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Treaty of Versailles is signed
The Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28th, 1919. This treaty was one of the peace treaties at the end of WW1. The treaty ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. The Treaty of Versailles was signed exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. -
Period: to
The Events Leading to WW2
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Mussolini takes power in Italy
Benito Mussolini takes power in Italy as the Prime Minster on October 31st, 1922. While he was the Prime Minister he also was an Italian politician, journalist, and leader of the Nation Fascist Party. He was the 27th Prime Minister of Italy. He was in the office from October 31st, 1922 – July 25th, 1943. Mussolini and his fascist followers developed their power through a series of laws that switched the nation into a one-party dictatorship. -
The Stock Market Crash
The stock market crashed in 1929. It had many names, The Wall Street Crash, Black Tuesday, or the Great Crash. It began on October 24th, 1929. This crash was the most devastating stock market crash of all time in the history of the U.S. when taking into consideration the full extent and duration of its aftereffect. This crash started the beginning of the 10 year long Great Depression. -
Japan invades Manchuria
Japan invaded Manchuria on September 18th, 1931 to February 27th, 1932. The Japanese invasion of Manchuria was when the Kwantung Army if the Empire of Japan invaded Manchuria right after the Mukden Incident. The Mukden Incident was a staged event engineered by rogue Japanese military personnel. This invasion lasted 5 months 1 week and 1 day. The result of this invasion was a Japanese victory. -
Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany
On January 30th, 1933, Adolf Hitler becomes the Chancellor of Germany. The Chancellor of Germany is the head of government of Germany. The Chancellor is equal to the Prime Minister in many other countries. Consequent to taking office Hitler immediately began accumulating power and changing the nature of Chancellorship. His power as the time went on continued to grow. -
Italy invades Ethiopia
In 1935 Italy invaded Ethiopia. This invasion was from October 3rd, 1935 to May 1936. The invasion was also part of the Second Italo-Ethiopian War. The Second Italo-Ethiopian War was a colonial war fought between the armed forces of the Kingdom of Italy and the armed forces of Ethiopian Empire. This invasion resulted in the Italian victory. -
Remilitarization of the Rhineland
The remilitarization of the Rhineland happened on March 7th, 1936 by the German Army. The German military forces entered Rhineland on this date. This was very important because it violated the terms of the Treaty of Versailles and the Locamo Treaties. This was marking the first time the German troops had been in this area since the end of WW1. The remilitarization was extremely important because it changed the balance of power in Europe from France towards Germany. -
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War took place in Spain. The war took place from July 17th, 1936 – April 1st, 1939. It lasted 2 years, 8 months, 2 weeks and 1 day. This civil war was fought between the Republicans and the Nationalists. In this war there were an estimated 500,000 killed and 450,000 fled. The Nationalists won this war, and the leader of the Nationalist, General Francisco Franco ruled Spain for the next 36 years from April 1939 until he died in November 1975. -
Anschluss
Anschluss happened in March 1938. Anschluss was the Nazi propaganda term for the invasion and forced incorporation of Austria to Nazi Germany. Anschluss is a German word. The Anschluss stands in difference to the Anschluss movement which was when Austria and Germany united as one country. Anschluss received the support from most of the Austrian population and was retroactively approved by a plebiscite. -
Munich Conference
On September 28th and 29th 1938 there was a conference held in Munich. During the conference the leaders of Great Britain, France, and Italy agreed to allow Germany to access certain areas of Czechoslovakia. This conference came as a result of a long series of negotiations. Hitler had demanded access of Czechoslovakia and British Prime Minster Chamberlain tried to talk him out of it, but Chamberlain didn’t succeed. Chamberlain decided to follow a policy of "appeasement" and give in to Hitler on -
Germany invades Czechoslovakia
On March 15th, 1939 Nazis invaded Czechoslovakia. Czechoslovakia was sacrificed on the altar of the Munich Pact, which was a proud attempt to rule out Germany’s imperial aims. On March 15th, 1939 there was a meeting with the Czech President with Hitler, and Hitler threatened a bombing raid against Prague (capital of Czechoslovakia) unless he received a free passage for the German troops into the Czech borders. Hitler got his request and that day German troops came to Czechoslovakia and invaded. -
The Soviet-Nazi Pact
The Soviet-Nazi Pact was formed in August 1939. This pact had an economic agreement that was signed on August 19th, 1939, provided that Germany would exchange manufactured goods for Soviet raw materials. Also, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union signed a ten-year nonaggression pact on August 23rd, 1939, which was an agreement that each signatory promised not to attack the other. The Soviet-Nazi Pact were the pact that invaded Poland in the Invasion of Poland. -
The Invasion of Poland
The Invasion of Poland took place on September 1st, 1939. Since the German-Soviet Pact which stated that Poland was to be partitioned between the two powers enabling Germany to attack Poland without being scared of Soviet intervention. So, Germany invaded Poland on September 1st. Germany defeated the Polish army within weeks of the invasion. The Invasion of Poland was also known as the September Campaign or the 1939 Defensive War in Poland. -
Britain declares war on Germany
On September 3rd, 1939 Britain declares war on Germany. Britain and France had committed to defend Poland. Keeping these obligations, the two countries sent ultimatums to Hitler demanding his withdrawal from Poland. Hitler did not respond and declined to. But on September 3rd, Prime Minster Chamberlain announced to British people that a state of war existed between The United Kingdom and Germany. This created the start of WW2. -
Canada enters the war
Canada entered WW2 on September 10th, 1939. Canada quickly entered the war 7 days after the war started. Canada had a vested interest in sustaining Britain. Within two months of being in the war the first contingents of Canadian troops arrived in the U.K. to supplement the British Expeditionary Forces.
