World War II: Causes, Stages, and Aftermath

Participants

Allies: France, UK, US, and the Soviet Union (from 1941)

Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, and Japan

Causes

• Germany's quest for revenge after the Treaty of Versailles
• Expansion of totalitarian ideologies (Fascism, Nazism)
• Rise in militarism and nationalism, leading to territorial claims
• Economic depression during the 1930s

Steps to the War

• Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1932
• Annexation of Ethiopia (1935) and Albania (1939) by Italy
• Annexation of Austria (1938) and Czechoslovakia (1939) by Germany
• German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact (1939)

Spark of the Conflict

German invasion of Poland using the Blitzkrieg method (September 1, 1939)

Stages

1st Stage

Victory of the Axis Powers, invasion of Poland (quick attack using planes and tanks)

Denmark, the Baltic Republics, and Great Britain were bombed during the Battle of Britain

1940: Conquest of territories in North Africa and the Balkans by Germany

1941: German invasion of the USSR in need of food and resources. Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and the USA joined the Allies in the war.

2nd Stage

The UK resisted the German attacks, and Germany was stopped in the Battle of Stalingrad. Invasion of Italy by the Allies.

3rd Stage

Advance of the Allies (1943-1945). Normandy landings: France was invaded by the Allies (Liberation of Paris). The Red Army invaded and occupied Eastern European countries. May 1945: Soviet occupation of Berlin and Germany's surrender. End of the war in Europe. August: Japan surrendered after the nuclear bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. End of the war.

Conference and Post-War Situation

• Tehran Conference (1943): It was agreed that the USSR would annex the Baltic States and eastern Poland.
• Yalta Conference: Representatives of the Allies agreed that the boundaries of Poland would be redrawn, as well as the division of Germany into four military areas.
• Potsdam Conference: Redrawing of German boundaries, demilitarization, and denazification of Germany were established, along with the division of Germany into four military areas and the celebration of trials for genocide and war crimes.
• Trials of Nuremberg: International trials against the Nazi leaders in which they were accused of war crimes and genocide after the end of WWII and the Holocaust.
• United Nations: International organization created in 1945 to promote peace, cooperation, and international respect for human rights.