Lesson 1: World War II Begins

Lesson Focus

Explore how German and Japanese ambitions for expansion led them to invade neighboring countries. We will see how the world’s initial policy of appeasement failed, paving the inevitable path to World War II.

People to Know

Adolf Hitler

Learning Objectives

• Understand Hitler's core motivations for German territorial expansion, rooted in his beliefs about race and the need for more land.
• Identify the key alliances and aggressive events, such as violating the Treaty of Versailles and annexing territory, that led directly to war.
• Analyze Japan's motives for seizing other countries, focusing on its military's expansionist policy and the quest for natural resources.

Driven by a desire for land and power, Adolf Hitler began to challenge the Treaty of Versailles.

In 1935, he created a new air force and expanded the army, a direct violation of the treaty. Then, in 1936, his troops entered the demilitarized Rhineland.

Britain and France, hoping to avoid another war, adopted a policy of appeasement, satisfying his demands. This lack of consequences only encouraged Hitler to pursue more aggressive actions.

Following his early successes, Hitler sought to strengthen Germany's position by finding allies.

He formed the Rome-Berlin Axis with Italy and signed the Anti-Comintern Pact with Japan to oppose communism. With these new alliances securing his position, Hitler felt confident enough to pursue his goal of uniting all German-speaking peoples.

In March 1938, he annexed Austria in the Anschluss, facing no military opposition from the Western democracies.

Hitler next demanded that the Sudetenland, a region of Czechoslovakia, be given to Germany.

At the Munich Conference in September 1938, Britain and France continued their policy of appeasement, giving in to Hitler's demands to avoid war.

Note that this decision proved disastrous. By March 1939, Hitler broke his promise and seized the rest of Czechoslovakia, showing that his aggression could not be contained by negotiation.

After taking Czechoslovakia, Hitler set his sights on Poland but feared a two-front war.

To neutralize this threat, he shocked the world by signing the Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact with Stalin in August 1939, secretly agreeing to divide Poland between them.

With the Soviet Union no longer a threat, Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. This final act of aggression forced Britain and France to declare war, officially beginning World War II in Europe.

In Asia, Japan also pursued an expansionist policy to secure natural resources and dominate the region.

In 1931, the Japanese army staged an incident to justify its invasion and conquest of Manchuria. This aggression escalated in 1937 into a full-scale war with China, where the Japanese army's brutal advance led to the infamous “Rape of Nanjing.”

Japan’s military effectively controlled its foreign policy, pushing the nation further down the path to a wider war.

Germany's pact with the Soviet Union forced Japan to look south for resources, toward European colonies.

When Japan occupied French Indochina, the United States threatened to impose economic sanctions, cutting off vital oil and metal supplies that Japan’s military needed.

Faced with this dilemma, Japan’s leaders made a fateful choice: they decided to launch a surprise attack against U.S. and European territories in Southeast Asia to seize the resources they required.