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The Treaty of Versailles is Signed
***The Germans thought that the Treaty of Versailles was unfair and too harsh. They forced to stop their military from fighting, and in a fit of anger and revenge, they voted to power a man who promised to rip up the treaty and help improve the Economy. (*** = main cause) -
The League of Nations is Formed
The League od Nations was made up of diplomats from many different countries. The League wanted to complete goals such as negotiation, diplomacy, and improving global quality of life. But, since the League of Nations did not have an army, they failed in its goal to prevent any future wars. -
Mussolini Becomes Leader
Benito Mussolini turned Italy into a fascist country, which means that the state is more important than the individual. This caused him to be very hungry fro power and later align with Hitler. Many of his events were his creation of the Rome-Berlin Alliance, and his anti-sematic laws in Italy, which helped fuel people for war. He was the Dictator of Italy. -
Hitler Tries to Seize Power and Goes to Jail
Adolf Hitler, along with the SA, goes and storms in at a meeting of over 3,000 people in a huge beer hall in Munich. He interrupts Kahr's speech and stated that a national revolution had begun. The next day, Hitler and his followers marched from the beer hall to the Bavarian War Ministry to overthrow the Bavarian government, but the police dispersed them. SIxteen NSDAP members and four police officers were killed in the failed coup. -
Stock Market Crash and Depression
*** The stock market crashes in the US, and because of this they could not fund Germany anymore, so people were without jobs and staving. The great depression hit Germany. The lure of a steady job and food made Germans want to vote for a dictator (Hitler). People were desperate for money, food, and happiness -
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Invasion of Manchuria
Japan took control of Manchuria, because it contained resources that were wanted by Japan, and it was only loosely attached to China. This invasion launched a bloody war between China and Japan. This also marked the end of attempts at international agreements. Angered by this, delegates of the League of Nations' 1932 World Disarmament Conference went home without agreeing to reduce weapons, which had a major impact on World War 2. -
Hitler Becomes Chancellor
***President Hindenburg agreed to appoint Hitler as chancellor after two parliamentary elections in July and in November of 1932 had not resulted in the formation of a majority government. As chancellor, Hitler secretly started building up the army, and new secret weapons. He increased the size of the arm, began building warships, and created a German air force. Compulsory military service was also introduced. This prepared Germany for World War 2. -
Hitler's Names Himself Führer
*** Shortly after German president Paul Von Hindenburg's death, Hitler declared himself the absolute ruler of Germany. Hitler's declaration as the fuhrer stands for Hitler's first grasp of power, and a chance to finally step up and carry out his plans. No one could stop him from that point on. -
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Invasion of Ethiopia
Italian dictator, Benito Mussolini tried to expand his Italian empire in Africa by taking over Ethiopia. The Italians invaded with no formal declaration of War. By the end of 1935, Mussolini approved the use of mustard gas and on March 31, 1936, the Italians won the last major battle of the war, which was the Battle of Maychew. Emperor Haile Selassie fled into exile on May 2, 1936. Mussolini declared the country's withdrawal from the League of Nations, which helped improve the Italian army. -
Militarizing the Rhineland
The Rhineland was the heart of the German steel manufacture, and an essential ingredient for military rearmament. It was also the first direct evidence that the allies would fail to upload its treaty positions, or punish Germany for its violations. This causes Germany to become stronger the allies to become weaker. It was a major accomplishment for Hitler. -
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Civil War in Spain, Franco Comes to Power
While a lot of nations refused to be involved in the Spanish Civil War, mainly Britain and France, troops were sent by Mussolini and Hitler to aid the Spanish nationalists, most of which included those with fascist beliefs. Spain was non-belligerent during World War 2, but the civil war division of fascism (Germany and Italy) versus democracy (volunteers from neutral countries joined the fight against nationalists) and communism (the USSR) was repeated. -
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Invasion of China
***From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with economic help from Germany, the Soviet Union, and the United States. The war took away most of the Nationalist government's strength while allowing the Communists to gain control over large areas through organization of guerrilla units. Thus, it was an important factor in the eventual Communist defeat of the Nationalist forces in 1949. The war was also called the China Incident. This also acted as the trigger for the beginning of World War 2. -
The Anschluss (Austria as a part of Germany)
Adolf Hitler's goal was to begin taking back the land that had been taken away from Germany. German troops marched into Austria and the Austrian leader was forced to hold a vote asking the people whether they wanted to be part of Germany. The results of the vote were fixed and showed that 99% of Austrian people wanted Union with Germany. Hitler promised that Anschluss was the end of his expansionist aims and not wanting to risk war, the other countries did nothing. He didn't keep his promise. -
Munich Conference
The conference held in Munich included the leaders of Great Britain, France, Germany, and Italy. Adolf Hitler had demanded the possession of the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia. Sudetenland contained the Czech fortifications and some heavy industry, as well as 3 million Germans. British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, tried to talk him out of it, but when Hitler wouldn't back down, Chamberlain decided to follow a policy of "appeasement" and gave in to Hitler on this issue. -
Invasion of Czechoslovakia
Hitler invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia. Despite calls for help from the Czech's government, neither Britain nor France were prepared to take military action against Hitler. However, they did feel that some action was necessary and believing that Poland would be Hitler's next target, both Britain and France promised that they would take military action against Hitler if her decided to invade Poland. Chamberlain believe that, faced with the prospect of war, Hitler would stop aggression. -
Nonaggression Pact with the Soviet Union
The Molotow-Ribbenitrop Pact was a contract signed between the USSR and Nazi Germany to prevent Russia from declaring was on Germany as they took country after country. However, Stalin didn't know that the pact was just a pawn and Germany was building its economy and military to conquer Russia. -
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Invasion of Poland
***Starting a week after signing the Molotov-Ribbenitrop Pact, Poland was invaded by Germany and the Soviet Union. Since the Germans were invading Poland, and France and England signed a mutual protection agreement with Poland, they declared war on Germany. However, they did nothing to help Poland. Since Poland was close to the Russian boarder, the inevitable was between Germany and the USSR also started. This act marked the beginning of World War 2 in Europe.
