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Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles ended WWI; however, it imposed harsh conditions on the new German democracy including the loss of territory, disbandment of the German military, massive reparations, and the War Guilt Clause. In many ways, Versailles contributed to the disaffection and anger that helped lead to WWII. -
Mussolini take power in Italy
Taking advantage of discord in Italian politics, a former journalist named Benito Mussolini led a march on Rome. His fascist party had grown in power and influence, but had been unable to democratically take power. His show of brute force however, convinced the King of Italy to appoint him Prime Minister. Soon, "Il Duce" was able to dismantle Italian democracy from within. By 1925, he had absolute power in Italy and all other political parties had been banned. -
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The Great Depression
Beginning in 1929, the Great Depression was a world-wide economic disaster that left people across the world angry, desperate and broke. Democracies were often unable to cope with the struggle resulting in more autocracies rising across Europe. World trade came to a halt, leading nations like Japan, to turn to empire in search of resources and relief. -
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Change: trade around the world collapses
Following the Great Depression, the United States puts harsh tariffs on imports leading to the rest of the world retaliating. This leads to a ceasing of world trade. Without trade, war becomes more and more likely as countries like Japan will need conquest the get resources. Also, without the bonds of trade, there is little to keep countries allied with each other. -
Japan invades Manchuria
Japan's economy was reliant on trade, but with the world-wide depression, Japan needed a solution to its desperate economic situation. Japan's democracy gave way to military rule when the Army invaded Manchuria, a resource rich area in Northern China. While the world condemned Japan, they did nothing more, showing strong-men around the world that the Western Powers were weak. Matsusaka, Yoshihisa Tak (2003). The Making of Japanese Manchuria, 1904-1932. Harvard University -
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Hitler Rebuilds Germany
In 1933, Adolf Hitler - leader of the Nazi Party - was able to convince conservative leaders in Germany to put him in power. Under the guise of fighting communism, Hitler was able to dismantle Germany democracy and create a dictatorship in Germany. He focused on building up the Germany war industry and military in order to retake lost Germany territory. He also began imposing the Nazi racial order. By 1936, Germany was ready to test the Allies. -
Hitler Retakes the Rhineland
As part of the Treaty of Versailles, the Rhineland - a region famous for its industrial capacity - was demilitarized. Hitler decided to end that by sending troops into the Rhineland. He gave orders for his troops to retreat if they encountered resistance, but the found none. This showed how the French and British were willing to make concessions to Hitler in order to avoid war. It also proved that the Allies themselves saw the Treaty of Versailles as harsh. -
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The Spanish Civil War
In 1936, Spanish General Fransisco Franco led an uprising against the Spanish Second Republic. The Civil War in Spain was brutal with atrocities being committed by both side. The Republicans only received support from the Soviet Union as the other Western Allies were unwilling to help, whereas Germany and Italy were eager to test out their rebuilt militaries and weapons on Spanish civilians. In the end, Franco took power, and the German war machine showed its immense strength. -
Hitler retakes Austria
Believing that the Allies would be unwilling to defend the Austrian government, he ordered an invasion in 1938. His army was able to control of Austria - Hitler's birthplace - without firing a single shot. In Vienna, Hitler was greeted with enthusiastic cheers and Nazi salutes. Almost immediately, Nazi policies were implemented across Austria. Jews were instantly segregated and abused by their new Nazi overlords - and their neighbors. Hitler was not done expanding... -
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The Sudetenland Crisis
In 1938, Hitler began demanding that Czechoslovakia give him control of the Sudetenland, a mostly Germany area in Czechoslovakia. The Czechs were Allies of France and Britain and believed that the British and French would protect them. They had also spend the last 15 years fortifying their German border against invasion; if they gave up that land to the Germans, it would mean an easy German invasion if Hitler decided to take the rest of the country. Britain and France decided to negotiate... -
The Munich Agreement (Betrayal)
In order to avoid war, the British and French decided to sell out Czechoslovakia. They had a meeting with Hitler in which they agreed to give away the Sudetenland in exchange for a pledge from Hitler to never invade the rest of Czechoslovakia. The Czechs were not invited to the meeting. Sold out by their Allies, they had to give in. The Allies had chosen to appease Hitler in hopes that he only wanted to take former Germany territory. They were wrong; Hitler craved more. -
Hitler's Expansion
This map shows the rapid expansion of Germany under Hitler. It proves how futile the policy of appeasement was at ending Hitler's conquests. By the time the Allies decided to stand up to Hitler, he had already taken most of central Europe.