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WWI Ends
On November 11, 1918, Germany signed the armistice to end the Great War as the Allies were on the German border. The leaders of the Weimar Republic surrendered early with the thought that by doing so they would get fairer terms in the Treaty of Versailles as promised by US president Wilson. Because Germany was actually given extremely harsh terms under the Treaty of Versailles Germany held contempt for the western powers who imposed the terms onto her, which built up and contributed to WWII. -
Versailles Treaty Signed
This was the treaty which formally ended WW1 which was signed on June 28, 1919. The treaty was created with the intent of harshly punishing Germany, and the terms reflected that. Because of how unfair and punishing the treaty was, resent for it built up in Germany. Hitler was able to take advantage of this hatred for the treaty and he used it to unite the German people towards destroying the treaty. This will ultimately lead to Germany starting the WWII. -
Locarno Treaty
The Locarno Treaty lead to Germany officially recognizing its western borders / their western borders were guaranteed (with France and Belgium). This contributed to the outbreak of WWII because once Hitler comes into power, it will allow him to expand eastward. Once Hitler begins expanding eastward, taking the Sudetenland then Czechoslovakia, he will eventually take it too far and invade Poland. This will lead to the outbreak of WWII in September of 1939. -
France begins to build the Maginot Line
The Maginot Line was a long underground fortified defensive line which was aimed towards the German border. It spanned across the whole German-French border and was designed to protect France. This contributed to the outbreak of WWII because it showed that France was already anticipating war. This line of defenses showed how France was defensive and not confident enough to attack Germany alone. This lead to France calling for war with Germany numerous times and eventually getting it. -
Hitler becomes Chancellor
On January 1, 1933, Hitler is named the chancellor of Germany as planned by President Hindenburg and former chancellor Franz von Papen. This strongly contributed to the outbreak of WWII because it was the first step in allowing Hitler to take over Germany. Soon after this, he becomes the dictator of Germany where he will begin re-arming Germany. Hitler was very aggressive and because of his aggressive eastward expansion and eventually invasion of Poland, he started the Second World War. -
Germany withdraws from the League of Nations
9 months after Hitler came into power he withdraws Germany from the League of Nations because it refuses have other countries disarm. This event contributed to WWII starting because it showed the western nations of Europe that Germany was a new nation under Hitler. It showed how aggressive and unwilling Germany was to work with other countries. This event leads to nations in the LON distrusting Germany even more, which would lead to conflicts that will contribute to the outbreak of WWII. -
Germany withdraws from the World Disarmament Conference
When this conference began in 1932, Germany was unable to convince other nations to disarm down to their own level after the TOV. Once Hitler came into power in 1933, he withdrew from the conference. This contributed to WWII because it showed Europe that Hitler intended on arming Germany no matter what. Furthermore, it worsened relations with other countries because it showed that Germany was not willing to convene and discuss this problem in a rational matter. -
German-Polish Non-Aggression Pact
This was a pact between Germany and Poland where both countries promised to have no conflict for the next ten years. This contributed to the outbreak of WWII in a positive way in that it made it seem less likely. This pact showed western powers that Hitler was willing to settle conflicts and be non-aggressive. This created a false sense of hope for Europe that Hitler might not attack Poland as he laid out in Mein Kampf, however, in 1939 this would be proven false. -
Abortive Nazi coup in Austria/Dollfuss murder
This was a failed coup by the Nazi Party in Austria to overthrow the government. It resulted in the death of the Austrian Chancellor Dollfuss in July 1934. This contributed to the outbreak of WWII because it showed how there was a group in Austria which wanted to be united with Germany. This concept of Anschluss (joining of Germany and Austria) was something western powers actively prevented. This showed how Austria was a potential threat if Anschluss occurred, especially for Italy. -
Hitler resumes conscription
Hitler suddenly announced the immediate military conscription in Germany. This act by Hitler was a clear violation of the Treaty of Versailles and it built on western power's suspicions of Hitler. This contributed to the starting of WWII by showing how aggressive Hitler was and how intent he was on following through in tearing up the Treaty of Versailles. While this alone was not large enough for the war to break out, it lead to the continued re-arming of Germany which would lead to war. -
Stresa Front
The Stresa Front was a re-affirmation of the Locarno Treaty which aimed to declare independence for Austria and prevent Anschluss. This was called by Italy and was signed by France and Britain. This contributed positively to WWII because it showed Italy going against Germany which was something that Britain had been trying to make sure of. Also, it showed nations standing against Hitler and preventing his expansion, which was intimidating and looked to prevent him from doing anything. -
Anglo-German Naval Agreement
This was an agreement made between Germany and Britain which made the German navy 35% of the tonnage of the British Navy. This contributed significantly to WWII because it allowed Hitler to begin re-arming legally (although he continued past the 35%). It had France and Italy feeling betrayed because they were not consulted. Britain was trying to avoid an arms race like in WWI but ended up allowing Germany re-build its navy, which it will continue to build and strengthen to use in WWII. -
Abyssinia Crisis from October 3, 1935 to May 5, 1936
This was a crisis where Italy invaded Abyssinia in a grab for land an resources. This event contributed to WWII because it demonstrated how weak the League was, and it brought Italy and Germany closer together. During this crisis the League was able to do next to nothing to punish Italy and this demonstrated how weak its peace preserving powers were. It also brought Germany and Italy closer because Germany supported Italy when other countries did not, and they would later become allies in WWII. -
Remilitarization of the Rhineland
In this event, Hitler took army troops and invaded the Rhineland, a part of Germany which had been demilitarized as a part of the Treaty of Versailles in order to act as a buffer state between Germany and France. This was another small step which added up to Germany regaining substantial strength which leads to WWII. This also leads to Hitler forming the suspicion that Western powers are "spineless" and will not fight back, and so he is very aggressive leading up to the outbreak of the war. -
Spanish Civil War - From July 17, 1936 to April 1, 1939
This was an event where the left-leaning government clashed in a civil war with a strong right-leaning force in Spain. This event contributed to WWII by creating a clear picture of where the sides were in Europe. Italy and Germany were brought closer together and they supported the right-leaning movement in Spain and would gain an Ally at the end of the war. This war united three fascist powers and proved that Italy was no longer siding with Britain, creating tension in Europe. -
Rome-Berlin Axis
This was an event involving Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler which strengthened German-Italian ties. This contributed to WWII because it was now very clear to Britain and France that Italy was a potential enemy now. This alliance secured Germany's southern borders and for Italy, it promised support in case of a war. This contributed to the beginning of WWII because it brought two strong fascist powers together who could rival Britain and France, and this built upon the tnesions in Europe. -
Anti-Comintern Pact
The Anti-Comintern Pact was an anti-communist agreement between Germany and Japan where the countries promised to come to each other's aid if the soviet union was to attack. This lead to WWII because it not only increased the tensions in Europe, but also it reinforced Japan's fighting against the USSR. This was a good sign for many people in Europe who hoped to see the fascist and communist forces destroy each other, but at the same time, it brought the world closer to another World War. -
Anschluss with Austria
In 1938 Hitler "invites" (threateningly) the chancellor of Austria to Germany and makes him resign along with most of the Austrian government to be replaced by Nazi officials. Eventually, Anschluss was complete and Austria became a region of a now even larger Germany. This was another high-risk step Hitler took towards strengthening Germany which could have resulted in war, and it angered western powers. This gave Germany great amounts of strength brought it clsoer to being capable for war. -
Munich Conference
This was a conference which was called to decide the situation where Hitler wanted to claim the Sudetenland. This was a portion of Czechoslovakia which contained lots of Germans, and so it was given to Hitler. This contributed to WWII because it showed how weak Britain was with its policy of appeasement (pleasing Germany to avoid war). It also looked positive because a result was that Hitler agreed not to expand territorily anymore. "We have secured peace for our time" -British PM Chamberlain. -
Hitler takes over the rest of Czechoslovakia
Similar to the Anschluss, Hitler "invited" the Czech president to Berlin and threatened to bomb the country if he did not allow the German army to take over. This event is significant for the oncoming war because it marked the end of Britain's policy of appeasement and the western powers "drew the line". They essentially promised Germany that if it was to invade Poland and expand eastward any further they would declare war. WWII was now dawning on Europe, left at the hands of Hitler's next move. -
Pact of Steel
This was an official military and political binding alliance between Germany and Italy. This is significant because western powers have drawn the line and Hitler has now gained a militarily bound ally in preparation for war. This contributed to WWII because it clearly shows that Italy and Germany are prepared and capable to fight a war. This brought tensions between France and Britain with Germany and Italy to an all-time high and demonstrated Germany's and Italy's resolve. -
Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact
Also known as the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, this was a secret agreement between Germany and the USSR where the USSR was promised 1/3 of Poland in exchange for allowing Germany to invade Poland. At this point, Hitler is fully intent on invading Poland and he knows that the possible consequence is the outbreak of WWII. This agreement between two completely opposite sides marked the point of no return. This marks the point where Hitler intends to attack Poland knowing it may result in a World War. -
Invasion of Poland
On September 1, 1939, Hitler orders the invasion of Poland one week after the signing of the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact. This event marked the point where Hitler finally crossed the line that had been drawn in the sand by Britain and France. Poland had one of the largest Jewish populations in Europe which would be hit hard by this invasion. In response to this event, 2 days later on september 3rd, Britain and France declare war on Germany and Europe is plunged into war. -
Britain and France declare war
Two days following the invasion of Poland by Germany; Britain and France declare war. As promised earlier, these two countries had no intentions of allowing Germany to go any further without repercussions, however, Britain and France were not yet ready for war. Both countries were still in the process of re-arming and were not ready to come to the defense of Poland. Because of this both countries continued to re-arm for the next 6 months in what would be known as the "phony war". -
Tripartite Pact
Also known as the Berlin Pact, this was a defensive military alliance between Germany, Italy, and Japan. This was primarily directed towards the United States in the case of an attack on Japanese forces. This contributed to the scale of WWII increasing because it meant that when the US declares war on Japan in 1941, they are also declaring war on Germany and Italy. This increases the scope of the war and thus increases the casualties and impact of the war on the world.
