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1921 - Adolf Hitler becomes leader of the Nazi Party.
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1929 - Joseph Stalin is made the sole dictator of the Soviet Union (USSR).
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1922 - Benito Mussolini is appointed the Prime Minister of Italy. He led the Fascist Party and turned Italy into a Fascist country.
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1931 - The Japanese army seizes the town of Manchuria, China. Under Japanese control, Manchuria was one of the most brutally run regions in the world.
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1933 - Adolf Hitler is named the Chancellor of Germany.
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1933 - The Nazis begin to gather Jews for labor camps, which eventually turn into execution camps. This will be later known as the Holocaust.
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1935 - The Neutrality Act, preventing the United States from aiding anyone in the war, is passed. This is to ensure that no harm is done to the U.S.
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1935 - The Italian army invades Ethiopia in Africa. Ethiopia's military was very outdated, so the Italian army won with ease.
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1936 - Militarists take control of the Japanese government. Japan became obsessed with militarism and the Japanese military grows and strengthens.
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1936 - Adolf Hitler sends his troops into the Rhinelands. This was, for Germany, a violation of the Versailles Treaty.
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1937 - Japan's army attacks the town of Nanjing, China. They massacred a quarter of a million people.
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1938 - The Munich Pact is signed by Adolf Hitler and the Prime Minister. This gave the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia to Germany.
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1939 - The Nazi-Soviet Pact is signed by Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin. This was a non-aggression agreement between Germany and the Soviet Union. The signing of the Pact was surprising because Germany and the Soviet Union were bitter enemies.
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On September 1st, 1939, the Nazis invade Poland; in response to this, Britain and France declared war on Germany. This was the official start of World War Two.
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On September 3, 1939, in response to Hitler's invasion of Poland, Britain and France, both allies of the overrun nation declare war on Germany. France would begin an offensive against Germany's western border two weeks later.
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In June 1940, Germany had effectively defeated France and ejected the British from Europe. Only then did Italy declare war on both countries. Lead by dictator Benito Mussolini, Italy went on to suffer defeats in Greece, East and North Africa.
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On October 31, 1941, a Nazi U-boat claimed the first US warship sunk by the enemy in World War II.
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The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in the Hawaiian Islands on December 7, 1941 marked the official entrance of the United States into World War II.
