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Treaty of Versailles is signed
Treaty of Versailles, peace document signed at the end of World War I by the Allied and associated powers and by Germany. The treaty held Germany responsible for starting the war and imposed harsh penalties in terms of loss of territory, massive reparations payments and demilitarization. Economic distress and resentment of the treaty within Germany helped fuel the rise of Adolf Hitler. -
The Weimar Republic is established in Germany
The Weimar Republic was Germany’s government from 1919 to 1933, following the events of World War I. From its uncertain beginnings to a brief season of success and then a devastating depression, the Weimar Republic experienced enough chaos to position Germany for the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. -
The League of Nation is created
League of Nations, an organization for international cooperation established on January 10, 1920, at the initiative of the victorious Allied powers at the end of World War I. The League was unable to fulfill the hopes of its founders due to the lack of participation from major powers, The League was formally disbanded on April 19, 1946 -
French occupation of the Ruhr
Due to the Treaty of Versailles, the Ruhr region in Germany that borders France was not be have any French or German soldiers in it. In 1922, Germany suspended their was reparation payments whilst their economy recovered. In response to the lack of payment of reparations, France invaded the Ruhr, which angered the people of Germany. -
Beer Hall Putsch
Adolf Hitler and his followers staged the Beer Hall Putsch in Munich, a failed takeover of the government in Bavaria, a state in southern Germany. In the aftermath of the failed “putsch,” Hitler was convicted of treason and sentenced to five years in prison. -
The Dawes Plan is created
The United States gave loans to Germany to help rebuild its industrial capacity (which would make it easier for Germany to generate the tax revenues needed to meet reparations). As a result, reparations payments resumed, and the French occupation of the Ruhr ended. -
The Locarno Treaties are signed
series of agreements whereby Germany, France, Belgium, Great Britain, and Italy mutually guaranteed peace in western Europe. they aggreed to let Germany rebuild and recover and in exchange Germany promised to never go to war again. This gave Hitler the chance to gain power without any interference. -
Benito Mussolini becomes dictator of Italy
Benito Mussolini was an Italian political leader who became the prime minister and the fascist dictator of Italy. In October 1922, Mussolini threatened to march on Rome to take control of the government through violent force if it was not handed over. The King Victor Emmanuel III watched as thousands of armed Fascists entered Rome. He dissolved the government and Mussolini formed a new one. He also allied himself with Adolf Hitler during World War II. -
The Kellogg-Briand Pact is signed
The Kellogg-Briand Pact was an agreement to outlaw war signed on August 27, 1928. Sometimes called the Pact of Paris for the city in which it was signed, the pact was one of many international efforts to prevent another World War, but it had little effect in stopping the rising militarism of the 1930s or preventing World War II. -
Beginning of the Great Depression
The Great Depression was the worst economic downturn in the history of the industrialized world.It began after the stock market crash of October 1929, which sent Wall Street into a panic and wiped out millions of investors. Over the next several years, consumer spending and investment dropped, causing steep declines in industrial output and employment as failing companies laid off workers. -
Japan invaded Manchuria
Manchurian Incident, seizure of the Manchurian city of Mukden by Japanese troops in 1931, which was followed by the Japanese invasion of all of Manchuria and the establishment of the Japanese-dominated state of Manchukuo in the area. It contributed to the international isolation of Japan and is seen as a crucial event on the path to the outbreak of World War II. -
Adolf Hitler is appointed Chancellor of Germany
On January 30, 1933, President Paul von Hindenburg names Adolf Hitler as chancellor of Germany. Hitler’s emergence as chancellor on marked a crucial turning point for Germany and, ultimately, for the world. His plan, embraced by much of the German population, was to do away with politics and make Germany a powerful, unified one-party state. -
Italy invaded Ethiopia
Italo-Ethiopian War, an armed conflict that resulted in the African nation of 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. -
Germany reoccupied the Rhineland
Dictated by the Treaty of Versailles, Germany’s military forces were reduced to insignificance and the Rhineland was to be demilitarized. Nazi leader Adolf Hitler violated the Treaty and the Locarno Pact by sending German military forces into the Rhineland, a demilitarized zone along the Rhine River in western Germany. The league of Nations did not do anything to stop Hitler and this allowed him to continue his expansion. -
Creation of the Rome-Berlin Axis
Rome-Berlin Axis, Coalition formed in 1936 between Italy and Germany. An agreement formulated by Italy’s foreign minister Galeazzo Ciano informally linking the two fascist countries. The term Axis Powers was used to described the Germany, Italy and their allies. -
Creation of the Anti-Comintern Pact
Anti-Comintern Pact, agreement concluded first between Germany and Japan and then between Italy, Germany, and Japan, ostensibly directed against the Communist International but, by implication, specifically against the Soviet Union. -
Signing of the Munich Agreement
Hitler had recently annexed Austria into Germany, and the conquest of Czechoslovakia was the next step in his plan. The Czechoslovak government hoped that Britain and France would come to its assistance in the event of German invasion, but British Prime Minister Chamberlain was intent on averting war. British and French prime ministers signed the Munich Pact with Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. The agreement averted the outbreak of war but gave Czechoslovakia away to German conquest. -
Germany’s anschluss with Austria
German troops march into Austria to annex the German-speaking nation. Later, Schuschnigg called a national vote to resolve the question of Anschluss, or “annexation,” once and for all. Before the plebiscite could take place, however, Schuschnigg gave in to pressure from Hitler and resigned on March 11. In his resignation address, under coercion from the Nazis, he pleaded with Austrian forces not to resist a German “advance” into the country. -
Germany occupied Czechoslovakia
Hitler’s forces invade and occupy Czechoslovakia–a nation sacrificed on the altar of the Munich Pact, which was a vain attempt to prevent Germany’s imperial aims. The Munich Pact, which according to British Prime Minister had purchased “peace in our time,” was actually a mere negotiating ploy by the Hitler, only temporarily delaying the Fuhrer’s blood and land lust. -
Creation of the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact
shortly before World War II broke out in Europe–enemies Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union surprised the world by signing the German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact, in which the two countries agreed to take no military action against each other for the next 10 years. The German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact fell apart when Nazi forces invaded the Soviet Union. -
Germany invaded Poland
Germany invaded Poland to regain lost territory and ultimately rule their neighbor to the east. The German invasion of Poland was a primer on how Hitler intended to wage war.To neutralize the possibility that the USSR would come to Poland’s aid, Germany signed a nonaggression pact with the Soviet Union. In a secret clause of the agreement, the ideological enemies agreed to divide Poland between them. -
Britain declared war on Germany
The British Prime Minister's announcement that the country was at war came two days after Hitler’s troops had invaded Poland. Britain and France had agreed to help Poland in the event of a German invasion – and when Hitler ignored their ultimatums, both countries declared war on Germany.
