World War II effectively stopped the world
between 1939 and 1945.
To this day, it remains the most geographically widespread military
conflict the world has ever seen. Although the fighting reached
across many parts of the globe, most countries involved shared a
united effort aimed at ending the aggression of the Axis Powers—Germany,
Italy, and Japan. Despite the fact that Germany and Japan were technically
allies, however, they had vastly different motives and objectives,
and their level of cooperation was primarily one of distracting
the attention of each other’s enemies rather than of attaining any
specific common goals. Therefore, most studies of the war cover
the conflicts with Germany and Japan separately, dividing treatment
of the war between the European and Pacific theaters of operation.
The rise of Nazi Germany and its aggression can be traced directly
back to World War I. Following that war, Germany was economically
devastated. The Treaty of Versailles unfairly placed the full blame
for the war on Germany and demanded heavy reparations payments in
return. Although Germany never paid the bulk of these reparations,
the treaty humiliated the German people and obstructed the nation’s
efforts to rebuild itself and move forward economically and technologically.
Then, in the late 1920s
and early 1930s,
the worldwide Great Depression took a further heavy toll on the
country.
As resentment and desperation in Germany grew, radical
political parties gained in popularity. They ranged from Communists
to right-wing nationalists. Among the more extreme activists of
the latter category was Adolf Hitler, who had founded the National Socialist
German Workers’ Party (more commonly known as the Nazi Party) in 1920–1921.
By the time of the depression in Germany, Hitler’s party had more
than 100,000 members
and was growing rapidly, and it began participating in parliamentary
elections with increasing success. In 1933,
Hitler pressured the German president, Paul von Hindenburg, into
appointing him chancellor—a position from which he was quickly able
to consolidate his power.
By 1935,
Germany had ceased to recognize the Treaty of Versailles and all
the restrictions that accompanied it. In particular, Hitler announced
his intention to fully rebuild Germany’s military forces. In 1938,
Germany began annexing the territories of neighboring countries,
including all of Austria and most of Czechoslovakia. When Germany
attacked Poland in September 1939,
Britain and France aligned against Germany, and the war began.
Like Germany, Japan was severely affected by the Great
Depression. Japan relied heavily upon imported resources and desperately needed
more land for its expanding population. Japanese military leaders,
who at the time had a strong influence over the civilian government,
saw territorial expansion as the best solution. As a result, beginning
in 1931,
Japanese forces began occupying territory in the Chinese region
of Manchuria. By 1937,
Japan and China were officially at war. In 1940,
the Japanese government announced its intention to establish a “new
order in East Asia,” under which the region would be freed of Western
influence and guided by Japan. In 1940,
Japan signed a formal alliance with Germany and Italy, setting the
country on a clear course to enter World War II.
In the meantime, the United States, disapproving of Japan’s actions,
placed a heavy trade embargo on Japan, severely restricting its
ability to import oil, scrap metal, and other resources
vital to its war effort. Japan saw itself facing an impossible crisis,
and without prompt and decisive action, total collapse was inevitable.
The action Japan chose was a surprise attack on the U.S. naval base
at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941.
This action brought the United States into World War II in both
theaters, Europe and the Pacific.
