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Treaty of Versailles
Brought an end to the war and used Germany as its scapegoat. They took a majority of the blame and had to pay money, give away their land, and decrease the size of their military. It also established the League of Nations but without the U.S. and proper enforcement, it was unsuccessful. -
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Colonial Powers
During the Great Depression, many European powers were unable to support the colonies that they controlled. To make up for the lack of economy, they made up for it using harsh policies meant to keep the colonies under control. However, this simply made the colonies more upset. -
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The Great Depression
With the casualties and physical damage that the First World War brought, many countries suffered greatly, whether or not they were directly involved in the war. Germany was punished and forced to pay reparations, and this worsened their economy, also affecting the countries who Germany should have paid. A domino effect caused all of the European countries to fall into a depression and also brought depressions to other countries, like the U.S. -
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Rise of Totalitarian Regimes
In 1924, Joseph Stalin came into power in the Soviet Union after the death of Vladimir Lenin. One year later, in 1925, Benito Mussolini became the fascist dictator of Italy that would switch alliances from Britain, France, Russia, and the U.S. to Germany and Japan. The last big totalitarian leader was Hitler, taking charge in 1933. These leaders shaped the course of the 20th century by spreading economic disruptions and aggressive government policies. Eventually, World War 2 emerged as a result. -
Invasion of Manchuria
In 1931, Japan invaded the Chinese territory of Manchuria, expanding their control of the Pacific. The League of Nations called on Japan to stop their assault, but without the proper resources, they were unable to enforce their demand. -
Invasion of Ethiopia
Italy began colonizing other territories to expand their land, and the League of Nations, just like they had done with Japan, demanded that Italy should stop their conquest. However, the result was exactly the same as it had been with Japan. The League of Nation simply didn't have the power to enforce the statements that they made. -
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Spanish Civil War
The League of Nations had never been able to actively stop a war or fight, so when a civil war emerged in Spain, they believed that preventing intervention in the war would be easier than actually intervening. However, they couldn't do this either and Germany, Italy, and Russia became involved. -
The Allies' Appeasement
Starting in 1938, Germany began annexing territories like Austria and Czechoslovakia, and Britain and France resorted to a policy of appeasement. It wasn't until the invasion of Poland that they decided to do something. -
The Munich Agreement
Right before the war, the Munich Agreement was proposed by Britain and France to try and please Hitler, possibly stopping him from going on a complete rampage across Europe. However, this treaty was pointless and the war emerged just a year later. -
Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact
Even though the Soviet Union and Germany had harsh relations, rooting from the First World War, they secretly created a Non-Aggression Pact so that they could split up Poland between the two countries. -
Invasion of Poland
This was the catalyst for World War 2. All of the tension that had led up to this moment, like the Allies' Appeasement and the resentment that Germany stored, broke and caused the Second World War to begin.