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Mussolini’s March on Rome
March on Rome, the insurrection by which Benito Mussolini came to power in Italy in late October 1922. The March marked the beginning of fascist rule. The march forced King Victor Emmanuel III to make Mussolini prime minister. From that point on, Mussolini set about making Italy a fascist country. -
Stalin becomes dictator of USSR
Lenin died on 21 January 1924. Stalin was given the honor of organizing his funeral. Upon Lenin's death, Stalin was officially hailed as his successor as the leader of the ruling Communist Party and of the Soviet Union itself. -
Hitler writes Mein Kampf
Hitler’s book, Mein Kampf (‘My Struggle’) was written in prison and was published on 18 July 1925. In Mein Kampf, Hitler wrote about his ideology and presented himself as the leader of the extreme right. He talked about his life and his youth, his 'conversion' to antisemitism (the hatred of Jews) and his time as a soldier in the First World War. -
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). Although many of the goals set by the plan were not fully met, there were several economic sectors that still saw large increases in their output. Areas like capital goods increased 158%, consumer goods increased by 87%, and total industrial output increased by 118%. -
Japan invades Manchuria
On September 18, 1931, an explosion destroyed a section of railway track near the city of Mukden. The Japanese, who owned the railway, blamed Chinese nationalists for the incident and used the opportunity to retaliate and invade Manchuria. Japan invaded the Chinese province of Manchuria in 1931. -
Holodomor
The term Holodomor refers to the starvation of millions of Ukrainians in 1932–33 as a result of Soviet policies. The Holodomor can be seen as the culmination of an assault by the Communist Party and Soviet state on the Ukrainian peasantry, who resisted Soviet policies. -
Hitler appointed chancellor of Germany
President Paul von Hindenburg names Adolf Hitler, leader or führer of the National Socialist German Workers Party (or Nazi Party), as chancellor of Germany. Hitler channeled popular discontent with the post-war Weimar government into support for his fledgling Nazi party. In an election held in July 1932, the Nazis won 230 governmental seats. -
“Night of the Long Knives” in Germany
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. The Nazi regime executed at least 90 people and an estimated 200 for political reasons. -
Nuremburg Laws enacted
The Nuremberg Laws were antisemitic and racist laws that were enacted in Nazi Germany on 15 September 1935, at a special meeting of the Reichstag convened during the annual Nuremberg Rally of the Nazi Party. The laws were, The Reich Citizenship Law and The Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honor. -
Italian invasion of Ethiopia
The aim of invading Ethiopia was to boost Italian national prestige, which was wounded by Ethiopia's defeat of Italian forces at the Battle of Adowa in the nineteenth century (1896), which saved Ethiopia from Italian colonization. -
The Great Purges and gulags
In these camps, political prisoners were forced to perform hard labor under terrible conditions. Many died from exposure to harsh elements, lack of nutrition, and unsanitary conditions. The Great Purge, which occurred during Stalin's rule in the Soviet Union, weakened the Soviet economy because it killed or imprisoned a significant portion of the population. -
Spanish civil war
The Spanish Civil War began on July 17, 1936, when generals Emilio Mola and Francisco Franco launched an uprising aimed at overthrowing the country's democratically elected republic. The Nationalist rebels' initial efforts to instigate military revolts throughout Spain only partially succeeded. The war ended with a Nationalist victory; Franco would rule Spain as a ruthless dictator until his death in 1975. -
The Rape of Nanking
The Rape of Nanking was a mass killing and ravaging of Chinese citizens and capitulated soldiers by soldiers of the Japanese Imperial Army. The number of Chinese killed in the massacre has been subject to much debate, with most estimates ranging from 100,000 to more than 300,000. -
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom, was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's Sturmabteilung and Schutzstaffel paramilitary forces along with some participation from the Hitler Youth and German civilians throughout Nazi Germany. During the pogrom, some 30,000 Jewish males were rounded up and taken to concentration camps. -
Nazi Germany invades Poland
Hitler had attacked Poland because he wanted Germans to live there. He considered the Polish people inferior and only fit as a work force. To justify the action, Nazi propagandists accused Poland of persecuting ethnic Germans living in Poland. They also falsely claimed that Poland was planning, with its allies Great Britain and France, to encircle and dismember Germany. -
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 American naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii, just before 8:00 a.m. on Sunday. They managed to destroy or damage nearly 20 American naval vessels, including eight battleships, and over 300 airplanes. More than 2,400 Americans died in the attack, including civilians, and another 1,000 people were wounded.