interwar period

  • October Revolution (Russia)

    October Revolution (Russia)
    Bolsheviks seize power, leading to the rise of communism in Russia.
  • End of WW1

    End of WW1
    End of World War I with the signing of the armistice between Germany and the Allies. Europe was devastated physically and economically.
  • Period: to

    First stage

  • Paris Peace Conference begins.

    Paris Peace Conference begins.
    The Paris Peace Conference was a set of formal and informal diplomatic meetings in 1919 and 1920 after the end of World War I, in which the victorious Allies set the peace terms for the defeated Central Powers.
  • Treaty of Versailles signed

    Treaty of Versailles signed
    Imposing harsh terms on Germany. Peace treaty that blamed Germany for WWI, imposed heavy reparations, and reduced its military.
  • Creation of the League of Nations

    Creation of the League of Nations
    Though the U.S. doesn’t join. Aimed to maintain peace and prevent future wars through diplomacy.
  • Nazi Party formed

    Nazi Party formed
    It sought to woo German workers away from socialism and communism and commit them to its antisemitic and anti-Marxist ideology.
  • 19th Amendment ratified in the U.S

    19th Amendment ratified in the U.S
    Granting women the right to vote
  • Founding of the National Fascist Party

    Founding of the National Fascist Party
    Founded in Rome during the Third Fascist Congress on 7–10 November 1921, the National Fascist Party marked the transformation of the paramilitary Fasci Italiani di Combattimento into a more coherent political group
  • End of Russian Civil War

    End of Russian Civil War
    The Red Army seized the eastern port of Vladivostok and the Russian Civil War came to an end. In the following years, the Red Army continued to fight to suppress numerous revolts against Bolshevik rule.
  • Mussolini’s March on Rome

    Mussolini’s March on Rome
    Was an organized mass demonstration in October 1922 which resulted in Benito Mussolini's National Fascist Party (Partito Nazionale Fascista, PNF) ascending to power in the Kingdom of Italy.
  • Establishment of the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics).

    Establishment of the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics).
    The Soviet Union quickly became a one-party state under the Communist Party. Its early years under Lenin were marked by the implementation of socialist policies and the New Economic Policy (NEP)
  • Treaty of Lausanne

    Treaty of Lausanne
    The treaty was signed at Lausanne, Switzerland, on July 24, 1923, after a seven-month conference. The treaty recognized the boundaries of the modern state of Turkey.
  • Hitler’s failed Beer Hall Putsch

    Hitler’s failed Beer Hall Putsch
    Hitler had relied on the paramilitary Kampfbund, but the lack of support from the police and locally stationed military units doomed the attempt.
  • Period: to

    Second stage

  • Death of Lenin

    Death of Lenin
    Died in Gorki aged 53 after falling into a coma. The official cause of death was recorded as an incurable disease of the blood vessels.
  • Period: to

    Period of economic recovery and political calm

  • Stalin launches first Five-Year Plan

    Stalin launches first Five-Year Plan
    The first five year plan was created in order to initiate rapid and large-scale industrialization across the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
  • Wall Street Crash

    Wall Street Crash
    Some of the causes were overinflated shares, growing bank loans, agricultural overproduction, panic selling, stocks purchased on margin, higher interest rates, and a negative media industry.
  • Import substitution begins in Latin America due to global crisis.

    Import substitution begins in Latin America due to global crisis.
  • Reichstag Fire: Hitler gains full powers.

    Reichstag Fire: Hitler gains full powers.
    The Enabling Act assigned all legislative power to Hitler and his ministers, thus securing their ability to control the political apparatus.
  • Period: to

    Third stage

  • Hitler appointed Chancellor of Germany.

    Hitler appointed Chancellor of Germany.
    Hitler's emergence as chancellor on January 30, 1933, marked a crucial turning point for Germany and, ultimately, for the world. His plan, embraced by much of the German population, was to do away with politics and make Germany a powerful, unified one-party state.
  • Start of the Third Reich

    Start of the Third Reich
    Both inside and outside Germany, the term “Third Reich” was often used to describe the Nazi regime in Germany from January 30, 1933, to May 8, 1945. The Nazi rise to power marked the beginning of the Third Reich.
  • Hitler becomes Führer after Hindenburg's death

    Hitler becomes Führer after Hindenburg's death
    The German public voted 90% in favour of Adolf Hitler becoming Fuhrer (Leader) of Germany, combining the powers of Chancellor and President, President Paul von Hindenburg having died in his bed earlier that month, in a referendum.
  • Spanish Civil War begins

    Spanish Civil War begins
    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.
  • Rome-Berlin Axis formed between Hitler and Mussolini

    Rome-Berlin Axis formed between Hitler and Mussolini
    Pact of Steel, Alliance between Germany and Italy. Signed by Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini on May 22, 1939, it formalized the 1936 Rome-Berlin Axis agreement, linking the two countries politically and militarily.
  • Japan invades China

    Japan invades China
    Japanese occupation in most of Asia was brutal across their period of rule. Japanese troops massacred many thousands of civilians.
  • Annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany

    Annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany
    Nazi Germany annexed the neighboring country of Austria (Österreich). This event is known as the Anschluss. “Anschluss” is a German word that means “connection” or “joining.”
  • Spanish Civil War ends

    Spanish Civil War ends
    On March 28, 1939, the victorious Nationalists entered Madrid in triumph, and the Spanish Civil War came to an end.
  • Nazi-Soviet Pact signed

    Nazi-Soviet Pact signed
    The German-Soviet Pact was an agreement signed by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union on August 23, 1939.
  • Germany invades Poland

    Germany invades Poland
    German forces under the control of Adolf Hitler bombard Poland on land and from the air. World War II had begun. Germany invaded Poland to regain lost territory and ultimately rule their neighbor to the east.
  • Start of World War II

    Start of World War II
    Germany's invasion of Poland in 1939 triggered declarations of war from France and the United Kingdom, formally starting World War II.