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Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria
On June 28, 1914, a teenage Serbian nationalist gunned down Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife. They were ambushed while driving thru the streets of Sarajevo. Ferdinand was not well liked among the people in aristocratic circles. His death was an event that is widely acknowledged to have sparked the outbreak of World War I. -
Germany gives Austria-Hungary blank check assurance
The “blank check” was the first fatal error made by Germany a promise of unconditional support for whatever action Austria-Hungary might take to punish Serbia. -
Period: to
WWI
28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918 -
Great Britan Enters WWI
Britain and Belgium had a treaty to support one another if they were attacked. when WWI started Germany attacked France by moving through Belgium. Britain warned Germany to retreat but they refused so Britain declared war on Germany. Therefore getting involved in WWI. -
Sinking of the Lusitania
less than a year after WWI erupted across Europe, a German boat torpedoed and sank the Britsh boat the Lusitania. There were more than 1,900 passengers and crew members on board, more than 1,100 died, including more than 120 Americans. Nearly two years would pass before the United States entered World War I, but the sinking of the Lusitania was a major turning point in the opinions of americans about joing WWI. -
Zimmermann Telegram
It was a message that stated that a military alliance between Germany and Mexico would be created in the event of the United States entered WWI against Germany. The proposal was intercepted and decoded by British intelligence. When the americans found out about this it enraged them and helped create support for the United States declaration of war on Germany. -
Germany's resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare
Bethmann Hollweg spoke in front of the German government and made the announcement that unrestricted submarine warfare would resume the next day, Feb 1st. -
US entry into WWI
The causes of the US entry into WWI included the Sinking of the passenger ship the Lusitania and the Zimmermann telegram. Wilson asked Congress to declare war against Germany, and they agreed. -
Effects of WWI
More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were out into combat in one of the largest wars in history. Over 9 million combatants and 7 million civilians died as a result of the war. -
The Treaty of Versailles
European Allied Powers decided to place very strict treatys upon the defeated Germany. The Treaty of Versailles forced Germany to concede territories to Belgium, Czechoslovakia, and Poland. The Germans returned Alsace and Lorraine to France. -
The Dawes Plan
The Dawes Plan was to have the US lend money to Germany and then the Germans would use the money to make jobs and pay France reparations. Then France would pay back the money to the US for war loans. -
The Young Plan
The Young Plan was created by Owen D. Young and it was to reduce German reparations by ¾. The only problem was that the germans hated the plan because they would have to again admit that they caused WWI. They eventually agree to the terms and start making the annual payments. But when Hitler comes to power those payments stop, imeditly. -
The Great Depression
The Great Depression was the longest and deepest economic struggle in the history of the United States. This downturn in economic strength all began when the stock market crashed in October of 1929, after that everything only went downward. By 1933 nearly 15 million americans were unemployed and almost half of the country's banks had failed. This huge struggle lasted until about 1939, when WWII came into play and made more industrial jobs for the unemployed. -
Adolf Hitler's Rise to Power
Hitler spoke as a strong and confident man and that is one of the main reasons he was able to brainwash many people into believing what he thought was to be true. His rise to power was very fast and by 1933 Hitler and his National Socialists (Nazis) controlled all of Germany. Hitler quickly took out any competition by making other political parties illegal and killed many who opposed. -
