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Mussolini takes power in Italy
He promised to give pride and power back to Italy. His Fascist army took over the country and Mussolini became dictator. The master of propaganda is admired by Italians. -
Stock Market Crash
The stock market crash was a sudden decline of stock prices, resulting in a significant loss of wealth. The crash was driven by panic as much as by underlying economic factors. The price of the stocks was not a direct comparison of how the companies were doing. -
Japanese invades Manchuria
Japan launched an attack on Manchuria. Within a few days Japanese armed forces had occupied several places in South Manchuria. -
FDR elected president
After many blamed Hoover for the Great Depression, FDR ran for office. His efforts in the first 100 days kept the economy up until WWII. -
Hitler is names Chancellor of Germany
After losing several elections to President Von Hindenburg, Franz von Papen makes a deal with the WWI general to make Adolf Hitler, leader of the National Socialist Party, Chancellor of Germany even though they don’t have a majority in the Reichstag. -
U.S. Neutrality Act
Congress passed an act to prevent the United States from being pulled into war. The U.S. would eventually be pulled into war after the attack on Pearl Harbor. -
Italy invade Ethiopia
Italy invading Ethiopia showed the weakness of the League of Nations because the League could not stop Italy or help Ethiopia. It signaled the start of the Italian Empire. -
Hitler defies the Treaty of Versailles
By remilitarizing the Rhineland, Hitler broke the Treaty of Versailles. He claimed that a French-Soviet Union agreement threatened them, so he sent troops. -
France militarizes the Rhineland
Hearing of the German advance, thousands of French soldiers also approached the Franco-German border but they did not attack. -
Civil War erupts in Spain
Conflict between differing political views led to a civil war. The Facist dictator Francisco Franco came into power after the conflict. -
Japan invades China
This marked the start of war with China, even though some fighting had occurred beforehand. -
Anschluss
Hitler sent troops into Austria to force them to unite with Germany. -
Munich Conference
The conference's goal was to give Hitler Czechoslovakia’s Sudetenland under the condition that Germany would not invade any other countries. Czechoslovakia was not represented in the conference, and this was a failed attempt at peace. -
Kristallnacht
It marked the start of Hitler's Final Solution and Holocaust. Durring this 91 Jews were killed, 30,000 more were sent to concentration camps, and over 8,000 Jewish buildings were destroyed. -
Nazi-Soviet Pact
This was a non-aggression pact between Germany and the Soviet Union that promised that the countries would remain neutral if either were attacked. It ended when Germany invaded the Soviet Unio -
Germany invades Poland
By claiming they had been attacked by Poland, Germany launched a large invasion. Faced with blitzkrieg, Poland fell within a month. -
Phony War
Germany did not attack France during the winter of 1939-1940, marking a period of inactivity. The Germans did not attack because they were planning their invasion into France. -
Churchill is Elected Prime Minister in England
After the former Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain resigned, Churchill became Prime Minister. He was an excellent leader during a tough time for Britain. -
Miracle at Dunkirk
Unable to stop the German assault, thousands of French Soldiers were stuck on the coast at Dunkirk. Allied ships and civilian boats came to help, and 340,000 were rescued. -
France Surrenders
After Paris was taken over by the German Army, France surrendered to Germany and Italy. An area of the country known as Vichy France was established and led by France. -
Battle of Britain
Winston Churchill led the Britishagainst the bombing raids on the country. The Royal Air Force with the help of radar were able to fight back so effectively that Hitler called off the invasion. -
Japan seizes French Indo-China
In an attempt to stop China from resupplying itself with weapons and fuel, Japan invaded the region of French Indochina. -
Lend-Lease Act
Unable to be helped by the Cash-and-Carry Policy, Britain received aid through the Lend-Lease Act. U.S would supply Britain, even if they could not pay for the supplies. -
Atlantic Charter
Meeting secretly on a ship near Canada, FDR and Churchill made an agreement that announced the common goals of the two countries in opposing Hitler and his allies. -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
Although suspicious of a Japanese attack, the U.S. was off guard when the Japanese began attacking the Pearl Harbor Navy base. Although this event was horrible, the fleet was only crippled, not destroyed.
