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World War I Begins
World War I began in 1914, after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Belgium's ports were close to the British coast and German control of Belgium would have been seen as a serious threat to Britain. In the end, Britain refused to ignore the events of 4 August 1914, when Germany attacked France through Belgium. Within hours, Britain declared war on Germany. Militarism became a cause of this, because Austria blamed Serbia for the killing. -
Blank Check
July 5, 1914: Germany Gives Austria-Hungary a “Blank Check."
The “blank check” is an infamous episode in the history of the First World War, the first truly fatal error made by Germany -
Forming Alliances
By 1915, Europe's six major powers were split into two alliances that would form the warring sides in World War I. Britain, France, and Russia formed the Triple Entente, while Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy joined in the Triple Alliance. -
Sinking of Lusitania
Less than a year after World War I erupted across Europe, a German U-boat torpedoed and sank the Lusitania, a British ocean liner en route from New York to Liverpool, England. Of the more than 1,900 passengers and crew members on board, more than 1,100 died, including more than 120 Americans. Nearly two years would pass before the United States formally entered World War I. -
Unrestricted Submarine Warfare
Unrestricted submarine warfare was first introduced in World War I in early 1915, when Germany declared the area around the British Isles a war zone, in which all merchant ships, including those from neutral countries, would be attacked by the German navy. -
Imperialism Takes Over
In the years leading up to the outbreak of the war, the major European military powers scrambled to increase their empires by establishing new colonies and territories in such places as Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean. This imperialism caused friction between these countries as they often came into conflict over territories. -
Zimmerman Telegram
The Zimmermann Telegram was a secret diplomatic communication issued from the German Foreign Office in January 1917 that proposed a military alliance between Germany and Mexico. -
Winning The War
The Treaty organized by the victorious Allied Powers after the First World War, placing harsh sanctions on Germany and its Allies. - The German, Russian and Habsburg Empires had disappeared. - The Communist Revolution had taken place, striking fear all across Europe.
With this, Germany, France, and US expressed great nationalism as their countries won the war. -
Treaty of Versailles
The Paris Peace Conference opened on January 18, 1919, with the goal of developing a treaty that would punish Germany and meet the goals of the various Allied Powers. Negotiating the treaty, which would be known as the Treaty of Versailles, was a long and complex process. -
Hitler's Rise to Power
Hitler’s rise to power started when he became politically involved and joined the Deutsche Arbeiterpartei. From there he worked himself up in the party, which later became the Nazi Party, through charm, violence and cunning negotiations. -
Dawes/Young Plan
The Dawes Plan was an initial plan in 1924 to resolve the World War I reparations that Germany had to pay, which had strained diplomacy following World War I and the Treaty of Versailles.
The Young Plan was a program for settling Germany's World War I reparations written in August 1929 and formally adopted in 1930. -
Great Depression
The Great Depression was the worst economic downturn in the history of the industrialized world, lasting from. It began after the stock market crash of October 1929, which sent Wall Street into a panic and wiped out millions of investors. Over the next several years, consumer spending and investment dropped, causing steep declines in industrial output and employment as failing companies laid off workers.
