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Stalin Becomes Dictator of USSR
Joseph Stalin took over control of the Communist Party of the USSR in 1922, and by 1927, he had absolute power over the USSR and was its unquestioned ruler. He rose to this level of power due to his capabilities and understanding of the Communist Party. In the early 1930s, Stalin launched radical economic policies that overhauled the industrial and agricultural face of the Soviet Union. This was known as the Great Turn as Russia turned away from the mixed-economic type to a planned economy. -
Mussolini’s March on Rome
Mussolini marched through Rome to establish himself and the Fascist Party as the most important political party in Italy. They wanted the government to be given to them or they seize it by force by marching the streets of Rome. Mussolini's march on Rome marked the beginning of fascist rule and meant the doom of the democratic government of socialists and liberals. -
Hitler writes Mein Kampf
Mein Kampf was a political manifesto written by Adolf Hitler. It was his only complete book, and the work became a bible of sorts to those who supported National Socialism (a.k.a Nazism). Hitler wrote Mein Kampf to promote Nazism's key components: rabid antisemitism, a racist worldview, and an aggressive foreign policy to gain Lebensraum (living space) in eastern Europe. -
1st “five year plan” in USSR
The First Five Year Plan was to initiate rapid and large-scale industrialization across the USSR. The plan would concentrate on developing heavy industry and collectivizing agriculture, this was at the cost of a drastic fall in consumer goods. The USSR wanted to become an industrial powerhouse, so modern machinery was adopted across the USSR to maximize efficient production and output. Because of this plan, there was a fifty-percent increase in industrial output. -
Japan invades Manchuria
Japan invaded the Chinese province of Manchuria seeking raw materials to fuel its growing industries. Manchuria was rich in iron and coal. Japan was also becoming crowded due to its limited size and rapidly increasing population. Manchuria offered nearly 200,000 square kilometers which would easily accommodate any over-spilling population. By 1937, Japan controlled large sections of China, and war crimes against the Chinese became common. -
Holodomor
Holodomor was a man-made famine that convulsed the Soviet republic of Ukraine from 1932 to 1933. It was caused by Stalin replacing Ukraine’s small farms with state-run collectives and punishing independence-minded Ukrainians who posed a threat to his totalitarian authority. Stalin enacted this to fight the counter-revolution and build socialism in the countryside. -
Hitler is Appointed Chancellor of Germany
On January 30, 1933, President Paul von Hindenburg names Adolf Hitler chancellor of Germany. Hitler’s emergence as chancellor marked a turning point for Germany and the world. His plan was embraced by much of the German population. It was to do away with politics and make Germany a powerful, unified one-party state. From then on Nazi Germany was off and running, and there was little anyone could do to stop it. -
“Night of the Long Knives” in Germany
The Night of the Long Knives was the purge of Nazi leaders by Adolf Hitler. Hitler feared that the paramilitary SA had become too powerful, so he ordered his elite SS guards to murder the organization's leaders, a man named Ernst Röhm included. Under 100 members die. This wipes out any opposition to Hitler within the Nazi Party and also gives more power to the SS. -
Nuremberg Laws Enacted
The Nazi regime enacted The Reich Citizenship Law and The Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honor. The Reich Citizenship Law meant only racially pure Germans are allowed to hold German citizenship. Jews could not be full citizens of Germany, they had no political rights. The Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honor was against “race defilement” (“rassenschande”). It banned intermarriages and sexual relations between Jews and people of German or related blood. -
Italian Invasion of Ethiopia
Italian troops invaded Ethiopia, forcing the country's Emperor, Haile Selassie, into exile. The Italian invasion of Ethiopia was to boost Italian national prestige that was wounded by the defeat of Italian forces at the Battle of Adowa in the nineteenth century, which saved Ethiopia from Italian colonization. This was seen as preparation for World War II, as the war demonstrated the ineffectiveness of the League of Nations when League decisions were not supported by the great powers. -
The Great Purge and Gulags
The Great Purge was Soviet General Secretary Joseph Stalin's campaign to solidify his power over the party and the state. It was the large-scale repression of wealthy peasants (or kulaks). Ethnic minorities were murdered. The Gulag was a system of Soviet labor camps or detention transit camps, and prisons that housed political prisoners and criminals of the USSR. The camps were an efficient way to boost industrialization in the USSR and access valuable natural resources like timber, coal, etc... -
Spanish Civil War
Spain's government began to prioritize their army less, financially and in use. The military grew unhappy with the government and, eventually, this discontent led to a military uprising that started in Morocco then spread to Spain. Civil War came to be once generals Emilio Mola and Francisco Franco launched an uprising to overthrow the country's democratic republic. The Republicans surrendered, bringing the Spanish Civil War to an end. Franco subsequently served as dictator of Spain until 1975. -
The Rape of Nanking
This was the mass killing and ravaging of Chinese citizens and soldiers by the Japanese Imperial Army soldiers. The purpose of the Rape of Nanking was to break the spirit of the Chinese resistance. Japanese General Matsui Iwane ordered that the city of Nanking be destroyed. Much of the city was burned, and Japanese troops launched a campaign of atrocities against civilians. -
Kristallnacht/Night of Broken Glass
Kristallnacht was a foreshadowing event of the Holocaust. German Nazis launched a campaign of terror against Jewish people and their homes and businesses in Germany and Austria. The violence was later dubbed the “Night of Broken Glass” after the countless smashed windows of Jewish-owned establishments. Kristallnacht represented the dramatic escalation of the campaign started by Adolf Hitler to purge Germany of its Jewish population. -
Nazi Germany Invades Poland
Germany invaded Poland in order to regain "lost territory" and ultimately rule their neighbor to the east. German forces broke through Polish defenses along the border and swiftly advanced on the Polish capital, Warsaw. Hundreds to thousands of refugees, Jewish and non-Jewish, fled the German advance hoping the Polish army would halt any German advance. Germany invaded Poland in a surprise attack, or blitzkrieg, using modernized equipment like planes, tanks, and troops. Poland fell quickly. -
Japan Bombs Pearl Harbor
After capturing Manchuria, Japan was in a full-on war with China in 1937 and had to look elsewhere for the resources it needed to fight. America froze Japanese assets in the states, preventing Japan from purchasing oil. Japan planned to take the oil by force. Japan decided to attack the U.S Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, in hopes the U.S would negotiate peace. Instead of isolating, the US prepared for war. This attack on Pearl Harbor would drive the United States out of isolation and into WWII.