwo Jima, fierce fighting ensues.
February 23 - Marines capture Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima.
March 26 - Iwo Jima is secured.
April 1 - U.S. forces begin their attack on Okinawa, the largest of the Japanese Ryuakyu islands.
April 12 - President Roosevelt dies at the age of 63. He is succeeded by VicePresident Harry S. Truman.
April 28 - Benito Mussolini and his mistress are shot by Italian partisans.
April 30 - After marrying his mistress Eva Braun, Adolf Hitler commits suicide in his bunker in Berlin.
May 2 - Berlin surrenders to the Soviets.
May 8 - After the formal German surrender, Victory in Europe Day is declared.
July 4 - MacArthur announces liberation of the Philippines.
June 21 - U.S. achieve victory on Okinawa.
July 16 - Atom bomb successfully tested in New Mexico.
July 17 - The Potsdam Conference begins.
July 26 - Winston Churchill loses the British General election. The Labour Party wins by a landslide. Clement Attlee becomes Prime Minister.
August 6 - The U.S. drops an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima.
August 8 - The U.S. drops a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki.
August 14 - The Japanese announce their unconditional surrender.
September 2 - Japan signs a formal surrender abound U.S.S Missouri.
November 20 - Opening of the Nuremberg International Military Tribunal.

General

• The foundation of U.N.E.S.C.O., the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation.
• In Hood River, Oregon, the American Legion removed the names of 17 Nisei soldiers from the community honor roll.
• FDR inaugurated for fourth term.
• Detroit Tigers won the World Series.
• Oklahoma A&M (Oklahoma State) won the NCAA basketball title.
• The War Manpower Commission lifted all controls on wages.

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