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Balfour declaration
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the Wiemar republic is founded
in the aftermath of the treaty of Versailles the kaiser was forced to flee the country and a republic was created with a new constitution and a parliment -
Spartacist uprising in berlin
A revolt by communists in the early days of the Weimar Republic which was put down with the help a mercenary group called the Freikorps -
Benito mussolini takes control of the fascist party in italy
after a bad election Benito Mussolini is voted leader of the party -
Kap Putsch
An attempted coup by parts of the military and other right wing groups that forced the Weimar Republic out of Berlin but was eventually stopped by a general strike -
Mussolini's march on Rome
Mussolini threatened to march on Rome with 26 thousand armed troops to restore order. King Emmanuel the third afraid of civil war asks Mussolini to create his own government. -
Munich Putsch
Inspired by Mussolini's march on Rome Hitler and general Ludendorff attempted to lead a two thousand man march on Berlin but stopped by police in Munich resulting in 16 deaths and Hitler being sent to prison for five months -
The Acerbo law is passed in Italy
Automatically gives the winning party of the election two-thirds of seats in parliament. This effectively gave Mussolini control of the government -
The Lateran Accords are signed
Mussolini signs a treaty with the Vatican giving him their public support and in return Catholicism is made national religion of Italy and the pope is allowed to rule officially in Vatican city -
Black Tuesday
a stock market crash signaling the beginning of the great depression in america as stocks collapsed -
Japanese invasion of Manchuria
The Japanese army acting independently with no command from the Japanese government or the emperor attacked China. Both of them were members of the League of Nations In response the league responded with weak economic sanctions against japan despite a clear call for help from China overall this incident exposed the weaknesses of the league and encouraged the ambitions of would be conquerors like Mussolini and Hitler -
Hitler becomes chancellor of Germany
President Hindenburg believing that he control hitler asks him to be chancellor -
The Reichstag is burned down
During the night a Dutch communist is arrested and charged with arson using this as excuse Hitler outlaws the communist party and arrests leaders breaking his main opposition in parliament -
The enableling act is passed
This piece of legislation effectively allowed Hitler to pass laws without needing to through the Reichstag parliament -
Night of the long knives
When the Nazis private army the SA started to acting too independently trying to replace the German army Hitler reacted with a purge of the SA high command killing any opposition within his own supporters -
Hitler becomes the Fuhrer
Almost immediately after the death of old president Hindenburg Hitler passes a bill through parliament allowing him to have the powers of both president and chancellor in a new position called the Fuhrer. The army was also forced to an oath of loyalty to Hitler -
The Nuremburg laws are passed
A set of laws made against Jews forbidding them from marrying Germans and forced them to wear the star of David as identification. Later additions stripped Jews of citizenship rights and further limited the community -
Italian Invasion of Abyssinia
Italy under Mussolini invades Abyssinia trying to expand its colonies in Africa. Both nations are part of the League of Nations and in response the league imposed minor and ineffective sanctions against Italy mainly due to Britain and France's unwillingness to antagonize Italy, making it appear weak to the and especially Hitler -
Remilitarization of the Rhineland
German troops marched into the Rhineland violating the treaty of Versailles allowing Germany to secure its western border and made it possible for Germany to wage war in the east -
Franco Soviet Czech pact is signed
A treaty guaranteeing that if Germany attacked either france or the Soviet Union that it would have to fight a two front war. Though France never intended fully to go through with this threat -
Marco Polo Bridge incident
When a Japanese soldier goes into a Chinese controlled town and fails to return on time his commander demands to be allowed to search the area and when this is rejected Japanese forces surrounds the town. Eventually the soldier returns but no cares and despite a deal being reached with the Japanese government military forces still attempts to take the city starting the second Sino Japanese war -
Anschluss
Was the integration of Austria into Nazi Germany. Through a combination of threats and diplomatic manoeuvres Hitler managed to get the Austrian government to request help. Main opponent to this was Mussolini's Italy who threatened to invade if Germany didn't stay out of Austria ultimately Hitler promised that he would never forget this and Mussolini conceded. The union of these two nations was also a total violation of the treaty of Versailles but western nations wanted to avoid angering Hitler. -
The Munich agreement is signed
When Germans living in the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia demand independence the government refuses. In response Hitler threatens war and Czechoslovakias allies Britain and France trying to avoid war tells Czechoslovakia to give in to demands. Eventually Italy calls a conference at Munich and without Czechoslovakia it is decided that Germany will get the Sudetenland in the understanding that Hitler would not ask for anymore land. -
kristallnacht
In response to the shooting of a German diplomat in France by a French Jew. The nazis organize a night of looting and Attacks on Jewish property all across Germany resulting in the deaths of possibly hundreds and destructions of thousands of buildings -
The Molotov Ribbentrop pact is signed
Was a non aggression pact between Soviet Russia and Nazi Germany. Secretly the pact also decided the spheres of influence each nation would posses over Eastern Europe. -
Operation Barbarossa
