World War II The 1930's were a very turbulent time period for the entire world. Many events occurred during this time that lead to World War II. It all began with a few events that set the stage for the entire thing. Things continued to get worse, until finally, the seemingly inevitable happened. There were several events that set the stage for the upcoming crisis. In Europe, Germany specifically, Adolf Hitler had gained control. Hitler was the head of the Nazi party, a Fascist political group. Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, Japan had invaded Manchuria, a province in China. The United States declared its disapproval in the Stimpson Doctrine, which stated that it would not re