Curated category
Axis powers
- German–Soviet Axis talksOn the 23rd of August 1939, the world watched as two enemies signed a non-aggression pact in Moscow. The German Foreign Minister Joachim Ribbentrop and…
- Pact of SteelBenito Mussolini secured his position as Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Italy in 1922. His first actions included massive programs of public works that…
- Case AntonAdolf Hitler ordered the occupation of Vichy France on the 12th of November 1942. This decision followed a final conversation with French Prime Minister…
- Continuation WarOn the 13th of March 1940, the Moscow Peace Treaty ended a ten-week conflict that left Finland with significant territorial losses.
- Vichy FranceOn the 10th of July 1940, a joint session of the Senate and Chamber of Deputies gathered in the quiet spa town of Vichy.
- A–A lineThe first mention of the Arkhangelsk, Astrakhan line appeared on the 18th of December 1940 in Führer Directive 21. This document outlined the specific goals…
- Soviet–Japanese Neutrality PactOn the 13th of April 1941, the Soviet Union and the Empire of Japan signed a non-aggression pact in Moscow. This agreement arrived two years after the…
- Generalplan OstIn 1939, Adolf Hitler declared that the German people needed living space to survive. This concept of Lebensraum became the core justification for…
- Kingdom of RomaniaOn the 24th of January 1859, Alexandru Ioan Cuza was elected prince of both Moldavia and Wallachia. This event united two distinct territories under a single…
- Slovak Republic (1939–1945)On the 14th of March 1939, the Slovak parliament convened in Bratislava to hear a report from Monsignor Jozef Tiso about his meeting with Adolf Hitler.
- Axis occupation of GreeceThe early morning hours of the 28th of October 1940 marked the beginning of a catastrophic chain of events for Greece. Italian ambassador Emanuele Grazzi…
- Fascist ItalyOn the 24th of March 1929, a nationwide plebiscite confirmed the Fascist single-party list with 98.43% of voters approving the measure.
- Thailand in World War IIOn the 24th of June 1932, a group called Khana Ratsadon ended over two centuries of absolute monarchy in Siam. The new civilian government struggled to…
- Empire of JapanOn the 3rd of January 1868, Satsuma-Chōshū forces seized the imperial palace in Kyoto. The following day, a fifteen-year-old boy named Crown Prince Mutsuhito…
- Anti-Comintern PactOn the 25th of November 1936, two men signed a document in Berlin that would reshape the geopolitical landscape of the coming decade.
- Axis powersIn September 1923, Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini wrote in a book preface that the axis of European history passes through Berlin.
- Molotov–Ribbentrop PactThe outcome of World War I was disastrous for both the German and Russian empires. The Russian Civil War broke out in late 1917 after the Bolshevik…
- Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946)On the 1st of March 1920, Miklós Horthy took the oath as Regent of Hungary. He was the last commanding admiral of the Austro-Hungarian Navy.
- Kingdom of ItalyOn the 17th of March 1861, Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia was proclaimed King of Italy in Turin. This event marked the birth of a new state from decades of…
- Tripartite PactOn the 27th of September 1940, three men stood in a Berlin room to sign a document that would reshape global alliances. Joachim von Ribbentrop signed for…
- Yugoslav coup d'étatThe Kingdom of Yugoslavia emerged in 1918 as the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. It incorporated diverse national groups including Serbs, Croats…
- Nazi GermanyThe stock market crash of 1929 sent shockwaves through Germany that shattered the fragile Weimar Republic. Millions of Germans found themselves unemployed…
- Japanese occupation of the PhilippinesJapan invaded the Philippines on the 8th of December 1941. This attack occurred just ten hours after the strike on Pearl Harbor.
- ManchukuoManchukuo lasted just thirteen years, from 1932 until its dissolution in 1945, yet it carried the grand title of empire and the trappings of a brand new…
- Invasion of YugoslaviaOn the morning of the 27th of March 1941, a group of Yugoslav military officers executed a coup d'état in Belgrade. They forced Regent Prince Paul to resign…
- Italian Social RepublicOn the 24th of July 1943, Dino Grandi presented a motion to the Grand Council of Fascism. The vote passed with twenty-one votes in favor and only seven…
- New Order (Nazism)Adolf Hitler first proclaimed a European New Order in a speech on the 30th of January 1941. This declaration marked the public articulation of plans that had…
- UntermenschThe American author Lothrop Stoddard published a book titled The Revolt Against Civilization: The Menace of the Under-man in 1922.
- Italian EmpireIn 1869, an Italian navigation company purchased Assab Bay on the Red Sea to establish a coaling station while the Suez Canal opened for navigation.
- Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity SphereIn the autumn of 1872, United States minister to Japan Charles DeLong explained to U.S. General Charles LeGendre that he had been urging the Government of…
- Kingdom of HungaryOn Christmas Day 1000, a man named Vajk stood before the people of Hungary and accepted baptism. He took the name Stephen I that day at the cathedral in…
- German military administration in occupied France during World War IIGerman soldiers marched past the Arc de Triomphe on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris during June 1940. This moment marked the beginning of a military…
- Hakkō ichiuTanaka Chigaku coined the phrase Hakkō ichiu in the early 20th century. He drew from a statement attributed to Emperor Jimmu in the Nihon Shoki chronicle.
- LebensraumIn 1860, the German geographer Oscar Peschel used a specific phrase in his review of Charles Darwin's work to describe how physical geography influences…
- German-occupied EuropeGermany and its Axis partners governed more than half of Europe's population by 1942. This vast territory stretched from Franz Josef Land in the Soviet Union…
- Spain during World War IIOn the 19th of June 1940, Francisco Franco wrote to Adolf Hitler offering to join the war in exchange for help building Spain's colonial empire.