Summary
Highlights
World War II was an even more devastating and larger 'total war' than World War I, requiring the mobilization of entire populations and targeting civilians. The immediate cause was Hitler's invasion of Poland in September 1939, driven by his desire for 'Lebensraum' (living space) and ending the policy of appeasement from Britain and France.
The war saw the formation of the Axis powers (Germany, Italy, Japan) and the Allied Powers (Britain, France, Soviet Union, United States). Initially, the Soviets had a non-aggression pact with Germany but joined the Allies after Hitler's invasion. The U.S., initially isolated, entered the war after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor in late 1941.
Governments used propaganda to provoke nationalism and demonize enemies, assembling armies and ensuring civilian sacrifice. Various ideologies played a role: Fascist states (Germany, Italy, Japan) mobilized economies and populations for the state's interest, using forced labor. Communist Soviet Union, under Stalin, further intensified collectivization and industrialization for the war effort. Democratic nations like Great Britain, led by Winston Churchill, relied on persuasion, promising welfare state expansion in exchange for wartime sacrifices.
Repression of freedoms occurred across all types of nations. In the U.S., Japanese Americans were interned. In Germany, Jews and other groups were forced into ghettos and concentration camps for forced labor or systematic killing.
World War II introduced new deadly strategies and technologies. 'Blitzkrieg' (lightning war) pioneered by Germany, combined air assault and rapid tank movements, rendering trench warfare obsolete. Firebombing, used by Allied forces on cities like Dresden and Tokyo, caused massive fires and civilian casualties. The most significant technological advancement was the atomic bomb, developed by the U.S. and dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, leading to Japan's surrender and the end of the war.