How World War 2 Began

After the devastation of World War I, Woodrow Wilson championed a new international order based on collective security and a "peace without victory." However, the Paris Peace Conference resulted in a "peace of victors," particularly with the Treaty of Versailles, which disarmed Germany, stripped it of territory, and imposed heavy reparations. This, coupled with the U.S. never joining the League of Nations, left the international system weak and unable to prevent future conflicts, breeding widespread disillusionment.

The post-WWI era saw a weakening of moderate political ideologies and the rise of extremes: communism and fascism. Sparked by the Russian Revolution, communist movements gained traction globally. In Italy, widespread economic hardship and disillusionment with the liberal government led to the rise of Benito Mussolini's fascists. Leveraging a blend of nationalism, violence, and anti-communism, Mussolini seized power, presenting fascism as the solution to Italy's problems and modeling future authoritarian takeovers.

In Germany, Adolf Hitler capitalized on the "stab-in-the-back" myth, blaming the Weimar Republic and the Treaty of Versailles for Germany's post-war woes. His Nazi Party, a mix of nationalism, socialism, and virulent antisemitism, grew amidst economic turmoil and hyperinflation. After a failed coup, Hitler decided to gain power through democratic means, using his powerful oratory and the violence of his brownshirts to crush opposition. The Great Depression further fueled Nazi popularity, leading to Hitler's appointment as Chancellor in 1933, where he quickly consolidated totalitarian control.

Japan, torn between internationalist and aggressive nationalist ideals, began its expansionist policies. Economic hardship during the Great Depression and a desire for self-sufficiency in resources pushed a militaristic faction within the Japanese army to act. In 1931, the Kwantung Army staged the Mukden Incident, leading to the invasion and occupation of Manchuria. The League of Nations condemned the act but took no effective action, demonstrating the hollowness of the international system and setting a dangerous precedent for other aggressors.

Inspired by Japan's success, Mussolini sought to restore Italian glory by invading Ethiopia in 1935, aiming to rectify past humiliations and build a new empire. Despite Ethiopia and Italy both being League members, the international response was weak due to fear of pushing Italy towards Germany and public anti-war sentiment. Economic sanctions were ineffective, and proposals like the Hoare-Laval Pact further exposed the major powers' reluctance to confront aggression. Italy's brutal conquest, involving poison gas, reinforced the idea that aggressive expansion could go unpunished.

Hitler, after consolidating power in Germany and rearming, pursued his policy of Lebensraum (living space). Initially, he focused on reversing the Treaty of Versailles' restrictions, reoccupying the Rhineland in 1936 with little international resistance. In 1938, he annexed Austria, leveraging nationalistic sentiments and the lack of opposition from other powers. Next, he set his sights on Czechoslovakia, using the German-speaking minority in the Sudetenland as a pretext. The Munich Agreement, signed by Britain and France without Czechoslovakian input, ceded the Sudetenland to Germany in exchange for Hitler's promise of no further territorial demands—a promise he quickly broke, leading to the full annexation of Czechoslovakia in March 1939. This starkly revealed Hitler's aggressive intentions.

Following the annexation of Czechoslovakia, Britain and France abandoned appeasement, offering military guarantees to Poland and other Eastern European nations. Hitler, believing these powers were bluffing, set his sights on Poland, again using the alleged mistreatment of ethnic Germans as a justification. He secured a non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union (the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact) to avoid a two-front war. On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland, marking the definitive end to peace. Britain and France delivered ultimata, and upon Germany's failure to withdraw, declared war, thus beginning World War II.