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Mussolini’s March on Rome
The insurgency that brought Benito Mussolini to power in Italy in late October 1922 was known as the March on Rome. The March signaled the start of fascist power and the end of the socialist and liberal parliamentary regimes that had preceded it. -
Hitler writes Mein Kampf
Adolf Hitler’s philosophical autobiography, Mein Kampf, is published. It was a blueprint of his agenda for a Third Reich and a clear exposition of the nightmare that will envelope Europe from 1939 to 1945. The book sold a total of 9,473 copies in its first year. -
1st “five year plan” in USSR
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics' first five-year plan was designed to kick-start rapid and large-scale industry across the country (USSR). When Harry Byers first stepped foot in the Soviet Union, the plan, which began on October 1st, 1928, was already in its second year. -
Japan invades Manchuria
The Japanese invasion of Manchuria began on September 18, 1931, when the Empire of Japan's Kwantung Army invaded Manchuria following the Mukden Incident. The Japanese founded the puppet state of Manchukuo after the war ended in February 1932. -
Holodomor
The Holodomor was a man-made famine that ravaged the Soviet republic of Ukraine from 1932 to 1933, peaking in late spring 1933. It was part of a larger Soviet famine (1931–34) that resulted in mass starvation in Soviet Russia's and Kazakhstan's grain-growing regions. -
Hitler appointed chancellor of Germany
Following lengthy backroom talks involving businessmen, Hindenburg's son, former chancellor Franz von Papen, and Hitler himself, Hindenburg acquiesced and named Adolf Hitler as chancellor on January 30, 1933. Hitler was not yet an absolute dictator, despite his position as chancellor. -
“Night of the Long Knives” in Germany
Adolf Hitler's purge of Nazi officials on June 30, 1934, is known in German history as the Night of the Long Knives. Fearing that the paramilitary SA had grown too powerful, Hitler ordered the assassination of the organization's leaders, including Ernst Röhm, by his elite SS guards. Hundreds of other alleged Hitler opponents were also executed that night. -
Nuremburg Laws enacted
The Nuremberg Laws were anti-Semitic and racist laws established in Nazi Germany on September 15, 1935, at a special assembly of the Reichstag convened during the Nazi Party's annual Nuremberg Rally. -
Italian invasion of Ethiopia
The invasion of Ethiopia was intended to restore Italian national pride, which had been harmed by Ethiopia's victory over Italian troops at the Battle of Adowa in the nineteenth century, which stopped Ethiopia from becoming an Italian colony. -
The Great Purge and gulags
Prisoners may be made to work up to 14 hours per day, often in adverse weather conditions. Many died as a result of hunger, disease, or exhaustion, while others were just executed. The Gulag system's crimes left an indelible mark on Russian society that is still felt today. -
Spanish civil war
The Spanish Civil War was the worst battle that Western Europe has seen since World War I ended in 1918. It was a breeding environment for crimes on a large scale. Approximately 200,000 individuals were killed as a consequence of systematic killings, mob violence, torture, or other atrocities. -
The Rape of Nanking
During the Nanking Massacre, the Japanese butchered an estimated 150,000 male "war prisoners," massacred another 50,000 male civilians, and raped at least 20,000 women and girls of all ages, many of whom were mutilated or killed. -
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht, also known as the November pogrom, was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's Sturmabteilung paramilitary forces and people across Nazi Germany on November 9–10, 1938. The German authorities stood by and did nothing. -
Nazi Germany invades Poland.
Germany invaded Poland in order to reclaim lost territory and eventually conquer their eastern neighbor. The German invasion of Poland served as a model for how Hitler intended to wage war–the "blitzkrieg" approach. -
Japan bombs Pearl Harbor
To counter such response, Japan decided to attack the United States Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor in the hope that the US would sign a peace treaty. The attack on Pearl Harbor was a major risk that did not pay off. Despite Japan's ambitions in the Pacific and Southeast Asia, the United States did not respond as predicted. -
Stalin becomes dictator of USSR
As General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1922–1952) and Chairman of the Soviet Union's Council of Ministers (1941–1953), he wielded power. He began leading the country as part of a collective leadership, but by the 1930s, he had consolidated power and had become dictator.