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Hitler writes mein kampf
Mein Kampf promoted the key components of Nazism: rabid antisemitism, a racist world view, and an aggressive foreign policy geared to gaining Lebensraum (living space) in eastern Europe.From 1925 to summer 1945, it sold over 12 million copies and was translated into more than a dozen languages, including a braille edition for blind Germans. -
Mussolini's march on rome
The March on Rome, a mass demonstration organized by Benito Mussolini and his Fascist Party in October 1922, led to the party's ascent to power in the Kingdom of Italy. On October 28th, fascists, including Blackshirts, approached Rome, aiming to seize control. Prime Minister Luigi Facta proposed a state of siege, but King Victor Emmanuel III, fearing bloodshed, overruled him and instead persuaded Facta to resign, paving the way for Mussolini to become Prime Minister -
Holodomor begins
The Holodomor, also known as the Ukrainian Famine, was a devastating man-made famine in Soviet Ukraine from 1932 to 1933. It is considered by many historians and nations, including Ukraine, to have been a deliberate act of genocide orchestrated by the Soviet regime under Joseph Stalin. The Soviet government denied the existence of the famine and refused offers of outside assistance. For decades, any mention of the Holodomor was suppressed within the Soviet Union -
Japan invades Manchuria
The Japanese invasion of Manchuria, which began on September 18, 1931, marked the beginning of World War II. Japan, driven by imperial ambitions and a need for resources, rapidly took control of the region following the Mukden Incident, a manufactured conflict on the South Manchurian Railway. This invasion was a key event in the expansion of the Japanese Empire and had significant international repercussions. -
Hitler appointed chancellor of Germany
Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany on January 30, 1933, after being appointed by President Paul von Hindenburg. This appointment, while legally within the German constitution, marked a turning point in German history and the beginning of the Nazi regime. Hitler was not elected to the chancellorship, but was appointed by the President, following a series of electoral victories by the Nazi Party. -
Knight of the long knives
The "Night of the Long Knives," also known as the Röhm purge or Operation Hummingbird, was a purge in Nazi Germany from June 30 to July 2, 1934. Hitler, urged by Hermann Göring and Heinrich Himmler, ordered extrajudicial executions of political opponents to consolidate power and address the concerns of the German military about the role of Ernst Röhm and the Sturmabteilung.Hitler sought to eliminate perceived threats to his authority. -
Nuremburg laws enacted
The Nuremberg Laws were a set of antisemitic laws enacted in Nazi Germany on September 15, 1935, during the annual Nazi Party rally in Nuremberg. Reich Citizenship Law (Reichsbürgergesetz): This law decreed that only those of "German or related blood" could be citizens of Germany. Jews, defined as a separate race, were stripped of their German citizenship and political rights and reduced to the status of "subjects of the state". -
The great purge begins
The Great Purge (also known as the Great Terror) was a period of intense political repression in the Soviet Union from 1936 to 1938. It involved the systematic elimination of political opponents, including high-ranking officials, military leaders, and ethnic minorities, under the leadership of Joseph Stalin. The NKVD, the interior ministry and secret police, played a key role in carrying out the purges. -
The rape of nanking
In late 1937, over a period of six weeks, Imperial Japanese Army forces brutally murdered hundreds of thousands of people—including both soldiers and civilians—in the Chinese city of Nanjing.The horrific events are known as the Nanjing Massacre or the Rape of Nanjing, as tens of thousands of women and girls were sexually assaulted. Nanjing, then the capital of Nationalist China, was left in ruins, and it would take decades for the city and its citizens to recover from the savage attacks. -
kristallnacht
Kristallnacht, often referred to as “the Night of Broken Glass,” stands as a harrowing chapter in history and serves as a violent turning point during the early stages of the Holocaust.Shortly after this diplomatic blow, 17,000 Polish Jews were violently expelled across the German/Polish border on October 28, 1938.