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Armistice with Germany
With a lot of external pressure from the allies and the US entering the war and lots of internal pressure from the German revolution, Germany signs an armistice with the allies, ending World War I. Allied forces move in to occupy the German Rhineland. -
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Interwar Period of Europe intro
The interwar period of Europe is marked by economic and political turmoil. This period describes the lead up to World War II, starting with the end of World War I and the treaties that followed after. -
Opening of the Paris Peace Conference
The Paris Peace conference was a conference convened in 1919 just outside of Paris in Versailles. The goal of this conference was to negotiate terms for peace after World War I. Thirty nations participated in this conference but out of all of them, The United Kingdom, France, The United States and Italy were the most influential. They became known as the Big Four. -
Germany and the allied powers sign the Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was a peace negotiation between Germany and the allied powers. The treaty blamed Germany for the war and imposed penalties such as loss of territory, a demilitarization of Germany and massive reparations that nobody thought Germany would ever be able to pay them back. The treaty is regarded as one of the biggest instigators for the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party and is criticized as a treaty meant to punish Germany more than to bring actual peace. -
Adolf Hitler joins the German Workers Party
A young German military corporal, Adolf Hitler, joins the German Workers Party. This party would become the precursor to the Nazi party. -
German Austria signs the Treaty of Saint-Germain.
Austria’s borders are regulated and they are forbidden from unifying with Germany. -
Bulgaria signs the Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine.
Bulgarian borders are regulated, their army is reduced to 20,000 men and Bulgaria is forced to pay war reparations. -
Free City of Danzig is created
The creation of the Free City of Danzig was meant to be a compromise to Germany and Poland. Neither side liked it. -
Paris Peace Conference comes to an end.
The end of the Paris Peace Conference was marked with the creation of the League of Nations. Every country but the United States would join the League of Nations at some point during its existence. The League of Nations would be known as a mostly useless organization and would fail to prevent many wars in the future such as World War II. -
Hungary signs the Treaty of Trianon with the allied powers.
The Treaty of Trianon was a treaty signed between Hungary and the allied powers. The Treaty caused Hungary to lose two-thirds of its territory and its inhabitants. It also imposed a demilitarization of Hungary and war reparations as well. -
The Ottoman Empire signs the Treaty of Sèvres with the allied powers.
This treaty saw to the abolishment of the Ottoman Empire and the cession of land to France, The United Kingdom, Greece, Armenia and Kurdistan. This treaty was rejected by the new Turkish Nationalist regime and was annulled with the victory of the Turks during their war for independence. -
The Italian National Fascist Party is founded during the Third Fascist Congress in Rome by Benito Mussolini
Mussolini, who was a main component of the creation of Fascism, had created a party dedicated to this ideology in Italy. In about a year later, he would become the Prime Minister of Italy. -
End of the Russian Civil War in a Bolshevik victory
With the remaining white forces eradicated, Vladimir Lenin and his Bolshevik movement would be left as the sole power in Russia, fully taking it over. -
Benito Mussolini is appointed Prime Minister of Italy by King Victor Emmanuel III after the March on Rome.
A day after the March on Rome, King Victor Emmanuel III gave Mussolini the position of Prime Minister as he feared a civil war in Italy if he were to refuse Mussolini and the Fascists. -
The great inflation of 1923 happens which destroys the value of the German mark
The inflation was mostly caused by excessive money printing in the new German state. This hyperinflation destroyed the already fledgling economy of the Weimar Republic and added more economic turmoil to the political turmoil that already existed. -
The Beer Hall Putsch takes place
The Beer Hall Putsch was a failed coup attempt in the Southern German province called Bavaria. The plan was to kidnap the state commissioner of Bavaria, Gustav von Kahr, and two other conservative Bavarian politicians. Hitler had recruited Erich Ludendorff, a right wing World War I general, as a figurehead to lead the march on Berlin. This plan was inspired by Mussolini’s March on Rome in 1922. The plan fell apart as police fired on the Nazis and has the hostage politicians escaped. -
Vladimir Lenin dies and Joseph Stalin begins vying for leadership of the Soviet Union
After the death of Lenin, Stalin and various other high ranking revolutionaries began vying to become the new leader of the Soviet Union. -
Adolf Hitler is sentenced to 5 years in prison for his participation in the Beer Hall Putsch. He would only serve 8 months.
During the trial, Hitler had managed to increase his popularity with his defense speeches that had impressed the court so much they had been printed by newspapers. The trial and the aftermath of the Putsch turned out to be a great propaganda victory for the Nazis as they managed to both get their small party in the public eye and with the deaths of 16 party members in a police shootout they managed to gain martyrs for their cause. -
Hitler writes and publishes Mein Kampf (My Struggle) in prison.
Hitler writes his book Mein Kampf while in prison for the failed Beer Hall Putsch. -
November 12, 1927 - Leon Trotsky is expelled from the Soviet Union, leaving Stalin with undisputed control over the Soviet Union.
Joseph Stalin and his loyalists expel Leon Trotsky from Russia. -
Stalin launches the first Five Year Plan in the Soviet Union.
The Five Year Plan was a Stalinist economic policy that involved the development of heavy industry and the collectivization of agriculture. The drawback of this plan would be the drastic fall of consumer goods for the Soviet populace. This first plan would eventually lead to the Holodomor. -
The Great Depression Begins
The Great Depression began with the Wall St Crash of 1929. Although it had begun in the US, the effects were felt in Europe. Particularly in the UK and France. -
Occupation of the German Rhineland ends with the withdrawal of the last French troops.
After a steady withdrawal of troops over time, the last foreign troops withdrew from the German Rhineland, leaving it unoccupied but still demilitarized. -
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Holodomor
Due in part to Stalin’s 5 year plan, a mass famine in Soviet Ukraine had killed about 3 million Ukrainians. On top of that, Stalin had confiscated many Ukrainian properties to be collectivized so their production of food was severely limited and what was produced was sold off to other countries rather than used to alleviate the famine. -
President Hindenburg appoints Adolf Hitler as Chancellor of Germany
Hitler had gained popularity over the years. His popularity and the amount of Nazi party members in the Reichstag was enough for Hindenburg to appoint Hitler to the position of Chancellor. -
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The Reichstag is set on fire and the Reichstag Fire Decree is passed.
The Reichstag was set on fire about 28 days after Hitler gained the position of Chancellor. Hitler had blamed the Communists for the fire and used it as an excuse to remove Communist members from the Reichstag and seize more power for himself and his party. After the war, it was found that Hitler and his henchmen had planned and executed the fire to allow a takeover of the German government and the passing of the Reichstag Fire Decree to further limit civil liberties of those living in Germany -
The Gestapo is established in Germany
The gestapo were the German secret police. They were in charge of silencing opposition, surveillance of the population and ushering Jews into ghettos and later to the camps during the Nazi regime. -
May 15, 1933 - The Luftwaffe is built in secret violation of the Treaty of Versailles
The Luftwaffe was the German air force during World War II. It was built in secret and in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. -
The Nazi party becomes the official party of Germany
Adolf Hitler had outlawed and destroyed every other party in Germany by this point. Opposition was considered illegal and Germany officially became a one party state. -
Germany Leaves the League of Nations
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Night of the Long Knives in Germany
The Night of the Long Knives was a mass political purge orchestrated by Adolf Hitler which involved purging his own party of hundreds of Nazis whom he viewed as potential future political threats. -
President Hindenburg dies.
Hitler declares himself the Führer of Germany. Becoming the head of state and keeping his position as Chancellor. -
The Reichstag passes the Nuremberg Laws
The Nuremberg Laws were decrees that were used against the Jews. It was these decrees that lay the framework for the segregation and the eventual Holocaust that would occur in the future. -
Germany remilitarizes the Rhineland in violation of the Treaty of Versailles
Germany, in violation of the Treaty of Versailles, had remilitarized the Rhineland. Western Europe was both too busy with the Great Depression and with their own political turmoil that resulted from it to care about Germany’s remilitarization. -
The failed Spanish coup of 1936 by nationalist forces begins the Spanish Civil War
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The Great Purge begins in the Soviet Union
The Great Purge was a brutal campaign led by Stalin to purge both dissenting members of the Communist party and anybody else he deemed a threat to his rule. The Purge had crippled Soviet military high command and officer corps and approximately 750,000 people were tried and executed. A further million were sent to Gulags in the far east in Siberia. -
The German Four Year Plan starts
The German Four Year Plan was led by Hermann Göring. His goal was to make Germany totally self-sufficient economically. He did this by cutting imports in half and controlling wages and prices. -
Neville Chamberlain is elected as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Neville Chamberlain’s foreign policy regarding Germany was one of appeasement. Because of this, Chamberlain is discredited as a weak politician employing a weak policy. -
Italy leaves the League of Nations
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Anschluss of Austria by Germany
Austria, in violation of the Treaty of Versailles, allows itself to join with Germany. The vote to join with Germany was a landslide of more than 99% of the country voting yes. The vote was likely manipulated however. -
Munich Agreement is signed by Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Italy
The Munich agreement was Germany attempting to annex the Sudetenland that was in Czechoslovakia. Hitler made the argument that the ethnic Germans that lived there had a right to join the Reich if they wished. Chamberlain was keen to try to avoid war at all costs and had a policy of appeasement with the Germans. The UK and France had allowed not only this but also allowed Germany to annex most of Czechoslovakia. Slovakia would become a German puppet state. -
German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop delivers an ultimatum to Lithuania demanding Memel
Lithuania caved and gave Memel up to the Germans. -
United Kingdom and France guarantees the independence of Poland
Poland became worried about its position. The UK and France, wishing to avoid another Czechoslovakia from happening, assured Poland that in the event of war with the Germans they would protect them. -
The Spanish Civil War ends in a nationalist victory. Francisco Franco is the head of the new Spanish government
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Italian invasion of Albania
Albania was made into an Italian protectorate following the invasion and King Zog I of Albania fleeing the country. This gave the Italians a foothold in the Balkans to launch further invasions of territory it deemed as theirs. -
Hitler delivers a speech in front of the Reichstag, renouncing the Anglo-German Naval Agreement and the German-Polish Declaration of non aggression
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The Molotov-Ribbentrop pact is signed between Germany and the Soviet Union
The Molotov-Ribbentrop pact was a non aggression pact between Germany and the Soviet Union. It also allowed for the division of Eastern Europe between the two states. The Soviets would get Eastern Poland, the Baltics, Finland and Bessarabia. The Germans would be given Western Poland and Danzig. The pact was much desired by both sides due to general unpreparedness for war with each other. -
Germany sends an ultimatum to Poland
Germany had demanded the cession of the Free City of Danzig and the Polish corridor from Poland. If these demands were not met, then Germany would commence an invasion of Polish territory. -
With no response to the German ultimatum, Germany launches their invasion of Poland. This ends the Interwar period and begins World War II.
With no response from the Polish Government, Germany launched their invasion of Poland, starting World War II and ending the interwar period in Europe.