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Treaty of Versailles
On June 28, 1919, Lloyd George of England, Orlando of Italy, Clemenceau of France and Woodrow Wilson from the US met to figure out a way to make Germany pay for the damage caused by WW1. President Woodrow Wilson made his 14 points clause to make the treaty but the points were not used. The main terms were Reparations in which Germany had to pay for all damages (6,600 million pounds), War Guilt Clause in which Germany had to accept the blame for the war, and Disarmament. -
Adolf Hitler rebuilds Germany's Army
Hitler rebuilds Germany's army by authorizing the manufacturing of weapons. He also begins building warships and creates the German Air force. Joining the army was also made required by law. -
League of Nations
The League of Nations was formed as an alliance meant to stop any wars between countries. It failed however as it did nothing when Japan invaded Manchuria in 1931. It also did not do anything when Italy invaded Ethiopia in 1935. Hitler decided to test the league by sending troops with empty rifles into the French defended Rhineland. The French army did not attack and Hitler saw a chance to take over and he did. -
Failure of Appeasement
Appeasement is the agreement between two sides if one sides terms or argument is fair. When France signed a new treaty with Russia, Adolf Hitler argued that Germany was in danger from both countries and had a right to rearm herself and station troops in the Rhineland for security. Politicians on both sides agreed and his actions were seen as fair. -
Germany invades the Rhineland
Hitler ordered the militarization of the Rhineland which went against articles 42, 43 and 44 which forbade Germany from having any militaristic presence in the Rhineland. 2,200 soldiers marched in and took over and Britain and France did not act. Britain was weak in both military and economically at the time and had soldiers posted in the Mediterranean due to Italy's invasion of Abyssinia (Ethiopia). France was between governments due to the unpopular appeasement of Italy. -
The Rome-Berlin Axis Pact and The Anti-Comitern Act
Chancellor Adolf Hitler forms two alliances to increase the power of Germany. The Rome-Berlin Axis pact was the alliance between Benito Mussolini's Italy and Germany. The Anti-Comitern Act was an alliance between Germany and Japan. -
Germany takes over Austria
When Hitler marched into Austria the Austrian leader Kurt Von Schuschnigg was forced to let his people vote whether or not Austria was to become part of Germany. This was called Anschluss and 99% of voters said yes. -
The Munich Agreement
When Germany took over Austria Hitler wanted more. He called for the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia be handed over to Germany. Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain met with Hitler and tried to agree to peace. Hitler made a pact with Britain and Czechoslovakia that stated that Germany would not invade the rest of the country if the Sudetenland was given. Both sides agreed and this became known as The Munich Agreement. -
Germany invades Czechoslovakia
A few months after the Munich Agreement Hitler decided to take over the rest of Czechoslovakia. This broke the Munich Agreement and Britain and France threatened to take military action. Chamberlain thought that Hitler would back off if he was threatened by Britain and France. -
Germany invades Poland
Early in the morning of September 1st, 1939, Hitler's air force began a series of bombardments on Poland that weakened their defenses and then sent an overwhelming amount of infantry to take over. This tactic was called Blitzkreig and was used by Germany many times as WW2 continued.
