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The Treaty of Versailles is Signed - Political, Economic, and Social
At the conclusion of WWI, many nations joined in attempts for international peace. Germany formally surrendered and fighting had ceased. Terms of the Treaty were negotiated, but in the end, Germany took accountability for the war and had to pay reparations as well as reduce their armaments. This left Germany in debt and an economic depression. Additionally, the conditions regarding their military left many angered. The anger over the unfairness of the terms contributed to the start of WWII. -
Hitler Joins the National Socialist German Workers Party (Nazis) - Political/Social
In 1919 a German army officer named Adolf Hitler was sent to a Munich beer hall to infiltrate a meeting of the National Socialist German Workers Party. Instead of spying on the party as he had been sent to do, Hitler instead joined it and soon became its leader. -
Washington Naval Conference - Political
In the wake of World War I the major world leaders looked to reduce the size of their navies in hopes to prevent a future war. The US, the UK, France, Italy, and Japan all pledged to reduce the size of their navies while four other countries were invited to the conference to ensure that peace would be kept in the Middle East and in Southeast Asia. The Naval Conference ended in the signing of three significant treaties that would be used to keep the peace between world powers. -
Mussolini Forms the Fascist Party in Italy - Political and Social
A man named Benito Mussolini was an Italian WWI veteran and publisher of the Socialist Newspapers. After dissatisfaction with the Treaty of Versailles, he formed the Fasci Italiani di Combattimento bringing all the national fascist groups into one in March of 1921. The party encouraged violence and courted many WWI veterans to gain support. The birth of the party allowed for new ideas about government to be formed which eventually lead to Mussolini's rule of Italy as a dictator just years later. -
Mussolini Threatens to March on Rome - Political and Social
Mussolini and fascist leaders planned to March on Rome as an insurrection. The Prime Minister, Luigi Facta, ordered a state of siege on Rome. But, King Victor Emmanuel III refused to sign it or take action against the fascist forces in fear of a civil war. He instead invited Mussolini to Rome where Mussolini became Prime Minister. The acceptance of the party made them the most prominent party in Italy and was the perfect opportunity for Mussolini to start the transition of Italy's government. -
Beer Hall Putsch - Political
Hitler and the Nazis were very upset with the Weimar government put in place after the war and wanted to overthrow it. They planned to take control by marching on Berlin as Mussolini had done. Realizing this would fail, Hitler and the Nazis surrounded the largest beer hall in Munich were Weimar leaders were drinking. The Nazis surrounded the beer hall and tried to take the rest of the city, but the officials escaped and rallied against the Nazis driving them from Munich arresting Hitler. -
Hitler Goes to Prison and Writes Mein Kampf - Political/Social
After failing the Beer Hall Putsch, Hitler was sentenced to five years in prison for high treason in Landsberg prison. There he only serves less than a year of his sentence before becoming free again. During his time in prison Hitler writes the autobiography, Mein Kampf or My Struggle. -
Kellogg Briand Pact - Political
The pact was a bilateral agreement to outlaw war originally proposed by the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Aristide Briand, to the U.S. But, U.S. President Coolidge and Secretary of State Frank B. Kellogg feared that it could be seen as an alliance where the U.S. may have to intervene if France was threatened. So, the nations opened it to other countries as well. Although its signing in Paris was an attempt to preserve peace and end wars, it ultimately had little effect in preventing WWII. -
Japan Occupies Manchuria, China - Political/Economic
After alleging that the Chinese had blown up part of a Japanese railroad in Manchuria, the Japanese quickly occupied the region
using armed forces to rule over the land. Meeting little resistance from the Chinese Nationalist Party, the Japanese were able to set up a puppet state in Manchuria guaranteeing their control over the region. -
Geneva Disarmament Conference - Political
Held in Geneva, Switzerland from 1932 to late 1933, sixty countries participated with intent to reduce armaments. Germany wanted every country to reduce to their levels established in the Versailles Treaty. With little compromise, the conference reached a standstill and adjourned for several months. Just before it reconvened, Hitler was appointed chancellor. Germany later rejected all proposals, withdrawing from the Conference. Germany rearmed and the rise of militarism started its ascent. -
Hitler Places Second in German National Elections for President - Political
With his popularity rising in the late 1920s, Adolf Hitler decided to run for the presidency. His only competitor was Paul Von Hindenburg, a decorated World War One veteran. Though Hitler lost the election it was close enough to call for a reelection. Hitler lost again but his popularity saw to it that he would gain the position of Chancellor of Germany just one year later. -
Germany Withdraws from League of Nations - Political and Social
The German government announced their withdrawal from the League of Nations created after WWI. Germany’s main reason for doing so was that the Western Powers denied to have uniformity in regards to military size and power. On October 19th, 1933, Foreign Minister Konstantin Freiherr von Neurath sent a letter informing the League of Germany’s withdrawal. Immediately following the withdrawal, Germany started to build up a military. Militarism ideology was encouraged politically and socially, too. -
President Von Hindenburg Dies - Political
President Von Hindenburg was a soldier in the Seven Weeks’ War and then served in the Franco-Prussian war. He was a prominent army strategist during WWI. He became president in 1925, and was then re-elected in 1932. On August 2nd, 1934, President Von Hindenburg passed away due to lung cancer in in Neudeck, Germany(now Poland). After the events of his death, Adolf Hitler became president and declared himself the Fuhrer of the German Reich. He became an absolute dictator with unlimited power. -
Hitler Merges Offices Chancellor and President - Social and Political
To secure Hitler's power after Hindenburg's death, a law abolishing the office of President with succession falling to Hitler as a Fuhrer of Germany was written. To gain guaranteed support of the people and secure his new position, a vote was held on August 19th. About 90 percent of the votes were in Hitler’s favor and he could claim himself Fuhrer of Nazi Germany. The position allowed for him to have unlimited power which helped him make decisions that started and fueled the entirety of WWII. -
The Great Depression Ends in Germany - Economic
In 1929, disaster struck as the Great Depression started in the United States and quickly spread to most countries in Europe. By 1935 the German economy had started to recover as it was boosted by Hitler’s armament expansion plans. By 1935 industrial output and farmer’s production was greatly more than that of 1929, signaling an end of the German Great Depression. -
Mussolini Invades Ethiopia - Political
In 1935 Benito Mussolini sought to expand the Italian Empire by claiming the country of Abyssinia as Italy’s. This was a matter of national pride for Italians as the Abyssinians had defeated the Italians in combat one century earlier. Mussolini also cited an attack by 200 Abyssinians against Italian holdings as cause for the invasion. -
Htiler Remilitarizes the Rhineland - Political
Hitler declared the military clauses of the Treaty of Versailles were canceled and denounces the Lorcarno Pact, allowing his troops to enter the Rhineland for the first time in about twenty years. The remilitarization showed the weakness of the Western Democracies and the League of Nations as they did not act against the Germans after this act of aggression. -
Hitler Signs an Alliance With Mussolini - Political
In 1936 the Spanish Civil War had broken out and Mussolini supported the Fascist rebels in their fight. Following suit, Hitler also gave support to the rebels. Later that year, the two nations signed a formal alliance called the Rome-Berlin Axis that stated that the two countries would be military alliances and contained a protocol stating that the two nations will follow the same foreign policy. -
Japanese Invasion of China - Political
After an incident at the Marco Polo Bridge not far from Beijing in a fight between the Japanese and the Chinese forces of the National Government, the Japanese started a wide scale invasion of China as they felt that the nationalist tide in China could be a threat to their holdings in Manchuria. -
Italy Withdraws from the League of Nations - Political
Following the lead of Hitler who had left the League of Nations in 1933, Mussolini made the decision to leave as well. His decision was aided by the fact that the League had just imposed economic sanctions on Italy for the invasion of Abyssinia. -
Hitler and Nazi Germany Annex Austria - Political/Economic
When the Austrian chancellor learned that Hitler planned to take over the Austrian government and unite the two nations, he met with Hitler to assert Austrian independence but he was bullied by the Nazis into appointing Austrian Nazis to his cabinet and putting the annexation to a national vote. Before the vote happened the Nazis forced Schuschigg to resign and plead with the Austrian forces not to oppose the Nazi occupation. -
Hitler and Nazi Germany Gain Sudetenland - Political
Hitler and the Nazis demanded that they be given land in Czechoslovakia called the Sudetenland. To appease him, British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, went to Berlin and signed away the Sudetenland in return for a promise that Hitler would not try to gain the rest of Czechoslovakia. -
Hitler occupies Czechoslovakia - Political
Later that year after receiving the Sudetenland, Hitler took control of the rest of Czechoslovakia through force with his army and the Allies did nothing in response to his aggression despite pleas from the Czech government. -
Hitler and Stalin sign Non-Aggression Pact - Political
The German-Soviet Non- Aggression Pact was an agreement between Hitler and Stalin that was signed at the Kremlin in Moscow to take no military action against each other for 10 years, nor aid any third party that attacked the other nation. The significance of the agreement was that it allowed for Germany to invade Poland without any fear of resistance from the Soviet Union. Additionally, the Soviet Union could build up their military without fear of attack from Germany. -
Germany Invades Poland - Political
After the Non-Aggression pact, Hitler ordered his troops to invade Poland in late August. But, Britain and France had promised to defend Poland if they were attacked. Hitler was angered and cancelled his order. He then gambled that Britain and France would not meet their obligations and ordered troops to strike into Western Poland. The invasion of Poland prompted from the Non- Aggression pact caused Britain and France to later declare war on Nazi Germany. This was initially the start of WWII. -
Britain and France Declare War on Nazi Germany - Political
Two days after Germany had invaded Poland, Britain and France declared war on Nazi Germany because of their treaty obligations with Poland. A British Ambassador sent by Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain handed a final note to the German Government.
It requested for German troops to be withdrawn from Poland from a certain time or they would declare war. This declaration of war was essentially the start of WWII -- a war that would involve many more countries and take countless lives. -
France Surrenders and is Occupied by Nazi Germany - Political
After breaking through at the Sommes, the German army began its march towards the capital city of France, Paris. After taking the capital city, France fell and Hitler made France surrender in the same train car that Germany had surrendered in at the end of World War I. Hitler than set about to set up a puppet state named Vichy France that followed the commands of the Germans. -
Japan, Italy, and Germany sign the Tripartite Pact - Political
In Berlin, the three major Axis powers signed the Tripartite Pact to defend each other against Allied aggression and to recognize the sphere of influence that would be established after the war if the Axis were to win. The Germans and Italians would gain control over Europe while the Japanese would take Greater East Asia.
