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WWII (Leading up to and conclusion)
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Hitler's Rise to Power
From the beginning of his adoption into the DAP which later became known as the Nazi Party, Hitler had shown great skill at delivering speeches. With this talent coupled with his charisma and undying nationalism that stemmed from his roots in the German army, he would go on to become Chancellor of Germany through a series of political stand-offs (however questionable) that won him the admiration of the German people. With his book and his speeches, he was an unstoppable political force. -
Mein Kampf
(Actual Day Unknown) A book written by Adolf Hitler encompassing a minute bit of his life in addition to his political idealology and his musings regarding the current German government. This was also his way of conveying his ideas regarding the master race, and basically his criticisms and comments on everything from religion to ethnic background. This set the stage for public acceptance of the persecution of the jewish occupants of Germany, as well as other minority groups. -
Stock Market Crash
Occured on what is known as: Black Tuesday. Wall Street's industrial average fell a wopping 38 points. Many people at the time were interested in the stock market, and quickly withdrew and attempted to sell their stock. The stock in turn had already become useless and worthless. This mass selling was intensified by the backing up of phone lines and telegraphs with an overflow of messages, sparking fear within investors. This was the beginning of the worldwide economic depression. -
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Great Depression
A worldwide economic depression starting in America on the event known as : Black Tuesday. The event in question, where the stock market had crashed. Slowly, more and more countries had begun the suffering of an economic depression from which return would take as long as until the beginning of WWII, where industrialization for war activities would lead to the acquisition of greater monetary value for the world's currency. -
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Appeasement
In the aftermath of the first World War, the countries of the world sought to find more peaceable methods of going about international disagreements. With the establishment of the League of Nations, peaceful negotiations regarding the exchange of land had become an alternative to all out warfare. Unfortunately, this failed miserably with the example of Germany's militarization of the Rhine. -
Japanese Invasion of Manchuria
An event in which Japanese generals defied orders from their base in Tokyo and proceeded on an invasion course to take over the country of Manchuria, and establish it as a base in mainland Asia. This occupancy lasted until the end of WWII. Participants were: Kwangtung Army (Of Japan) and Manchuria's army. This event lead to further shaky relations and agressive tactics by Japan upon seeing their success to claim area in the mainland and have a chance at the establishment of colonies. -
Enabling Act
The disabling of the German constitution by Adolf Hitler. This was the first step in dehumanizing the jewish population and turning all of Germany against the minority groups residing throughout Nazi Germany. Known as: "Law to Remedy the Distress of the People and Reich." This was created legally, and furthered Hitler's dictatorial powers. -
Nuremburg Laws
A series of laws created to further the anti-semetic agenda of the Nazi Party. Using what people widely accepted as "science" the Nazi group disabled many of the rights of Jews. They were to be regarded as less than the German purebloods. Jews were prevented from intercourse, as well as marriage with non-jews. They had their citizenship forcibly revoked, and were looked down on in society. This event allowed the Holocaust to be overlooked, and accepted by the German people. -
Ethiopian War (1935-1936)
(Ended May 1936) War between Kingdom of Italy and the Ethiopian Empire. Ethipoia become militarily occupied by the Italian forces and was followed up with its annexation into a newly created Italian colony. Primarily showed the weakness of the League of Nations. Both participants in the war were part of the league, however the league itself could do nothing to control the situation or deter its progress. Contribution to the war: allowed Germany to see League's failing power. -
Remilitarization of the Rhineland
German military forces had entered the area designated as the Rhineland, named for its location along the Rhine River. The significance of this event lies primarily in Germany's utter disregard for the treaties set in place after World War I. Showing that Germany's brute force once again could conquer the "please don't do this" policies of the league, they were able to take control of it and militarize. -
Spanish Civil War. (1936-1939)
(Ended 1 April 1939) War in Spain between a group of generals under the leadership of Jose Sanjurjo and the current Spanish Government. This divided Spain both militarily and politically. This in particular created a perfect testing ground of Adolf Hitler and Mussolini to test their arms. In essence, this was a small scale test of the weapons and strategies to later be used in WWII. Ended in conservative Nationalists victory and the exile of the democratically elected leaders. -
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Japanese Expansion
Period of agressive action on the part of Japan where it began a series of wars beginning (debatably) during the Second Sino-Japanese War between Japan and China. Japan sought to expand and in later battles attempted to take Korea, and Thailand. The US (after the incident at Pearl Harbor) began a retaliation against Japan known as The Pacific War, in which 2 major cities were bombed sometime in 1945 prompting Japan to finally surrender, and end their agressive expansion. -
Rape of Nanjing
A massacre of hundreds of thousands of Chinese civilians and armless soldiers following the capture of the Republic of China (Nanjing) Widespread rape and murder occured over a six week period resulting in over 250,000 casualties both civilian and soldier (unarmed however). The event itself was horrifying to the eyes of the world, and made Japan out to be blood thirsty war mongers. It was considered a collection of war crimes, and the perpetrators were later tried and convicted. (executed) -
Anschluss
The annexation/occupation of Austria by Nazi Germany. Pressure from both Austria and German people regarding the annexation finally made the current Austrian chancellor cave in. The terms and conditions of the Treaty of Versailles were completely ignored. Other countries submitted complaints, however no direct military action was ever taken. Thus, allowing Germany to take control of the Austrian government, as well as its people. -
Munich Conference
An agreement between Czechoslovakia and Nazi Germany regarding the annexation of the Czech Sudentland. Basically, it was an accumulation of all the leaders of European leaders (excluding Czech itself) to give some parts of the Czech country over to Hitler. It is widely regarded as an internationally failed attempt at appeasment to deter Hitler from his dream of complete global conquest.
