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The Rise of Totalitarianism
It begins in 1870 with Fascism in Italy, then gets larger with the rise of Communism in 1917, and then explodes when Nazism becomes a powerful political party around 1920. Each of these goverments hold power over their societies and control absolutely everything. -
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The Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic was the name given to Germany when its government was replaced. It lasted 14 years and faced many problems during its timespan, including inflation, problems with other countries, extremists, and a lot of things that finally led to its downfall. -
Mussolini Takes Over
Before World War I, Mussolini was a socialist turned dictator that lead Fascism through Italy from 1922 onward. He also started three wars, lost one of them, and also believed in racism towards the Jews,making him one of Hitler's allies. -
The Soviet Union
The Soviet Union began in 1922 and consisted of many countries including Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania Estonia, and more. Before World War II, there were many Jewish people living in the Soviet Union, about an estimate of 3 million. This number went down drastically when the excavation of Jewish people happened. The Soviet Union fell when president Mikhail Gorbachev resigned, signifying the end of the dreaded Cold War as well, in 1991. -
Beer Hall Putsch
The Beer Hall Putsch included the trial held for Adolf Hitler, after his attempt of starting uprisings in order to overthrow German government. It was a very important event because he gave a speech in the courtroom that showed the public that he cared a lot about his country and the way it was being run, as well as showing a passion for what he believed in, which was a different kind of government. This speech led him to gain a lot more followers and catch the eye of the people. -
Stalin Gains Power
When Stalin takes over the Soviet Union, he industrializes it an urbanizes it very quickly, but due to World War II, many people die in it, and some of the biggest countries become poor. He also brought about a new kind of government and is an important person in the rise of Totalitarianism. -
The Publication of Mein Kampf
"Mein Kampf", or "My Struggle", was a book written by Adolf Hitler about his childhood, his days in the Nazi Party, his future plans for Germany, and his ideas about things like race and politics. Little do many people know, this book wasn't written by Hitler, but instead said outloud to his friend named Rudolf Hess while he wrote it. Him and Hitler shared a prison cell in 1923, and by the time Hitler left prison, he had part of his book already finished. His book soon became famous. -
Start of the Great Depression
The Great Depression was caused by stock market crashes and had effects in many places in the world such as the United States and Europe. During the depresssion, people experienced inflation and poverty, as well as a huge deficit in job availability and food. It was a very bad time for many places. -
Japan's Invasion of Manchuria
One of the causes of World War II was Japan's invasion of Manchuria. Japan invaded in order to take over Manchuria, and then to try and take over all of East Asia. At this time Japan was very successful, and had good a industrial economy with big companies. It just wanted to get more powerful and take over more land. -
Hitler becomes Chancellor
Hitler is named Chancellor by Kurt von Schleicher and immediately begins gaining power and strengthening the Nazi Party. At first people thought that he was incapable of holding the position, but they were wrong and he used the position to his advantage. During this time, he also opened up concentration camps. -
Reichstag Fire
The Reichstag Fire was an act of arson that happened about a month after Hitler became Chancellor. Members of the Nazi party were angry that the Communist party had won the election and set fire to the building planning to blame it on the Communists to make it look like they were beginning a revolution. The Nazis ended up gaining more votes in the next election. -
Nuremberg Laws take Place
These laws were the rules and regulations of removing Jewish people from the public. Hitler and his followers believed that they had to maintain a specific racial identity in order to be superior, which did not include Jews. These laws were passed at the Nuremberg Rally and took effect, unfortunately. -
Italy invades Ethiopia
Italy unsuccessfully attempted to conquer Ethiopia in the 1890's and in 1934, it was one of the few independent states in Africa. Mussolini invaded it on this date and soon started the war. This war contributed to tension between certain countries and led to more African nationalism as well. -
Munich Conference
This was a conference held between the government leaders of Great Britain, France, Germany, and Italy about giving certain parts of Czechoslovakia to Germany. When the land was transferred over, Germany became more powerful and the military of Czechoslovakia became one of the strongest ones. -
Sudetenland is invaded
On this date, German troops invaded Sudetenland. The Czechoslovakian part of Sudetenland was given to Germany in an agreement to not take over any other land and avoid war. -
Kristallnacht takes place
Also known as "The Night of Broken Glass", the Kristallnacht was the breaking of windows on Jewish shops. People did this as an outburst to the assassination of the third secretary of the German embassy in, Ernst vom Rath. He was killed by a 17 year old Jewish man named Herschel Grynszpan. After the public found this out, anti-Jewish rioting began. -
Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact Formed
This was a pact tha both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union signed as a guarantee that they wouldn't attack one another. The Soviet Union was also given parts of land. This pact was broke two years later when Germany attacked. -
The Invasion of Poland
The Invasion of Poland is considered the start of World War II. Soon after Germany invades, France and Britain declare war on Germany, and the war ends six years later when Germany and Japan surrender to allies.
