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Treaty of Versailles is signed
The Treaty of Versailles ended World War 1. It forced Germany and the Axis powers to take responsibility for the damages caused by the war and harshly punished them. -
The Weimar Republic is established in Germany
The Weimar Republic was Germany's government from 1919 until 1933 when the Nazi government took control. The Weimar Republic was unstable and faced political and economic crises. -
The League of Nations is created
The League of Nations was an international diplomatic group that was created to solve problems between multiple countries as an alternative to going to war. The League of Nations was only successful some of the time however, as they sometimes made their own interests a higher priority than resolving conflicts. It was replaced by the United Nations after World War 2. -
French occupation of the Ruhr
When Germany failed to pay their war reparations, France and Belgium invaded a region of Germany called the Ruhr. The Ruhr contained resources and factories that France and Belgium wanted to take to make up for the unpaid reparations. This resulted in violence and goods in Germany became harder to obtain. The German government tried to fix the problem by printing more money, but this just led to inflation. -
Beer Hall Putsch
Adolf Hitler and the Nazis tried to overthrow the Weimar republic. They failed, and 14 Nazis were killed. Hitler was arrested two days later. After failing to overthrow the government, Hitler decided that he would have to obtain his power through legal means. -
The Dawes Plan is created
The Dawes Plan was a plan created by the USA to get the allied powers to pay back the money that the USA lent them. Germany's reparations were reduced and would increase as their economy got better and the USA lent them some money so they could improve their economy. The plan failed however when the Great Depression hit and bankrupted Germany. -
Benito Mussolini becomes dictator of Italy
Benito Mussolini was the first fascist dictator of Italy. He eliminated his opposition and forced the king and the people to give him power. He was in power from 1925 to 1945 and had an influence on how Hitler ran Germany when he became a dictator. -
The Locarno Treaties are signed
The Locarno Treaties were a bunch of agreements that were meant to allow Germany to recover from World War 1. The treaties were supposed to secure the borders in Europe, ensure that the Rhineland was permanently demilitarized, and to allow Germany to enter the League of Nations. The treaties allowed Germany to gain power without the allies interfering. -
The Kellogg-Briand Pact is signed
The Kellogg-Briand Pact was an agreement made by many countries that said that they would not use war to solve conflicts. Eleven years later, Hitler broke this pact and started World War 2. -
Beginning of the Great Depression
The stock market crashed, resulting in an economic depression that lasted a decade. Millions of people worldwide were unemployed. The Great Depression allowed for dictators like Hitler and Mussolini to take control of their countries. -
Japan invaded Manchuria
Japan attacked Manchuria because they were suffering from the Great Depression and were in need of resources, such as coal and iron. The League of Nations failed to react to Japan's aggression. -
Adolf Hitler is appointed Chancellor of Germany
Adolf Hitler won the German election with 230 seats. He was popular because he had a plan to help Germany recover from the economic crisis. Hitler wanted to make Germany a one-party state and began as soon as he was elected. He eliminated anyone who would oppose him so nobody would stand between him and power. -
Italy invaded Ethiopia
Benito Mussolini wanted to invade Ethiopia to begin establishing an empire and also to obtain resources for Italy. Once again, the League of Nations failed to intervene and help Ethiopia. -
Germany reoccupied the Rhineland
Germany marched into the Rhineland to expand and increase their strength. The Treaty of Versailles said that Germany wasn't allowed to occupy the Rhineland. However, the League of Nations didn't stop Germany from expanding. -
Creation of the Rome-Berlin Axis
Germany and Italy formed an alliance called the Rome-Berlin Axis. Both countries had fascist dictators and had similar interests. Germany, Italy, and their allies became known as the Axis in World War 2. -
Creation of the Anti-Comintern Pact
Anti-Comintern Pact was an agreement between Germany and Japan that stated that they would fight against communist countries, such as the Soviet Union. Later, Italy was included in this pact and it united all three countries. -
Germany’s anschluss with Austria
Hitler wanted to unite all German speaking people. Hitler believed that Germany and Austria had to unite, but they weren't allowed to be allies due to the Treaty of Versailles. When Germany entered Austria, the Allies didn't stop them. -
Signing of the Munich Agreement
After annexing Austria, Hitler wished to annex Czechoslovakia. The Munich agreement was made between Hitler and Britain and France. It said that Germany could have Sudetenland, a German speaking region of Czechoslovakia, if Hitler stopped his expansion. -
Germany occupied Czechoslovakia
Germany eventually invaded all of Czechoslovakia, going against the terms of the Munich Agreement. However, Britain didn't react to this. -
Creation of the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact
For Hitler to be able to continue his expansion, he had to make an agreement with the Soviet Union so that they wouldn't fight one another. However, Hitler would break this pact in 1941 by invading the Soviet Union. -
Germany invaded Poland
Hitler and Stalin agreed to divide Poland between each other and Germany invaded Poland soon after. Germany had signed the Munich agreement to stop expanding, however Hitler still invaded Poland. -
Britain declared war on Germany
Britain realised that Germany wasn't going to stop annexing territory and decided that they had to stand up to Hitler and declare war on Germany. This was the beginning of World War 2.
