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Mussolini forms the Fascist Party in Italy
On March 23rd, 1919 Mussolini established the nationalist Fasci di Combattimento, commonly known as the Fascist party. Mussolini used this party to voice his views and intimidate his opponents until he was the only one left gaining control of Italy. Mussolini forming this party and becoming a dictator increased the tensions in Europe because he set the dictatorship model in place for Hitler to take control of Germany. Also Mussolini used this party and his power in Italy to team up with Hitler. -
Treaty of Versailles is signed
On June 28th, 1919, the treaty was signed between the main powers that consisted of reparations for WWI. The treaty put a lot of war guilt on Germany for initiating battle on Serbia. Germany ends up losing territory and resources. -
Hitler joins the German Workers Party (Nazis)
Hitler joined the German Workers Party On September 12th 1919 and gave him a platform to voice his opinion. He was in charge of spreading propaganda and rallying meetings gaining public support in Germany. The groups name soon changed to the Nazi party and Hitler used this group to become a leader in Germany leading to WWII. -
League of Nations is founded
On January 10th, 1920 the League of Nations was formed by the allied powers after the first world war. It was formed to punish the counties that lost in the war. It was also set up to make measures to prevent another world war from happening and to help settle disputes between countries about territories. -
Washington Naval Conference
It took place from November 12, 1921 to February 6, 1922. It was a disarmament conference held by the United States in Washington DC. It was attended by 9 major world powers at the time besides Germany due to them already being limited by the Treaty of Versailles.The purpose of this was to limit the size of each country's naval force and limit the size. -
Mussolini threatens to march on Rome
On October 28th 1922, Mussolini gathered Fascists from all over Italy to meet in Rome. Armed Fascists sat outside the city and he threatened to seize Rome by force if the government did not surrender. This gave Mussolini control over the Italy government and increased tensions for war because Mussolini is a supporter of Hitler and helps support Germany leading to WWII. -
Hitler attempts to overthrow the Weimar government
November 8th 1923 at Beer Hall Putsch Hitler and his followers tried to overthrow the government by kidnapping the state commissioner, Gustav von Kahr. He used him for demands and got the three Bavarian leaders to march on Berlin. Hitler had to leave that night to deal with issues elsewhere in the city and his revolt fizzled out after failing to take control of other government buildings. This increased tensions in Germany bringing it closer to war. -
US creates Dawes/Circular Loans Plan
The U.S Dawes Plan didn’t work because it relied on the U.S economy. The great depression in the U.S spread to Europe due to the Dawes Plan. This created higher tensions because it gave an opportunity for Hitler to make a name for himself and as a “solution” for the depression. -
Kellogg Briand Pact
It was signed on August 27, 1928. It was an international agreement which stated that signatory states promised that they would not solve disputes of issues with war or any major conflicts.At first this was signed by Germany, France, and the United States -
Great Depression Begins
The great depression started with the U.S stock market crash and then spread to Europe. This created higher tensions because Hitler used it as a way to make himself look like a solution for Germany. -
Japan occupies Manchuria, China
From September 18th to February 27th of 1932, Japan, looking to aid their rapidly growing industrial progress and war efforts, set off for Manchuria to take over a weakened area of China. They wanted to use the new territory for resources and people. -
Japanese invasion of China
On Sept. 18, 1931 Japan invaded the Chinese province of Manchuria. The reason for the invasion was because Japan was seeking materials and fuel for their growing industries. After this invasion it later led to a war between the two countries. -
Hitler places second in German national elections for president
In April of 1932, the two main candidates for the German national election were Adolf Hitler and Paul Von Hidenburg, and to be decided who would be the next president of Germany. Hitler pulled over 11 million votes, but in the end lost to Hidenburg. -
Geneva Disarmament Conference begins
On October 23, 1932, Sixty countries sent delegates to the disarmament conference in Geneva.Germany wanted all other states to be unarmored to the extent that they were by the treaty of Versailles.Germany said that if other countries did not have to limit their army then Germany would leave the league and grow their army. Germany later did that due to not getting what they wanted. -
Germany withdraws from League of Nations
On October 14, 1933 Germany withdrew from the league of nations.Hitler left the league of nations because he was wanting to expand the German army and was a symbolic way of showing that Hitler did not agree with the Treaty of Versailles. The treaty of Versailles limited Germany to only grow their army to 100,000 soldiers but Hitler wanted to expand the army larger. -
Hitler withdraws from Geneva Disarmament Conference
On October 23, 1933 Germany withdrew from the Geneva disarmament conference because Hitler wanted to build up a stronger army and the western powers would not allow it. This raised tensions because now Germany is rebuilding their military power without the restrictions from the Geneva disarmament conference. -
Hitler merges offices chancellor & president
Hitler became chancellor of Germany after coming in second to Hindenburg. Hitler then merged the two positions which gave him as much power as the president. This created higher tensions because Hitler had become the leader of Germany. -
Mussolini invades Ethiopia
On October 3rd, 1935 Mussolini invaded the independent African nation, Ethiopia. Italy committed countless atrocities against Ethiopia and increased tensions all around Europe by invading a country during the brink of WWII. This action angered the league of nations and led to some of the first conflicts of the war. -
Hitler militarizes the Rhineland
On March 7th 1936 Hitler broke the Treaty of Versailles by re-militarizing Rhineland after being forced to demilitarize the zone in conclusion of WWI. This increased the tensions leading up to WWII because it was a clear sign of increasing military power in preparation of war and violating an international treaty that was made to stop a new war from starting. -
Italy withdraws from League of Nations
They withdrew on December 13, 1937.The League of Nations voted against Italy and demanded economic sanctions Italy ignored the sanctions and quit the league. Italy made special deals with the United Kingdom and France. -
Hitler and Nazi Germany annex Austria
On March 12th, 1938, Germany began to invade Austria and unite because there were cultural similarities and Germany was a main power who enforced Nationalism; Austria became a federal state of Germany and supplied Germany with resources and people. -
Hitler and Nazi Germany gain Sudetenland
On September 30th, 1938, Britain, Italy, France, and Germany’s leaders met to decide who would inherit the territory of Sudetenland. Sudetenland is given to Germany in exchange for peace between the countries and Germany. Since Germany was big on nationalism, the other countries didn’t want their territories seized. -
Hitler occupies Czechoslovakia
Germany received lots of resources from Czechoslovakia because of the Munich Pact. Hitler wanted access to the capital, but he was denied. He then decided to attack and capture it by force. This heightened the tensions because Hitler was breaking treaties. -
Hitler signs alliance with Mussolini
In May of 1936, the Pact of Steel was formed, an alliance between Italy, Germany, and eventually Japan, who shared similar political beliefs. They agreed to help each other politically and with their growing military power. Japan was later involved because of their advanced technology. -
Hitler and Stalin sign Non-Aggression Pact
Russia didn’t want to have to fight Germany yet because they were still building up their army. Germany signed it so that he could invade Poland without opposition. Hitler later broke the treaty after invading the Soviet Union in 1941. This caused higher tensions because Hitler was gaining a thirst for power and dominance. -
Germany invades Poland
Hitler attacked Poland by using a strategy called Blitzkrieg, in which he used bombs to destroy railroads and communications. The polish had a poorly trained army which caused them to be defeated easily. This created higher tensions because it showed that Hitler would cause destruction to get what he wanted. -
Britain and France declare war on Nazi Germany
Hitler invaded Poland after signing the Non-Aggression Pact with the Soviet Union. Poland had a defensive treaty with France and Britain, which made them declare war on Germany after he invaded Poland. This created high tensions because it started WWII.
