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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, which saved Ethiopia from Italian colonization. -
Stalin becomes dictator of USSR.
Stalin entered into dictatorship during a hectic time. -
Mussolini's March on Rome
The march marked the beginning of fascist rule and meant the doom of the preceding parliamentary regimes of socialists and liberals. -
Hitler writes Mein Kampf
Hitler's purpose in writing Mein Kampf was to present his goals and philosophy. The major themes of the book are the superiority of the Aryan race, Hitler's plan for Aryan world rule, and the guilt of the Jews as the destroyers of the world. -
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. -
Japan invades Manchuria
Seeking raw materials to fuel its growing industries, Japan invaded the Chinese province of Manchuria. -
Holodomor
From 1932-1933 millions of Ukrainians were killed by hunger. -
Hitler appointed chancellor of Germany
Appointed as the chancellor of Germany after many electoral votes from Nazi Party. -
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht represented a dramatic escalation of the campaign started by Adolf Hitler when he became chancellor to purge Germany of its Jewish population. -
“Night of the Long Knives” in Germany
A Nazi purge that occurred due to fearing that the paramilitary SA had become too powerful, Hitler ordered his elite SS guards to murder the organization's leaders, including Ernst Röhm. -
Nuremburg Laws enacted
The laws excluded German Jews from Reich citizenship and prohibited them from marrying or having sexual relations with persons of "German or related blood." -
The Great Purge and gulags
Also known as the “Great Terror,” was a brutal political campaign led by Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin to eliminate dissenting members of the Communist Party and anyone else he considered a threat. -
Spanish civil war
When an initial military coup failed to win control of the entire country, a bloody civil war ensued, fought with great ferocity on both sides. -
The Rape of Nanking
An episode of mass murder and rape on the people of Najing, committed by imperial Japanese troops. -
Nazi Germany invades Poland
To regain lost territory and ultimately rule their neighbor to the east. The German invasion of Poland was a primer on how Hitler intended to wage war–what would become the “blitzkrieg” strategy. -
Japan bombs Pearl Harbor
First, it intended to destroy important American fleet units, thereby preventing the Pacific Fleet from interfering with Japanese conquest of the Dutch East Indies and Malaya and to enable Japan to conquer Southeast Asia without interference.