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Mussolini's March on Rome
The Fascist Party leaders planned an insurrection to take place on October 28, consisting of a march on Rome by the fascist armed squads known as Blackshirts and the capture of strategic local places throughout Italy. This resulted in Benito Mussolini's National Fascist Party (PNF) ascending to power in the Kingdom of Italy -
Stalin becomes dictator becomes dictator of the USSR
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Hitler writes Mein Kampf
Mein Kampf is an autobiography written in 1925 written by Hitler. The title translates to "My Struggle" and in the book, he writes about his ideology and presented himself as the leader of the extreme right. -
1st "Five Year Plan" in USSR
Stalin launched his First Five-Year Plan to speed up the process of industrialisation in the Soviet Union so that it could compete with output levels in developed capitalist economies. -
Japan invades Manchuria
Seeking raw materials to fuel its growing industries, Japan invaded the Chinese province of Manchuria in 1931. By 1937 Japan controlled large sections of China, and war crimes against the Chinese became commonplace. -
Holodomor begins
The Holodomor, also known as the Terror-Famine or the Great Famine, was a man-made famine in Soviet Ukraine from 1932 to 1933 that killed millions of Ukrainians. Most of this was led by Joseph Stalin. Feeling threatened by Ukraine's strengthening cultural autonomy, Stalin took measures to destroy the Ukrainian peasantry and the Ukrainian intellectual and cultural elites to prevent them from seeking independence for Ukraine. -
Hitler appointed chancellor of Germany
Following several backroom negotiations – which included industrialists, Hindenburg's son, the former chancellor Franz von Papen, and Hitler – Hindenburg acquiesced and on 30 January 1933, he formally appointed Adolf Hitler as Germany's new chancellor. -
"Night of the Long Knives" in Germany
The "Night of the long Knives" was a purge that took place in Nazi Germany from 30 June to 2 July 1934. -
Nuremburg Laws enacted
The Nuremberg Laws were antisemitic and racist laws that were enacted in Nazi Germany on 15 September 1935, at a special meeting of the Reichstag convened during the annual Nuremberg Rally of the Nazi Party. -
Italian invasion of Ethiopia
Italy invaded Ethiopia in October 1935, launching a war that would drive Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie into exile, pave the way for Italian occupation, and test the capacity and will of the League of Nations to check the aggression of expansionist states. The Italians did this to become a colonial power. -
The Great Purge begins
The Great Purge or the Great Terror (Russian: Большой террор), was a purge in the Soviet Union from 1936 to 1938. Elimination of political opponents, consolidation of power. It was a large-scale "repression" of the more wealthy peasants (kulaks). Ethnic minorities were murdered. -
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War was a military revolt against the Republican government of Spain, supported by conservative elements within the country. When an initial military coup failed to win control of the entire country, a bloody civil war ensued, fought with great ferocity on both sides. -
Anti-Comintern Pact
The Anti-Comintern Pact, officially the Agreement against the Communist International was an anti-Communist pact concluded between Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan on 25 November 1936 and was directed against the Communist International. -
The Rape of Nanking
The rape of Nanking was over a period of six weeks, Imperial Japanese Army forces brutally murdered hundreds of thousands of people—including both soldiers and civilians—in the Chinese city of Nanjing (or Nanking). -
Kristallnacht
Nazi leaders unleashed a series of pogroms against the Jewish population in Germany and recently incorporated territories. This event came to be called Kristallnacht (The Night of Broken Glass) because of the shattered glass that littered the streets after the vandalism and destruction of Jewish-owned businesses, synagogues, and homes.