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138-519: Ivangorod Fortress was established during the reign of Ivan III in 1492, intended to reaffirm Muscovy 's access to the Baltic Sea and to form a bulwark against the Teutonic Order , being built opposite the powerful Teutonic Hermann Castle . The fortress eventually grew into the town of Ivangorod, and the structures of the fort were gradually expanded and strengthened. Ivangorod Fortress

276-476: A pervasive cult of personality around Adolf Hitler to influence public opinion. The government controlled artistic expression, promoting specific art forms and banning or discouraging others. Genocide , mass murder , and large-scale forced labour became hallmarks of the regime; the implementation of the regime's racial policies culminated in the Holocaust . After the initial success of German invasion of

414-540: A tourist attraction . The original castle was constructed in one summer, in the year 1492. It was named after Muscovite Grand Prince Ivan III . Its purpose was to fend off the Livonian Knights . The castle is strictly quadrilateral, measuring 1,600 m (17,000 sq ft), with walls 14 metres tall. Ivangorod was won back from the Livonian Order later in the year by Muscovite forces under

552-408: A barrier to the transformation to absolutism. As a result, he gradually reduced the boyars' economic and political powers. He granted estates called pomestie to a new noble class in exchange for military service and other conditions, allowing him to build up a centralized army and create a counterbalance to the boyars. The old patriarchal systems of government vanished. The boyars, who would meet in

690-482: A centralized Russian state occurred following a period of feudal fragmentation , with Moscow at its center. Following a war with the Novgorod Republic in 1456, due to Novgorod's support of the rebellious Dmitry Shemyaka against Vasily II in his civil war, Moscow began to gradually seize land in the northern territories that were formerly under Novgorodian control for the next decade and half due to

828-488: A communist uprising. The Reichstag Fire Decree , imposed on 28 February 1933, rescinded most civil liberties, including rights of assembly and freedom of the press. The decree also allowed the police to detain people indefinitely without charges. The legislation was accompanied by a propaganda campaign that led to public support for the measure. Violent suppression of communists by the SA was undertaken nationwide and 4,000 members of

966-438: A council known as a boyar duma , were no longer consulted on state affairs. The sovereign became sacrosanct, while the boyars were reduced to dependency on the will of the sovereign. The boyars naturally resented this revolution and struggled against it. It was in the reign of Ivan III that the new sudebnik , or law code, was compiled by the scribe, Vladimir Gusev. The death penalty was mandated for rebellion or sedition, which

1104-578: A desire for luxury furs in the area. This led to a struggle with Novgorod for the Russian fur trade , and thus, an economic rivalry for fur, land and trade ports. Some Novgorodian boyars were opposed to Moscow as a result, while others pursued a pro-Moscow policy in the hopes that good relations could reduce disruption in east-west trade , while Novgorod was also dependent on the Russian lands to its southwest for important imports such as grain. Some Novgorodians were also attracted to Moscow due to it being

1242-668: A matrimonial compact, wedding Helena , Ivan's daughter. But the clear determination of Ivan to appropriate as much of Lithuania as possible finally compelled Alexander to take up arms against his father-in-law in 1499. A full-scale war broke out in 1500. The Lithuanians were routed at the Battle of Vedrosha on 14 July 1500, and in 1503, Alexander was glad to purchase peace by ceding Chernigov , Starodub , Novgorod-Seversky , and sixteen other towns. However, Smolensk remained in Lithuanian hands, though Ivan's son Vasily III would take

1380-657: A non-aggression pact with Poland. In March 1939, Hitler demanded the return of the Free City of Danzig and the Polish Corridor , a strip of land that separated East Prussia from the rest of Germany. The British announced they would come to the aid of Poland if it was attacked. Hitler, believing the British would not take action, ordered an invasion plan should be readied for September 1939. On 23 May, Hitler described to his generals his overall plan of not only seizing

1518-465: A number of pro-Lithuanian boyars and confiscating their lands. In 1477, two Novgorodian envoys, claiming to have been sent by the archbishops and the entire city, addressed Ivan in public audience as gosudar (sovereign) instead of the usual gospodin (sir). Ivan at once seized upon this as a recognition of his sovereignty, and when the Novgorodians repudiated the envoys (indeed, one was killed at

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1656-474: A protectorate of France under the condition that its residents would later decide by referendum which country to join, and Poland became a separate nation and was given access to the sea by the creation of the Polish Corridor , which separated Prussia from the rest of Germany, while Danzig was made a free city . Germany regained control of the Saarland through a referendum held in 1935 and annexed Austria in

1794-530: A review was carried out of the fortresses in this area, which concluded that the installation had been neglected, and had a low fighting efficiency. An order was issued for restoration of the Ivangorod fortress, but after the inspection of 1738 the fortress was designated not adequate for defence purposes. In 1840, some improvements were carried out in the fortress (roofs were renewed), and further improvements took place in 1863 and 1911-1914. During World War I ,

1932-459: A second national anthem. Germany was still in a dire economic situation, as six million people were unemployed and the balance of trade deficit was daunting. Using deficit spending , public works projects were undertaken beginning in 1934, creating 1.7 million new jobs by the end of that year alone. Average wages began to rise. The SA leadership continued to apply pressure for greater political and military power. In response, Hitler used

2070-772: A substantial minority of Germans, who lived mostly in the Sudetenland . Under pressure from separatist groups within the Sudeten German Party , the Czechoslovak government offered economic concessions to the region. Hitler decided not just to incorporate the Sudetenland into the Reich, but to destroy the country of Czechoslovakia entirely. The Nazis undertook a propaganda campaign to try to generate support for an invasion. Top German military leaders opposed

2208-626: A thousand people (out of a population of around 16,000) committed suicide in Demmin around 1 May 1945 as the 65th Army of 2nd Belorussian Front first broke into a distillery and then rampaged through the town, committing mass rapes, arbitrarily executing civilians, and setting fire to buildings. High numbers of suicides took place in many other locations, including Neubrandenburg (600 dead), Stolp in Pommern (1,000 dead), and Berlin, where at least 7,057 people committed suicide in 1945. Estimates of

2346-896: A war fought on two fronts. The invasion conquered a huge area, including the Baltic states, Belarus , and west Ukraine . After the successful Battle of Smolensk in September 1941, Hitler ordered Army Group Centre to halt its advance to Moscow and temporarily divert its Panzer groups to aid in the encirclement of Leningrad and Kyiv . This pause provided the Red Army with an opportunity to mobilise fresh reserves. The Moscow offensive, which resumed in October 1941, ended disastrously in December . On 7 December 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor , Hawaii. Four days later, Germany declared war on

2484-555: A war indemnity of 15,500 rubles . Novgorod also had to recognize Moscow's claims to territories to the east of the Northern Dvina which they had been struggling over. Ivan took a promise of allegiance from Novgorod, but left its system of government in place. For the next six years, pro-Moscow and anti-Moscow factions in Novgorod competed with one another. Ivan visited Novgorod several times during this period, persecuting

2622-515: A war of conquest to obtain more territory. The Saarland , which had been placed under League of Nations supervision for 15 years at the end of World War I, voted in January 1935 to become part of Germany. In March 1935, Hitler announced the creation of an air force, and that the Reichswehr would be increased to 550,000 men. Britain agreed to Germany building a naval fleet with the signing of

2760-646: A worthy successor to Constantinople, and with that object invited many foreign masters and artificers to settle in Moscow. Ivan's most notable construction was the rebuilding of the Kremlin in Moscow. The most noted of these architects was the Italian Ridolfo di Fioravante , nicknamed "Aristotle" because of his extraordinary knowledge, who built several cathedrals and palaces in the Kremlin, and also supervised

2898-682: Is marked as the end of the "Tatar yoke" over Russia. In the following year, Ahmed Khan, while preparing a second expedition against Moscow, was suddenly attacked, routed and slain by Khan Ibak of the Nogai Horde , whereupon the Golden Horde suddenly fell to pieces. In 1487, Ivan reduced the Khanate of Kazan, one of the offshoots of the Horde, to the condition of a vassal state , though in his later years, it broke away from his suzerainty . With

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3036-570: Is unknown whether Andrey Menshoy signed a treaty. He died in 1481, leaving his lands to Ivan. In 1491, Andrey Bolshoy was arrested by Ivan for refusing to aid the Crimean Khanate against the Golden Horde . He died in prison in 1493, and Ivan seized his land. In 1494, Boris, the only brother able to pass his land to his sons, died. However, their land reverted to the tsar upon their deaths in 1503 and 1515 respectively. The character of

3174-466: The Schutzstaffel (SS) and Gestapo to purge the entire SA leadership. Hitler targeted SA Stabschef (Chief of Staff) Ernst Röhm and other SA leaders who—along with a number of Hitler's political adversaries (such as Gregor Strasser and former chancellor Kurt von Schleicher )—were arrested and shot. Up to 200 people were killed from 30 June to 2 July 1934 in an event that became known as

3312-579: The Völkisch movement . The party, especially its paramilitary organisation Sturmabteilung (SA; Storm Detachment), or Brownshirts, used physical violence to advance their political position, disrupting the meetings of rival organisations and attacking their members as well as Jewish people on the streets. Such far-right armed groups were common in Bavaria , and were tolerated by the sympathetic far-right state government of Gustav Ritter von Kahr . When

3450-541: The 6th Army could be supplied by air, but this turned out to be infeasible. Hitler's refusal to allow a retreat led to the deaths of 200,000 German and Romanian soldiers; of the 91,000 men who surrendered in the city on 31 January 1943, only 6,000 survivors returned to Germany after the war. Losses continued to mount after Stalingrad, leading to a sharp reduction in the popularity of the Nazi Party and deteriorating morale. Soviet forces continued to push westward after

3588-745: The Anglo-German Naval Agreement on 18 June 1935. When the Italian invasion of Ethiopia led to only mild protests by the British and French governments, on 7 March 1936 Hitler used the Franco-Soviet Treaty of Mutual Assistance as a pretext to order the army to march 3,000 troops into the demilitarised zone in the Rhineland in violation of the Versailles Treaty. As the territory was part of Germany,

3726-634: The Anschluss of 1938. The Munich Agreement of 1938 gave Germany control of the Sudetenland, and they seized the remainder of Czechoslovakia six months later. Under threat of invasion by sea, Lithuania surrendered the Memel district in March 1939. Between 1939 and 1941, German forces invaded Poland , Denmark , Norway , France , Luxembourg , the Netherlands , Belgium , Yugoslavia , Greece , and

3864-523: The Battle of Berlin (16 April – 2 May 1945), Hitler and his staff lived in the underground Führerbunker while the Red Army approached. On 30 April, when Soviet troops were within two blocks of the Reich Chancellery , Hitler and his wife Eva Braun committed suicide . On 2 May, General Helmuth Weidling unconditionally surrendered Berlin to Soviet General Vasily Chuikov . Hitler

4002-738: The Communist Party of Germany were arrested. On 23 March 1933, the Enabling Act , an amendment to the Weimar Constitution , passed in the Reichstag by a vote of 444 to 94. This amendment allowed Hitler and his cabinet to pass laws—even laws that violated the constitution—without the consent of the president or the Reichstag. As the bill required a two-thirds majority to pass, the Nazis used intimidation tactics as well as

4140-633: The German Empire (1871–1918) as the second. Severe setbacks to the German economy began after World War I ended, partly because of reparations payments required under the 1919 Treaty of Versailles . The government printed money to make the payments and to repay the country's war debt, but the resulting hyperinflation led to inflated prices, economic chaos, and food riots. When the government defaulted on their reparations payments in January 1923, French troops occupied German industrial areas along

4278-743: The German Reich and later the Greater German Reich , was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictatorship . The Third Reich , meaning "Third Realm" or "Third Empire", referred to the Nazi claim that Nazi Germany was the successor to the earlier Holy Roman Empire (800/962–1806) and German Empire (1871–1918). The Third Reich, which

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4416-647: The Great Northern War and the Livonian War . As well, there are models of fortresses in the surrounding region and armaments, and documents and letters related to famous people such as Fyodor Dostoyevsky , exhibited in the fortress museum. 59°22′28.24″N 28°12′26.48″E  /  59.3745111°N 28.2073556°E  / 59.3745111; 28.2073556 Ivan III of Russia Ivan III Vasilyevich ( Russian : Иван III Васильевич ; 22 January 1440 – 27 October 1505), also known as Ivan

4554-627: The Habsburgs , Ivan was offered the title of king ( rex ) if he would join the alliance against Turkey, but he rejected such offers and continued his own policy, laying claim to the Kievan legacy and adopting the title of autocrat ( samoderzhets ), sovereign ( gosudar ) of the Russian land, and grand prince of Moscow and all Russia. Beginning in 1484, Ivan began to use the title of tsar in his foreign correspondence with secondary powers in Europe including

4692-565: The Hague Convention , industrial firms in the Netherlands, France, and Belgium were put to work producing war materiel for Germany. The Nazis seized from the French thousands of locomotives and rolling stock, stockpiles of weapons, and raw materials such as copper, tin, oil, and nickel. Payments for occupation costs were levied upon France, Belgium, and Norway. Barriers to trade led to hoarding, black markets , and uncertainty about

4830-719: The Holy Roman Empire in 1489, the Kingdom of Denmark in 1493, and the Ottoman Empire in 1496. The outline of Russian foreign policy for the next several generations was shaped during Ivan's reign, where his successors would continue to struggle with Poland and Lithuania over the territories of the East Slavs, while a more differentiated policy was pursued towards the Muslim khanates, with attempts at subjugating

4968-533: The Holy See , Ivan III wedded Sophia Palaiologina (also known under her original name Zoe) in 1472, daughter of Thomas Palaeologus , despot of Morea , who claimed the throne of Constantinople as the brother of Constantine XI , the last Byzantine emperor. Frustrating the Pope's hopes of reuniting the two faiths, the princess endorsed Eastern Orthodoxy . Due to her family traditions, she encouraged imperial ideas in

5106-582: The Khanate of Kazan and neutralizing the Crimean Khanate . In 1476, Ivan refused to pay the customary tribute to Ahmed Khan , and in 1480, Ahmed Khan launched an invasion of Russia. Throughout the autumn, the Muscovite and Tatar hosts confronted each other on opposite sides of the Ugra River until 11 November 1480, when Ahmed retreated into the steppe . In traditional Russian historiography, it

5244-511: The League of Nations in October, claiming its disarmament clauses were unfair if they applied only to Germany. In a referendum held in November , 95 per cent of voters supported Germany's withdrawal. In 1934, Hitler told his military leaders that rearmament needed to be complete by 1942, as by then the German people would require more living space and resources, so Germany would have to start

5382-597: The Livonian Order . At times the title was translated as imperator , such as in a 1493 treaty with Denmark where Ivan was called "domino Johanne totius Rutzie imperator". Ivan also began insisting on the title to the Habsburgs in 1489, and he continued to portray himself to his subjects and foreign states as the Orthodox emperor. Whenever was possible in diplomatic situations, Ivan and his representatives would refer to him as tsar. According to Isabel de Madariaga , had

5520-791: The Low Countries . They quickly conquered Luxembourg and the Netherlands and outmanoeuvred the Allies in Belgium , forcing the evacuation of many British and French troops at Dunkirk . France fell as well, surrendering to Germany on 22 June . The victory in France resulted in an upswing in Hitler's popularity and an upsurge in war fever in Germany. In violation of the provisions of

5658-591: The Moscow Kremlin and introduced a new legal code . Ivan is credited with ending the dominance of the Tatars over Russia; his victory over the Great Horde in 1480 formally restored its independence. Ivan began using the title tsar , and used the title tentatively until the Habsburgs recognized it. While officially using "tsar" in his correspondence with other monarchs, he was satisfied with

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5796-420: The Nazi euthanasia program . Political courts called Sondergerichte sentenced some 12,000 members of the German resistance to death, and civil courts sentenced an additional 40,000 Germans. Mass rapes of German women also took place. As a result of their defeat in World War I and the resulting Treaty of Versailles, Germany lost Alsace-Lorraine , Northern Schleswig , and Memel . The Saarland became

5934-499: The Night of the Long Knives . On 2 August 1934, Hindenburg died. The previous day, the cabinet had enacted the " Law Concerning the Head of State of the German Reich ", which stated that upon Hindenburg's death the office of Reich President would be abolished and its powers merged with those of Reich Chancellor. Hitler thus became head of state as well as head of government and was formally named as Führer und Reichskanzler ("Leader and Chancellor"), although eventually Reichskanzler

6072-409: The Ruhr and widespread civil unrest followed. The National Socialist German Workers' Party ( Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei ), commonly known as the Nazi Party, was founded in 1920. It was the renamed successor of the German Workers' Party (DAP) formed one year earlier, and one of several far-right political parties then active. The Nazi Party platform included destruction of

6210-417: The Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia. Germany signed a non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union and invaded Poland on 1 September 1939, launching World War II in Europe . In alliance with Italy and other Axis powers , Germany conquered most of Europe by 1940 and threatened Great Britain. Racism , Nazi eugenics , anti-Slavism , and especially antisemitism were central ideological features of

6348-414: The federal election of 1932 , the party was the largest in the Reichstag , holding 230 seats with 37.4 per cent of the popular vote. Although the Nazis won the greatest share of the popular vote in the two Reichstag general elections of 1932, they did not have a majority. Hitler refused to participate in a coalition government unless he was its leader. Under pressure from politicians, industrialists, and

6486-515: The veche and several others of the pro-Moscow faction were killed with him) and swore openly in front of the Moscow ambassadors that they would turn to Lithuania again, he marched against them. Surrounded by Ivan's army, Novgorod ultimately recognized Ivan's direct rule over the city and its vast hinterland in a document signed and sealed by Archbishop Feofil of Novgorod (1470–1480) on 15 January 1478. Ivan dispossessed Novgorod of more than four-fifths of its land, keeping half for himself and giving

6624-442: The 16th century. The castle was in development until the 17th century, becoming a large, sprawling fortress with several lines of defence. The Treaty of Teusina (1595) returned the fortress to Russia. In 1612, the Swedish Empire conquered the fortress, which was defended by a voivode , Fyodor Aminev (b 1560s, d 1628) and his sons. By the Treaty of Stolbova , Ingria was ceded to Gustav II Adolf , king of Sweden . In 1704, Peter

6762-407: The Allied bombing campaign became even more devastating. By targeting oil refineries and factories, they crippled the German war effort by late 1944. On 6 June 1944, American, British, and Canadian forces established a front in France with the D-Day landings in Normandy . On 20 July 1944 , Hitler survived an assassination attempt. He ordered brutal reprisals, resulting in 7,000 arrests and

6900-405: The British and French governments did not feel that attempting to enforce the treaty was worth the risk of war. In the one-party election held on 29 March, the Nazis received 98.9 per cent support. In 1936, Hitler signed an Anti-Comintern Pact with Japan and a non-aggression agreement with Mussolini, who was soon referring to a "Rome-Berlin Axis". Hitler sent military supplies and assistance to

7038-573: The German National People's Party – their former coalition partners – which then disbanded on 29 June. The remaining major political parties followed suit. On 14 July 1933 Germany became a one-party state with the passage of the Law Against the Formation of Parties , decreeing the Nazi Party to be the sole legal party in Germany. The founding of new parties was also made illegal, and all remaining political parties which had not already been dissolved were banned. Further elections in November 1933 , 1936 , and 1938 were Nazi-controlled, with only members of

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7176-411: The German state in the Nazi era are "Nazi Germany" and the "Third Reich", which Hitler and the Nazis also referred to as the "Thousand-Year Reich" ( Tausendjähriges Reich ). The latter, a translation of the Nazi propaganda term Drittes Reich , was first used in Das Dritte Reich , a 1923 book by Arthur Moeller van den Bruck . The book counted the Holy Roman Empire (962–1806) as the first Reich and

7314-433: The Grace of God, Sovereign of all Russia and Grand Prince of Vladimir, and Moscow, and Novgorod, and Pskov, and Tver, and Yugorsk, and Perm, and Bulgar, and others". Following his marriage to Sophia Palaiologina , Ivan combined the double-headed eagle with his emblem of St. George slaying the dragon . 1.By Maria of Tver 2.By Sophia Palaiologina Nazi Germany Nazi Germany , officially known as

7452-402: The Great captured the castle from Swedish troops, bringing the fortress back into Russian control. Inside the fortress, there are two churches: one is dedicated to the Virgin's Assumption (1496) and the other to St Nicholas (built in the late 16th century but later reconstructed). After the early 18th century, the military role of the fortress dwindled due to technological advances. In 1728,

7590-436: The Great , was Grand Prince of Moscow and all Russia from 1462 until his death in 1505. Ivan served as the co-ruler and regent for his blind father Vasily II before he officially ascended the throne. He multiplied the territory of his state through conquest, purchase, inheritance and the seizure of lands from his dynastic relatives, and laid the foundations of the centralized Russian state. He also renovated

7728-404: The Kievan metropolitans and clerics of the Russian Orthodox Church having been Greeks. The Russians had also long called the Byzantine emperor tsar , and had known of the South Slavic writers who gave the title to their most successful rulers. A Serbian monk who had arrived in Moscow in the early 1440s helped to provide the foundation for the title, having composed a "chronograph" which included

7866-410: The Narva river as the new administrative border between the Estonian SSR and Russian SFSR , and as a result the Ivangorod fortress transferred from Narva to the Kingiseppsky District of Leningrad Oblast . In August 1991, after the restoration of the independent Republic of Estonia, the town and fortress remained with Russian SFSR, and thereafter with the Russian Federation after the dissolution of

8004-445: The Nationalist forces of General Francisco Franco in the Spanish Civil War , which began in July 1936. The German Condor Legion included a range of aircraft and their crews, as well as a tank contingent. The aircraft of the Legion destroyed the city of Guernica in 1937. The Nationalists were victorious in 1939 and became an informal ally of Nazi Germany. In February 1938, Hitler emphasised to Austrian Chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg

8142-482: The Nazis referred to as the Thousand-Year Reich , ended in May 1945, after only 12 years, when the Allies defeated Germany and entered the capital, Berlin , ending World War II in Europe . After Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany by the President of the Weimar Republic Paul von Hindenburg on 30 January 1933, the Nazi Party began to eliminate political opposition and consolidate power. Hindenburg died on 2 August 1934, and Hitler became dictator by merging

8280-570: The Novgorodian boyars questioned Ivan's sovereignty over the city-state as their prince . Novgorod negotiated with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and requested Casimir IV to send them a prince. This led to Mikhailo Olelkovich , Ivan's cousin, to be accepted as the new prince, though he would step down as prince shortly after. Ivan saw the actions of Novgorod as a cause for war, and he also called it an act of apostasy from Orthodoxy (in part, because Poland and its monarchs were Catholic ). Ivan led his troops to Novgorod where his army defeated

8418-434: The Novgorodians at the Battle of Shelon on 14 July 1471. Ivan then had the four leaders of the anti-Moscow faction in Novgorod executed, including the son of Marfa Boretskaya , an influential boyar woman who had played a leading role in the faction. In a peace treaty signed on 11 August 1471, Novgorod agreed to abandon its overtures to Lithuania and to cede a considerable portion of its northern territories, while paying

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8556-421: The Party and a small number of independents elected. All civilian organisations had their leadership replaced with Nazi sympathisers or party members, and either merged with the Nazi Party or faced dissolution. The Nazi government declared a "Day of National Labor" for May Day 1933, and invited many trade union delegates to Berlin for celebrations. The day after, SA stormtroopers demolished union offices around

8694-403: The Polish Corridor but greatly expanding German territory eastward at the expense of Poland. He expected this time they would be met by force. The Germans reaffirmed their alliance with Italy and signed non-aggression pacts with Denmark, Estonia, and Latvia whilst trade links were formalised with Romania, Norway, and Sweden. Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop arranged in negotiations with

8832-402: The RAF in what became known as the Battle of Britain , and by the end of October, Hitler realised that air superiority would not be achieved. He permanently postponed the invasion, a plan which the commanders of the German army had never taken entirely seriously. Several historians, including Andrew Gordon , believe the primary reason for the failure of the invasion plan was the superiority of

8970-456: The Royal Navy, not the actions of the RAF. In February 1941, the German Afrika Korps arrived in Libya to aid the Italians in the North African Campaign . On 6 April, Germany launched an invasion of Yugoslavia and Greece . All of Yugoslavia and parts of Greece were subsequently divided between Germany, Hungary, Italy, and Bulgaria. On 22 June 1941, contravening the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, about 3.8 million Axis troops attacked

9108-442: The Russian Orthodox Church had earlier declared itself autocephalous in 1448, and a native metropolitan was installed in Moscow. The transformation to absolutism was supported by the Russian Orthodox Church, which benefitted from Moscow's increased international standing, with the doctrine of Moscow as the " third Rome " beginning to emerge. Ivan's son with Maria of Tver , Ivan Ivanovich , whom he had designated as his heir and

9246-621: The Russian lands but also implied claims to other territories inhabited by the East Slavs which were under the control of the Lithuanian grand dukes, and would later lead to conflict with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Other principalities were eventually absorbed by conquest, purchase, or marriage contract: the Principality of Yaroslavl in 1463, Rostov in 1474, Tver in 1485, and Vyatka 1489. Ivan also increased Moscow's dominance over Pskov, with his son and successor Vasily III formally annexing it in 1510. Prince Mikhail Andreyevich of Vereya , who had been awarded an appanage by Vasily II,

9384-576: The Russian monarchs as their natural allies against the Muslim regional powers. The first attempt at forging an alliance was made by Alexander I , king of a small Georgian kingdom of Kakheti , who dispatched two embassies, in 1483 and 1491, to Moscow. However, as the Russians were still too far from the Caucasus, neither of these missions had any effect on the course of events in the region. In 1488, Ivan sought gun founders, master gunners for siege cannons, gold and silversmiths, and Italian master builders from King Matthias Corvinus . In his dealings with

9522-454: The Russian-Estonian border, opposite the fortress of Narva held by the Livonian Confederation . In the Russo-Swedish War , Ivan unsuccessfully attempted to conquer Vyborg from Sweden , but this attempt was checked by the Swedish garrison in Vyborg Castle led by Lord Knut Posse . Ivan deemed Moscow to be the legitimate heir to the territories that formerly belonged to Kievan Rus' , leading to wars with Lithuania, including skirmishes in

9660-420: The Soviet Union in December 1991. Currently, the fortress serves as a museum. The history and art museum of the Ivangorod fortress exhibits paintings of Ivan Bilibin , Alexandra Shchekotikhina-Pototskaya and other artists. Also, local history and tradition are explained by some of the museum's exhibits, such as archeological finds encountered in the surrounding areas. There is a permanent exhibition devoted to

9798-493: The Soviet Union a non-aggression pact, the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact , signed in August 1939. The treaty also contained secret protocols dividing Poland and the Baltic states into German and Soviet spheres of influence. Germany's wartime foreign policy involved the creation of allied governments controlled directly or indirectly from Berlin. They intended to obtain soldiers from allies such as Italy and Hungary and workers and food supplies from allies such as Vichy France . Hungary

9936-634: The Soviet Union attacked from the east on 17 September. Reinhard Heydrich , chief of the Sicherheitspolizei (SiPo; Security Police) and Sicherheitsdienst (SD; Security Service), ordered on 21 September that Polish Jews should be rounded up and concentrated into cities with good rail links. Initially the intention was to deport them further east, or possibly to Madagascar . Using lists prepared in advance , some 65,000 Polish intelligentsia, noblemen, clergy, and teachers were murdered by

10074-722: The Soviet Union in 1941, Nazi Germany attempted to implement the Generalplan Ost and Hunger Plan , as part of its war of extermination in Eastern Europe. The Soviet resurgence and entry of the US into the war meant Germany lost the initiative in 1943 and by late 1944 had been pushed back to the 1939 border. Large-scale aerial bombing of Germany escalated and the Axis powers were driven back in Eastern and Southern Europe. Germany

10212-498: The Soviet Union. In addition to Hitler's stated purpose of acquiring Lebensraum , this large-scale offensive—codenamed Operation Barbarossa —was intended to destroy the Soviet Union and seize its natural resources for subsequent aggression against the Western powers. The reaction among Germans was one of surprise and trepidation as many were concerned about how much longer the war would continue or suspected that Germany could not win

10350-545: The United States. Food was in short supply in the conquered areas of the Soviet Union and Poland, as the retreating armies had burned the crops in some areas, and much of the remainder was sent back to the Reich. In Germany, rations were cut in 1942. In his role as Plenipotentiary of the Four Year Plan , Hermann Göring demanded increased shipments of grain from France and fish from Norway. The 1942 harvest

10488-562: The Weimar Republic, rejection of the Treaty of Versailles, radical antisemitism , and anti- Bolshevism . They promised a strong central government, increased Lebensraum ("living space") for Germanic peoples, formation of a national community based on race, and racial cleansing via the active suppression of Jews , who would be stripped of their citizenship and civil rights. The Nazis proposed national and cultural renewal based upon

10626-500: The blockade, imports into Germany declined by 80 per cent. To safeguard Swedish iron ore shipments to Germany, Hitler ordered the invasion of Denmark and Norway , which began on 9 April. Denmark fell after less than a day , while most of Norway followed by the end of the month. By early June, Germany occupied all of Norway . Against the advice of many of his senior military officers, in May 1940 Hitler ordered an attack on France and

10764-520: The business community, President Paul von Hindenburg appointed Hitler as Chancellor of Germany on 30 January 1933. This event is known as the Machtergreifung ("seizure of power"). On the night of 27 February 1933, the Reichstag building was set afire . Marinus van der Lubbe , a Dutch communist, was found guilty of starting the blaze. Hitler proclaimed that the arson marked the start of

10902-404: The center of Russian Orthodoxy as opposed to Lithuania, where Catholicism was dominant and its culture was being increasingly polonized , though some Novgorodian clergy adopted a pro-Lithuanian policy for political reasons due to fears that embracing the grand prince of Moscow would eventually lead to the end of Novgorod's independence. By 1470, with the pro-Lithuanian faction being dominant,

11040-513: The churches. The Nazi regime abolished the symbols of the Weimar Republic—including the black, red, and gold tricolour flag —and adopted reworked symbolism. The previous imperial black, white, and red tricolour was restored as one of Germany's two official flags; the second was the swastika flag of the Nazi Party, which became the sole national flag in September 1935. The Party anthem " Horst-Wessel-Lied " ("Horst Wessel Song") became

11178-641: The city in 1514. Ivan conquered or brought under his control the lands of " Great Russia ", leading to Russian historians to call him the "gatherer of the Russian lands". Ivan therefore arguably became best known for his consolidation of Muscovite rule; his contemporaries and later historians saw Ivan as a skilled politician who was consistent and efficient in the construction of a unified and autocratic Russian state. His predecessors had increased Moscow's territory from less than 600 square miles (1,600 square kilometres) under Ivan II ( r.  1353–1359 ) to more than 15,000 square miles (39,000 square kilometres) at

11316-411: The command of Prince Ivan Gundar and Mikhail Klyapin. Three thousand troops arrived to retake the castle, rebuild it, and construct a new barracks and stronger bastions. For almost 10 years, the land around the castle was in constant warfare. The fortress and the land around changed hands repeatedly. The castle was reconstructed and fortified many times, becoming one of the strongest defensive structures in

11454-668: The construction of the walls of the Kremlin. These include the Dormition Cathedral and Palace of Facets . Construction of the Ivan the Great Bell Tower also started in 1505, which was completed after his death. Moscow played an increasingly visible role in international affairs as it established diplomatic relations with the Crimean Khanate and the Republic of Venice in 1474, the Kingdom of Hungary in 1482,

11592-603: The country; all trade unions were forced to dissolve and their leaders were arrested. The Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service , passed in April, removed from their jobs all teachers, professors, judges, magistrates, and government officials who were Jewish or whose commitment to the party was suspect. This meant the only non-political institutions not under control of the Nazis were

11730-501: The daughter of an appanage prince and a granddaughter of Vladimir the Bold . The first time Ivan is called heir and grand prince in treaties between his father and other Russian princes is in a treaty with Ivan Vasilyevich of Suzdal dating from 1448 or 1449. The title of grand prince is not included in a treaty with Casimir IV of Poland dating from 13 August 1449, but appears again in treaties with Vasily Yaroslavich of Serpukhov in

11868-437: The early 1450s. Ivan had four brothers: Yury, Andrey Bolshoy ("the big"), Boris, and Andrey Menshoy ("the little"). In the same will that Vasily II had given Ivan III the grand principality, his brothers were awarded appanages. Yury was given Dmitrov , Mozhaysk and Serpukhov , Andrey Bolshoy was given Uglich , Bezhetsk and Verkh and Zvenigorod , Boris was given Volokolamsk , Rzhev and Ruza , while Andrey Menshoy

12006-512: The east of Vyatka in the late 15th century, some of whom had fled eastward as far as the Ob River , but by 1500, they were all paying tribute. Whereas his father Vasily II followed the custom of dividing the realm between his sons, seeing this as a cause for weakness and instability, Ivan consolidated his exclusive control over Muscovy during his reign. Ivan's refusal to share his conquests with his brothers, and his subsequent interference with

12144-563: The electorate in a plebiscite . Most Germans were relieved that the conflicts and street fighting of the Weimar era had ended. They were deluged with propaganda orchestrated by Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda Joseph Goebbels , who promised peace and plenty for all in a united, Marxist-free country without the constraints of the Versailles Treaty. The Nazi Party obtained and legitimised power through its initial revolutionary activities, then through manipulation of legal mechanisms,

12282-406: The end of Vasily II 's reign. It remained for Ivan III to absorb Moscow's old rivals, Novgorod and Tver, and establish virtually a single rule over what had been appanages . Although the circumstances surrounding the acquisitions varied, the results were basically the same: former sovereign or semi-autonomous principalities were reduced to the status of provinces of Moscow, while their princes joined

12420-529: The end of 1939 in an attempt to destroy Poland's identity as a nation. Soviet forces advanced into Finland in the Winter War , and German forces saw action at sea. But little other activity occurred until May, so the period became known as the " Phoney War ". From the start of the war, a British blockade on shipments to Germany affected its economy. Germany was particularly dependent on foreign supplies of oil, coal, and grain. Thanks to trade embargoes and

12558-602: The establishment of the Nuremberg Laws of 1935, which stripped them of their basic rights. The Nazis would take from the Jews their wealth, their right to intermarry with non-Jews, and their right to occupy many fields of labour (such as law, medicine, or education). Eventually the Nazis declared the Jews as undesirable to remain among German citizens and society. As early as February 1933, Hitler announced that rearmament must begin, albeit clandestinely at first, as to do so

12696-473: The execution of more than 4,900 people. The failed Ardennes Offensive (16 December 1944 – 25 January 1945) was the last major German offensive on the western front, and Soviet forces entered Germany on 27 January. Hitler's refusal to admit defeat and his insistence that the war be fought to the last man led to unnecessary death and destruction in the war's closing months. Through his Justice Minister Otto Georg Thierack , Hitler ordered that anyone who

12834-1126: The failed German offensive at the Battle of Kursk in the summer of 1943. By the end of 1943, the Germans had lost most of their eastern territorial gains. In Egypt, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel 's Afrika Korps were defeated by British forces under Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery in October 1942. The Allies landed in Sicily in July 1943 and were on the Italian peninsula by September. Meanwhile, American and British bomber fleets based in Britain began operations against Germany . Many sorties were intentionally given civilian targets in an effort to destroy German morale. The bombing of aircraft factories as well as Peenemünde Army Research Center , where V-1 and V-2 rockets were being developed and produced, were also deemed particularly important. German aircraft production could not keep pace with losses, and without air cover

12972-535: The first half of the 20th century, the fortress played no significant role in fighting. During World War II , after the Soviet invasion and annexation of Estonia in 1940, the fortress was first controlled by the USSR (1940–1941) and then by Nazi Germany (1941–1944), which established two POW camps within the fortress and left many of its buildings damaged after their retreat. In January 1945 Soviet authorities defined

13110-647: The fortress was captured by the Germans on 25 February 1918. The Imperial Russian Army had been relying on it and similar fortresses to halt the Imperial German Army advance during the Great Retreat , but they ended up outmatched against modern military technologies such as heavy artillery . From 1919 to 1940, the fortress belonged to Estonia . During 1920 - 1921, the fortress was used as transit camp for former POWs being repatriated to Germany and to Russia. Despite changing hands several times in

13248-668: The future. Food supplies were precarious; production dropped in most of Europe. Famine was experienced in many occupied countries. Hitler's peace overtures to the new British Prime Minister Winston Churchill were rejected in July 1940. Grand Admiral Erich Raeder had advised Hitler in June that air superiority was a pre-condition for a successful invasion of Britain , so Hitler ordered a series of aerial attacks on Royal Air Force (RAF) airbases and radar stations, as well as nightly air raids on British cities, including London , Plymouth , and Coventry . The German Luftwaffe failed to defeat

13386-608: The government of Moscow changed significantly under Ivan III, taking on a new autocratic form, as Moscow increased its hegemony , but also to new imperial pretensions. After the fall of Constantinople , Orthodox canonists were inclined to regard the grand princes of Moscow , where the Metropolitan of Kiev moved in 1325 after the Mongol invasions, as the successors of the Byzantine emperors . Ivan himself appeared to welcome

13524-411: The grand prince. The rival republic of Pskov owed the continuance of its own political existence to the readiness with which it assisted Ivan against its old enemy. The acquisition of Novgorod alone nearly doubled the size of his realm. Soon after the formal annexation of Novgorod, Ivan assumed the title of sovereign of all Russia ( gosudar vseya Rusi ); the title reflected his achievements in uniting

13662-626: The idea of Moscow as the true successor to Byzantium and, hence, to Rome. An impressive building program in Moscow took place under Ivan, directed primarily by Italian artists and craftsmen. New buildings were erected in the Kremlin in Moscow, and its walls were strengthened and furnished with towers and gates. In 1475, Ivan III established the first cannon foundry of Russia in Moscow, which started native cannon production. The British historian J. L. I. Fennell emphasizes Ivan's military and economic success, as well as his success in centralizing control over local rulers; however, he stated that his reign

13800-402: The idea, and he began to use the title of tsar in foreign correspondence, meaning caesar . The adoption of Byzantine symbolism and its ceremonial style in effect allowed for the Muscovite grand prince to claim the powers of that of a Byzantine emperor . Russian ruling circles were already well aware of Byzantine traditions, including the court, hierarchy, and symbolism, due in part to most of

13938-414: The internal politics of their inherited principalities, involved him in several wars with them, from which, though the princes were assisted by Lithuania, he emerged victorious. Finally, Ivan's new rule of government, formally set forth in his last will to the effect that the domains of all his kinsfolk, after their deaths, should pass directly to the reigning grand prince instead of reverting, as hitherto, to

14076-460: The late 1480s and early 1490s. The further extension of his dominion was facilitated by the death of Casimir IV in 1492, when Poland and Lithuania once again parted company. The throne of Lithuania was now occupied by Casimir's son Alexander , a weak and lethargic prince so incapable of defending his possessions against the persistent attacks of the Muscovites that he attempted to save them by

14214-456: The marriage fitted well into the general trend of elevating the Muscovite ruler. Following his second marriage, Ivan developed a complicated court ceremonial on the Byzantine model and began to use the title of "tsar" and "autocrat". Also during the reign of Ivan and his son, Vasily III, Moscow came to be referred to by spokesmen as the third Rome . Philotheos , a monk from Pskov, developed

14352-471: The mind of her consort. It was through her influence that the ceremonious etiquette of Constantinople (along with the imperial double-headed eagle and all that it implied) was adopted by the court of Moscow. Ivan combined the double-headed eagle with his emblem of St. George slaying the dragon ; his family seal became and remained a symbol of the Russian tsars until the monarchy was abolished in 1917. Ivan's marriage would add to Moscow's prestige after

14490-478: The need for Germany to secure its frontiers. Schuschnigg scheduled a plebiscite regarding Austrian independence for 13 March, but Hitler sent an ultimatum to Schuschnigg on 11 March demanding that he hand over all power to the Austrian Nazi Party or face an invasion. German troops entered Austria the next day, to be greeted with enthusiasm by the populace. The Republic of Czechoslovakia was home to

14628-598: The other Muslim powers, the khan of the Crimean Khanate and the sultans of the Ottoman Empire , Ivan's relations were peaceful and even amicable. The Crimean khan, Meñli I Giray , helped him against the Grand Duchy of Lithuania , and facilitated the opening of diplomatic relations between Moscow and Constantinople , where the first embassy appeared in 1495. The Christian rulers in the Caucasus began to see

14766-418: The other half to his allies. Subsequent revolts (1479–1488) were punished by the removal en masse of the richest and most ancient families of Novgorod to Moscow, Vyatka , and other cities. Many merchants, landholders, and boyars were replaced with loyalists who came from Moscow. The Novgorod veche and its elected offices were also abolished. Archbishop Feofil was also removed to Moscow for plotting against

14904-497: The plan, as Germany was not yet ready for war. The crisis led to war preparations by Britain, Czechoslovakia, and France (Czechoslovakia's ally). Attempting to avoid war, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain arranged a series of meetings, the result of which was the Munich Agreement , signed on 29 September 1938. The Czechoslovak government was forced to accept the Sudetenland's annexation into Germany. Chamberlain

15042-551: The powers of the chancellery and presidency. A 1934 German referendum confirmed Hitler as sole Führer (leader). Power was centralised in Hitler's person, and his word became the highest law. The government was not a coordinated, cooperating body, but rather a collection of factions struggling to amass power. In the midst of the Great Depression , the Nazis restored economic stability and ended mass unemployment using heavy military spending. Financed by deficit spending ,

15180-625: The princes' heirs, put an end once and for all to these semi-independent princelings. Ivan had four brothers. The eldest, Yury, died childless on 12 September 1472. He only had a draft of a will that said nothing about his land. Ivan seized the land, much to the fury of the surviving brothers, whom he placated with some land. Boris and Andrey Bolshoy signed treaties with Vasily in February and September 1473. They agreed to protect each other's land and not to have secret dealings with foreign states; they broke this clause in 1480, fleeing to Lithuania. It

15318-535: The prophecy of a "Russian" clan coming to rule in Constantinople. He also referred to the Muscovite grand prince as the "Orthodox tsar and autocrat" following the Council of Florence . This movement coincided with a change in the family circumstances of Ivan III. After the death of his first consort in 1467, Maria of Tver , and at the suggestion of Pope Paul II in 1469, who hoped thereby to bind Moscow to

15456-606: The provisions of the Reichstag Fire Decree to keep several Social Democratic deputies from attending, and the Communists had already been banned. The Enabling Act would subsequently serve as the legal foundation for the dictatorship the Nazis established. On 10 May, the government seized the assets of the Social Democrats, and they were banned on 22 June. On 21 June, the SA raided the offices of

15594-494: The ranks of the Muscovite service nobility. After the death of his first wife in 1467, Ivan married Sophia (Zoë) Palaiologina in 1472, a Byzantine princess and niece of the last Byzantine emperor, Constantine XI , who was killed in battle in 1453. The Vatican sponsored the marriage in hope of bringing Moscow under the sway of the Pope and of establishing a broad front against the Turks, a goal that failed. From Ivan's point of view,

15732-589: The regime undertook extensive public works projects, including the Autobahnen (motorways) and a massive secret rearmament program , forming the Wehrmacht (armed forces). The return to economic stability boosted the regime's popularity. Germany made increasingly aggressive territorial demands, threatening war if they were not met. Germany seized Austria in the Anschluss of 1938, and demanded and received

15870-793: The regime. The Germanic peoples were considered by the Nazis to be the " master race ", the purest branch of the Aryan race. Jews , Romani people , Slavs , homosexuals , liberals , socialists , communists , other political opponents, Jehovah's Witnesses , Freemasons , those who refused to work , and other "undesirables" were imprisoned, deported , or murdered. Christian churches and citizens that opposed Hitler's rule were oppressed and leaders imprisoned. Education focused on racial biology , population policy, and fitness for military service. Career and educational opportunities for women were curtailed . Nazi Propaganda Ministry disseminated films, antisemitic canards , and organized mass rallies; fostering

16008-460: The stock market in the United States crashed in 1929 , the effect in Germany was dire. Millions were thrown out of work and several major banks collapsed. Hitler and the Nazis prepared to take advantage of the emergency to gain support for their party. They promised to strengthen the economy and provide jobs. Many voters decided the Nazi Party was capable of restoring order, quelling civil unrest, and improving Germany's international reputation. After

16146-473: The title of Russian monarchs continued to be translated as rex , Russia's assimilation into the ranking order of states in Europe would have been much easier. In Nordic affairs, Ivan concluded an offensive alliance with John of Denmark and maintained regular correspondence with Emperor Maximilian I , who called him a "brother". He built a strong citadel in Ingria , named Ivangorod after himself, situated on

16284-480: The title of grand prince at home. Through marriage to Sophia Palaiologina , Ivan made the double-headed eagle Russia's coat of arms , and adopted the idea of Moscow as the third Rome . His 43-year reign was the second-longest in Russian history , after that of his grandson Ivan IV . Ivan Vasilyevich was born on 22 January 1440 into the family of Vasily II , the grand prince of Moscow , and Maria of Borovsk ,

16422-582: The total German war dead range from 5.5 to 6.9 million persons. A study by German historian Rüdiger Overmans puts the number of German military dead and missing at 5.3 million, including 900,000 men conscripted from outside of Germany's 1937 borders. Richard Overy estimated in 2014 that about 353,000 civilians were killed in Allied air raids. Other civilian deaths include 300,000 Germans (including Jews) who were victims of Nazi political, racial, and religious persecution and 200,000 who were murdered in

16560-421: The use of police powers, and by taking control of the state and federal institutions. The first major Nazi concentration camp , initially for political prisoners, was opened at Dachau in 1933. Hundreds of camps of varying size and function were created by the end of the war. Beginning in April 1933, scores of measures defining the status of Jews and their rights were instituted. These measures culminated in

16698-494: The war drew to a close. Suicide rates in Germany increased, particularly in areas where the Red Army was advancing. Among soldiers and party personnel, suicide was often deemed an honourable and heroic alternative to surrender. First-hand accounts and propaganda about the uncivilised behaviour of the advancing Soviet troops caused panic among civilians on the Eastern Front, especially women, who feared being raped. More than

16836-400: Was a more severe penalty compared to that of the earlier Russkaya Pravda . It restricted the mobility of peasants, also requiring an exit fee to be paid to the landlords, which were in the interests of the new noble class. Ivan therefore laid the groundwork for serfdom , which would negatively impact Russia's development in the following centuries. Ivan did his utmost to make his capital

16974-494: Was a powerful ally, the relationship was distant, with little co-ordination or co-operation. For example, Germany refused to share their formula for synthetic oil from coal until late in the war. Germany invaded Poland and captured the Free City of Danzig on 1 September 1939, beginning World War II in Europe. Honouring their treaty obligations, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. Poland fell quickly, as

17112-504: Was also marked by cultural depression, lack of freedom, and isolation from the West. During Ivan's reign, "the Russian state was consolidated, Russian territory tripled in size, trade expanded, and Western contacts shaped society". Tatar rule formally ended and Ivan elevated the principality to a sovereign nation, leading to him to be called "Ivan the Great". Ivan died on 27 October 1505, and

17250-501: Was conquered by the Soviet Union from the east and the other Allies from the west, and capitulated on 8 May 1945. Hitler's refusal to admit defeat led to massive destruction of German infrastructure and additional war-related deaths in the closing months of the war. The Allies initiated a policy of denazification and put many of the surviving Nazi leadership on trial for war crimes at the Nuremberg trials . Common English terms for

17388-465: Was controlled by Sweden after the end of the Livonian War in 1583, changing hands numerous times during conflicts and border shifts over the following centuries. Following World War I , the fortress was used as a prisoner of war repatriation camp from 1920-21. After World War II , the fortress returned to permanent Russian rule through the Soviet Union . Ivangorod Fortress is now a museum and

17526-558: Was dictated by the crisis connected with the Sect of Skhariya the Jew , as well as by the imperial prestige of Sophia's descendants. Dmitry was put into prison, where he died, unmarried and childless, in 1509, already under the rule of his uncle. His successor Vasily was made co-ruler in 1502, and during Vasily's reign, he would expand the usage of the title of tsar in all matters. The grand prince increasingly held aloof from his boyars , who were

17664-417: Was dropped. Germany was now a totalitarian state with Hitler at its head. As head of state, Hitler became Supreme Commander of the armed forces. The new law provided an altered loyalty oath for servicemen so that they affirmed loyalty to Hitler personally rather than the office of supreme commander or the state. On 19 August, the merger of the presidency with the chancellorship was approved by 90 per cent of

17802-412: Was given Vologda . Ivan's rule is marked by vastly expanding the territory and his control of Muscovy . As part of the successful " gathering of the Russian lands ", Ivan brought the independent duchies of different Rurikid princes under the direct control of Moscow, leaving the princes and their posterity without royal titles or land inheritance. It was during Ivan's reign that the emergence of

17940-641: Was good, and food supplies remained adequate in Western Europe. Germany and Europe as a whole were almost totally dependent on foreign oil imports. In an attempt to resolve the shortage, in June 1942 Germany launched Fall Blau ("Case Blue"), an offensive against the Caucasian oilfields. The Red Army launched a counter-offensive on 19 November and encircled the Axis forces, who were trapped in Stalingrad on 23 November. Göring assured Hitler that

18078-526: Was greeted with cheers when he landed in London, saying the agreement brought "peace for our time". Austrian and Czech foreign exchange reserves were seized by the Nazis, as were stockpiles of raw materials such as metals and completed goods such as weaponry and aircraft, which were shipped to Germany. The Reichswerke Hermann Göring industrial conglomerate took control of steel and coal production facilities in both countries. In January 1934, Germany signed

18216-497: Was in violation of the Versailles Treaty. On 17 May 1933, Hitler gave a speech before the Reichstag outlining his desire for world peace and accepted an offer from American President Franklin D. Roosevelt for military disarmament, provided the other nations of Europe did the same. When the other European powers failed to accept this offer, Hitler pulled Germany out of the World Disarmament Conference and

18354-427: Was made co-ruler in 1471, died in 1490, leaving from his marriage with Elena of Moldavia an only child, Dmitry Ivanovich . Ivan attempted to secure his title for his successor, and the latter was crowned as successor by his grandfather on 15 February 1498, but later Ivan reverted his decision in favor of Sophia's elder son Vasily , who was ultimately crowned co-regent with his father on 14 April 1502. The decision

18492-432: Was not prepared to fight should be court-martialed, and thousands of people were executed. In many areas, people surrendered to the approaching Allies in spite of exhortations of local leaders to continue to fight. Hitler ordered the destruction of transport, bridges, industries, and other infrastructure—a scorched earth decree—but Armaments Minister Albert Speer prevented this order from being fully carried out. During

18630-569: Was pressured in 1478 into giving Belozersk to Ivan, who received all of Mikhail's land on his death in 1486. Some princes from the Upper Oka region , who had been under Lithuanian rule, left Lithuanian service and joined the Muscovite court in the 1480s, including the Vorotynskys , Odoyevskys , Gorchakovs , and others. A peace treaty signed on 5 February 1494 legalized the acquisitions. Moscow also subjugated several Finno-Ugric tribes to

18768-489: Was succeeded by Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz as Reich President and Goebbels as Reich Chancellor. Goebbels and his wife Magda committed suicide the next day after murdering their six children . Between 4 and 8 May 1945, most of the remaining German armed forces unconditionally surrendered. The German Instrument of Surrender was signed 8 May, marking the end of the Nazi regime and the end of World War II in Europe . Popular support for Hitler almost completely disappeared as

18906-533: Was succeeded by his son, Vasily III. In the 1480s, during his consolidation of territories, Ivan III had the following title: "By the Grace of God, the Great Sovereign of the Russian land, Grand Prince Ivan Vasilyevich, Tsar of all Russia, Vladimir, and Moscow, and Novgorod, and Pskov, and Yugorsk, and Vyatka, and Perm, and others". At the beginning of the 1490s, he also had the following title: "Ivan, by

19044-682: Was the fourth nation to join the Axis, signing the Tripartite Pact on 27 September 1940. Bulgaria signed the pact on 17 November. German efforts to secure oil included negotiating a supply from their new ally, Romania , who signed the Pact on 23 November, alongside the Slovak Republic. By late 1942, there were 24 divisions from Romania on the Eastern Front, 10 from Italy, and 10 from Hungary. Germany assumed full control in France in 1942, Italy in 1943, and Hungary in 1944. Although Japan

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