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Hitler Joins the Nazi Party
After joining the German Workers' Party in 1919 at age thirty, Hitler immediately began a frenzied effort to make it succeed. -
End of World War I
The Treaty of Versailles ended the first world war between Germany and the Allied Powers. -
Facsist Party Established under Mussolini
In Italy, a Fascist party was established under the control of Benito Mussolini which is a political movement advocating in an authoritarian hierarchical government. -
Mussolini Takes Over Italy
Due to economic, political and social weaknesses in the Italian government, the people were attracted to new chance that Fascism offered. -
USSR is Established
Short for The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the USSR was a constitutionally socialist state that existed mostly on the territory of the former Russian Empire. -
Joseph Stalin takes contol of the USSR
Due to the death of Vladimir Lenin, the control of the USSR now rests in the hands of Joseph Stalin, which resulted in the deaths of 8-13 million Russians. -
Kellogg-Briand Pact is signed
The pact called against aggressive war, prohibiting it's usage as "an instrument of national policy" except in matters of self-defense. -
Japan invades Manchuria
On September 18th, in violation of all its treaty obligations, Japan occupied Machuria, in northeast China. It was the first step on the path to World War II. -
Roosevelt takes office
Franklin Delano Roosevelt won his first and sweeping election against Hoover making him in 32nd president. -
Hitler Becomes Chancellor Establishing the Third Reich
The Nazi regime restored economic prosperity and ended mass unemployment using heavy spending on the military, while suppressing labor unions and strikes. -
US Begins Passing Neutrality Acts
These laws passed through Roosevelt prohibited the manufacturing of armed weapons to countries involved in war. -
Hitler Begins Military Buildup
Germany starts to grow a larger military under Hitler's command further provoking the ignition of WWII. -
German Troops Invade Rhineland
Hitler ordered German troops to enter the Rhineland. At this point the German army was not very strong and could have been easily defeated. Yet neither France nor Britain was prepared to start another war. -
Itlalian Troops Conguer Ethiopia
Italian troops inside the Ethiopian border were attacked by the Ethiopians. One hundred Ethiopian and 30 Italian troops were killed. Mussolini demanded an apology. But Haile Selassie(the Ethiopian leader), refused. -
Civil War Begins in Spain under Francisco Franxo
It began after a military rebellion by a group of conservative generals led by Francisco Franco against the established Government of the Second Spanish Republic, -
Japan Invades China
A mass murder and war rape that occurred during the six-week period following the Japanese capture of the city of Nanjing (the former capital of the Republic of China). -
Hitler Announces Plans For "Lebensraum"
Hitler claims that the Germans needed more living space and his army plans to occupy it. -
Hitler Takes Austria
Many links were shared therefore Germany began its conquests in occupying Austria. -
Munich Agreement; Sudetenland to Germany
The Munich Agreement was popular with most people in Britain because it appeared to have prevented a war with Germany. -
Czechoslovakia Falls to Hitler
It began under the terms of the Munich Agreement, (Sudetenland in Germany's power) and soon spread to the conquer of Czechoslovakia. -
Non-aggression Pact; Germany & Russia Divide Poland
Publicly, this agreement stated that the two countries - Germany and the Soviet Union - would not attack each other. If there were ever a problem between the two countries, it was to be handled amicably. The pact was supposed to last for ten years; it lasted for less than two. -
Franco Is Successful in Spain
The leader of the Nationalist forces, General Franco, headed the authoritarian regime that came to power in the aftermath of the Civil War. -
German Invasion of Poland
German forces invadedthe country from the north, south, and west ending years later with the division of Poland. -
Totalitarian Government Established in USSR
While the new governments in the USSR, Italy, and Germany began as something else, be it
communism, fascism, or national socialism, they all became totalitarian governments.
• A totalitarian government is one where the government controls every aspect of life. -
Russian Army Into Finland
Finland was another nation in the Soviet scope. However, the Finns were not all too ready to bow down to the Communist herd and stood strong in the face of threats from the Russians. Eventually, the threats were called off and two days later, the Soviet Army invaded Finland. -
German Invasion of Denmark and Norway
German forces invaded Denmark and Norway by sea, by land, and by aerial bombardment. Some 10,000 German soldiers hidden in vessels disguised as merchant ships occupied the coasts of Oslo, Bergen, Kristiansund, Trondheim, and Narvik. -
British and French Defeat at Dunkirk
The reality, of course, was that Dunkirk was a monumental defeat. Historians have called the image of the evacuation which grew up in Britain ‘the necessary myth’ – necessary to maintain morale, but not true. -
Defeat of the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg by Germany
Hitler conquers the Netherlands -
Italy enters the war on the side if Germany and invades France
The Italian invasion of France in June 1940 was a small scale invasion that started near the end of the Battle of France during World War II. The goal of the Italian offensive was to take control of the Alps mountain range and the region around Nice and to win the colonies in North Africa -
France Surrenders to Germany
The Armistice is signed on June 22. Under its terms, two thirds of France is to be occupied by the Germans. The French army is to be disbanded. In addition, France must bear the cost of the German invasion.
