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Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles wasone of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. The German people were very unhappy about the treaty and thought that it was too harsh. Germany could not afford to pay the money and during the 1920s the people in Germany were very poor. There were not many jobs and the price of food and basic goods was high. People were dissatisfied with the government and voted to power a man who promised to rip up the Treaty of Versailles. His name was Adolf Hitler. -
The Munich Beer Hall Putsch
The Beer Hall Putsch was a failed attempt at revolution the occured between the early morning of November 8 and afternoon of November 9, when the Nazi party leader, Adolf Hitler and other heads of the Kampfbund unsuccessfully tried to seize power in Munich, Bavaria, and Germany. -
Japanese invasion of Manchuria
The invasion of the Manchuria was proved to be one of the causes of World War ll. In 1931, the Japanese Kwangtung Army attacked Chinese troops in Manchuria in an event commonly known as the Manchurian Incident. Essentially, this was an attempt by the Japanese Empire to gain control over the whole province, in order to eventually encompass all of East Asia. This invasion lasted all the way until the end of World War ll. -
The Reichstag Burns
The Reichstag building, seat of the German government, burns after being set on fire by Nazis. This enabled Adolf Hitler to seize power under the pretext of protecting the nation from threats to its security. -
Prohibition Ends
Prohibition was the period in United States history in which the manufacture, sale, and transportation of intoxicating liquors was outlawed. It began officially on January 16, 1920 (exactly a year after the ratification of the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution) and ended with the ratification of the 21st Amendment on December 5, 1933. -
The Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War was a proxy war in which German arms, weapons, and tactics were being battle-tested. This was led by general Francisco Franco and labeled as a "pretest" by Hitler to the real World War. -
The Hindenburg disaster
A German passenger airship LZ 129 Hindenburg caught fire and was destroyed as it was attempting to dock on a Naval Air Station. Of the 97 people on board, 35 people died in addition to one fatality on the ground. The accident served to shatter public confidence in the giant, passenger-carrying rigid airship, and marked the end of the airship era. -
The Anschluss
The Anschluss was the annexation of Austria by Germany in March 1938. With power quickly transferred over to Germany, the armed forces troops entered Austria to enforce the Anschluss. -
Munich Conference
The Munich conference was an agreement stated that Hitler could have the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia provided that he promised not to invade the rest of Czechoslovakia. The prime minister of Britian, Neville Chamberlain, met with Hitler three times to try and reach this agreement to prevent war. -
The Non-Aggression Pact
A non-aggression pact is an international treaty between two or more states agreeing to avoid war or armed conflict between them and resolve their disputes through peaceful negotiations. The Nazi-Soviet non-aggressive pact was this agreement stated that the two countries - Germany and the Soviet Union - would not attack each other. If there were ever a problem between the two countries, it was to be handled amicably. The pact was supposed to last for ten years; it lasted for less than two. -
The Start of WWll
The start of the war is generally held to be September 1, 1939, with the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany and subsequent declarations of war on Germany by most of the countries in the British Empire and Commonwealth, and by France. In 1945, the war ended in victory with the allies. -
Cash and Carry Act
At a special session of the U.S Congress on September 21, 1939, as war was spreading throughout Europe, Franklin D. Roosevelt requested the policy of cash and carry replace the Neutrality Acts of 1936. The revision allowed the sale of material to belligerents, as long as the recipients arranged for the transport using their own ships and paid immediately in cash. The purpose was to hold neutrality between the United States and European countries, while still giving material aid to Britian. -
The Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain was the first major campaign to be fought entirely by air forces, and was the largest and most sustained aerial bombing campaign. The object ive of this battle was to gain air superiority over the Royal Air Force, especially Fighter Command. -
America First Committee
Was the first most powerful isolationist group in America before the United States entered World War 2. Peaking at 800,000 members, it was likely the largest anti-war organization in American history. The America First Committee launched a petition aimed at enforcing the 1939 Neutrality Act and forcing President Franklin D. Roosevelt to keep his pledge to keep America out of the war. -
Selective Training and Service Act
The selective training and service act was passed by congress on September 14, 1940 becoming the first peacetime conscription in United States history when President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed it into law two days later. This Selective Service Act required that men between the ages of 21 and 35 register with local draft boards. Once WW2 started, it was liable for all men 18-45 to enter the military service and all men 18-65 were liable to register.
