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Mussolini Takes Control of Italy
Italians wanted a strong leader to get them out of the post-war depression. Benito Mussolini was a strong speaker who gained many followers. In October 1922, he marched on Rome and took control of the government, promising to restore Italy to its former glory. -
Hitler Tries to Take over Government
Inspired by Mussolini's Fascist government, Hitler rose to power in Germany as leader of the Nazi Party. He tried to take over the government, but was arrested and imprisoned for treason. -
"Mein Kampf" is Published
Hitler's book, "Mein Kampf," that he wrote in prison is published. It contains his ideology, including blaming the Jews for Germany's losses, for the public to read. -
Stock Market Crashes and Great Depression Begins
On this date, the stock market crashed, which led to a worldwide depression. Since Fascist governments are better equipped to get out of a depression than Democracies, Hitler and the Nazis began to gain more followers. -
Hitler Takes Control of Germany
Hitler became Prime Minister. He used that position to further his power until he was the dictator of Germany. He also started rebuilding Germany's army. -
Anschluss (Austria Joining Germany)
Hitler claimed Austria should be part of Germany because they had similar cultures, so German troops marched into Austria. They forced Austrians to take a rigged vote on whether or not they wanted to join Germany, which "showed" that 99% of them did. Since France and Great Britain were tired of war, they did nothing to stop this from happening. -
Germany Takes Czechoslovakia
Even though Hitler had agreed not to take any more land after Austria, he still went after the Sudetenland, a German-filled part of Czechoslovakia. Following their policy of appeasement (compromising to avoid war), France and Britain allowed it as long as Germany didn't take over any more of Czechoslovakia. Again, Hitler did not abide and continued to push the limits, taking over the rest of Czechoslovakia. -
Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass)
After a Jew shot and killed a German official, Hitler saw it as the perfect opportunity to start executing. Over November 9th and 10th, many Jews were killed or hurt, and many Jewish stores and synagogues were burned. This led to many other European countries realizing how crazy the Nazis' views were and preparing for war against them. -
Germany and Soviet Union Form Alliance
Germany and the USSR formed a secret alliance to ensure neither one attacked the other. This allowed Germany to invade Poland without the threat of the USSR attacking them. -
Germany Invades Poland; WWII Begins
The Allies warned Germany that if they invaded Poland, war would be declared. Hitler took the challenge and sent troops to Poland anyways. Britain and France declared war, but weren't able to mobilize in time to prevent Germany from taking control of Poland.
