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Period: to
Prelude to World War II
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Signing of the Treaty of Versais
The Treaty of Versailles was the peace treaty at the end of World War I with Germany. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. One of the most important articles required "Germany to accept the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all the loss and damage" during the war . The treaty forced Germany to disarm, make substantial territorial concessions, and pay reparations to certain Fracne and Britain. -
Benito Mussolini comes to power.
In 1919, he created the Fascist Party, eventually making himself dictator and holding all the power in Italy. Capitalizing on public discontent, Mussolini organized a para-military unit known as the "Black Shirts," who terrorized political opponents and helped increase Fascist influence. By 1922, as Italy slipped into chaos, Mussolini declared that only he could restore order and was given the authority. He dismantled all democratic institutions, and by 1925, had made himself dictator. -
Beer Hall Putsch
On November 8, 1923 Adolph Hitler led his Nazi followers in an abortive attempt to seize power in Munich in what became known as the "Beer Hall Putsch". Although the plan failed, and Hitler imprisoned, the notoriety the Nazi leader gained laid the groundwork for his rise to the dictatorship of Germany. While in prison, Hitler wrote Mein Kamp, the book that described his political philosophy and planned conquest of Europe. -
Stalin's 5 Year Plan
In the name of Communism, Stalin seized assets, including farms and factories, and reorganized the economy. All economic activity was placed under state management. However, these efforts often led to less efficient production, ensuring that mass starvation swept the countryside. By 1937 the USSR had become the 2nd largest industrial power only trailing the United States. -
Stalin Contols Russia.
Joseph Stalin came to power in the Soviet Union after the death of Vladimir Lenin on 21st January 1924 (N.S). He did not have sole control. He acted as part of a troika with Grigory Zinoviev and Lev Kamenev. After Lenin's death, Stalin eliminated Leon Trotsky, Nikolai Bukharin as well as Zinoviev and Kamenev from participation in the government to become sole leader of the Soviet Union in 1929. -
Black Friday- Wall Street Crash
The Great Depression helped the Nazis come to power. Because of war debts and dependence on American loans and investments, Germany's economy was hit hard. By 1932, some 6 million Germans were unemployed. Many men who were out of work joined Hitler's private army, the storm troopers. The German people were desperate and turned to Hitler. -
Japan Invades Manchuria
The Japanese invasion of Manchuria began on September 19, 1931, when the Kwantung Army of the Empire of Japan invaded Manchuria immediately following the Mukden Incident. The Japanese established a puppet state, called Manchukuo, and their occupation lasted until the end of World War II. The invasion ulitimately led to Japan withdrawing from the League of Nations. -
Nazi's gain control of Parliment
Federal elections were held in Germany on 31 July 1932, following the premature dissolution of the Reichstag. They saw great gains by the Nazi Party, which for the first time became the largest party in parliament, though without winning a majority. -
FDR Elected to First Term
The United States presidential election of 1932 was the 37th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 1932. The election took place among the backdrop of the Great Depression that had ruined the promises of incumbent President and Republican candidate Herbert Hoover to bring about a new era of prosperity. The Franklin Roosevelt ticket swept every region of the country except New England and carried many reliable Republican states that had not been carried in years. -
Japan Withdrawls from League of Nations
The Japanese delegation, defying world opinion, withdrew from the League of Nations Assembly on this day after the assembly had adopted a report blaming Japan for events in Manchuria.
The stunned international conclave, representing almost every nation on earth, sat in silence while the delegation, led by the dapper Yosuke Matsuoka, clad in black, walked from the hall. The crowded galleries broke into mingled hisses and applause. -
Reichstag Fire- Hitlers takes complete control
The Reichstag fire was an arson attack on the Reichstag building in Berlin on 27 February 1933. Marinus van der Lubbe, a young Dutch council communist and unemployed bricklayer who arrived in Germany to fulfill his dream and to engage in political activities, was caught and after admitting starting the fire was sentenced to death. The fire was used as evidence by the Nazis that the Communists were plotting against the German government and the event is seen as the beginning of Nazi Germany. -
FDR's Good Neighbor Policy
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt took office determined to improve relations with the nations of Central and South America. FDR emphasized cooperation and trade rather than military force to maintain stability in the hemisphere. In his inaugural address, Roosevelt stated: “In the field of world policy I would dedicate this nation to the policy of the good neighbor—the neighbor who resolutely respects himself and, because he does so, respects the rights of others". -
USA recognizes the Soviet Union
On November 16, 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt ended almost 16 years of American non-recognition of the Soviet Union following a series of negotiations in Washington, D.C. with the Soviet Commissar for Foreign Affairs, Maxim Litvinov. Roosevelt also managed to secure guarantees that the Soviet Government would refrain from interfering in American domestic affairs (aiding the American Communist Party), and would grant certain religious and legal rights for U.S. citizens living in the USSR. -
Neutrality Acts
President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Neutrality Act, or Senate Joint Resolution No. 173, which he calls an "expression of the desire...to avoid any action which might involve [the U.S.] in war." Roosevelt said that the new law would require American vessels to obtain a license to carry arms, would restrict Americans from sailing on ships from hostile nations and would impose an embargo on the sale of arms to "belligerent" nations. -
Italy invades Ethiopia
Article Web sites Bibliography Related Content Contributors Italo-Ethiopian War, (1935–36), an armed conflict that resulted in Ethiopia’s subjection to Italian rule. Often seen as one of the episodes that prepared the way for World War II, the war demonstrated the ineffectiveness of the League of Nations when League decisions were not supported by the great powers. -
Spanish Civil War begins
The Spanish Civil War (Spanish: Guerra Civil Española)[nb 2] was fought from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939 between the Republicans, who were loyal to the democratically elected Spanish Republic, and the Nationalists, a rebel group led by General Francisco Franco. The Nationalists prevailed, and Franco ruled Spain for the next 36 years, from 1939 until his death in 1975. The Nazi's trained and helped Franco and his fascist gain control of Spain, thus gaining beneficial combat expericence. -
Neutrality Act of 1937
In January 1937, the Congress passed a joint resolution outlawing the arms trade with Spain. The Neutrality Act of 1937, passed in May, included the provisions of the earlier acts, this time without expiration date, and extended them to cover civil wars as well. Furthermore, U.S. ships were prohibited from transporting any passengers or articles to belligerents, and U.S. citizens were forbidden from traveling on ships of belligerent nations. -
Quarantine Speech"
Speech delivered in Chicago that FDR called on peace-loving nations to quarantine or isolate, aggressor ntions in order to stop the spread of war. FDR appeared ready to take a stand on aggression but backed down after isolationist newspapers exploded in protest, accusing FDR of leading the nation into war.
