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A Second World War
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“The strains of the 1930s ultimately triggered World War II. Germany, Italy, and Japan
all sought to alleviate the suffering of the Depression by building up armaments and
seeking new conquests. In Germany, Adolf Hitler led a new party, the National Socialists,
or Nazis. The party used violence to intimidate the opposition, but finally came to power
legally in 1933 on a platform of extreme nationalism, construction of public works,
expansionism, and virulent anti-Semitism, all of which Hitler had spelled out in his
manifesto, Mein Kampf, (‘My Struggle,’ 1925). Some business and military leaders
supported him as a counter-weight to communism. As leader of the largest party in the
German parliament in 1933, with 38 percent of the popular vote, Hitler became
Chancellor. He quickly suppressed all other parties, revoked the citizenship of Jews, and
rearmed Germany. He intensified each of these programs over the next few years and in
1936 he moved troops into the Rhineland (the region of Germany west of the Rhine River)
in violation of the Versailles Treaty. In 1938 Hitler annexed Austria and the Germanspeaking areas of Czechoslovakia. On September 1, 1939 he invaded Poland, and finally
met resistance from the great powers who until this time had appeased his aggressions.
Britain and France declared war.
In Italy, Benito Mussolini had become prime minister in 1921 as leader of a party of
300,000 members who threatened to march on Rome if he were not appointed. His party
was called fascist, meaning that it represented extreme nationalism, the power of the state
over the individual, the supremacy of the leader over the party and nation, and a
willingness to use intimidation and violence to achieve its goal. In 1935, preceding Hitler’s
moves, Mussolini conquered Ethiopia while other nations responded feebly even though
Ethiopia belonged to the League of Nations. Mussolini did not share Hitler’s antiSemitism, but in other respects he was an appropriate partner in Hitler’s aggressive plans.
When civil war broke out in Spain in 1936, both Hitler and Mussolini sent assistance to the
right-wing Nationalists. At this point their two nations formed an alliance called the Axis.
In East Asia, Japan also moved aggressively against its neighbor, China. Following the
successes of the Meiji Restoration, Japan had become the strongest military power in East
Asia, and had cultivated political philosophies to justify invading and taking over
neighboring countries. Japan was technologically more sophisticated than its neighbors
but it needed to import most of its raw materials. In 1931, Japanese military forces seized
Manchuria. The Japanese government had forbidden this action, but acquiesced after the
fact. The League of Nations condemned the invasion but imposed no real sanctions, and
the condemnation moved Japan to ally with Germany and Italy. In 1937, Japan invaded
China, and the Pacific War, as the Japanese called World War II, had begun. Japan
became a member of the Axis powers from December 1941.” ~ The World’s History
1- How did Hitler violate the Treaty of Versailles?
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2- How were Germany, Italy, and Japan similar in the 1930s?
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3- What was the primary cause of World War II? _______________________________
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II.
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The Road to War
During 1930s, Japan launched an aggressive program of territorial expansion
And like Germany, Great Depression paved way for more authoritarianism
Huge industrial enterprises called zaibatsu dominated the Japanese economy
Common feature of Axis Powers: dissatisfied states (Germany, Italy, Japan)
World War II began in Asia before it occurred in Europe
Japanese seized Manchuria in 1931; puppet state called Manchukuo
Action infuriated Western powers, prompting Japan to withdraw from League of
Nations and to align more closely with Germany and Italy
Then a full-scale Japanese attack on heartland of China in 1937
In 1940-1941, Japan extended its military operations
Leading to Japanese attack on U.S. at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii in December 1941
In response to American oil embargo imposed on Japan in July 1941
U.S. entered war; ended with atomic bombs; Hiroshima and Nagasaki, 1945
Germany, Italy, Japan (the Axis powers) versus U.S., Britain, and USSR (Allies)
Germany: major rearmament program, then invaded Rhineland, annexed Austria,
British policy of appeasement failed, invaded Poland, starting World War II (1939)
Nazis quickly defeated French
1941: Nazis invaded Soviet Union using German tactic of blitzkrieg or “lightning
war” and initially successful but Soviet Union was vast and cold
Soviets: 25 million casualties but defeat of Germany in 1945
Impact of War
Most destructive conflict in history, with total deaths around 60 million
Infamous Rape of Nanjing in 1937-1938, some 200,000 to 300,000 Chinese civilians
were killed and countless women were sexually assaulted
Dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Most haunting outcomes of the war was the Holocaust
“Final Solution”: Auschwitz, Dachau, Bergen-Belsen, and other concentration
camps where six million Jews perished
Millions more whom the Nazis deemed inferior, undesirable, or dangerous also
perished in Germany’s efforts at racial purification
As the war ended, Europe was impoverished and Europe’s dominance finished
Colonies achieved independence after World War II
A further outcome of World War II was the extension of the communist world
Communists, dominated by Soviet Union took power across Eastern Europe
Even more important was a communist takeover in China in 1949
United Nations (UN), established in 1945 as a successor to League of Nations
In late 1945: World Bank and International Monetary Fund, to regulate global
economy, prevent another depression, stimulate economic growth
U.S.A. emerged as the new Superpower and of course, start of Cold War
Marshall Plan funneled into Europe some $12 billion, together with numerous
advisers and technicians to rebuild Western Europe
Military and political alliance known as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO) in 1949
Parallel process in Japan, under American occupation between 1945 and 1952,
rebuilt, “economic miracle” and democratic constitution
1- Why did Japan begin an aggressive program of territorial expansion in the 30s?
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2- Define zaibatsu.
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3- Why did the Great Depression lead to the rise of authoritarianism in some nations?
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4- Where did World War II begin?
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5- Why did Japan withdraw from the League of Nations?
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6- Why did the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor?
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7- How did the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor affect the outcome of the war?
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8- Identify the member nations of the Axis Powers and the Allies.
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9- Identify the steps Hitler took that violated Versailles and led to war.
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10- Define blitzkrieg.
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11- Why was Russia problematic for the Nazis?
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12- What was the outcome of the Second World War?
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13- What happened in the Rape of Nanjing?
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14- How did Hitler’s anti-Semitism affect his treatment of European Jews?
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15- How was Europe affected by the Second World War?
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16- What two superpowers emerged after the Second World War?
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17- What was the Cold War?
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18- Why was Eastern Europe particularly affected by the Soviets after WWII?
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19- Why was 1949 a turning point in Chinese history?
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20- What is the United Nations and what did it replace?
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21- Define collective security.
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22- Why was the World Bank created?
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23- What was NATO? What was the Marshall Plan?
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1. The term appeasement best applies to
which of the following episodes?
(A) The Soviet support of the Spanish
Republic against Franco’s revolt
in 1936
(B) Ethiopia’s resistance to Italy’s in
1935 invasion
(C) France’s and Great Britain’s
1938 agreement with Germany at
Munich, regarding the
Sudetenland
(D) France’s and Britain’s willingness
to defend Poland in the fall of
1939
(E) The Soviet takeover of Estonia,
Latvia, and Lithuania in 1939
and 1940
2. What was the Greater East Asian
Co-Prosperity Sphere?
(A) As association of British colonies
in Southeast Asia
(B) A Military alliance that resisted
the Japanese attack on Southeast
Asia
(C) A Free-trade zone whose
economic activity was disrupted
by Japanese invasion
(D) The name given by the Japanese
to the Asian empire they
conquered in the 1930s and
during World War II
(E) The formal name of the Dutch
colony of Indonesia
3. The failure of collective security
convinced Stalin to
(A) Resign all his political posts
(B) Sign a treaty of neutrality with
Nazi Germany
(C) Declare war on Nazi Germany
(D) Conclude an alliance with Poland
(E) Take over Czechoslovakia in an
effort to protest the Soviet border
4. What city experienced the worst
siege not just of World War II, but of
the entire modern era?
(A) Leningrad
(B) Krakow
(C) Stalingrad
(D) Dresden
(E) Nagasaki
5. If the Axis Powers had won World
War II, which of the following Allied
operations would they most likely
have punished as a war crime?
(A) British and U.S. strategic
bombing of German and
Japanese cities
(B) The D-Day landings in
northwestern France
(C) Soviet conduct during the battle
of Kiev
(D) The U.S. and British takeover of
Sicily
(E) The sinking of Japanese aircraft
carriers by U.S. pilots at Midway.
Thesis Practice: Comparative
Analyze similarities and differences in the causes and outcomes of the First World War and
the Second World War.
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