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Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin introduced his New Economic Policy (NEP) in 1921. The NEP aimed to revive the Soviet economy by introducing a mixed system of state control and private enterprise.

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Mussolini gathered his Italian fascists and their militia known as the “Blackshirts” in Milan and instructed them to march to Rome and demand that the government give him power.

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The Beer Hall Putsch was sparked by Hitler’s desire to overthrow the democratically elected government of Germany and establish a dictatorship. On November 8, 1923, Hitler and about 2,000 followers, mostly Nazis and extreme right-wing nationalists, attempted to seize control of the government by marching on the Odeonsplatz.

The coup was quickly put down by the police and the army, and Hitler and his followers were arrested. Hitler escaped but was arrested 2 days later.

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Lenin died in January 1924 and a power struggle ensued for who would take over. Stalin outmaneuvered his rivals and gained control of the Communist Party. He was then officially hailed as Lenin’s successor as the leader of the Communist Party and Soviet Union.

Stalin used his position to appoint loyal followers to key positions in government and to remove his rivals from power. Eventually, he would become a dictator.

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While in prison after the failed Beer Hall Putsch, Adolf Hitler began writing a book on his vision for Germany. Published in 1925 and titled Mein Kampf, the book outlines Hitler’s political ideology. It includes his racist and antisemitic beliefs, his ideas on German nationalism, his foreign policy goals, and his plan to establish a totalitarian state.

The book played a significant role in Hitler’s rise to power. It was used as a propaganda tool by the Nazi Party and helped to spread their depraved ideas and gain support.

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In 1928, the Soviet Union was a poor, agricultural country made up overwhelmingly by peasant farmers. Joseph Stalin wanted to quickly industrialize his nation, so it was capable of resisting Nazi Germany and Western Europe.

That year, he implemented the first Five Year Plan with the goal of rapidly industrializing and modernizing the Soviet economy. The plan emphasized heavy industry, such as steel and coal production, and collectivization of agriculture.

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Japan had few of the natural resources needed for industrialization. It needed to import coal and iron ore from Manchuria, a region in China, just north of Korea and west of Japan. It had a railroad there to facilitate these exports dating back to the Russo-Japanese War.

Japan’s Kwantung Army was stationed there to protect the railway, but it had the government’s permission to retaliate if the Chinese ever attacked any Japanese property.

In September 1931, a dynamite exploded along the railway. The army immediately blamed China and attacked. Japanese troops began occupying towns in the area and gained control of Manchuria within 5 months.

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A group of extremist officers in Japan’s Imperial Navy strongly objected to Japan agreeing to several international arms limitation treaties. They believed Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi was too moderate and insufficiently nationalistic.

Several of the officers had connections to the ultra-right wing nationalist group League of Blood. The League of Blood attempted a coup d’état in March 1932 but failed. The naval officers planned another coup for May 1932 in hopes of overthrowing the government.

They believed the government’s response to the global economic crisis was inadequate and that Japan’s foreign policy was too weak. Inukai’s government had been reducing military spending and strengthening democratic institutions, which was at odds with the military’s vision of a stronger, more militarized Japan.

On May 15, 1932, the officers assassinated Prime Minister Inukai in his home. They also hoped to assassinate movie star Charlie Chaplin (who was in Japan at the time) in hopes of sparking a war with the U.S.

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The Reichstag building, which housed the German parliament, was purposefully set on fire on February 27, 1933. This pivotal event led to the rise of the Nazi Party in Germany.

Hitler had just been named Chancellor of Germany after the Nazi Party gained seats in the Reichstag. Hitler blamed the fire on communist agitators and had communist delegates to the Reichstag arrested.

With their arrests, the Nazis gained a majority after elections on March 5th. This gave them a pretext to pass the Enabling Act. This allowed Hitler to bypass any checks on his power. It essentially transformed the Weimar Republic into Nazi Germany, a one-party totalitarian dictatorship.

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The Holodomor was a man-made famine that occurred in Soviet-controlled Ukraine from 1932 to 1933. The famine was caused by Joseph Stalin’s collectivization policies and resulted in millions of deaths.

The Soviet government’s collectivization involved the forced relocation of farmers into collective farms and the seizure of their land. This disrupted food production in Ukraine and led to a severe food shortage.

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In October 1935, Italy invaded Ethiopia as part of Benito Mussolini’s colonial expansion effort. Ethiopia was one of the few independent African nations and the only one that had never been colonized by a European power.

Mussolini’s fascist regime saw the conquest of Ethiopia as an opportunity to expand Italy’s empire and to assert its power on the international stage. Mussolini sought to exploit Ethiopia’s resources and to use it as a source of raw materials for Italy’s growing war machine. It also used the invasion to distract the public from the country’s economic problems.

Outmatched by the Italian army, Ethiopia was defeated and annexed into the Italian Empire. Ethiopia’s Emperor Haile Selassie appealed to the League of Nations for help, saying, “It is us today. It will be you tomorrow.”

The League of Nations condemned the invasion but proved too weak to do anything more. Its inaction emboldened other countries seeking to expand their empires.

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The Nuremberg Laws were a set of racial laws passed by Germany’s Nazi government in in 1935.

The Nuremberg Laws consisted of two main pieces of legislation: the Reich Citizenship Law and the Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honor.

The Reich Citizenship Law defined who was considered a citizen of Germany and stripped Jews of their citizenship.

The second piece of legislation was the Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honor. This law made it illegal for Jews to marry or even to have relations with Germans.

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Italy Intervenes in the Spanish Civil War 1936

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Italy Intervenes in the Spanish Civil War 1936

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In 1936, Italy intervened in the Spanish Civil War to support General Francisco Franco and his Nationalist forces. The conflict was between the left-wing Republican government and the right-wing Nationalist forces.

The Italian government, under the rule of Benito Mussolini and his fascist regime, saw an opportunity to spread their ideology and gain influence in the region by supporting Franco. It was also seen as an opportunity for fascist Italy to test its military and gain experience before later conflicts.

Mussolini sent tens of thousands of Italian soldiers to fight on the side of Franco’s Nationalists and provided them with modern weaponry and air support.

The Italian intervention in the Spanish Civil War helped tip the balance in favor of Franco’s Nationalists and played a key role in their eventual victory in the Spanish Civil War.

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In 1936, Joseph Stalin was losing support in the Soviet Union. His Five Year Plan and collectivization upset many and rivals began calling for his removal. In response, Stalin began the Great Purge, a campaign of political repression against his perceived enemies.

The purpose was to eliminate any threats to Stalin’s power. Stalin ordered the arrest, imprisonment, and execution of millions of people, including government officials, military officers, Communist Party members, and ordinary citizens.

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The Sino-Japanese War & Nanjing Massacre  1937

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The Sino-Japanese War & Nanjing Massacre  1937

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Japan occupied Manchuria since 1931 and created a new puppet state called Manchukuo. Following this, China fought Japan in several small “incidents”. This escalated into war in 1937 after the Marco Polo Bridge incident. A Japanese soldier went missing outside Beijing and shots were fired by both Chinese and Japanese armies.

The Chinese Nationalist government, led by Chiang Kai-shek, and the Communists, led by Mao Zedong, both fought against the Imperial Japanese Army. The Japanese scored several major victories, capturing Beijing, Shanghai, and the capital of Nanjing in 1937.

It was there that Japanese soldiers led a mass slaughter of Chinese civilians in an event known as the Nanjing Massacre. It is estimated that 200,000-300,000 people were killed during the 6-week massacre.

Japanese soldiers engaged in widespread rape, looting, and numerous acts of atrocity, including mass executions. The Nanjing Massacre was one of the most egregious war crimes in modern history and has had a profound impact on Japanese-Chinese relations that has lasted until this day.

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The Munich Conference & Kristallnacht 1938

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The Munich Conference & Kristallnacht 1938

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Two events in Fall 1938 had a massive impact on Nazi Germany’s global ambitions.

First was September’s Munich Conference, during which the leaders of Germany, Italy, France, and the United Kingdom met. The topic of discussion was the future of Czechoslovakia. Hitler was demanding “lebensraum” or living space ethnic Germans.

France and Britain were intent on avoiding war and agreed to appease Hitler and allow him to annex the Sudetenland, despite an earlier agreement that it was part of Czechoslovakia. This only emboldened Hitler to continue his expansionist policies.

In November, the Nazis began a pogrom (violent riot) against Jews known as Kristallnacht, or the “Night of Broken Glass”. It involved the destruction of Jewish businesses, synagogues, and homes, as well as the arrest and imprisonment of thousands of Jewish people.

Kristallnacht was a turning point in the persecution of Jews in Germany. It marked the beginning of a more aggressive policy of racist discrimination and violence against them. The pogrom was condemned internationally, but the German government refused to take responsibility and blamed the Jewish community for the violence. Kristallnacht escalated the persecution of Jews in Germany and ultimately led to the Holocaust.