-
Mussolini took power in Italy
The king of Italy allowed Mussolini to become prime minister as an attempt to prevent civil war from happening. Although this didn't directly affect America at the time, it would affect World War II because Mussolini ended up being a horrible dictator who believed strongly in imperialism and expanding the Italian empire. -
U.S. Stock Market Crashes
With the loss of money, Americans swarmed to banks, only to find that their savings had been wiped out due to all the withdrawls that day. People who had been buying on credit, became in debt. This day is known as Black Tuesday, one of the worst days in history. -
Battle of Britain
This was the first battle of World War II, Britain won the battle and Germany was forced to surrender. This was an important turning point in World War II because this was the first big battle the allied forces won, it showed this would not be a small and short war. -
Japan seizes Manchuria
Japan had been planning this attack on Manchuria for a long time; they wanted to expand their empire and gain the natural resources Manchuria had to offer. Japan knew that they would be successful because they had the military strength to physically take over Manchuria. This caused corruption among the League of Nations because they did not trust Japan's intentions and did not support Japan. -
Hitler is named Chancellor of Germany
Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany. Hitler tried to seize power in Munich and was sent to jail. In his time in prison, Hitler wrote , “My Struggle”, that stated what his plan was for Germany. Hitlert then joined the Nazi party and became the leader of it. He grew the acceptance of the German people with his plans to get them out of their economic state. -
FDR is elected president
FDR is elected to be president of the United States. He beats Hoover by a landslide and promises the American people that he will get them out of the Great Depression. He achieves his goals with the New Deal which offered American’s jobs, and social benefit programs. -
Italy invades Ethiopia
Italy wanted to expand its Empire, so Ethiopia was a perfect opportunity. It was weak and its access to the Red Sea would come in handy to Italy’s trade market. Italy easily obtained Ethiopia because of its weak military and because no other countries stepped in to defend Ethiopia. -
Hitler defies the Treaty of Versailles
Hitler, when in power, had not payed back Great Britain or France and was suppose to because of the Treaty of Versailles. He marched some of his military back into Rhineland where he remilitarized Rhineland; this was a direct violation of the Treaty of Versailles. This helped cause World War Two because it showed European countries that Hitler would not follow any written rules. -
France militarizes Rhineland
In part of the Treaty of Versailles it was agreed that Germany was not allowed to build on the Rhineland and it should be protected by military forces. In June of 1930 British forces who had been sent there to protect the land returned home along with the French forces seeing that Rhineland was safe. This affects World War II because it leaves Rhineland wanting more and holds Germany to a promise that they would not keep. -
Civil War erupts in Spain
The Spanish army tried to rebel against its government but failed. Germany and Italy gave support to the people rebelling which gained their loyalty. This caused Spanish civilians to supply the countries with information, men, weapons and other demands. -
Japan invades China
he United States of America and other countries had denied Japan resources, Japan had to go in search of its own. China was one of those countries; it had an abundance of natural resources. This contributed to WW2 because it caused the United Stated to provide aid to China which would then in turn caused Japan to become very angry with the USA. -
Anchluss
Germany begins to expand and try to annex the Austria Empire. Germany was successful and Austria became known as the Third Reich. This really got people realizing that a war would be prevalent in the near future because Germany kept expanding and gaining control of other European nations. -
Munich Conference
The prime minister of Great Britain(Chamberlain) and the leader of France(Daladier) met with Adolf Hitler to “prevent” a war with Germany. Although Germany did promise not to annex or take over any more European countries they did have to give up Sudetenland. -
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht also known as the Night of Broken Glass occurred. German Nazi soldiers destroyed German Jewish businesses and property. Hitler later set up Concentration Camps which would cause other countries to find out what type of dictator Hitler was and caused more countries to either join the war or to give their support to the forces opposing Germany. -
Nazi Soviet Pact
Nazi and Soviet Parties signed a pact with one another that states no aggression and alliance in case of threat from different countries. This upset not only Britain but America as well because it showed that Germany was gaining allies and had good upcoming strategies and plans to defeat European countries. -
Germany invades Poland
Germany invades and takes over Poland. The Soviet Union helped with the over throws of Germany and thus the Empire of Germany and Soviet Union spread. This was one of the direct causes of World War II because the allies of Poland also declared War on Germany shortly after. -
Phony War
The Phony war was a time period between 1939-1940, when it ended Germany made no advances on any other European countries however after that winter Germany launched a massive invasion known as the Lightening War on Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Netherlands and France. This very deeply worried the League of Nations and caused other countries to give support and resources. -
US Neutrality Act
This was signed by FDR, he made a promise that the United States would remain Neutral throughout World War II. This was important to World War II because Germany heard of this and knew we would not be fighting him or giving our support to other countries; we would be uninvolved as a Nation. It also gave Japan the chance to attack Pearl Harbor because they knew we were not expecting it. -
Churchill is elected Prime Minister of England
Winston Churchill becomes Prime Minister of Great Britain and remains Prime Minister throughout World War II. This relates a lot to the outcome of World War II, because of his future alliance with the United States of America and the decisions he would make with FDR in reguards to the War. -
France surrenders
France surrenders in the first battle with Germany. Germany easily defeated Denmark and Poland and then went on to take over France who did not have a strong defense at the time. This directly caused the Battle of Britain. Which led to more battles in World War II. -
Miracle at Dunkirk
French and British troops were defeated and trapped by German soldiers at the French sea port of Dunkirk. With no way to escape, the British and French called civilian boats to come and rescue them. Almost all the soldiers were rescued, which was the miracle. This added to World War II because it showed the Germans what the French and British were willing to take to save their men and win the war. -
Japan seizes French IndoChina
Japan seized Indochina on this day. With this seize Japan had complete control of resources and areas of Manchuria, Indochina and China. This was very bad in terms of World War II because it gave Japan the power to attack the United States and other Nations. -
Lend Lease Act
The Lend Lease Act was passed by FDR in the United States on this day. This act stated that the United States could give weapons to Nations that seemed in need and worthy of defense. This helped Great Britain and France greatly because they were running low on weapons since the last battle, -
Atlantic Charter
This was signed by FDR and said that the US would not attack Japan. This proved to be unsuccessful because Japan later attacked Pearl Harbor. -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, the US navy base in Hawaii, was attacked on this day. The United States was deliberately attacked without warning, this caused the United States to declare war on Japan and to join the allied forces.
