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Treaty of Versailles signed
The Treaty of Versailles was signed by Germany and the Allied Nations formally ending World War One. The terms of the treaty required that Germany pay financial reparations, disarm, lose territory, and give up all of its overseas colonies. SIgned at the Palace or Versailles in Paris. -
Hitler's Munich Putsch
Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party led a coalition group in an attempted coup d'état which came to be known as the Munich Putsch or the Beer Hall Putsch. Aiming to seize control of the state government, march on Berlin, and overthrow the German federal government. -
Stalin becomes leader of the Soviet Union
Stalin was given the honour of organizing Lenin's funeral. Upon Lenin's death, Stalin was officially hailed as his successor as the leader of the ruling Communist Party and of the Soviet Union itself. -
Mussolini becomes leader of Italy
As Italy slipped into political chaos, Mussolini declared that only he could restore order and was given the authority in 1922 as prime minister. He gradually dismantled all democratic institutions. He made himself dictator, taking the title "Il Duce". -
Japan invades Manchuria
Seeking raw materials to fuel its growing industries, Japan invaded the Chinese province of Manchuria in 1931. By 1937 Japan controlled large sections of China, and war crimes against the Chinese became commonplace. -
The Reichstag Fire
The German parliament building burned down. The Nazi leadership and its coalition partners used the fire to claim that Communists were planning a violent uprising. They claimed that emergency legislation was needed to prevent this. -
First concentration camp opens in Germany
The Concentration Camp at Dachau was opened, with the arrival of about 200 prisoners from Stadelheim Prison in Munich and the Landsberg fortress. -
Hitler becomes Fuhrer of Germany
When Hindenburg died, Hitler declared himself jointly president, chancellor and head of the army. Members of the armed forces had to swear a personal oath of allegiance not to Germany, but to Hitler. This formally made Hitler the absolute ruler of Germany. -
The Reichstag passes the Nuremberg Laws
Two distinct laws passed in Nazi Germany are known collectively as the Nuremberg Laws: the Reich Citizenship Law and the Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honor. These laws embodied many of the racial theories underpinning Nazi ideology. -
Italy invades Ethiopia
Italo-Ethiopian War, 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. -
Hitler re-arms (sends troops) into the Rhineland
German troops re-occupied the Rhineland, a de-militarised zone according to the Treaty of Versailles. This action was directly against the terms which Germany had accepted after the First World War. -
Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War, military revolt against the Republican government of Spain, supported by conservative elements within the country. When an initial military coup failed to win control of the entire country, a bloody civil war ensued, fought with great ferocity on both sides. -
Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy form the Rome-Berlin Axis Treaty
Germany and Italy completed the Rome-Berlin Axis, a cooperation deal. A month later Japan joined the so-called Axis powers by signing (with Germany) the Anti-Comintern Pact, an anti-communist agreement that was primarily directed against the Soviet Union; Italy signed in 1937. -
Japan commits the “Rape of Nanjing”
The Rape of Nanjing was the mass killing and the ravaging of Chinese citizens and capitulated soldiers by soldiers of the Japanese Imperial Army. The massacre lasted for six weeks. The perpetrators also committed other atrocities such as mass rape, looting and arson. -
Germany & Austria join in the “Anschluss”
Political union of Austria with Germany, achieved through annexation by Adolf Hitler. Mooted in 1919 by Austria, Anschluss with Germany remained a hope, after which Hitler’s rise to power made it less attractive. -
Munich Conference grants Hitler control of the Sudetenland
Settlement reached by Germany, Great Britain, France, and Italy that permitted German annexation of the Sudetenland, in western Czechoslovakia. Most of Europe celebrated the Munich agreement, which was presented as a way to prevent a major war on the continent. Adolf Hitler announced that it was his last territorial claim in Europe. -
Hitler sends troops into Czechoslovakia to annex the whole country
Hitler’s forces invade and occupy Czechoslovakiaa nation sacrificed on the altar of the Munich Pact, which was a vain attempt to prevent Germany’s imperial aims. They took over Bohemia, and established a protectorate over Slovakia. -
Hitler & Stalin announce the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact
Nonaggression pact between Germany and the Soviet Union that was concluded only a few days before the beginning of World War II. The two countries agreed to take no military action against each other for the next 10 years. -
Hitler/Nazis invade Poland
Germany invades Poland, initiating World War II in Europe. German forces broke through Polish defenses along the border and quickly advanced on Warsaw, the Polish capital. Hundreds of thousands of refugees fled the German advance hoping the Polish army could halt the German advance. -
Kristallnacht
Nazis in Germany torched synagogues, vandalized Jewish homes, schools and businesses and killed close to 100 Jews. In the aftermath of Kristallnacht, also called the “Night of Broken Glass,” some 30,000 Jewish men were arrested and sent to Nazi concentration camps.
