World War II: Causes, Combatants, and Consequences

World War II: Key Facts and Factions

This conflict began in 1939 and ended in 1945. This was the deadliest armed conflict known, costing the lives of some 2% of the world population (55 million people).

Mankind was subjected to deportation to concentration camps, and forced labor in Germany against Jews, homosexuals, Gypsies, the disabled, communists, and others.

In the United States, there were internment camps for citizens of Japanese ancestry, massacres of the population, and horrific scientific experiments conducted on human beings by Nazi and Japanese doctors. Most importantly, for the first time in history, the world witnessed the use of the atom bomb, launched by the United States over Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The conflict primarily pitted two sides against each other: The Allies and The Axis.

Opposing Blocs

The Axis Powers

Axis: Germany, Italy, and Japan. Other countries ascribed to the Axis included Finland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, and Thailand.

Austria and the Czech Republic had been annexed to Germany months before the war began. In the field of German military strategy, having allies was vital to harass enemies in the rear. Italy was geographically surrounded by France and would fight alongside Germany against Britain. Japan planned to attack the Soviet Union later to secure raw materials and prevent supplies from reaching England and France, while simultaneously engaging the United States in the Pacific to deter their participation in Europe.

The Allied Powers

The Allies initially consisted of France and the UK. However, Axis attacks soon engaged other nations, including Poland, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Yugoslavia, Mexico, and Greece. Other contributing nations included Australia, Canada, South Africa, and New Zealand.

China joined the Axis alliance with Japan, which was detrimental to the Allies.

Finally, the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) joined after the German invasion, and the United States joined after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

The main blocks of the Second World War were the Triple Alliance (Germany, Italy, Japan) and the Triple Entente (France, Russia, Britain, and the United States). It is noted that Russia, as a socialist country, eventually turned against Germany and Japan. After Germany's fall, World War II ended, marking the beginning of the Cold War between Russia and the United States.

The Treaty of Versailles: A Precursor to War

The Treaty of Versailles, which ended the First World War in 1914 (Note: WWI ended in 1918), is widely believed to have contained the seeds of a new war.

In this treaty, many countries were clearly designated as losers.

• Germany was the most disadvantaged: It lost colonies and territories.
• Germany was forced to pay heavy indemnities.
• Its economic situation became very poor, exacerbated by the 1929 crisis, which generated the economic and social conditions that fostered the rise of German fascism.