September 2, 1945Reputable sourceWell documented
Ho Chi Minh Declares Independence
On the timeline · around September 2, 1945 ·
What happened
Hours after Japan's surrender ended World War II, the communist leader Ho Chi Minh stood in Hanoi's Ba Dinh Square and proclaimed the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, opening with words borrowed from the American Declaration of Independence: 'All men are created equal.'
Why it matters
It was the opening act of thirty years of war. France meant to reclaim its colony, setting Vietnamese nationalism on a collision course with the Western powers.
Sources
- Encyclopaedia Britannica. Ho Chi Minh · Reputable source
Related timelines
- The Cold War → — Decolonization meets the Cold War