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German Path to War
World War II had its roots in the beliefs of Adolf Hitler. He believed that Germans
belonged to a so-called Aryan race that was superior to all other races and nationalities.
He also believed that Germany was capable of building a great civilization and needed
more land in order to become a great power.
After World War I, the Treaty of Versailles had limited Germany’s military power. At first,
Hitler said that Germany wanted to revise the unfair provisions of the treaty by peaceful
means. However, on March 9, 1935, Hitler announced the creation of a new air force.
One week later, he began a military draft. Hitler was convinced that the Western states
had no intention of using force to maintain the Treaty of Versailles. On March 7, 1936,
he sent German troops into the Rhineland. The Rhineland was part of Germany, but it
was a demilitarized area. According to the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was not
permitted to have weapons or fortifications there. France had the right to use force
against any violation of the demilitarized area but would not act without British support.
Great Britain did not support the use of force against Germany.
Great Britain began to practice a policy of appeasement. This policy was based on the
belief that if European states satisfied the reasonable demands of dissatisfied powers,
the dissatisfied powers would be content, and peace would be maintained. Meanwhile,
Hitler gained new allies. Fascist Italy invaded Ethiopia in October 1936. France and
Britain were opposed to this invasion. This made Mussolini angry, and he welcomed
Hitler’s support. In 1936, Mussolini and Hitler made an agreement that recognized their
common political and economic interests. This new alliance was known as the RomeBerlin Axis. Germany and Japan signed the Anti-Comintern Pact, in which they
promised to maintain a common front against communism.
By 1937, Hitler decided to pursue one of his goals: union with Austria, his native land.
He threatened Austria with invasion. This forced the Austrian chancellor to put Austrian
Nazis in charge of the government. The new government invited German troops to enter
Austria. On March 13, 1938, Hitler annexed Austria to Germany.
Hitler’s next goal was the destruction of Czechoslovakia. On September 15, 1938, he
demanded that Germany be given the Sudetenland, an area in northwestern
Czechoslovakia. Most of the people who lived in this area were Germans. Hitler said
that he was willing to risk “world war” to achieve his objective. At a conference in
Munich (Munich Conference), Britain, France, Germany, and Italy reached an
agreement that gave Hitler nearly all of his demands. German troops were allowed to
occupy the Sudetenland. The Czechs stood by helplessly. Neville Chamberlain, the
British prime minister, boasted that the agreement meant “peace for our time.” Hitler
had promised Chamberlain that they would make no more demands. Like many others,
Chamberlain believed Hitler’s promises. In fact, Hitler was more convinced than ever
that the Western democracies were weak and would not fight. In March 1939, Hitler
invaded and took control of Bohemia and Moravia in western Czechoslovakia.
At last, the Western nations reacted to the Nazi threat. Hitler’s aggression had made
clear that his promises were worthless. When Hitler began to demand the Polish port of
Danzig, Great Britain offered to protect Poland in the event of war. At the same time,
both France and Britain realized that they needed the Soviet Union in order to stop Nazi
aggression. They began negotiations with Joseph Stalin, the Soviet dictator. Hitler was
afraid that the West and the Soviet Union might make an alliance. To keep this from
happening, Hitler made his own agreement with Joseph Stalin. On August 23, 1939,
Germany and the Soviet Union signed the Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact. In it, the
two nations promised not to attack each other. To get Stalin to sign the pact, Hitler
offered Stalin control of eastern Poland and the Baltic states. On September 1, 1939,
German forces invaded Poland. Two days later, Britain and France declared war on
Germany.
FOCUS QUESTION: Why did Great Britain give in to so many of Hitler’s demands?
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Japanese Path to War
By the mid-1930s, militants had gained control of Japanese politics. In September 1931,
Japanese soldiers had seized Manchuria, because Manchuria had natural resources
that Japan needed. As an excuse for seizing Manchuria, Japan pointed to a Chinese
attack on a Japanese railway near the city of Mukden. In fact, Japanese soldiers
disguised as Chinese had carried out the “Mukden incident.” Worldwide protests led the
League of Nations to send investigators to Manchuria. When the investigators issued a
report condemning the seizure, Japan withdrew from the League. Over the next several
years, Japan strengthened its hold on Manchuria. Japan now began to expand into
North China.
Because of the threat from Communists within China, Chiang Kai-shek (Chinese political
and military leader, 1928-1975) tried to avoid conflict with Japan. He tried to appease Japan
by allowing it to govern areas in North China. When Japan began to move southward,
Chiang was forced to end his military efforts against the Communists. In 1936, he
formed a new united front against the Japanese. In July 1937, Chinese and Japanese
forces clashed south of Beijing. Japan had not planned to declare war on China but was
now involved in a major conflict. The Japanese seized the Chinese capital of Nanjing.
Chiang Kai-shek refused to surrender and moved his government upriver.
Japan’s military leaders had hoped to create a New Order in East Asia comprised of
Japan, Manchuria, and China. Part of Japan’s plan was to seize Soviet Siberia, with its
rich resources. In the late 1930s, Japan began to cooperate with Nazi Germany. Japan
thought the two countries would launch an attack on the Soviet Union and divide Soviet
resources between them. When Germany signed the Nonaggression Pact with the
Soviets, Japanese leaders were forced to turn to Southeast Asia to find the raw
materials they needed to fuel their military machine. A move into Southeast Asia,
however, would risk war with the European colonial powers and the United States. In
the summer of 1940, Japan demanded the right to exploit economic resources in
French Indochina. The United States objected. It warned Japan that it would apply
economic sanctions (restrictions intended to enforce international law) unless Japan
withdrew from the area. Japan badly needed the oil and scrap iron it was getting from
the United States. Japan was now caught in a dilemma. To gain access to the raw
materials it wanted in Southeast Asia, Japan had to risk losing raw materials from the
United States. After much debate, Japan decided to launch a surprise attack on U.S.
and European colonies in Southeast Asia.
FOCUS QUESTION: When Germany signed the nonaggression pact with the Soviets,
what dilemma did this create for Japan?