WWII Timeline

WWII Timeline

Period: Jan 1, 1920 to Jan 9, 1940

Facist Party Established

Jan 1, 1921

*[Exact date unknown]
By 1921, Benito Mussolini had established the Facist Party. This political party stressed nationalism and placed the interests of the state above the interests of individuals.

Mussolini's March on Rome

Oct 1, 1922

*[Exact date unknown]
With thousands of his followers, Mussolini led them into Rome. When important public figures sided with the Facists, the Italian king handed over power to Mussolini.

Joseph Stalin Gains Control

Jan 1, 1924

Joseph Stalin gains control in the Soviet Union. He focuses on crreating a model communist state.

Kellogg-Briand Pact

Jan 2, 1926

*[Exact date unknown] The treaty was signed by 62 different countries. It stated that war was not to be used "as an instrument of national policy." There was no part explaining what would happen if any of the countries that signed violated the treaty, so it was only a small step towards peace.

Kellogg-Briand Pact

Jan 2, 1928

*[Exact date unknown] The treaty was signed by 62 different countries. It stated that war was not to be used "as an instrument of national policy." Since it didn't include anything on what would happen if the treaty was violated, it was only a small step towards peace.

Manchuria

Jan 2, 1931

*[Exact date unknown] Japanese militarists launched a surprise attack on the Chinese province, Manchuria, in 1931. Within months, the Japanese troops controlled the entire province.

Glass-Steagull Act

Jan 2, 1933

*[Exact date unknown] The Federal Insurance Deposit Company provided insurance for individual bank accounts of up to $5,000. Banks were required to become more careful with the money of their customers.

Hitler Appointed Chancellor

Jan 2, 1933

*[Exact date unknown] Once in power, Hitler completely took apart Germany's Weimar Republic. He then established the Third German Empire

FDR Recognizes Soviet Union

Jan 2, 1933

*[Exact date unknown] FDR officially recognized the Soviet Union and agreed to exchange ambassadors with Moscow.

Hundred Days [March 9-June 19, 1933]

Mar 9, 1933

Congress passed +15 major pieces of the New Deal legislation. The laws that were passed created more power for the federal government in the United States economy.

Hitler Gains Power

Apr 7, 1933

Not too long after Hitler gained power in Germany, he ordered the removal of all "non-Aryans" from government jobs. This was the first of many orders in Hitler's campaign for racial purity. This eventually led to the Holocaust.

Federal Security Act

May 2, 1933

*[Exact date unknown] This act required companies to prove complete information on all stock offerings.

Public Works Administration

Jun 1, 1933

*[Exact date unknown] This provided states money to use to create jobs for construction of community buildings.

Federal Housing Administration

Jan 2, 1934

*[Exact date unknown] The National Housing Act created ghd Federal Housing Administration. This agency still furnishes loans for home mortgages and repairs today.

Securities and Exchange Commission

Jun 2, 1934

*[Exact date unknown] This regulates the stock market and prevents people with inside information from using it to rig the market.

NIRA Declared Unconstitutional

Jan 2, 1935

The Supreme Court declares the NIRA unconstitutional because the federal government was violating legislative authority which was reserved for individual states.

National Youth Administration

Jan 2, 1935

The National Youth Administration provided job training for unemployed young people and part-time jobs for students.

Hitler Violates the Treaty

Jan 2, 1935

Hitler began a military buildup in violation of the Treaty of Versailles after he pulled Germany out of the League of Nations in 1933.

Nuremberg Laws

Jan 2, 1935

*[Exact date unknown] Nuremberg Laws stripped Jews of their citizenship in Germany, as well as their jobs and property. This law also required them to wear the yellow Star of David on their clothing

Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act

Jan 2, 1936

*[Exact date unknown] The act paid farmers for cutting the production of soil depleting crops, as well as rewarded them for practicing good soil conservation methods.

Soviet Union Industrialized

Jan 2, 1937

*[Exact date unknown] The Soviet Union had become the world's second largest industrial power.

Hitler Plans To Expand

Nov 5, 1937

Hitler met up with military advisors secretly to plan out how Germany could gain land by taking over Czechoslovakia and Austria.

Fair Labor Standards Act

Jan 2, 1938

*[Exact date unknown] This act set a maximum number of hours a person could work in a week, as well as laws for younger people who wanted to work, making it so that a person under 18 couldn't do hazardous work.

March on Austria

Mar 12, 1938

German troops marched into Austria who willingly gave up their land to the Germans. Germany then announced that union with Austria was complete.

Kristallnacht [November 9-10]

Nov 9, 1938

Nazi troops attacked Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues all across Germany and Austria. Around 100 Jews were killed, and hundreds more wounded.

Totalitiarian Government Established

Jan 2, 1939

*[Exact date unknown] By 1939 Stalin established a totalitarian government that tried to exert complete control over its citizens.

Final Solution

Jan 2, 1939

*[Exact date unknown] Only about a quarter of a million Jews were left in Germany by 1939. Hitler's desire for "purity" caused him to create a plan for genocide, known as the Final Solution, to rid Europe those who opposed him and were "impure."

March on Czechoslovakia

Mar 15, 1939

German troops entered what was left over Czechoslovakia. After they had taken over, they turned to Poland for more land.

Cash-And-Carry

Sep 2, 1939

*[Exact date unknown] Roosevelt convinces Congress to use cash-and-carry to allow warring nations to purchase U.S. arms.

Blitzkrieg

Sep 7, 1939

German air forces went into Poland, dropping bombs on military bases, airfields, railroads, and cities. Tanks entered the countryside, terrorizing the citizens. This blitzkrieg attack was the first test of Germany's newest strategy.

Germany Surrenders

Jun 22, 1940

Hitler handed French officers his terms of surrender.