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Treaty of Versailles is signed
On June 28th 1919 representatives of the countries involved in WWI met together to sign the Treaty of Versailles. This document brought an end to WWI, but it forced Germany to pay for the war reparations along with punishing Germany in many other ways. This led to Germany to have an economic crisis, and the country was desperate for new leadership to guide them through the tough times. Due to this the Nazi party was able to gain a large following and eventually absolute control in Germany. -
League of Nations is founded
On January 10th, 1920, Woodrow Wilson founded The League of Nations. The League of Nations was an international organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. It was created after the First World War to provide a forum for resolving international disputes. -
Mussolini forms the Fascist Party in Italy
In 1921, Mussolini founded the Facist party based on three principles; order, discipline, and hierarchy. Italian facism’s goal was to create a strong empire in Italy. -
Hitler joins the German Workers Party (Nazis)
On July 29, 1921, Hitler became the leader of the German Workers/Nazi Party. It eventually became a mass movement, promoting national pride and anti-semintism. When Hitler joined, it became known as the Nationlist Socialist German Workers Party. -
Washington Naval Conference
From November 12, 1921, to February 6, 1922, the Washington naval conference was held in Washington, DC. Its goal was to prevent another world war. It resulted in three major treaties: The four-Power Treaty, the Five-Power Treaty, the Nine-Power Treaty, and several more minor agreements. -
Mussolini threatens to march on Rome
On October 30th, 1922, Facssits from all across Italy gathered in Rome to witness Bunntio Mussolini's swearing in as Prime minister. They were all prepared to fight the roman government if they didn't allow a peaceful transfer of power. Luckily for them, it went off without a hitch because the King didn't want a conflict. -
Hitler attempts to overthrow the Weimar government (Beer Hall Putsch)
From November 8 to November 9th, 1923, Hitler and his followers decided to stage the Beer Hall Putsch, which was a failed takeover of Bavaria and their government. This failed because Hitler had to leave and the military foiled his followers' efforts. -
US creates the Dawes/Circular Loans Plan
On April 24, 1924 the US created the Dawes/Circular Loans Plan which has Germany paying out their war reparations slowly over time with the amount being paid each year getting higher and higher as time goes on. This allows their economy to rebuild itself overtime while still getting the war reparations paid. The whole plan however releys on the value of the American dollar staying stable, so when the dollar value crashes it leads to mass inflation in Germany, setting up Hitlers rise to power. -
Kellogg Briand Pact
On August 27, 1928, in Paris, the Kellogg-Briand Pact was signed. The pact was one of many international efforts to prevent another World War, but it had little effect in stopping the rising militarism of the 1930s or preventing World War II. -
The great depression
On October 29, 1929
the stock market crashed heavily and the economy went down with it as massive inflation hit causing the dollar’s value to become litte. This led to the global economy going down as well and caused massive inflation in Germany which made the country desprate for new leadership, giving the Nazi party a great opportunity to seize control. -
Japan invades Manchuria, China.
On September 18, 1931
The japanese invaded Manchuria which violated the treaties that Japan had along with the league of nations terms. This led to Japan withdrawing from the league of nations, and became one of the first steps towards WWII. -
Geneva Disarmament Conference begins
In February 1932, the Disarmament Conference convened in Geneva. Sixty countries sent delegates to the Disarmament Conference. The goal was to consider reductions in armaments. Germany wanted to limit other armies like they had been limited. -
Hitler places second in German presidential election
On March 13, 1932
Hitler placed second the election for German president, but due to the immense power of Nazi party Hitler was named Chancelor. This led to Hitler gaining absolute power and control in Germany after the president died in 1934. -
Germany withdraws from League of Nations
In October of 1933, Adolf Hitler decided to withdraw from the league of nations because of many violations of their agreements and they wanted to build up their army, which is not allowed in the League of nations. -
Hitler withdraws from Geneva Disarmament Conference
On October 23rd, 1933, Hitler and Germany announced their departure from the Disarmament Conference. This was because the Western powers refused to meet their demands for equality. Basically the Western powers and Germany did not agree on any terms, military or otherwise. -
Hitler merges the offices of chancellor and president
On the 19th of August, 1934 Hitler merged the offices of chancellor and president and named himself Führer. He now has absolute power over Germany's decision making and his power unchallenged by the laws of the German state. -
Mussolini invades Ethiopia
On Oct. 3, 1935, Ethiopia, one of the only two independent African nations, was invaded by Fascist Italy under Benito Mussolini. There were countless atrocities committed in the independent African state. The reason was to boost Italian national prestige. -
Hitler militarizes the Rhineland
In March of 1936, Hitler started re militarizing the Rhineland, violating the Treaty of Versailles in the process because of a need for natural resources. This also denounced the Locarno pact, which had reaffirmed the boundaries set by the Treaty of Versailles. -
The Pact of Steel is formed
The Pact of Steel, an alliance made between Hitler and Musilini to have Germany and Italy work together politically and militarily, was verbaly agreed upon in 1936. This was the first allience between any of the axis powers who would strive for world domination in WWI. -
Japanese invasion of China
On July 7, 1937, a clash occurred between Chinese and Japanese troops near Peiping in North China when this clash was followed by intensified military activity in Japan. -
Italy withdraws from League of Nations
On December 13, 1937, Italy withdrew from the League of nations. The League of Nations had ruled against Italy and voted for economic sanctions, but they were never fully applied. Italy ignored the sanctions and left the League. -
Hitler and Nazi Germany gain Sudetenland
On September 29, 1938
Germany gained Sudetenland because of its large ethnic German population. Hitler knew the other countries would let him gain Sudetenland to avoid conflict and had a meeting with British, Italian, and French officials where they agreed that Germany can gain the land if they agree to keep peace. This once again led to Germany’s power and influence growing. -
Germany annex Austria
On March 12, 1938 Germany annexed Austria and in doing so he violated the treaty of versaille. No other countries tried to stop or prevent this however leading to Germany being able to continue to grow unpunished. -
Hitler occupies Czechoslovakia
On March 15, 1939, Hitler and his forces invaded Czechoslovakia, after only getting parts of it. Hitler did this because he wanted to reunite the territories of the old Holy Roman Empire. So Hitler because he knew no one would stop him, and Czechoslovakia was too weak to try and stop him. -
Hitler and Stalin sign Non-Aggression Pact
On August 23, 1939 Germany and the Soviet Union signed a nonaggression pact, which pulled the rug on the British’s initiative to defend Poland by becoming allies with the Soviet Union. -
Germany invades Poland
On September 1, 1939, Hitler invaded Poland to regain the lost territory from the old Holy Roman Empire, and because Poland had a large population of Jewish people. It only took 6 weeks to fully gain control. -
Britain and France declare war on Nazi Germany
On September 3, 1939, France and Britain declared war on Germany in response to the invasion of Poland. At this point, the United States was neutral.