History quiz

What are some major events between 1939 and 1949?

1939

- August 23: Germany and the Soviet Union sign the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, a non-aggression pact that secretly divides Eastern Europe between the two countries.

- September 1: Germany invades Poland, starting World War II.

- September 3: Britain and France declare war on Germany.

- September 17: The Soviet Union invades Poland from the east.

- October 28: The Soviet Union and Finland sign the Moscow Peace Treaty, ending the Winter War.

1940

- April 9: Germany invades Denmark and Norway.

- May 10: Germany invades Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.

- May 26: France surrenders to Germany.

- June 10: Italy declares war on France and Britain.

- June 22: Germany invades the Soviet Union.

- December 7: Japan attacks the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, bringing the United States into World War II.

1941

- January 27: The United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union sign the Declaration of the United Nations, pledging to defeat the Axis powers.

- June 22: Germany invades the Soviet Union.

- December 7: Japan attacks the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, bringing the United States into World War II.

1942

- February 15: The British defeat the German Afrika Korps at the Battle of El Alamein.

- April 9: The Doolittle Raid, a bombing raid on Tokyo by American aircraft, is carried out.

- June 6: D-Day, the Allied invasion of Normandy, begins.

- August 6: The United States drops an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan.

- August 9: The United States drops an atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan.

- August 14: Japan surrenders to the Allies, ending World War II.

1943

- January 27: The siege of Leningrad ends after 900 days.

- February 2: The Battle of Stalingrad ends with a Soviet victory.

- July 25: Benito Mussolini is overthrown and arrested by the Italian king.

- September 3: Italy surrenders to the Allies.

1944

- January 22: The Anzio landings, an Allied amphibious assault on Italy, begin.

- June 6: D-Day, the Allied invasion of Normandy, begins.

- July 20: An assassination attempt is made on Adolf Hitler by a group of German officers.

- August 25: Paris is liberated by the Allies.

- December 16: The Battle of the Bulge begins, the last major German offensive of the war.

1945

- January 27: The Auschwitz concentration camp is liberated by the Soviet Army.

- February 4-11: The Yalta Conference, a meeting between the leaders of the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union, takes place.

- April 12: President Franklin D. Roosevelt dies and is succeeded by Harry S. Truman.

- April 25: The United Nations Charter is signed in San Francisco.

- May 7: Germany surrenders to the Allies, ending World War II in Europe.

- August 6: The United States drops an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan.

- August 9: The United States drops an atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan.

- August 14: Japan surrenders to the Allies, ending World War II.

1946

- January 1: The United Nations officially comes into existence.

- July 4: The Philippines gain independence from the United States.

- October 24: The United Nations General Assembly adopts the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

1947

- March 12: The Truman Doctrine, a policy of containment of communism, is announced.

- June 5: The Marshall Plan, a program of economic aid to Europe, is announced.

- July 26: India gains independence from Britain.

- August 14: Pakistan gains independence from Britain.

1948

- February 25: The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia seizes power in a coup d'état.

- April 9: The Organization of American States (OAS) is established.

- May 14: The State of Israel is proclaimed.

- June 28: The Soviet Union blockades West Berlin, starting the Berlin Airlift.

1949

- January 1: The People's Republic of China is proclaimed.

- April 4: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is established.

- May 11: The Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) is established.

- October 1: The German Democratic Republic (East Germany) is established.