-
The Weimar Republic sign the Treaty of Versailles
When the Allies’ post-WWI peace terms were established in May 1919, they were widely condemned by the German public. However, the Weimar Republic eventually accepted responsibility for the war, and were quickly branded the 'November Criminals' for signing the Treaty of Versailles. The treaty had territorial, financial and political ramifications within Germany, harshly dividing the country socially and politically. The betrayal that the public felt laid the foundation for fascism. -
Anti-Semitism
A key characteristic of fascist regimes is their reliance on blaming minority groups for national problems, and the Nazis did just this in order to win over the public. In 1933, repressive Anti-Semitic laws were introduced to Germany, which eventually stripped Jews of most of their citizenship rights and categorised people as Jewish based on descent rather than personal religious views. -
Hitler becomes Chancellor
Hitler’s emergence as the chancellor of Germany in 1933 marked a crucial turning point for the Nazi party. Immediately after being made Chancellor, Hitler ordered a rapid expansion of the state police and put Hermann Goering in charge of a new security force, composed entirely of Nazis. Hitler becoming Chancellor of Germany is a particularly noteworthy moment as from then on, he had the authority to implement his fascist regime, and nobody had the power to stop him. -
The Enabling Act
The Enabling Act of 1933 was an amendment to the Weimar Constitution that effectively surrendered the German Cabinet to Hitler and the Nazi party by granting him the supreme decision to pass laws without the involvement of the Reichstag. The formal title for the Enabling Act was the ‘Law to Remedy the Distress of People and Reich.’ This was a particularly important moment as it officially ushered out the age of German democracy and in the age of fascism. -
Night of the Long Knives
The Night of the Long Knives was a purge that took place from June 30 to July 2, 1934. When Hitler feared that he may potentially lose his grip on his power over Germany, who carried out mass executions for anyone he deemed a potential threat. This included wiping out the then-paramilitary and also wiping out various individual political opponents. Hitler was highly encouraged to do this by both Hermann Göring and Heinrich Himmler. -
Hitler becomes Fuhrer
When the German President Paul von Hindenburg passed, the then-Chancellor Adolf Hitler was next in line to step in. Taking Hindenburg's place, Hitler assumed the role of Germany's absolute dictator under the title of "Fuhrer," meaning "leader." The German army swore an oath of allegiance to Hitler, and the last remains of . Germany's democratic government withered away. -
Conscription
In 1935, Hitler openly held a huge rearmament rally. Shortly afterwards, he reintroduced conscription. The Nazi government also began to pour substantial amounts of money into Germany’s armed forces. Soon, Germany would have 95 warships, 8,250 airplanes and an army of nearly one million men. This far exceeded the terms that were set in the Treaty of Versailles, which outlined that Germany may only have 100,000 men and no planes at all. -
Nuremberg Laws
The Nuremberg Laws were antisemitic and racial laws enacted in Germany in 1935. The two laws were the Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honour. The laws forbade marriages and extramarital intercourse between Jews and Germans, and outlawed the employment of German females under 45 in Jewish households. Furthermore, the Reich Citizenship Law, declared that only those of German or related blood were eligible to be Reich citizens. -
German/Italian Alliance
After the Italy's botched attempt at invading Abyssinia, the only choice of allies that Mussolini had were very slim. When civil war broke out in Spain, Mussolini decided that Italian involvement in Spain would be yet another opportunity to expand his power and influence. He perceived Hitler as overly-ambitious and underestimated just how successful he would be, so Mussolini entered an alliance with Germany under the assumption that he would be able to take advantage of Hitler. -
Remilitarisation of the Rhineland 1936
On 7 March 1936, Hitler's German troops stormed into the Rhineland and seized control of it. This action was in direct defiance against the Treaty of Versailles. Ultimately, the remilitarisation of the Rhineland dramatically shifted the balance of power in Europe from France towards Germany. What's more, it made it possible for Germany to pursue a policy of aggression in Western Europe that the demilitarised status of the Rhineland had blocked until then. -
The Sudetenland and Invasion of Czechoslovakia
Hitler's backing of a certain political party made them a force to be reckoned with in Czechoslovakia. In March 1938, Hitler ordered Henlein to create a crisis in the Czechoslovakia. A couple months later, Hitler promised Britain's then-Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, that he would not invade Czechoslovakia if he were given control of the Sudetenland. -
Anschluss - Unification with Austria
On March 12, 1938, German troops marched into Austria in order to seize control of the government by force and unite Austria and Germany. As Hitler was a native Austrian, uniting with Austria was a long-term dream of his. -
The Foreign Policy Appeasement – The Munich Agreement
The Munich Agreement was an agreement that permitted Nazi Germany's occupation of certain portions of Czechoslovakia. The agreement took into consideration the fact that the country's borders were mainly inhabited by German speakers, and this was deemed new territory called the "Sudetenland." -
Kristallnacht (Crystal Night)
On November 9th to November 10th, 1938, Nazis in Germany burned down synagogues, vandalized Jewish homes, schools and businesses and killed nearly one hundred Jews. In the aftermath, approximately 30,000 Jewish men were arrested and sent to Nazi concentration camps. -
Invasion of Poland
On September 1st 1939, approximately 1.5 million German troops invaded Poland. Simultaneously, the German Luftwaffe bombed Polish airfields, and German warships and U-boats attacked Polish naval forces. In order to justify his actions to Britain and France, Hitler claimed the mass invasion was a defensive action. However, Hitler's real motive was clear (making living space for "racially superior" Germans). On September 3, they declared war on Germany, signalling World War II.
