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Mussolini take power in Italy
Benito Mussolini served as Italy’s 40th Prime Minister from 1922 until 1943. He is considered a central figure in the creation of Fascism and was both an influence on and close ally of Adolf Hitler during World War II. -
U.S. Stock Market Crashes
The most devastating stock market crash in the history of the United States, when taking into consideration the full extent and duration of its fallout.[2] The crash signaled the beginning of the 10-year Great Depression that affected all Western industrialized countries. -
Japan seizes Manchuria
The Japanese invasion of Manchuria began on September 19, 1931, when Manchuria was invaded by the Kwantung Army of the Empire of Japan immediately following the Mukden Incident. The Japanese established a puppet state, called Manchukuo, and their occupation lasted until the end of World War II. -
FDR is elected president
The United States presidential election of 1932 was the 37th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 1932. The election took place among the backdrop of the Great Depression that had ruined the promises of incumbent President and Republican candidate Herbert Hoover to bring about a new era of prosperity. -
Hitler is named Chancellor of Germany, January 30, 1933
Adolf Hitler was appointed as the chancellor of Germany by President Paul Von Hindenburg. This appointment was made in an effort to keep Hitler and the Nazi Party “in check”; however, it would have disastrous results for Germany and the entire European continent. -
U.S. Neutrality Act
- In the 1930s, the United States Government enacted a series of laws designed to prevent the United States from being embroiled in a foreign war by clearly stating the terms of U.S. neutrality. Part of “Isolationist” movement that argued the United States should steer clear of future wars and remain neutral by avoiding financial deals with countries at war.
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Italy invade Ethiopia
Politically, the war is best remembered for exposing the inherent weakness of the League of Nations. Like the Mukden Incident in 1931. The positive outcome of the war for the Italians coincided with the zenith of the international popularity of dictator Benito Mussolini's Fascist regime. -
Hitler defies the Treaty of Versailles
Intended to follow an expansionist foreign policy, he intended to make Germany great again. The League of Nations had failed to stop aggression in the early 1930s and Hitler was prepared to exploit this weakness. -
France militarizes the Rhineland
The remilitarization of the Rhineland by the German Army took place on 7 March 1936 when German military forces entered the Rhineland. This was significant because it violated the terms of the Treaty of Versailles and the Locarno Treaties, marking the first time since the end of World War I that German troops had been in this region. -
Civil War erupts in Spain
Between the Republicans, who were loyal to the established Spanish Republic, and the Nationalists, a rebel group led by General Francisco Franco. The Nationalists prevailed, and Franco ruled Spain for the next 36 years, from 1939 until his death in 1975. -
Japan invades China
Chinese forces were unable to effectively resist the Japanese. The Japanese military was not only better armed and organized, they were also incredibly brutal. -
Anschluss
The occupation and annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938. Attempted since as early as 1918 when the Republic of German-Austria attempted union with Germany but was forbidden by the Treaty of Saint Germain and Treaty of Versailles peace treaties. -
Munich Conference
The Munich Conference was a conference that was held in the City of Munich when Hitler demanded part of the Czechoslovakia. In attendance during that meeting were the leaders of France Italy and the Great Britain. -
Kristallnacht
At least 91 Jews were killed in the attacks, and 30,000 were arrested and incarcerated in concentration camps.[2] Jewish homes, hospitals, and schools were ransacked, as the attackers demolished buildings with sledgehammers.[3] Over 1,000 synagogues were burned (95 in Vienna alone) and over 7,000 Jewish businesses destroyed or damaged. -
Nazi-Soviet Pact, August 23, 1939
Guaranteed that the two countries would not attack each other. By signing this pact, Germany had protected itself from having to fight a two-front war in the soon-to-begin World War II. -
Germany invades Poland
The Polish army was defeated within weeks of the invasion. From East Prussia and Germany in the north and Silesia and Slovakia in the south, German units broke through in a massive encirclement attack. -
Churchill is Elected Prime Minister in England
Churchill, who was known for his military leadership ability, was appointed British prime minister in Chamberlin’s place. He formed an all-party coalition and quickly won the popular support of Brits. -
Phony War
After the blitzkrieg attack on Poland in September 1939, seemingly nothing happened. Many in Great Britain expected a major calamity. The title ‘Phony War’ summarizes what happened in Western Europe – near enough nothing. -
France Surrenders
With Paris fallen and the German conquest of France reaching its conclusion, Marshal Henri Petain replaces Paul Reynaud as prime minister and announces his intention to sign an armistice with the Nazis. -
Miracle at Dunkirk
Dunkirk, and the evacuation associated with the troops trapped on Dunkirk, was called a "miracle" by Winston Churchill. -
Battle of Britain
In the summer and fall of 1940, German and British air forces clashed in the skies over the United Kingdom, locked in the largest sustained bombing campaign to that date. A significant turning point of World War II, the Battle of Britain ended when Germany’s Luftwaffe failed to gain air superiority over the Royal Air Force. -
Lend-Lease Act, July 1940
The plan proposed by FDR was to "lend-lease or otherwise dispose of arms" and other supplies needed by any country whose security was vital to the defense of the United States. -
Japan seizes French Indo-China
In September 1940, the Japanese occupied Vichy French Indochina in order to prevent the Republic of China from importing arms and fuel through French Indochina along the Sino-Vietnamese Railway. -
Atlantic Charter
The Atlantic Charter was a joint declaration released by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill on August 14, 1941 following a meeting of the two heads of state in Newfoundland. The Atlantic Charter provided a broad statement of U.S. and British war aims. -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
On the morning of December 7, 1941, the Japanese launched a surprise air attack on the U.S. Naval Base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. After just two hours of bombing, more than 2,400 Americans were dead, 21 ships* had either been sunk or damaged, and more than 188 U.S. aircraft destroyed.
