DK - World War II Map by Map

THE SEEDS OF WAR 13

political force. Marshaling German resentment against

the Treaty of Versailles, Hitler linked solving Germany’s

economic problems to a reassertion of German military

power. Within two years of Hitler becoming Chancellor of

Germany in 1933, the country had embarked on open, full-

scale rearmament. Meanwhile, in East Asia, an increasingly

militarist Japan was tempted by Chinese weakness into

encroachments that culminated in a full-scale invasion in

1937. Mussolini’s Italy committed its own smaller-scale act
      of aggression with an invasion of Ethiopia in 1935. Revealed
      as impotent to prevent such breaches of world peace, the
      League of Nations faded into insignificance.

The lead-up to war

Britain and France, both liberal democracies, struggled to

find an adequate response to the rise of naked aggression.

They failed to take action when Hitler rearmed in defiance

of the Treaty of Versailles. When civil war broke out in

Spain in 1936, and Germany and Italy intervened on the

side of right-wing rebels, the British and French stayed

neutral, refusing to align with the ideologically opposed

Soviet Union, which supported the Spanish government.

Belatedly, the democracies began to rearm, but

they were desperate to avoid war with Germany,

fearful of the possibly immediate effect of aerial

bombardment. British prime minister Neville

Chamberlain decided on a policy of appeasement,

seeking to satisfy German grievances. In 1938,

Hitler was allowed to absorb Austria and take the

Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia. However, this

was not enough for the Nazi leader. Instead, he

actively desired war and conquest, making plans

to reverse the verdict of World War I and establish

German domination in Europe.

After Germany occupied Prague in March

1939, the British government decided to oppose

any further Nazi expansionism. When Britain

and France promised to assist Poland, Hitler’s

next target, a countdown to war began. Britain

and France were still reluctant to ally with

the Soviet Union. As they dallied, the Soviet

dictator Joseph Stalin opted for a deal with

Hitler, clearing the way for a German attack

on Poland and the start of World War II.

▷ The face of Fascism

Italian Fascist leader Benito

Mussolini set the model for

the uniformed dictators

who dominated Europe

between the wars.

◁ Unopposed conquest

Occupying Czechoslovakia without

a fight, the German army parades

through the streets of Prague before

a sullen crowd in spring 1939.

“War is to man what motherhood is to woman ...

I do not believe in perpetual peace.”

BENITO MUSSOLINI, ITALIAN DICTATOR, 1939

1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940

1927 Civil war

in China between

Communists

and Nationalists

Oct 1929 Crash on

Wall Street heralds

Great Depression

Mar 1936

Hitler

militarizes

Rhineland

Jul 1937

Japanese

invade China,

starting Sino-

Japanese War

Mar 1938

Anschluss:

Austria

absorbed into

German Reich

Sep 1938

Munich

Agreement

hands

Sudetenland

to Germany

Aug 1939

Nazi–Soviet

Pact secretly

agrees

partition

of Poland

Mar 1939

German troops

occupy Prague;

Britain and France

guarantee Poland

against aggression

Sep 1939

German

troops

invade

Poland

Jul 1936

Spanish Civil

War begins

Sep 1931

Japanese seize city

of Shenyang, then

invade rest of

Manchuria

Oct 1935

Mussolini

invades

Ethiopia

1930 Mass

unemployment in

Germany; rise of

Nazi support

Jan 1933

Hitler appointed

Chancellor of

Germany

Aug 1935

US Neutrality Act

forbids involvement

in foreign wars

Aug 1934

Hitler becomes

“Führer” after

death of President

Hindenburg

Nov 1932

F. D. Roosevelt

wins US

presidential

election

Nov 1936

Germany

and Japan

sign Anti-

Comintern Pact

Apr 1937

Germans

and Italians

bomb

civilians in

Guernica

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