Summary
Highlights
The Great Depression, triggered by the Wall Street crash in 1929 and exacerbated by U.S. protectionism, led to a global economic crisis. This hardship fueled support for extremist ideologies like communism and fascism, especially in countries lacking strong democratic traditions such as Germany, Spain, and Japan.
Adolf Hitler, a World War I veteran, capitalized on Germany's post-WWI grievances and economic distress. His Nazi party gained popularity, particularly after the Wall Street crash, leading to his appointment as Chancellor in 1933, where he swiftly dismantled democracy and established a totalitarian regime.
By 1933, Italy, the USSR, Germany, and Japan were led by dictatorships, using propaganda and military force. This led to renewed international tensions, reversing the improved relations of the 1920s. Hitler's ambitions alarmed Europe, while Japan's military dictatorship and alliance building, like the Anti-Comintern Pact, further destabilized the global scene.
Mussolini, facing domestic economic decline, shifted Italy's alignment from cooperation with Britain and France to an alliance with Germany. Italy's invasion of Abyssinia, supported by Germany, led to the formation of the Rome-Berlin Axis in 1936 and the Pact of Steel in 1939, solidifying the alliance of aggressive dictatorships.
The Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) saw Franco's Nationalists supported by Germany and Italy, while the Republicans received aid from the USSR. Britain and France adopted a non-intervention policy, fearing escalation. The conflict became a proxy war between fascism and communism, ultimately resulting in Franco's military dictatorship.
Hitler's foreign policy aimed to dismantle the Treaty of Versailles, recover lost territories, rearm Germany, unite all German speakers (Anschluss), and pursue Lebensraum. He reintroduced conscription, expanded the military, and created the Luftschffe, violating the treaty and alarming European powers, though their responses were often weak and fragmented.
In 1936, Hitler remilitarized the Rhineland, a direct violation of the Treaty of Versailles, without intervention from Britain or France. In 1938, he achieved the Anschluss with Austria, uniting German speakers and bolstering Germany's resources and strategic position, again with minimal international opposition.
Hitler demanded the Sudetenland, a German-speaking region of Czechoslovakia. At the Munich Conference in September 1938, Britain and France pressured Czechoslovakia to cede the territory to Germany, effectively undermining Czechoslovakia's security and sovereignty. Hitler promised no further demands, a promise he soon broke.
In March 1939, Hitler invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia, with no justifiable claims, further demonstrating his disregard for international agreements. Finally, in September 1939, Hitler demanded Danzig and access across the Polish Corridor, leading to Germany's invasion of Poland and the outbreak of World War II.