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Josef Stalin
Josef Stalin served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee from 1922 until his death in 1953. -
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Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini was the fascist prime minister of Italy, with dictatorial powers, from 1922 until he was overthrown in 1943. In May 1938, Mussolini promised to fight alongside Adolf Hitler in any war against the democracies of the world. -
Adolf Hitler
After World War I, he rose to power in the National Socialist German Workers Party, taking control of the German government in 1933. -
Hitler's Secret Meeting
Hitler holds a secret meeting with his top military advisors, ordering them to make plans for the conquest of Eastern Europe and Russia. -
Munich Agreement
Hitler signs the “Munich Agreement” with the leaders of England, France and Italy.
This act of so-called Allied “appeasement” paved the way for the German invasion of Czechoslovakia. -
Prophecy Speech
Hitler makes his so-called “Prophecy Speech” where he calls for genocide against the Jews. -
Mussolini allied with Hitler
Mussolini slowly overcame his lieutenants’ anti-German attitudes, and then allied himself with Adolf Hitler in May 1939. -
Josef Stalin freed Hitler
In August 1939, Josef Stalin freed Hitler from his fear of the possibility of a war on two fronts by signing a pact of non-aggression with Germany. As a result, a month later, Hitler invaded Poland and precipitated the Second World War. -
Beginning of the War
Tojo had great power at the beginning of the war and in the West was often likened to Hitler and Mussolini -
Hitler persuaded Mussolini
Hitler’s May 1940 successes persuaded Mussolini to intervene in a presumably short, parallel war -
Tripartite Treaty
Hitler signs the Tripartite Treaty with the leaders of Japan and Italy, which become known as the Axis Powers. -
Germany invaded the USSR
In June 1941 Germany invaded the USSR. -
Hitler Breaks the Nazi Soviet Pact
Hitler breaks the Nazi Soviet Pact and starts Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of Russia. -
Tojo
An imperial mandate was then given to Tojo in October 1941 to become premier and form a new Cabinet. -
Hideki Tojo
Hideki Tojo was a general of the Imperial Japanese Army, the leader of the Imperial Rule Assistance Association, and the 40th Prime Minister of Japan during much of World War II, from October 17, 1941, to July 22, 1944 -
1941
In December 1941, Russian forces pushed the Germans from their positions around Moscow. Over the next three years counter offensives at Stalingrad and Kursk further diminished the power of Hitler's eastern army. -
1942
In 1942 a tightly restricted national election resulted in a pro-Tojo Diet. Nonetheless, while wielding great power, Tojo was still not a dictator like Hitler or Mussolini. -
Allied Victories
After the Allied victories of November 1942, Mussolini implored Hitler to make peace with Joseph Stalin and concentrate on defeating the British-American forces. -
Late 1944
By late 1944 Soviet forces had entered Eastern Europe. -
Arrest
With the end of the war Tojo awaited at his Tokyo residence his arrest by the occupation forces. On Sept. 11, 1945, when Gen. MacArthur ordered his arrest, Tojo attempted to shoot himself. -
Sugamo Prison
After his recovery he was held in Sugamo prison until his trial as a suspected war criminal by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East began in May 1946.
