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Treaty of Versailles
A peace document signed at the end of World War 1 by allied powers and Germany. It was signed on June 28, 1919, in Versailles, exactly 5 years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Of the many provisions of the treaty, the most important and controversial required Germany to accept the responsibility of Germany and its allies for causing all the loss and damage. -
League of Nations was Established
An international organization founded on January 10, 1920, as a result of the Paris Peace Conference. The league's goals included, disarmament, preventing war through collective security, settling disputes between countries through negotiation, and improving global warfare. -
Beer Hall Putsch
Was also known as the Munich Putsch. It was a failed coup attempt by Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler, along with General quartermaster Erich Ludendorff and other Kamp bund leaders, to seize power of Munich, Bavaria. About 2000 Nazi’s marched to the centre of Munich and confronted the police, which resulted in the death of 16 Nazi’s and 4 police officers. Hitler himself was not wounded, but after 2 days he was arrested and charged with treason. -
Dawes Plan
An attempt to solve the World War 1 reparations problem that Germany had to pay, and to return the country's economy to some form of stability. The Dawes Plan got its name as the man who headed the committee was an American called Charles Dawes. -
Locarno Pact
December 1, 1925. A series of agreements whereby Germany, France, Belgium, Great Britain, and Italy, mutually guaranteed peace in western Europe. -
Benito Mussolini Takes Power in Italy
Benito Mussolini was an Italian dictator who rose to power in the wake of World War 1. His military expenditures in Libya, Somalia, Ethiopia, and Albania, which made Italy predominant in the Mediterranean region. He exhausted his armed forces by the late 1930’s. Mussolini allied himself with Hitler, relying on the German dictatorship to sustain his leadership during World War 2. He was killed shortly after the German surrender in Italy in 1945. -
Kellogg-Briand Pact
An international agreement which signatory states promised not to use war to resolve conflicts or disputes which may arise among them. It was signed by Germany, France, and the United States on August 27, 1928. -
Stock Market Crash in the USA
Known as The Wall Street Crash, or Black Tuesday, began on October 24, 1929 and was the most devastating stock market crash in US history. As more people invested in the stock market, stock prices began to rise. Millionaire investors went bankrupt almost instantly. This led to the Great Depression. -
Japan Invaded Manchuria
Japan had invaded Manchuria without declarations of war, breaking the rules of the League of Nations. Japan had a highly developed industry but the land was scarce of natural resources. Japan then turned to Manchuria for oil, rubber, and lumber. China's response was to plead to the League of Nations for them to help drive Japan out. Japan was in depression and the only way that the League of Nations could punish nations was by economic sanction. This shattered the League of Nations credibility. -
Hitler Appointed Chancellor of Germany
Was appointed by President Paul Von Hindenburg. This appointment was made in an effort to keep Hitler and the Nazi Party “in check”. In the year and seven months that followed, Hitler was able to exploit the death of Hindenburg and combine the positions of chancellor and president into the position of Führer, the supreme leader of Germany. -
Italy Invaded Ethiopia
Benito Mussolini was determined to establish an Italian empire. A border clash at Wewel in Southern Ethiopia increased tension between Italy and Ethiopia. The League of Nations, which Ethiopia joined in 1923, called for economic punishment against Italy. The Italians quickly defeated the Ethiopians. -
Germany Reoccupied the Rhineland
Adolf Hitler violated the Treaty of Versailles by sending military forces into the Rhineland. -
Rome-Berlin Axis
An alliance formed between Italy and Germany. An agreement was formulated by Italy’s foreign minister Galeazzo Ciano informally linking the two countries. It was formalized by the Pact of Steel in 1939. -
Anti-Comintern Pact Between Germany and Japan
An anti-communist pacts between Germany and Japan. In case of an attack by the Soviet Union against Germany or Japan, the two countries agreed to consult on what measures to take. It also agreed that neither of them would take political treaties with the Soviet Union. -
Germany’s Anschluss with Austria
Adolf Hitler announced a union between Germany and Austria. In early 1938 Austrian Nazi’s conspired for the second time in four years to seize the Austrian government by force and unite their nation with Nazi Germany. -
Munich Agreement
Permitting Germany to take over portions of Czechoslovakia along the country's border mainly inhabited by German speakers. Germans were forced to guarantee an end to German territorial expansion. -
Germany Occupied Czechoslovakia
Began with the German occupation of Czechoslovakia’s northern and western border regions, known as the Sudetenland. The overthrow of Czechoslovakia became Hitler’s next ambition. The incorporation of the Sudetenland left the rest of Czechoslovakia weak. On March 15, 1939 the German Wehrmacht moved into the remainder of Czechoslovakia. -
Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact
Also known as the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact. It was an economic agreement, that Germany would exchange manufactured goods or Soviet raw materials. Nazi Germany and the Soviet union also signed a ten year nonaggression pact in which each signatory agreed not to attack each other. -
Germany Invaded Poland
The invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, the Free City of Danzig, and a small Slovak contingent, started World War 2. German forces invaded Poland from the north, south, and the west. Slovak forces advanced alongside the Germans.
