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Mussolini forms the Fascist Party
Mussolini formed his new Fascist Party as a way to respond to the desire of strong leadership in Italy which gains support quickly. -
Treaty of Versailles is Signed
After the end of WWI, the major powers of the world met to sign the Treaty of Versailles. The leaders met in France to discuss the terms of the treaty, most of which came from US President Woodrow Wilson's 14 points. The aim of the treaty was to make peace among the nations of Europe and lessen the tensions between countries. The terms of the treaty punished Germany severely as they were the only country on the losing side that still stood. -
Hitler joins the German Workers Party (Nazis)
Through his job of encouraging nationalism and anti-communism in soldiers he first attended a meeting of the German Workers Party. -
League of Nations Founded
The League of Nations was an international diplomatic group that was made to solve disputes between countries before they erupted into open warfare. The League got its start in Woodrow Wilson's 14 points, even though The United States did not join the League. It failed because many members fell to Hitler when WWII began. Switzerland became nervous about hosting an organization perceived as an allied one and the League began to dismantle its offices. This lessened tensions prior to World War II. -
Washington Naval Conference
It was held in Washington D.C. and the world's largest naval powers gathered here to discuss naval disarmament and ways to relieve growing tensions in East Asia. This meeting was conducted outside the auspices of the league of Nations. Nine nations in total met in D.C. There were three treaties signed there. The 5 power treaty, the 4 power treaty and the 9 power treaty. This lessened tensions prior to World War II. -
Mussolini Threatens to March on Rome
Mussolini organized a party called the blackshirts and threatened to march on Rome on October 28, 1922. The armed forces outside of Rome caused the former Prime minister to feel threatened, but the King did nothing about this threat. Then on the 29th the King asked Mussolini to form a cabinet. This event was one that pushed us closer to World War II. -
Hitler attempts to overthrow the Weimar Government (Beer Hall Putsch)
Hitler and his followers from the performed a failed attempt at overthrowing the Weimar Government in Bavaria due to displeasure with the conditions of the Treaty of Versailles -
US creates Dawes/Circular Loans Plan
In order to help Germany recover and pay off the reparations it owed for the cause of WWI, Chicago banker Charles G. Dawes came up with the Dawes Plan. This plan lessened the annual reparations for Germany so that its economy could recover, thus lessening the tensions among European nations. -
Kellogg Briand pact
It was a multilateral agreement that attempted to eliminate war as a national policy. It was the most grand of the series of peacekeeping efforts after World War I. A first version of the pact was formed by the French Foreign Minister Arstride Briand, and revisions were made by Frank B. Kellogg, the U.S. Secretary of State. France accepted these revisions and the Kellogg Briand Pact was formed. This was an effort made to lessen tensions and push us away form World War II. -
Great Depression begins
The Great Depression began when the stock market crashed and people began to take all their money out of the banks in fear of losing it all. It lasted 10 years and cost 50% of people in America to be unemployed or underemployed. Inflation rose and world economies were shut down. This effectively worsened tensions as countries struggle to get by. -
Japan Occupies Manchuria, China
Japanese troops who were stationed to guard the railroad in Southern Manchuria exploded parts of the railroad, and began to occupy the country. This became known as the Mukden Incident. After Japan occupied the country, the League of Nations was sent to investigate but were unwilling to go further and Japan withdrew from the league, causing tensions to rise among the countries of Europe. -
Geneva Disarmament Conference Begins
Sixty countries sent delegates to the conference in Geneva that began in February 1932. The conference was about considering reductions in armaments, with a particular emphasis on offensive weapons. Germany demanded that other states disarm to their levels because their armies were cut by the treaty of Versailles. Germany thought that if other countries didn’t limit their armies, they could build up their army. This was an effort to lessen tensions prior to World War II. -
Hitler places second in the German national elections for President
The Nazi party nominated Hitler as their candidate to run against Paul von Hindenburg for the position of president. In the first round of the election, Hindenburg received the majority of the votes but came short of winning. In the second round, Hindenburg still defeated Hitler but Hitler saw a increase in votes for him. This showed that more people were begin to support the Nazis. -
Germany Withdraws From League Of Nations
Leaving came 9 months after Adolf Hitler was appointed to Chancellor of Germany. The main reason they left was because of the Western powers refusal to acquiesce in Germany’s demands for military parity. After they left they built up their military a lot, which violated international agreements. They also seized Austria, as well as annexation the Czechoslovakian provinces Bohemia and Moravia. These actions culminated in the German attack on Poland on September 1, 1939. -
Hitler withdraws from the Geneva Disarmament Conference
Germany announced its withdrawal from the Geneva Disarmament Conference in response to Western powers’ refusal to meet its demands for equality. -
Hitler merges the offices of chancellor and president
Following the death of president Paul von Hindenburg, Hitler was granted emergency powers. Using his power, he merged the offices of chancellor and president. He was then democratically elected into the position of Führer and Reichskanzler. Using this new power, Hitler was able to gain more dictoral power than any person in history. These events worsened tensions among the nations of Europe as Germany was now ruled by an extremely powerful dictator. -
Mussolini Invades Ethiopia
When Italy invaded many bad things were done to the people of Ethiopia, such as gas attacks, aerial bombardment, using flamethrowers, and the employment of concentration camps. The aim of invading Ethiopia was to boost Italian National Prestige. This is seen as one of the episodes that paved the way for World War 2. It also showed the ineffectiveness of the League of Nations. This worsened tensions prior to World War II. -
Hitler militarizes the Rhineland
In blatant opposition to the Treaty of Versailles, Hitler remilitarized the Rhineland gambling that France and Britain would not intervene -
Hitler signs alliance with Mussolini
Hitler and Mussolini meet to sign an alliance between Germany and Italy. This became known as the Pact of Steel and was both a military and political alliance that had two parts to it. The first part discussed the continuing trust and co-operation between the countries and the second part discussed the union of policies relating to the military and economy. By forming this alliance, the countries caused the tensions among countries to worsen. -
Japan Invades China
This conflict began when China started a full-scale resistance against the expansion of Japanese influence in their territory. The opening engagement of the invasion and Second Sino-Japanese War was on July 7th 1937 on the Marco Polo Bridge. Japan did not like the rising tide of nationalism that had been sweeping through China, and it had become intolerable to them. This worsened tensions prior to World War II. -
Italy Withdraws From League of Nations
They left because the League had imposed economic sanctions on Italy for the Invasion of Abyssinia. During Mussolini's speech of leaving the league he attacked the League and appealed to the crowd. Mussolini said that Italy would never forget this “shameful attempt at the strangulation of the Italian people.” This worsened tensions prior to World War II. -
Hitler and Nazi Germany annex Austria
German troops march into Austria under the leadership of Hitler and forcibly take over the government. Austrian citizens offered no resistance and instead welcomed the Nazis with enthusiastic crowds. Within a day, Hitler had set up a Nazi government in the country. This event worsened the tensions in Europe. -
Hitler and Nazi Germany gain Sudetenland
Sudetenland was a part of Czechoslovakia that was home to many ethnic Germans. After a meeting among Germany, France, Britain and Italy, the country's leaders allowed Germany to annex the region. Czechoslovakia was told to not to resist the invasion as France and Britain were trying to avoid war at all costs. As a result, tensions among the countries continued to increase. -
Hitler occupies Czechoslovakia
Taking advantage of their weakened state after a trade deal, Hitler invades Czechoslovakia meeting no resistance. -
German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact is signed
To avoid an unprepared war against Germany alone, Stalin sides with Nazi Germany after not being able to align with France and Britain. -
Germany invades Poland
To reclaim territory lost at the end of WWI, Hitler invades Poland using his new "Blitzkrieg" tactic. -
Britain and France declare war on Germany
After witnessing Germany invade Poland and ignore dates their troops were demanded to withdraw by, France and Britain declare war on Germany.