World War II: Axis Defeat and Global Transformation
Japanese Expansion
Based on Prime Minister Tanaka’s ideas, Japan aimed to build a pan-Asian empire and expel Western powers. In 1931, Japan occupied Manchuria. The League of Nations condemned Japan, which then renounced the Washington Naval Treaty. Prince Konoe planned to conquer China, which received aid from the USSR. However, the Russo-Japanese non-aggression pact ended. The US, France, and the UK did not provide aid against Japanese aggression.
War in Spain
The war involved General Franco’s rebel troops and the Republican forces. The military uprising in July 1936 was backed by Germany and Italy. They airlifted 20,000 troops from the Army of Africa to mainland Spain. In September 1936, a non-intervention pact was signed by Germany, Italy, Portugal, the USSR, and 22 other states. The Republican government sought cooperation from the USSR. International Brigades volunteers aided the Republic. Franco’s victory in 1939 was aided by fascist powers.
German Expansion
The Spanish Civil War allowed Hitler to consolidate his friendship with Italy in 1936, forming the Rome-Berlin Axis. He also signed the Anti-Comintern Pact with Japan. The second phase of expansion aimed for a Grand Reich, uniting German-speaking lands, including Austria, Poland, and Czechoslovakia. The Anschluss, the annexation of the Sudetenland, and the division of Czechoslovakia led to World War II.
Anschluss
In 1938, Austrian Chancellor Von Schuschnigg was replaced by Nazi Seyss-Inquart, allowing Germany to absorb Austria.
Annexation of the Sudetenland
The Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia, with a German population, was annexed, creating a pre-war atmosphere. At the Munich Conference, the UK, France, and Italy accepted Hitler’s demands without Czech representation.
Division of Czechoslovakia
The German army invaded Bohemia and Moravia, making them a German protectorate and occupying Prague. Italy and Germany signed the Pact of Steel, reinforcing the Rome-Berlin Axis. Hitler signed a pact with Stalin in 1939 to divide Poland.
World War II
The war developed in the Mediterranean, the Atlantic, North Africa, and the Pacific.
The Blitzkrieg
Germans entered Warsaw and invaded Norway and Denmark. Paris was occupied on June 13, and France was divided. The north and west were occupied by Germans, while the rest was under French Marshal Petain’s collaborationist state. The UK formed a coalition government under Churchill. The British defeated the Germans in the Battle of Britain. In 1941, Mussolini invaded Greece but failed, leading to Hitler conquering Yugoslavia and Greece. Romania, Bulgaria, and Hungary allied with the Reich, and Finland allied with Germany against the USSR.
Eastern Front
Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941. In Operation Barbarossa, German troops conquered Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Belarus, and Ukraine. They were stopped at Leningrad and Moscow. In 1942, the Germans planned to conquer Stalingrad but were defeated and forced to surrender.
War in Asia and the Pacific
Japan took over Indochina, Indonesia, Malaysia, Burma, and Hong Kong. The US declared a trade embargo. Prince Konoe was replaced by General Tojo. Japan bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941. Roosevelt declared war on Japan, supported by the UK. Germany and Italy declared war on the US, extending the war to the Pacific. Japan conquered the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Burma, and many Pacific islands. The Allies achieved victories in the Coral Sea, Midway, and Guadalcanal.
African Front
The Germans aimed to control the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean. Germans and Italians were defeated by the British under Montgomery at the Battle of El Alamein. Anglo-American forces under Eisenhower defeated the Afrika Korps.
Defeat of the Axis
Fall of Italy
Following the Casablanca Conference, the Allies landed in Sicily. Mussolini was deposed but freed by German paratroopers, forming a new fascist government in the north. The Allies fought the Germans in the south and reached Rome.
Fall of the Eastern Front
In 1944, Romania, Bulgaria, and parts of Poland were liberated. A year later, Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, and the rest of Poland were occupied.
Atlantic Front
On D-Day in 1944, Allied troops under Eisenhower landed in Normandy and liberated Paris.
End of the War in Europe
Allied forces liberated France and Belgium. Germany was weakened on two fronts. Hitler committed suicide and was succeeded by K. Dönitz. In May 1945, the Russians entered Berlin, and Germany surrendered to Eisenhower and Zhukov.
End of the War in the Pacific
The Pacific offensive was decided at the Cairo Conference. The Americans occupied the Marshall Islands, the Marianas, and the Carolinas. Tokyo was bombed. Truman dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. Japan surrendered in September 1945, with Hirohito remaining head of state but accepting a constitutional monarchy.
War Assessment
The war caused economic, demographic, political, and territorial changes. New technologies like tanks, submarines, and aircraft carriers were developed. Many states were involved across continents and oceans. Civilian populations suffered and participated through resistance movements. Economic systems were subordinated to military interests. Scientific and ideological warfare developed through media.
Demographic Impact
The USSR (21 million) and China (13 million) suffered the highest losses, many of them civilians. Causes included malnutrition, disease, bombing, and extermination operations like Auschwitz, where Jews, Gypsies, and Communists were imprisoned. The Nazis decided to exterminate all Jews at the Wannsee Conference.
Economic Impact
The war exacerbated economic decline in Europe, strengthening the US economy, which helped rebuild Europe.
Political and Territorial Changes
The US, Soviet Union, and UK held conferences: the Casablanca Conference (1943), deciding on unconditional surrender; the Tehran Conference, discussing German demilitarization; the Yalta Conference, planning the division of Germany; and the Potsdam Conference (1945), modifying the Polish border and dividing Berlin and Austria. War criminals were tried at Nuremberg. Peace treaties were signed in 1947. Europe was divided into US and USSR spheres of influence.
Creation of the UN
The UN declaration was signed by British, American, and Soviet representatives in Washington. The United Nations Organization (UNO) was founded at the San Francisco Conference in 1945. The UN Charter, drafted by 51 countries, outlined principles like sovereign equality, peace regulation, cultural promotion, and human rights.
UN Structure
- General Assembly: Deliberative body of member states.
- Security Council: Executive branch with five permanent members (China, USA, USSR, UK, France) and ten elected members.
- Economic and Social Council: 54 members responsible for economic and social cooperation.
- Secretariat: Mediates conflicts, handles administrative functions, and ensures decision implementation. The Secretary-General is the chief administrator.
- International Court of Justice: Judicial branch in The Hague.
Specialized agencies include FAO, IMF, UNICEF, and UNESCO.