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Mussolini organizes Fascist party in Italy
Benito Mussolini, an Italian World War 1 veteran and publisher of the Socialist newspapers, broke with the Italian socialists and formed the Fascist party. Mussolini's new right-wing organization advocated Italian nationalism, had black shirts for uniforms, and launched a program of terrorism and intimidation against its leftist opponents. -
Joseph Stalin becomes leader of Soviet Union
Stalin rose to the unprecedented level of power as a result of his own personal capabilities and his understanding of the workings of the communist party. He is remembered as one of the bloodiest tyrants in the history of the world. Many dismissed him as a nonentity and a political figure of no real substance. Learn more -
Hitler writes Mein Kampf
The book talked about problems besetting Germany. How there was lack of living space. Racial purity was an absolute necessity for a revitalized Germany. The book was a clear exposition of the nightmare that would envelope Europe from 1939 to 1945. -
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The Manchurian Incident
Mukden Incident, also called the Manchurian Incident, was the seizure of the Manchurian city of Mukden in China, by Japanese troops. Japanese troops set off a weak explosive at a railway station and then quickly hid, then when the Chinese went to check on it, Japanese Junior Officers came out of hiding and blamed them for the explosion. Doing that gave them reason to use their army to take over the Chinese government in Manchuria. -
Hitler appointed Chancellor of Germany
President Paul von Hinderburg named Adolf Hitler, who at that time was the leader of the Nazi party, as chancellor of Germany. Hitler's rise prominently spurred largely by the German people's frustration with economic conditions and the festering wounds of defeat in the Great War and Treaty of Versailles. -
Japan withdraws from League of Nations
The Japanese withdrew from the League of Nations after the assembly adopted a report and blamed Japan for the events in Manchuria. -
U.S passes Neutrality Acts
On August 31,1935, Congress passed the first Neutrality Act prohibiting the export of arms, ammunition, and implements of war from the United States to foreign nations at war. -
Hitler sends troops into Rhineland
When German troops marched into Rhineland, their action was directly against the Treaty of Versailles which laid out terms that defeated Germany accepted. Hitler intentionally went against it because he promised vengeance against the Allied nations that forced the Treaty of Versailles on the German people. Learn more -
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The Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War began as a revolt by right-wing Spanish military officers in Spanish Morocco and spread to mainland Spain. There was a message calling for all army officers to overthrow Spain's leftist Republican government. Within 3 days the rebels captured many of the several key cities in the south. In the end, the Repunlicans surrendered Madrid, which put an end to the Spanish Civil War. Learn more -
Anschluss
Adolf Hitler announced an "Anschluss" (union) between Germany and Austria. Union with Germany had been a dream of Austrian Social Democrats since 1919, however the rise of Hitler made the proposition less attractive. Not long after Austria became absorbed by Germany, the Nazis began their ruthless policy of persecuting political dissidents and all Jewish citizens.
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The Munich Conference
It was a conference that agreed on permitting Germany's annexation of the Sudetenland. He wanted to seize it because that area of Czechoslovakia had a substantial German population and important industrial resources. Other countries agreed to the request because they wanted to prevent war. -
Kristallnacht
Nazis in Germany torched synagogues, vandalized Jewish homes, schools, and businesses and killed close to 100 Jews. 30,000 Jewish men were arrested and sent to Nazi concentration camps. After Kristallnacht, conditions for German Jews grew worse. -
Hitler and Stalin sign non-aggression pact
In 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union signed the German-Soviet Nonagression pact. The pact was basically an agreement between the two countries in which they agreed to take no military action against each other for the next 10 years. [To learn more](www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-hitler-stalin-pact -
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Germany invades Poland
Hitler wanted to invade Poland to bring "Lebensraum" or
living space for the German people. According to his plan, the "racially superior" Germans would colonize the territory and Slavs would be enslaved. To promote propaganda, Hitler staged a phony invasion where Nazi S.S troops dressed in Polish uniform and damaged several minor installations on the German side of the border. The Polish army was outmatched in every aspect, so a few weeks after the invasion started, it came to an end. -
Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis formed (Tripartite Pact)
The pact provided mutual assistance if any of the signatories suffer attack by any nation not already involved in the war. The formalizing of the alliance was aimed directly at "neutral" America--designed to force the United States to think twice before venturing in on the side of the Allies.
