1940

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• On 10 May, Winston Churchill becomes British prime minister, forming a Coalition government.

• From 10 to 14 May, Germany invades the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg.

• From 27 May to 4 June, more than 300,000 Allied troops are evacuated from Dunkirk to Britain.

• On 17 June, France surrenders to Germany, and Adolf Hitler holds a victory parade in Paris. France is divided in two: the Germany-occupied north and south-west, with the rest under the rule of the so-called 'Vichy' government, which is actually a German puppet. Meanwhile, Charles de Gaulle in London proclaims the formation of the Free French movement.

• Between August and September, the Battle of Britain is fought as the German Luftwaffe tries to bomb Britain into surrender.

• On 5 November, Franklin Delano Roosevelt is re-elected US president for an unprecedented third term.

• Actor Charlie Chaplin stars as Hitler in the satirical Hollywood film The Great Dictator.

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