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Mussolini formed the Fascist Party
After the First World War, the Italians weren’t satisfied with their new democratic government. They viewed it as weak and ineffective and blamed the government for being unable to bring stability to the economic chaos. -
Treaty of Versailles is signed.
Woodrow Wilson wanted a treaty based on his 14-point plan which he believed would bring peace to Europe. However, the French & English wanted revenge & harsher punishments for Germany. Some of the main terms of the Treaty came out to be the War Guilt Clause, reparations of $30 billion, & disarmament of the German military. The Treaty left Germany feeling cheated & bitter towards the other European countries. Many Germans felt that there would be an opportunity to correct the unfair terms. -
Hitler joins the German Worker’s Party
Initially, Hitler had appointe an intelligence agent to influence other soldiers and to infiltrate the German Workers' Party. But once he began monitoring their activities, Hilter became attracted to the antisemitic, nationalist, anti-capitalist, and anti-Marxist ideas of the founder, Anton Drexler . -
Hitler becomes the Nazi’s chairman
Members of the Nazis party's executive committee considered Hitler to be too overbearing and wanted to merge with the rival German Socialist Party. Angered by this, Hitler threatened to resign and the committee members realised his resignation would mean the end of the party. Hitler announced he would rejoin on the condition that he would rbecome the party's chairman. -
March on Rome.
22 to 29 October 1922.The March on Rome was Mussolini's way of establishing the Fascist Party he led, as the most important political party in Italy. His plan was to demand the resignation of the government and that a new Fascist government would take over. Mussolini also had armed Fascists near Rome so if the government failed to meet his demands, they would march into Rome and take over by force. -
Acerbo Law passed.
The Acerbo Law stated that the party that gained the largest share of the votes, and at least 25 percent, would gain two-thirds of the seats in parliament. The remaining third would be shared amongst the other parties proportionally. This law gave Mussolini's fascist party the majority. -
Giacomo Matteotti is killed by fascists.
Eleven days before his murder, Matteotti openly spoke in the Italian parliament and alleged that the Fascists committed fraud in the recently held elections. His death caused widespread criticism of Fascism. Sinve Mussolini's government didn;t collapse, all the anti-fascists (except for the Communist Party) started to abandon the Chamber of Deputies. But instead of forcing the Crown against Mussolini, they strengthened him by leasening hid opposition. -
Mussolini makes himself dictator of Italy.
After elections were held, with the help of both the Acerbo Law and Matteotti's death, Mussolini controlled enough seats in parliament to appoint himself Il Duce ("the leader") of Italy. -
Japan invades Chinese province of Manchuria
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Nazi party becomes the largest party in the German parliament.
In 1928, the Nazis party had no more than 2.6 per cent of votes cast. But by 1932, they had gained about 37.3 percent of all votes cast and made it the largest party in the Reich. -
Adolf Hitler was appointed as the chancellor of Germany
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Reichstag Fire Decree passed.
The Reichstag Fire Decree abolished most civil rights of German citizens and transferred state powers to the Reich government. The Nazis party used it to their advantage by using it as a legal was to imprison anyone who was considered to be opponents of the Nazis, and to suppress publications, newspapers and articles, that not considered “friendly” to the Nazi cause. -
The Enabling Act passed.
The Enabling Act gave the German cabinet, of which Adolf Hitler was head of, the power to enact laws without the involvement of the Reichstag, This meant that Hitler plenary powers and made him the dictator of Germany. -
The Nazi party was declared the only legal political party in Germany
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Germany withdraws from the League of Nations.
Hitler had always made clear his contempt for the League of Nations and once he was no longer involved with it, or its rules, he could rearm Germany as he pleased. -
President von Hindenburg dies.
President von Hindenburg was the head of state in Germany. He, at the time, was Hitler's only superior and the only one with the power to dismiss Hitler from office. Hindenburg's death left Hitler as the head of state as well as head of government. Hitler quickly begins reconstruction and rearmament of the country. -
Mussolini invades Abyssinia .
Mussolini invaded Abyssinia (now Ethiopia) and incorporated it into his new Italian Empire to fulfill his goal of imperial conquest. He wanted to encourage the Fascist Italy to ally itself with Nazi Germany. The invasion also undermined the credibility of the League of Nations, since it was unable to do anything to counteract. -
Remilitarization of the Rhineland.
Hitler orders the German army to reoccupy Rhineland, which directly violated the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. At this point, had Britain or France reacted to Hitler's actions, the outcome would have been drastically different. It would have halted his future plans, which all relied on both countries being nonresponsive. -
Japan and Germany sign the anti-comintern pact.
The anti-comintern pact states that in case of an attack by the Soviet Union against Germany or Japan, both countries agreed to fight together. the pact was directed agaisnt Communist International, an international communist organization initiated in Moscow during March 1919. They also agreed that neither of them would make any political treaties with the Soviet Union. -
Hitler invades Austria
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Munich Agreement signed.
After threatening to invade the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia, Hitler met in Munich with the Prime Ministers of Britain, Neville Chamberlain, and France, Edouard Daladier, to reach a settlement. They agreed on allowing Hitler annex the Sudetenland, as long as the rest of Czechoslovakia stayed intact. -
Hitler invades Czechoslovakia.
Even though he had agreed to the terms of the Munich Agreement with France and Britain, Hitler violates the agreement and invades Czechoslovakia. Britain and France still do not take any action against Hitler. -
The Pact of Steel is signed; the Axis is formed
The Pact of Steel was a pact allying Fascist Italy with National Socialist. It stated that if either party was attacked, the other would give them full political and military support. The Italian Foreign Minister realised that this pact could be very damaging for Italy, but Mussolini was fixated on allying with Europe’s most powerful country. -
Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact signed.
Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact was a commitment between Germany and the Soviet Union that neither party would ally with or aid an enemy of the other. The pact included a secret protocol that divided the territories of Romania, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Finland between the two. -
Germany invades Poland
Hitler orders his military to invade Poland from the north, west, and south. He didn't know about the Anglo-Polish military alliance that was formed by Britain and France, to ensure that Poland's territory would be defended with their support if it were to be threatened by Germany.
