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Bolshevik Invasion
The Bolsheviks set up a rival Ukrainian government in the Soviet Union and began hostilities against the government in Kiev. Following this, the Rada broke ties with Petrograd on January 22, 1918, and declared Ukrainian independence. It was around this point that the Bolshevik troops began invading Ukraine from Russia. -
Creation of the Fascist Party
The National Fascist Party was an Italian political party, created by Benito Mussolini as the political expression of fascism. The party ruled Italy from 1922 to 1943 under an authoritarian system that described itself as totalitarian, even though, according to today's criteria, it was not. -
Hitler Joins NSDAP
Hitler became the leader of the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, otherwise known as the NSDAP or Nazi party, in 1921. -
March on Rome
The 1922 March on Rome was to establish Mussolini and the Fascist Party he led, as the most important political party in Italy. The military in Rome far out-numbered the Fascists who were poorly armed. However, Mussolini gambled on one thing: he believed that the Italian government lead by the king, Victor Emmanuel, did not want any form of conflict especially as Italy had suffered so much in WWI. On October 29th, 1922, Mussolini was summoned to meet the king and was appointed Prime Minister. -
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War occurred because after November 1917 (Bolshevik Invasion), many groups had formed opposing Lenin’s Bolsheviks. These groups included monarchists, militarists, and, for a short time, foreign nations. Collectively, they were known as the Whites while the Bolsheviks were known as the Reds. -
Beer Hall Putsch
Hitler’s attempt of a coup d’état (the sudden violent overthrow of a government and seizure of political power) was known as the Beer Hall Putsch, in Munich, Bavaria, and Germany. It failed, leading to his imprisonment. -
New Economic Policy (NEP)
Vladimir Lenin came to the conclusion that "only by coming to an agreement with the peasants can we save the socialist revolution". In March of 1921, Vladimir Lenin announced details of his New Economic Policy (NEP). Farmers were now allowed to sell food on the open market and could employ people to work for them. Those farmers who expanded the size of their farms became known as kulaks. -
Writing "Mein Kampf"
While in prison, Hitler wrote his memoir, “Mein Kampf” (My Struggle). It combines elements of autobiography with an exposition of his political ideology. -
Five Year Plans
With the introduction of the Five Year Plan, Stalin argued that it was necessary to pay higher wages to certain workers in order to encourage increased output. His left-wing opponents claimed that this inequality was a betrayal of socialism and would create a new class system in the Soviet Union. Stalin had his way and during the 1930s, the gap between the wages of the laborers and the skilled workers increased. -
Invasion of Manchuria
Group of Japanese army officers provoked an incident that would provide an excuse to seize Manchuria. They blew up tracks on a Japanese own railroad and claimed that the Chinese had done it. -
Nazi Wins Majority in Election
Although Hitler had the support of certain sections of the German population he never gained an elected majority. The best the National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP) could do in a election was 37.3 per cent of the vote they gained in July 1932. -
Hitler Becomes Chancellor
After his release in 1924, Hitler gained support by promoting Pan-Germanism, anti-Semitism, and anticommunism with charismatic oratory and Nazi propaganda. He was appointed chancellor in 1933 and transformed the Weimar Republic into the Third Reich, a single-party dictatorship based on the totalitarian and autocratic ideology of Nazism. -
Invasion of Ethiopia
Mussolini ordered Italian troops to invade Ethiopia. The Italian Fascist government had embarked upon a policy of colonial expansion in northeast Africa. Haile Selassie, the Emperor of Ethiopia, appealed to the League of Nations for assistance to halt Italian aggression. -
Remilitarizing Rhineland
Hitler marched 22,000 of his troops into the Rhineland. This was significant because it violated the terms of the Locarno Treaties and was the first time since the end of WWI that German troops had been in this region. -
Signing of Berlin, Rome, Tokyo Axis
On November 1, 1936, Germany and Italy, reflecting their common interest in destabilizing the European order, announced a Rome-Berlin Axis one week after signing a treaty of friendship. Nearly a month later, on November 25, 1936, Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan signed the so-called Anti-Comintern Pact directed at the Soviet Union. Resulting in these three countries becoming Axis Powers and initiating many wars. -
“Rape of Nanjing”-
Simultaneous genocides against women and men. Many thousands of them were killed after gang rape, and tens of thousands of others brutally injured and traumatized. Meanwhile, approximately a quarter of a million defenseless Chinese men were rounded up as prisoners-of-war and murdered in large numbers, used for bayonet practice, or burned and buried alive. -
Anschluss of Austria
Austria was annexed into the German Third Reich. There had been several years of pressure by supporters from both Austria and Germany for the “Heim ins Reich” movement. Earlier, Nazi Germany had provided support for the Austrian National Socialist Party in its bid to seize power from Austria’s Austro-fascist leadership.
