By the late s Hitler was careful to hide one issue — his desire for a war of conquest in eastern Europe, which would seize the rich agricultural land of the Ukraine as part of a German empire — behind another: the recovery of German territory lost as a result of the treaty of Versailles at the end of the First World War. There was clear public support in Germany for the second aim, but much less so for the first.
And the moment at which the British realised Hitler had been misleading them came in March when the Germans invaded the remaining Czech lands — territory that had not been given to them as a result of the Munich agreement the year before. According to Professor Prazmowska, the British decision to offer a guarantee to the Poles had no ideological dimension — it was straightforward, pragmatic politics.
One can still argue backwards and forwards, of course, about the relative competence of Chamberlain at Munich and subsequently over the question of the Polish guarantee, but, ultimately, all of this debate comes back to Hitler, because he was the key driver of events. And the truth is that he was driven not by rational argument but by fervent ideological belief. And so with that in mind the balance of force in Europe in looks extremely ominous, because British rearmament is beginning with real intensity from the beginning of Although recovery was experienced, the fragility of the Weimar Republic was exposed by the global crash that hit in Hitler exploited the Treaty of Versailles and the dents in German pride that it and defeat in war had created by instilling a renewed sense of extreme national pride.
The Nuremburg Rallies were used to whip up nationalist fervour by the Nazis. As early as , through the publication of Mein Kampf , Hitler had outlined an intention to unite Germans across Europe in a reconstituted territory that included Austria, before securing vast tracts of land beyond this new Reich that would ensure self-sufficiency.
Europe emerged from World War One a very changed place, with swathes of political ground being taken up by players on the extreme right and left. Stalin was identified by Hitler as a key future adversary and he was wary of Germany being caught territorially between the Soviet Union in the east and a Bolshevik Spain, together with a leftist French government, in the west. Thus, he chose to intervene in the Spanish Civil War in order to bolster the right-wing presence in Europe, whilst trialling the effectiveness of his new air force and the Blitzkrieg tactics it could help deliver.
During this time the friendship between Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy was strengthened, with Mussolini also keen to protect the European right while gaining the first place from which to benefit from German expansionism. The Japanese increasingly distrusted the West following the Wall Street Crash and held designs on subjugating China and Manchuria in a manner that echoed Nazi objectives in the east of Europe. The Soviets began an offensive on January 12, , liberating western Poland and forcing Hungary an Axis ally to surrender.
In mid-February , the Allies bombed the German city of Dresden, killing approximately 35, civilians. American troops crossed the Rhine River on March 7, A final Soviet offensive on April 16, , enabled Soviet forces to encircle the German capital, Berlin. As Soviet troops fought their way towards the Reich Chancellery, Hitler committed suicide on April 30, In August, the war in the Pacific ended soon after the US dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing , civilians.
Japan formally surrendered on September 2. World War II resulted in an estimated 55 million deaths worldwide. It was the largest and most destructive conflict in history. Bess, Michael. New York: A. Knopf, Berthon, Simon, and Joanna Potts. Plowright, John. England: Palgrave Macmillan, Weinberg, Gerhard L. New York: Enigma, We would like to thank Crown Family Philanthropies and the Abe and Ida Cooper Foundation for supporting the ongoing work to create content and resources for the Holocaust Encyclopedia.
Heavy casualties sustained in the campaigns at Iwo Jima February and Okinawa April-June , and fears of the even costlier land invasion of Japan led Truman to authorize the use of a new and devastating weapon. Developed during a top secret operation code-named The Manhattan Project, the atomic bomb was unleashed on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in early August. On August 15, the Japanese government issued a statement declaring they would accept the terms of the Potsdam Declaration, and on September 2, U.
Although more than 1 million African Americans served in the war to defeat Nazism and fascism, they did so in segregated units. The same discriminatory Jim Crow policies that were rampant in American society were reinforced by the U. Black servicemen rarely saw combat and were largely relegated to labor and supply units that were commanded by white officers.
There were several African American units that proved essential in helping to win World War II, with the Tuskegee Airmen being among the most celebrated. But the Red Ball Express, the truck convoy of mostly Black drivers were responsible for delivering essential goods to General George S. Yet, despite their role in defeating fascism, the fight for equality continued for African American soldiers after the World War II ended.
They remained in segregated units and lower-ranking positions, well into the Korean War , a few years after President Truman signed an executive order to desegregate the U. World War II proved to be the deadliest international conflict in history, taking the lives of 60 to 80 million people, including 6 million Jews who died at the hands of the Nazis during the Holocaust. Civilians made up an estimated million deaths from the war, while military comprised 21 to 25 million of those lost during the war.
Millions more were injured, and still more lost their homes and property. The legacy of the war would include the spread of communism from the Soviet Union into eastern Europe as well as its eventual triumph in China, and the global shift in power from Europe to two rival superpowers—the United States and the Soviet Union—that would soon face off against each other in the Cold War. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us!
Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present. Getting the perfect shot in wartime is not only about weapons. With over 30 countries involved in World War II and the loss of over 50 million lives, war photography captured the destruction and victories of the deadliest war in history.
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