HISTORY

The beginning of WWII is generally accepted to be September 1, 1939 when Germany invaded Poland. Other European countries started declaring war within the next few days.

Leading up to the start of the largest war the world has ever seen were these events:

• Hitler was made Chancellor of Germany in 1933.  He abandoned democracy in favor of his vision of world dominance.
• In 1935, Hitler broke the Treaty of Versailles and took back control of a region that was taken from Germany after WWI.  
• Later that year, Hitler voiced his intention to absorb Austria into its empire because they were mostly ethnic Germans.  
• Italy invaded Ethiopia with the tacit approval of Germany and they became allied.  
• In 1936 Germany and Italy formally formed an alliance called the Axis.  Germany then made a mutual assistance non-aggression pact with Japan.
• The Spanish civil war was now being waged.  Germany and Italy supported the fascist forces.
• In 1937, Japan invaded China and took disputed lands.
• In 1938, Germany annexed Austria.  Then Hitler took part of Czechoslovakia where mostly ethnic  Germans lived.  He also took part of Lithuania for the same reason.
• In early 1939, Italy invaded and conquered Albania and threatened its neighbor Greece.   
• Great Britain and France drew a line in the sand pledging to support Poland and Romania if attacked. 

Those unaware of history are doomed to repeat it.

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