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Mussolini forms the Fascist Party in Italy - political
Benito Mussolini founded the Fascist party in Milan in March of 1919. Their ideals included those of anticlericalism, republicanism, and nationalism. Some proposals of the program included the confiscation of war profits, the eight-hour day, and votes for women. -
Hitler joins the National Socialist German Workers Party (Nazis) - Political
Hitler joined the Nazis (National Socialist German Workers’ Party) in 1919, called the German Workers’ party at time, had full control over it by 1921. In 1920, Hitler created a program of 25 points that became the basis for the party which called for abandonment of the Treaty of Versailles, as well as expansion of German territory. -
Treaty of Versailles is signed - economic
World War I officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919. Negotiated among the Allied powers with little participation by Germany. Germany agreed to pay reparations under the Dawes Plan and the Young Plan, but those plans were cancelled in 1932, and Hitler’s rise to power and subsequent actions rendered moot the remaining terms of the treaty. The treaty was not in favor of Germany and was made without Germany getting much of a say. -
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Washington Naval Conference - political/economic
The Washington Naval Conference was a held by the United States from 1921 to 1922 to limit the naval arms race and work out security agreements in the Pacific. One agreement signed at this conference was the Four-Power Pact, signed on December 13, 1921. At the Conference, participating countries agreed to scrap 1,900,000 tons of warships that had belonged to the Great Powers and to halt building more. They regulated the use of submarines, outlawed poison gas, and affirmed China’s sovereignty -
Mussolini threatens to march on Rome- political
Mussolini organized the “March on Rome” on October 26, 1922. During the March, 25,000 Fascist men began to converge on Rome and occupy railway stations and government offices. While Prime Minister Facta asked to declare martial law, Victor Emmanuel III refused to do so in order to avoid army disloyalty and a civil war. Mussolini was asked to form a government in hopes of keeping the Fascists tame. After three years of near civil war, Mussolini became prime minister of Italy. -
Hitler attempts to overthrow the Weimar government (Beer Hall Putsch) - political
Beer Hall Putsch was an attempt by Adolf Hitler and Erich Ludendorff, a right-wing WWI general, to overthrow the Weimar Republic in Germany on Nov. 8-9, 1923. On November 8, 1923, Hitler was scheduled to speak in front of one of the largest beer halls in Munich. Hitler and his followers surrounded and burst into the hall, calling for a revolution. The plan after this was to take over many government buildings, but this did not succeed because of interference by the city’s military troops -
Hitler goes to prison and writes Mein Kampf - social
Hitler was arrested on November 11, 1923 and accused of high treason. He was tried on February 26, 1924, and was given five years in the Landsberg prison. While in prison, he wrote Mein Kampf, or “My Struggle”, a political autobiography of Hitler. It tells of his youth, WWI and Germany’s collapse in 1918. It also covers Hitler’s ideas of racism, saying that the Aryan(“genius”) race is far superior to that of the Jews (“parasite” race), and declares the need for expansion. -
Kellogg Briand Pact - political/economic
The Kellogg Briand Pact was an extremely important treaty signed on August 27, 1928. This pact was between France, the US, the UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Belgium, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Italy and Japan. They met in the city of Paris, and signed this agreement to outlaw war. This was one of the many international efforts to prevent a second World War. This pact had little to no effect is stopping the rise in militarism or the start of World War II -
Great Depression ends in Germany- social/economic
The Great Depression was triggered by a collapse in US share prices in 1929, after a decade-long economic boom. It led to years of economic downturn in developed nations, as businesses closed or cut back by shedding workers. Unemployment was the most noticeable effect of the Depression. In Germany, the Depression put six million men out of work. The government didn’t know how to properly fix the issues, so it went on for longer. The Great depression in Germany ended in 1929. -
Japan occupies Manchuria, China- economic
In 1931, Manchuria, China was invaded by Japan. The League of Nations did nothing about it. One week before, Britain's chief representative in the League, states “I do not think there is the slightest prospect of any war.” Japan then proved them wrong by invading. Japan only invaded to gain more land though. Their population was very dense, so people were overflowing from their cities. The Japanese government decided the only way to solve the problem was to gain more territory from China. -
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Geneva Disarmament Conference - political/economic
Sixty countries came together during this conference to consider making reductions in military armaments. They mainly wanted to reduce the amount of offensive weapons. Germany thought that other countries should have to reduce their militaries because Germany was already forced to reduce theirs as a result of the Treaty of Versailles. Germany tried to convince the other countries there that if they didn't' agree to lessen their militaries, then Germany should get the right to increase theirs. -
Hitler places second in German national elections for president - social/political
Adolf Hitler was in a very depressive state, after his niece committed suicide. He was able to pull himself out of this state after meeting President of Germany, Paul von Hindenburg, for the first time. During the depression of Germany, the people turned to Hitler to lead them. On April 10, 1932, the people voted. He became very popular, and almost won the election but he only came in second. -
Germany withdraws from League of Nations - political
Germany withdrew from the League of Nations in October 1933. The main reason for the withdrawal was the refusal of the Western powers to meet Germany’s demands for a military party. -
President von Hindenburg dies - social
On August 2, 1934 President Paul von Hindenburg dies. With the support of the German armed forces, Hitler becomes President of Germany. Later that month Hitler abolishes the office of President and declares himself Führer of the German Reich and People, in addition to his position as Chancellor. With all this power Hitler becomes the absolute dictator of Germany -
Hitler merges offices chancellor & president - political
Hitler decided to merge his two titles together, rather that having them separate. Instead of being the Chancellor and President of Germany, he changed it so that he was the Führer. This would make Hitler commander of the army as well. A vote was held on August 19. Intimidation, and fear of the communists, brought Hitler a 90 percent majority. He was now, for all intents and purposes, dictator. -
Mussolini invades Ethiopia - political/economic
After a border incident occurred in Ethiopia in December of 1924, Mussolini felt that it would be a good time to intervene. Ethiopia was one of the few independent states in a European-dominated Africa at the time. The Italians invaded Ethiopia on October 3, 1935. The invading forces took the capital in May of the next year. Mussolini proclaimed Victor Emmanuel III emperor of Ethiopia after sending their former leader, Emperor Haile Selassie, to exile. -
Hitler militarizes the Rhineland - political
In 1935, Hitler cancelled the military clauses of the Treaty of Versailles and began to re-militarize the Rhineland in March of 1936. None of the Western powers succeeded in undoing this militarization, eventually leading to an absorption of Austria as well as parts of Czechoslovakia in 1938. -
Hitler and Nazi Germany gain Sudetenland - political
The Sudetenland was taken away from Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire and given to Czechoslovakia. The region contained Czechs, Germans, Slovaks, Hungarians, Poles and Ruthenians. Although American President Woodrow Wilson had wanted people in disputed regions to be allowed to decide where they would live this did not happen. In 1936 Hitler marched soldiers into the Rhineland region and reclaimed it for Germany. In March 1938 German troops marched into Austria. -
Rome Berlin Agreement - political/social
The Rome-Berlin Axis was a deal signed by Italy and Germany. It was an agreement that officially linked the two fascist countries together. The solution was found on October 25, 1936. This agreement was formalized with the pack of steel in 1939. -
Italy withdraws from League of Nations - political/social
After Germany left the League of Nations in 1933, Mussolini felt the need to leave in 1937. In September of 1937 Mussolini went and visited Germany. Adolf Hitler put on a great show of major military power. By the end of Mussolini visit he felt that he needed to become and ally with Germany. He felt that an alliance with Germany would lead to Italy becoming a greater power throughout Europe. -
Japanese invasion of China - political
On July 7, 1937 Chinese and Japanese army groups came across each other. Both groups were near Peiping in North China. This incident was followed by more military movements, mainly on the side of the Japanese. The Secretary of state, Hull, urged the Japanese government to practice self restraint. He had a conversation with the Japanese ambassador on July 12, telling him how awful the consequences of war would be for both countries. -
Hitler and Nazi Germany annex Austria - political
On March 12, 1938, German troops marched into Austria to annex the German-speaking nation. Earlier in 1938, Austrian Nazis conspired for the second time in four years to overthrow the Austrian government. The Austrian chancellor finally met with Hitler to try and ensure his countries independence. He eventually decided to resign, on March 11th, with Hitler annexing Austria the next day. -
Hitler occupies Czechoslovakia - political
On September 30, 1938, Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, French Premier Edouard Daladier, and British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain signed the Munich Pact, which sealed the fate of Czechoslovakia. This pact basically handed the country over to Germany. Germany took over all of their resources and left the Czechs helpless. -
Hitler and Stalin sign Non-Aggression Pact - political/social
On August 23, 1939 Germany and The Soviet union signed a Nonaggression Pact. This pact stated that neither of them would take any military action on the other for the next ten years. When Europe was almost in another major war, Stalin did not want to be on bad terms with Germany, in case a war did break out. -
Germany invades Poland - political
On September 1, 1939 German forces bombarded Poland, both from the air and the land. Hitler's main goal was to regain his lost territory and ultimately rule Poland. This started World War II. -
Britain and France declare war on Nazi Germany - political
On September 3, 1939, in response to Hitler’s invasion of Poland, Britain and France, both allies of the nation declared war on Germany. Germany then went on to show the first signs of fatality, by sinking the British ship Athenia. England responded by dropping anti propaganda flyers over Germany. These were the first few events that kicked off World War II. -
France surrenders and is occupied by Nazi Germany - political/social
Paris had fallen and France was in danger of being completely taken over by the Germans conquest. The French government then decided to change their prime minister. They decided to elect Marshal Henri Petain in May of 1940. Petain was supposed to boost morale, and not sign anything with the Germans. On June 22, the newly appointed prime minister, signed an armistice with Germany. This armistice went into action on June 25. -
Japan, Italy and Germany sign the Tripartite Pact - political/social
The Tripartite Pact was a culmination of agreements between Germany, Japan, and Italy. It was largely intended to keep the United States from joining WWII. All three of the countries were members of the Axis powers when the Pact was made. This excluded the Soviet Union from the war and served as a warning for the United States. The pact was invoked in 1941 after the Attack on Pearl Harbor.
