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Mussolini takes power in Italy
Benito Mussolini took power of Italy in October of 1922. He was a very good speaker and maintained his power through violence and repression. Benito Mussolini established a dictatorship in Italy. This was a big problem because he wanted to exapand and be in control of everything Italy did. For these reasons he helped cause World War 2. -
U.S. Stock Market Crashes
The U.S. Stock Market crashed on October 29, 1929. This drastically effected the United States econonmy and also the rest of the world's economy. This made times tough for many countries which led to them desperation. This event attracted leaders like Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini because the people wanted someone strong to lead their country. The progression of these leaders led to World War 2. -
Japan seizes Manchuria
At this time Japan wanted to expand and dissatisfaction was high among some members of the military. Without the approval of the Japanese government Japan invaded the providence of Manchuria. This led to the begginiing of World War 2 becaue the belief of expanding power spread to more countries besides Japan. -
FDR is elected president
In November of 1932 the United States elected a new president in Franklin D. Roosevelt. President Roosevelt started sending over military materials to Great Britain with the Lend Lease Act. I think this frustrated Japan and other countries and provoked Japan to attack us. -
Hitler is named Chancellor of Germany
On the night of January 30, 1933 Adolf Hitler was sworn in as Chancellor of Germany. At this time in Germany people were very desperate for a strong leader. Hiler's attitude and sense of nationalism attracted many German people. This event led to World War 2 because Germany now had a strong and dangerous leader. -
U.S. Neutrality Act
This was intended so that the U.S. would not be drawn into the war. It outlawed making loans to warring countries. Even though we had this It did not have much of a effect on how we would decide on getting involved in the war. -
Hitler defies the treaty of Versailles
Secretly Hitler began to rebuild the German military. This was in violation with the Treaty of Versailles. Hitler convinced Great Britain and France to allow him to do so. Hitler said he was rebuilding his military in order to protect themselves from communism. Hitler though was obviously trying to go to war in order to expand his nation. -
Italy invades Ethiopia
For decades Italy had hard feelings towards Ethiopia because of a crushing military defeat of the italians in the 1800s. In 1935 Mussolini used a exuse about the border betwen Italy and Ethipia to launch a invasion. Italy was too strong for Ethiopia and conquored the country. There was very little public suport from the League of Nations. This was a event that encouraged leaders like Mussolini to keep expanding. -
France militarizes the Rhineland
Germany was required to keep out of the Rhine River valley on the French Border according to the Treaty Of Versailles. Hitler violated this by sending over troops. Hitler said for an exuse that a French militart agreement with the Soviet Union was harmful towards Germany. France took no action and Hitler just kept getting stronger. This was not a good sign to the world because no one would stand up to him. -
Civil War erupts in Spain
Spain had conflkicts with the political views in there own country. Fascist Italy and GErmany got inlved when they sent forces and equitment for the Nationalists. THe United States and the Soviet Union got involved and started seding people to fight for the Republican side. The Nationalists won and was now in control of a Spanisih dictator. -
Japan invades China
Japan invaded China with great brutaility. The Japanese killed around 200,000 to 300,000 Chinese. This was another act of expansion from Japan. It would be only so much longer before someone would take action to stop Japan. -
Anschuluss
Anschuluss was when GEemany annexed Austria and it now became part of the German Empire. This symbolized Germany's desire to expand and conquor which would lead to future problems for the world. -
Munich Conference
Chamberlin and Daladier gave into appeasement and allowed Hitler to annex the Sudetenland. They believed that letting Hitler have his way was the right the thing to do because they though after this he would stop conflict. This was not the right thing to do because this only made Hitler want more power. -
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht took place across Germany on the nights of November 9th and 10th. Kristallnacht were rampages against jewish people. This was a big cause of World War 2 because a lot of countries did not approve of tis behavior of Germany and wanted to stop it. -
Nazi-Soviet Pact
Hitler wanted to expand and not have anyone in his way. He made a peace agreement with Stalin that promised that Germany would not attack the Soviet Union. Also secretely he promised him land of eastern Europe. This was going to a problem because now Hitler had someone on his side. -
Germany invades Poland
A couple days after the Nazi- Soviet Pact Germany invaded Poland. Hitler used an exuse for the attack. Hitler dressed up a German criminal in a Polish military uniform and shot him. The next day he said that he had been attacked by Poland. Germany used blitzkrieg against Poland and overwhelmed Poland. Hitler was ready to invade the rest of the world after this. -
Churchill is Elected Prime Minsister in England
Winston Churchill played a very big role in the cause of World War 2. Churchill and Roosevelt met and agreed to a Atlantic Charter. The Atlantic Charter shared the goals of the United States and Great Britain in going agaist Hitler. These two worked together to try and stop Hitler and his allies. -
Miracle at Dunkirk
The Germans trapped the British and French armies around Dunkirk. 330,000 well trained soldiers were trapped. Smaller boats came and rescued the men. They escaped and were very fortunate it did not turn out worse. -
France Surrenders
France was overwhelmed by the Germans and had no choice but surrender to Hitler. Hitler once again was expanding his country. Someone needed to put a stop to it. -
Battle of the Britain
Using radar the RAF inflicted damage on the german planes. THe Germans bombed the city of London and tried to frighten the citizens of Britan. The British stopped the Luftwaffe. This was a turning point because for the first time Germany had been stopped. -
Japan seizes French Indo-China
When Japan took over French Indo-China it threatened the interest of the United States and Great Britain. Japan was seeking oil and other resources in the French Indo-China. This created conflict with the United States and Japan. Japan was not willing to have any compromises. This was a sign that a war was coming for both sides. -
Phony War
In the winter of 1940 to 1941 Hitler did not attack anyone. Germany was busy making plans for an invasion of Ardennes. Even though no one saw it coming Germany was planning to attack again. -
Lend- Lease Act
The Lend- Lease Act allowed the U.S. to send weapons to Great Britain. The United States was a arsenal for Great Britain and also it allowed us not to send anyone over seas to fight. This would not last very long because of Hitler's desire to conquor the world. -
Atlantic Charter
The Atlantic Charter was where Churchill and Roosevelt met to discuss plans to defeat Hitler and his allies. Many people in the United States did not like that because they thought that we were being directed into war. -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
On Decvember 7, 1941 the japanese bombed the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor. The attack was a suprise to the Americans. THe Japanese did heavy damgage on the American ships and the United States wanted revenge.
