January 20, 1942★★★★★
Wannsee Conference
Senior Nazi officials meet at Wannsee near Berlin to coordinate the "Final Solution" to murder Europe's Jews.
Politics· Germany
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Events this year
February 15, 1942★★★★★
Fall of Singapore
British forces in Singapore surrender to Japan, the largest capitulation in British military history, beginning the Japanese occupation of Malaya.
War· Singapore, United Kingdom, Japan
August 8, 1942★★★★★
Quit India Movement
The Congress launches a campaign demanding an immediate end to British rule in India; Gandhi and other leaders are arrested.
PoliticsRevolution· India
August 23, 1942 – February 2, 1943★★★★★
Battle of Stalingrad
The Red Army encircles and forces the surrender of the German Sixth Army, a decisive turning point on the Eastern Front.
War· Russia, Germany
Ongoing
1858 – 1947★★★★★
Beginning of the British Raj
After the 1857 rebellion, the Government of India Act transfers rule from the East India Company to the British Crown; the Mughal Empire formally ends.
Politics· India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, United Kingdom
September 1, 1939 – September 2, 1945★★★★★
World War II
Germany invades Poland, starting the deadliest conflict in human history, which ends with Japan's formal surrender on 2 September 1945.
War· Germany, Poland, United Kingdom, France, Russia, United States, Japan, China
1941 – 1945★★★★★
The Holocaust
Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murder some six million European Jews, along with millions of other victims.
WarDeath· Germany, Poland, Austria, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, Hungary, Czechia, Netherlands, France
September 8, 1941 – January 27, 1944★★★★★
Siege of Leningrad
German and Finnish forces besiege Leningrad for nearly 900 days; around a million civilians die, mostly from starvation.
WarDisaster· Russia, Germany, Finland