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The events precedingWorld War II in Europe are closely tied to the bellicosity ofFascist Italy,Nazi Germany,Francoist Spain,Imperial Japan, and theSoviet Union, as well as theGreat Depression. The peace movement led toappeasement and disarmament.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
World War II is generally viewed as having its roots in theaftermath of World War I, in which theGerman Empire underWilhelm II, with itsCentral Powers, was defeated, chiefly by the United Kingdom,France, and the United States.
The victors blamed Germany entirely for the war and all resulting damages; it was Germany that effectively started the war with an attack on France through Belgium. France had, in 1871, suffered a defeat in theFranco-Prussian War, and demanded compensation for financial devastation during the First World War, which ensured that the variouspeace treaties, specifically theTreaty of Versailles would impose tough financialwar reparations and restrictions on Germany in the aftermath of World War I.
Thedissolution of Austria-Hungary and therevolutions of 1917–1923 at the end of the First World War also resulted in the formation of numerous newnation-states such as theSecond Polish Republic, theFirst Czechoslovak Republic, and theKingdom of Yugoslavia inCentral and Eastern Europe. Germany was forced to make territorial cessions to these new countries, giving part of its eastern territories ofPoznań,West Prussia, andUpper Silesia to Poland. It was also prohibited from merging with theRepublic of German-Austria formed from the former German-speaking regions of Austria-Hungary. The treaty cededAlsace–Lorraine to theFrench Third Republic,Eupen-Malmedy to Belgium,Northern Schleswig to Denmark,Hultschin District to Czechoslovakia, and allowed theSaarland to be occupied as aLeague of Nations territory.[7][8]German irredentists refused to recognize the legitimacy of the new Central and Eastern European nation states, and demanded the return of Germany's lost territory.[9]
The total defeat of the Imperial German Armed Forces had been unexpected due tocensorship of German defeats. After the warGerman nationalists created astab-in-the-back myth that the German Empire had not been defeated at the front and had been betrayed by "November criminals" such as socialists and Jews.[7][10]
The British navalblockade of Germany was not lifted until the treaty was signed at the end of June 1919.
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After several liberal governments failed to deal with these threats, and thefascists had increased their public profile by highly visible punishment expeditions to supposedly crush thesocialist threat, KingVictor Emmanuel III of Italy invitedBenito Mussolini to form a government on 29 October 1922. The fascists maintained an armed paramilitary wing, which they employed to fightanarchists,communists, and socialists.
Within a few years, Mussolini had consolidated dictatorial power and Italy became apolice state. On 7 January 1935, he and French Foreign MinisterPierre Laval signed theFranco-Italian Agreement, giving him a free hand in theAbyssinia Crisis with theEthiopian Empire, in return for an alliance against Hitler. There was little international protest. He then sent large forces intoEritrea andItalian Somaliland, the two Italian colonies that bordered Ethiopia.
Britain attempted to broker peace but failed; Mussolini was bent on conquest. Britain declared an arms embargo on both Italy and Ethiopia, but cleared its warships from theMediterranean, further allowing Italy unhindered access. Shortly after theLeague of Nations exonerated both parties in theWalwal incident, Italy attacked Ethiopia, resulting in theSecond Italo-Abyssinian War.
Shortly after Italy conquered Ethiopia, theSpanish Civil War began, seen by many as a proving ground for World War II, Germanyprovided troops, weapons, and other aid toFrancisco Franco's nationalists. Italy also provided troops. On 7 April 1939,Italy invaded Albania. After a short campaign theAlbanian Kingdom was occupied and joined Italy in apersonal union.
TheNazi Party, led byAdolf Hitler, blamedGermany's ruined economy on the harshness of the Versailles Treaty, on faults of democracy, and on thestab-in-the-back legend. In Germany, as inpost-Austro-Hungarian Austria, citizens recalled the pre-war years under autocratic rule as prosperous but the post-war years under weak democratic rule as chaotic and economically disastrous.
Nazism held that the world was composed of distinct races in a state of constantethnic war, and that theAryan race inhabiting Germany needed to conquer new agricultural land inCentral and Eastern Europe to survive. Hitler also believed that theJews and theSlavs, which he believed were responsible for creatingCommunism and theSoviet Union, threatened the racial purity of Germany and would have to be exterminated.[11]
The situation was further aggravated by the worldwide economic depression that followed theWall Street crash of 1929. Left- and right-wing anti-democratic parties in theReichstag—the German parliament—obstructed parliamentary work, while different cabinets resorted to government byArticle 48 of the Weimar Constitution. This enabled the President and Cabinet to bypass the Parliament. The Nazis grew in popularity due to the impact of theGreat Depression, and PresidentPaul von Hindenburg completedAdolf Hitler's rise to power by appointing himChancellor of Germany in January 1933.[12]
While many states refused to become involved in theSpanish Civil War, notably Britain and France, troops were sent by both Hitler and Mussolini to aid theSpanish Nationalists, which included those with fascist leanings. It would prove to be a precursor to many of the tactics and methods employed in the Second World War, such as theBombing of Guernica, which aimed to see how effective bombing of civilian areas could be.Francoist Spain wasnon-belligerent during World War II—althoughSpanish volunteers fought on theEastern Front—but the civil war division of fascism versus democracy and communism was repeated.
Meanwhile, in Germany, once political consolidation—Gleichschaltung—was in place, the Nazis turned their attention to foreign policy with several increasingly daring acts. The Nazis introduced a massive rearmament program to build up theWehrmacht beyond the limits imposed by the Versailles Treaty. On 16 March 1935, Hitler ignored the Versailles Treaty and ordered Germany to re-arm, reintroducingmilitary conscription. The treaty had limited the GermanReichswehr to 100,000 men with few arms.
These steps produced nothing more than official protests from the United Kingdom and France; they were more serious about enforcing the economic provisions of the treaty than its military restrictions. Many Britons felt the restrictions placed on Germany in Versailles had been too harsh, and they believed that Hitler's aim was simply to undo the extremes of the treaty, not to go beyond that. This sentiment was underscored by the signing of theAnglo-German Naval Agreement, which authorized Germany to build a fleet one third the size of theRoyal Navy.
Hitlermoved troops into the Rhineland on 7 March 1936. But, as before, Hitler's defiance was met with inaction, despite Poland's proposal to put theFranco-Polish Military Alliance into action. In 1936, Hitler demanded a private meeting withArnold J. Toynbee, a British historian, philosopher of history, research professor of International History at the London School of Economics and the University of London and author of numerous books. He was visiting Berlin at the time to address the Nazi Law Society. Toynbee accepted.
In the meeting, Hitler emphasized his limited expansionist aim of building aGreater Germanic Reich, and his desire for British understanding and cooperation. Toynbee was convinced of Hitler's sincerity, and endorsed Hitler's message in a confidential memorandum for British prime ministerStanley Baldwin and foreign secretaryAnthony Eden.[13]
The first non-violent German conquest was theFederal State of Austria. As early as 1934 the Nazis arranged afailed coup attempt which succeeded in assassinating ChancellorEngelbert Dollfuss.[14] After Italy had joined Germany in theAnti-Comintern Pact, quickly removing the main obstacle of anAnschluss of Austria, Germany announced the annexation on 12 March 1938, making it the provinceGau Ostmark of what was nowGreater Germany.
With Austria secured, Hitler turned his attention to the German-speaking population ofSudetenland border regions ofCzechoslovakia. Czechoslovakia had a large and modern army backed with a sizable armament industry, and had military alliances with France and the Soviet Union. It also had informal links with the United Kingdom, largely due to the United Kingdom being militarily allied with France.
Despite this, Hitler, encouraged by reluctance of major European powers to stop his violation of post World War I treaties, was prepared to risk war. He was convinced that France would shrink back again, not fulfilling her treaty obligations to Czechoslovakia. His first order was to seize Sudetenland, based on the right ofself-determination for a unification with Germany. This region formed about a third ofBohemia (western Czechoslovakia) in terms of territory, population and economy, and was claimed to be vital for Czechoslovakia's existence. With Austria in German hands, this part of Czechoslovakia—equipped with a defense system that was larger than theMaginot Line—was nearly surrounded by Germany.
Following lengthy negotiations and blatant war threats from Hitler, British Prime MinisterNeville Chamberlain with French leaders tried to appease Hitler. In theMunich Agreement of 30 September 1938, the major European powers allowed German troops to occupy theSudetenland, for the sake of "peace for our time". Czechoslovakia had already mobilized over one million men and was prepared to fight for independence, but was not allowed to participate in the conference.
When the French and British negotiators informed the Czechoslovak representatives about the agreement, and that if Czechoslovakia would not accept it, France and Britain would consider Czechoslovakia to be responsible for war, PresidentEdvard Beneš capitulated. German forces entered the Sudetenland unopposed, celebrated by the local ethnic German population. Soon after, Polish and Hungarian forces also invaded parts of Czechoslovakia.
Poland annexed theTrans-Olza area. Hitler continued to put pressure on the Czech government. On 14 March, Slovakia declared its independence underJozef Tiso, which was recognized by France, Britain and other important powers. The following day,Emil Hácha accepted a German occupation of the remaining parts of the Czech lands. From thePrague Castle, theProtectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was proclaimed by Hitler.
TheMemel Territory, separated from Germany since 1920 and annexed by Lithuania, was returned to Germany, under a German–Lithuanian treaty concluded after the1939 German ultimatum to Lithuania. The preparations for the Second World War were also made in the economic sphere, as the German government exerted pressure on weaker governments to place their economies at the disposal of the German war machine. One such case was theGerman–Romanian economic agreement of 23 March 1939.
