World War II: Causes, Alliances, and Key Events

Causes of Conflict

1. A new world order emerged from World War I.
2. The Treaty of Versailles stimulated revenge instead of creating reconciliation.
3. The crisis of 1929 favored the emergence of fascism: Mussolini's Italy and Hitler's Germany developed aggressive foreign policies driven by economic needs (Hitler) and prestige (Mussolini).
4. The armaments race among fascist powers created a climate of tension in Europe.
5. Democracies remained outside of global problems:
   • The U.S. was isolated.
   • Other powers were preoccupied with their own internal problems (increased unemployment, social unrest).
6. The failure of the League of Nations.

The March to War

In the 1930s, a series of military aggressions were carried out against other countries. In Asia, Japan sought to expand its territories:

• In 1931, Japan occupied Manchuria.
• In 1937, Japan expanded into China.

In Africa, Italy occupied Ethiopia in 1935. In Europe, Italy occupied Albania. Italy and Germany intervened in the Spanish Civil War, providing armaments to the military rebels, while France and Great Britain remained on the sidelines. In 1936, Hitler remilitarized the Rhineland, violating the Treaty of Versailles. In 1938, Hitler occupied Austria, where Nazi theories had taken hold. Months later, he demanded the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia (an area with a German minority population). France and Great Britain convened the Munich Conference in 1938:

• Subject: To stop Germany's aspirations.
• Score:
  1. The promises of Hitler to halt expansion eventually failed.
  2. Czechoslovakia disappeared as a state.
  3. Areas of Bohemia and Moravia became a German protectorate, and Czechoslovakia became a satellite state.

Alliances and the Outbreak of Conflict

1936: Germany and Italy signed an alliance known as the Rome-Berlin Axis.

1939: Hitler claimed the Polish Corridor (territory separating Germany from West Prussia). France and Great Britain pledged to aid Poland if war became necessary. That year, Stalin and Hitler signed the Nazi-Soviet Pact to avoid an alliance between the USSR, France, and Great Britain. In September, Hitler began the invasion of Poland, and the Allies (France and Great Britain) declared war on Germany. This marked the start of World War II.

The Victories of the Axis (1939-1945)

Hitler invaded Poland and started the Blitzkrieg (lightning war).

• It was based on the use of Panzer tank divisions and aerial support. It was a surprise attack with rapid progress.

Poland fell in three weeks and was divided between Germany and the USSR, according to the Nazi-Soviet Pact. In 1940, the Germans invaded most of Western Europe, and by summer, only Great Britain resisted Germany.

The Battle of Britain

• German aircraft bombed British ports and cities, but Great Britain resisted the attack.
• Hitler waived the landing but decreed a blockade of the British Isles.

The Battle of the Atlantic

• It originated to prevent the arrival of supplies to the English.

Hitler fought the British in the Mediterranean and Africa. Rommel's Afrikakorps conquered North Africa. In 1941, Yugoslavia and Greece were conquered, and Hitler launched Operation Barbarossa to attack Russia, reaching the gates of Moscow and Leningrad. In December 1941, Japan destroyed the U.S. fleet at Pearl Harbor, and the U.S. entered the war. The Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis seemed invincible.

Europe Under the Nazis

The Nazis organized conquered territories:

1. Regions incorporated into the Reich: Alsace and Lorraine.
2. Regions colonized: Eastern Poland.
3. Satellite State: France.

In all of them:

1. The industry was reorganized around German interests.
2. Seized products were prioritized for German needs.
3. Workers were forced to move to Germany.

The civilian population was divided into two groups:

1. Collaboration: Those who accepted the Nazi order.
2. The Resistance: Organized secretly.