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Hitler Becomes Chancellor
Adolf Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany. -
Mussolini Invades Ethiopia
Italy, under the leadership of Prime Minister Benito Mussolini, invades Ethiopia. -
1937 Neutrality Act
President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the 1937 Neutrality Act, which bans travel on belligerent ships, forbids the arming of American merchant ships trading with belligerents, and issues an arms embargo with warring nations. -
Japan Defeats China
The Japanese defeat Chinese forces in a clash near Peking, taking control of North China. -
Roosevelt Limits Ships to Asia
President Franklin D. Roosevelt forbids U.S. ships from carrying arms to China or Japan. -
Hitler Supports Japan
German Chancellor Adolf Hitler announces support for Japan which means that America is not friendly with Germany -
Mussolini Joins Hitler
In a speech in Rome, Benito Mussolini, fascist leader of Italy, promises to fight the democracies alongside Adolf Hitler's should war break out. -
Naval Expansion Act
The U.S. Congress passes the Naval Expansion Act giving President Franklin D. Roosevelt one billion dollars to enlarge the navy. -
Hitler Aims for Sudetenland
Adolf Hitler is poised to invade and conquer the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia. -
Kristallnacht
During the German Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass), 7500 Jewish businesses are looted, 191 synagogues are set afire, nearly 100 Jews are killed, and tens of thousands are sent to concentration camps. -
Hitler Annexes Czechoslovakia
Adolf Hitler reneges on the promise made in September of 1938 and takes all of Czechoslovakia. -
Germany Invades Poland
German troops invade Poland on the ground while Hitler's air force bombs Polish cities from the sky. -
Hitler Seizes Low Countries
Adolf Hitler takes neutral Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Holland, and Luxembourg. -
France Surrenders
France, crushed, surrenders to Germany and signs an armistice. Great Britain now stands alone against the Axis powers. -
Germany Invades Soviet Union
Germany invades the Soviet Union violating the Nonaggression Pact. U.S. Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson estimates that it will take Hitler less than three months to conquer the Soviet Union.
