-
Period: to
alliances
For twenty years, the nations of Europe had been making alliances. It was thought the alliances would promote peace. Each country would be protected by others in case of war, making it foolish for one country to wage war on another. The danger of these alliances was that an argument between two countries could draw all the other nations allied with them into a fight. This is just what happened when a conflict between Austria-Hungary and Serbia led to World War I. -
the Assassination of Franz Ferdinand and his wife
The assassination took place on June 28, 1914 and the first world war began immediately after in August 1914. Gavrilo Princip was the assassinator and was a Bosnian revolutionary. -
Facism (WWII)
With the economic turmoil left behind by World War 1, some countries were taken over by dictators who formed powerful fascist governments. The first fascist government was Spain which was ruled by the dictator Franco. Then Mussolini took control of Italy. These dictators wanted to expand their empires and began to look for new lands to conquer. Italy invaded and took over Ethiopia in 1935. Adolf Hitler would emulate Mussolini in his take over of Germany. -
appeasement
After World War 1, the nations of Europe were weary and did not want another war. When countries such as Italy and Germany became aggressive, countries such as Britain and France hoped to keep peace by trying to to make Germany and Hitler happy rather than try to stop him. They hoped that by meeting his demands he would be satisfied and there wouldn't be any war. Unfortunately, the policy of appeasement backfired. It only made Hitler bolder. It also gave him time to build up his army.