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In Rome, Italy, Benito Mussolini formed the Fascist Party which was mainly made up of street fighters. The reason he formed this party was to fight for national unity and to gain stronger leadership. His goal was to overthrow the socialists and communists out of the local government. This worsened tensions before WWII because the Fascist Party impacted a lot of events later on. -
The Treaty of Versailles held Germany responsible for starting the war and imposed harsh penalties such as the loss of territory, massive reparations, payments, and demilitarization. This peace treaty includes Woodrow Wilson's 14 points. It was signed by Germany and the Allied Nations, at the Palace of Versailles' Hall of Mirrors in France. This treaty worsened tensions before WWII. -
Adolf Hitler joined the German Workers Party which promoted German pride and antisemitism. He joined when the nation was economically depressed and politically unstable. Hitler wanted to promote German pride, antisemitism, and discontent with the Treaty of Versailles. This group expressed dissatisfaction with the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. This event worsened tensions before World War II. -
The League of Nations is an international organization which promotes cooperation and peace between the countries. It lessened the tension before World War II because it resolved some international disputes and conflicts. The League of Nations was proposed by Woodrow Wilson. The major members were Great Britain, France, Japan, and Italy. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. -
The Washington Naval Conference was an international conference on Naval Limitation in Washington DC. The nine nations that attended were the United States, Japan, China, France, Britain, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, and Portugal. They discussed naval disarmament. It lessened the tension before World War II because it relieved the pressure that was growing in East Asia. Also the Four-Power, Five-Power, and Nine-Power treaties were all created during this conference. -
Mussolini and the Fascist Party leaders planned an insurrection to have the Blackshirts march on Rome. He wanted to take control over the government and rise to power. Mussolini said that if he could not take over the government peacefully, he would seize it with violence. This worsened the tension before World War II. -
Adolf Hitler planned to seize control of the Weimar government of Bavaria in Munich. He and his followers marched to the city center, but were confronted with police. It was failed takeover which worsened tensions before WWII. Hitler and Nazi party planned to use the city as a base for a march against Germany's national government. -
Charles G. Dawes from the United States came up with the Dawes/Circular Loans Plan. This plan was formed to resolve the issues of WWI, and lessened tensions before WWII. The plan worked for a while, it allowed the currency to stabilize and inflation was brought under control. Large loans were raised in the US, which let Germany meet its responsibilities under the Treaty Of Versailles. -
The Kellogg Briand Pact was an agreement made in Paris to outlaw war. It was signed by the United States, France and Germany. Other nations became apart of it later on. It is named after Frank B. Kellogg who proposed the pact and the French foreign minister Aristide Briand. It lessened the tension before World War II. -
The Great Depression began in the United States, but the stock market quickly crashed worldwide. It started in America because production was slowed when unsold goods began to pile up. It caused unequal distribution of wealth, industrial overproduction, an agricultural crisis, over extension of credit, and bank failures. This worsened tension before World War II. -
The Japanese invaded Manchuria to use the resources found their, such as rubber, oil, lumber and other raw materials. This is because they lacked resources in Japan. They first took control of the town Shenyang. Later on, Japan was able to occupy the whole province of Manchuria. This worsened tension before World War II because the League of Nations punished Japan by economic sanctions. -
In Switzerland, the Geneva Disarmament Conference began to discuss joint limitations to their naval capacities. 60 countries gathered for this conference, but the major nations that were involved were the US, Britain, and Japan. They considered a global reduction in armaments. This lessened the tension before World War II. -
Adolf Hitler lost the presidential election against Paul Von Hindenburg. The threat of Hitler leaning toward German nationalism and antisemitism lead many people to choose his opponent Hindenburg. However Hitler polled over a million votes due to Hindenburg's failure to overturn the Weimar Republic in 1925. This worsened tensions because there was a lot of competition between Hitler and Hindenburg, and 2 years after being elected Hindenburg died and Hitler assumed the presidency. -
Germany withdrew from the League of Nations because the League refused Germany's demands for military parity. Hitler did not want to follow the terms of the Treaty of Versailles any longer. It worsened the tension before World War II because Germany violated an international agreement. -
Germany who is represented at the conference by Joseph Goebbel, withdraws from the Geneva Disarmament Conference due to Western powers not meeting the demands for equality. Adolf Hitler rejected all the proposals that did not grant Germany immediate military equality with the Western powers. The conference was in Geneva, Switzerland but withdrawing worsened the tensions before WWII, and caused Germany to withdraw from the League of Nations. -
Couple weeks after Hindenburg (German President) died, Hitler merged the offices chancellor and president. This caused Hitler to become a dictator, and stated that the title of 'President' had become so linked with Hindenburg that the title should not be used again. This worsened the tension before World War II and with all the supporters of Hindenburg. -
Mussolini invaded Ethiopia (which was then called Abyssinia) because he wanted to have control over the colonies, so he could expand Italian territories. He thought that invading this country in Africa would boost Italy's national reputation. This worsened the tension before World War II. -
In March 1936, Adolf Hitler sent German troops to militarize the Rhineland - a demilitarized zone along the Rhine river in Western Germany. Hitler wanted to gain more resources like iron ore and coal to make stronger weapons. Hitler wanted to violate the Treaty of Versailles and go ahead with militarizing the land, this worsened tensions before WWII and with the Treaty of Versailles. -
The Japanese invaded China near Peiping in North China. Japan attacked because they wanted control over the resources found in this territory. Gaining these resources would help Japan's economy. This worsened the tension before World War II, due to the two countries not reaching any reconciliation. -
Italy withdrew from the League of Nations because so did Germany. Mussolini thought that becoming allies with Germany will gain Italy more power across Europe. Also, Italy left because the League of Nations imposed economic sanctions for when Italy invaded Ethiopia. This worsened the tension before World War II. -
Nazi Germany troops marched into Austria in hopes of reuniting all of the Germans that were living outside of Germany. Adolf Hitler planned on creating a union between the two countries to make Germany stronger. This worsened tensions before WWII due to Hitler spreading false reports about how Austria has descended into chaos and needs Germany in order to restore order. -
Adolf Hitler threatened a bomb raid against Prague (Czech's capitol), unless he was given free passage from Hacha into Czech borders. Hitler wanted to gain resources like coal, iron and steel, and electrical power. He also wanted to expand its territory and gain control of key military defenses. Threatening the country of Czechoslovakia worsened tensions before WWII. -
Adolf Hitler threatens war over the issue of Sudetenland. British, Italian, French, and German leaders met in Munich to discuss this issue. After a long discussion, the Allies decided to exchange Sudetenland for a pledge of peace. This worsened tensions before WWII because Hitler knew that to avoid war they would meet his demands. -
Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini signed the Pact of Steel, to link the two countries (Germany and Italy) politically and militarily. The pact was signed in Berlin Germany, and was mainly formed so that Germany and Italy would have to aid each other in the event of war, and to ensure that neither country was able to make peace without the agreement of the other. This event had worsened tensions before WWII. -
In Moscow, Russia; German Foreign Minister Joachim Von Ribbentrop and Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov signed the Non-Aggression Pact. The pact stated that the two countries agree to take no military action against one another for the next 10 years. Hitler wanted this pact with the Soviet Union so his armies could invade Poland without a major power (Russia) getting in his way, doing this worsened tensions before WWII with other countries. -
Adolf Hitler ordered German forces to invade Poland on land and from the air. Hitler wanted to regain lost territory and have more rule over neighbors to the east. Poland tried to attack Germany head on, but were under-equipped. Hitler intended it to be an act of war, which worsened tensions before WWII. -
After being overrun from Germany, Britain and France declared war from London and Paris, on Nazi Germany. Britain and France pledged to defend Poland against Hitler who had attacked it from the west. This worsened tensions before WWII, because Poland, Britain, and France were against Germany.