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Mussolini’s March on Rome
Benito Mussolini's Blackshirts Marched on Rome, seizing total control over the Italian government. The March on Rome marked the beginning of Fascist rule over Italy, ending all social-liberal parliamentary regimes. This caused worry and tension for seeing someone take over a country. -
Stalin becomes dictator of USSR
In 1922 Stalin became secretary general of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, a role that enabled him to appoint his allies to government jobs and grow a base of political support. When Vladimir Lenin died in 1924, Joseph Stalin took his place, becoming a dictator in 1929. This caused some people in Russia to become nervous as tension was rising. -
Hitler writes Mein Kampf
Mein Kampf is a 1925 autobiographical manifesto by Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler. The work describes the process by which Hitler became antisemitic and outlines his political ideology and future plans for Germany. The publication of this autobiography gave Germans the idea of what the future would look like for Germany. -
1st “five year plan” in USSR
The first five year plan was created in order to initiate rapid and large-scale industrialization across the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Having begun on October 1st, 1928, the plan was already in its second year when Harry Byers first set foot in the Soviet Union. This showed how quickly Stalin was planning on building the USSR up. This was intimidating to some. -
Japan invades Manchuria
The Japanese invasion of Manchuria began on September 18 1931, when the Kwantung Army of the Empire of Japan invaded Manchuria immediately following the Mukden Incident. At war’s end in February of 1932, the Japanese established the puppet state of Manchukuo. Their occupation lasted until the success of the Soviet Union and Mongolia with the Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation in mid-August of 1945. This caused even more tension between China and Japan. -
Holodomor
The Holodomor, also known as the Terror-Famine and sometimes referred to as the Great Famine, was a famine in Soviet Ukraine from 1932 to 1933 that killed millions of Ukrainians. It is believed that Stalin planned this in order to eliminate a Ukrainian independence movement. Others suggest that the man-made famine was a consequence of Soviet industrialization. This made many people furious, causing a lot of tension. -
Hitler appointed chancellor of Germany
Adolf Hitler was appointed chancellor of Germany in 1933 following a series of electoral victories by the Nazi Party. He ruled absolutely until his death by suicide in April 1945. Upon achieving power, Hitler smashed the nation’s democratic institutions and transformed Germany into a war state intent on conquering Europe for the benefit of the so-called Aryan race. For Germans agreeing with Hitlers viewpoints and values, this was good, for those who didn't agree, this was a nightmare. -
Night of the Long Knives
Night of the Long Knives, in German history, was a purge of Nazi leaders by Adolf Hitler on June 30, 1934. Fearing that the paramilitary SA had become too powerful, Hitler ordered his elite SS guards to murder the organization’s leaders, including Ernst Röhm. Also killed that night were hundreds of other perceived opponents of Hitler. This purge infuriated many people who didn't agree with Hitler, Hitler was beginning to get too comfortable. -
Italian invasion of Ethiopia
The invasion of Ethiopia was a war of aggression which was fought between Italy and Ethiopia from October 1935 to February 1937. Two hundred thousand Italian soldiers invaded Ethiopia in 1935, throwing the Ethiopians off guard. This caused concern for many as they knew a much bigger war was coming. -
Nuremburg Laws enacted
The Nuremburg Laws were antisemitic and racist laws that were enacted in Nazi Germany on 15 September 1935, The two laws were the Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honour, which forbade marriage and intercourse between Jews and Germans, and the Reich Citizenship Law, which declared that only those of German or related blood were eligible to be Reich citizens. This raised concern for everyone that wasn't Nazi -
The Great Purge and gulags
The Great Purge, also known as the “Great Terror,” was a brutal political campaign led by Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin to eliminate dissenting members of the Communist Party and anyone else he considered a threat. At least 750,000 people were executed during the Great Purge. This raised a lot of concern for citizens everywhere as well as other countries watching it happen. It raised a lot of tension leading up to the war. -
Spanish civil war
The Spanish Civil War was a civil war in Spain fought from 1936 to 1939. Republicans loyal to the left-leaning Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic, in alliance with anarchists of the communist and syndicalist variety, fought against an insurrection by the Nationalists, an alliance of Falangists, monarchists, conservatives and traditionalists, led by a military group among whom General Francisco Franco soon achieved a preponderant role. This raised concern for all of Spain. -
The Rape of Nanking
The Nanjing Massacre or the Rape of Nanjing was an episode of mass murder and mass rape committed by Imperial Japanese troops against the residents of Nanjing (Nanking), at that time the capital of China, during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945). This infuriated everyone who was watching it happen as innocent people were getting slaughtered for no reason. -
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's Sturmabteilung paramilitary forces along with civilians throughout Nazi Germany on November 9-10th, 1938. The German authorities looked on without intervening. The name Kristallnacht comes from the shards of broken glass that littered the streets after the windows of Jewish-owned stores, buildings and synagogues were smashed. This infuriated many citizens, especially Jews. -
Nazi Germany invades Poland
The invasion of Poland was an attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. The German invasion began on September 1, 1939, one week after the signing of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact between Germany and the Soviet Union, and one day after the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union had approved the pact. This officially started World War 2 -
Japan bombs Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, just before 08:00, on Sunday morning, December 7, 1941. This caused America's entry to World War 2 as Americans were furious and devastated.