Causes of World War II

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Many people, though not all, view World War II as a continuation of World War I. Firstly, some believe that the Versailles Treaty, drafted at the conclusion of the First World War, failed to set up the parameters which may have prevented the Second.

Also, World War I lacked a dramatically decisive conclusion. Germany was unconquered and its people anticipated a treaty along the lines of the Fourteen Points. This peace proposal was largely abandoned in favor of punishing Germany for its alleged "war responsibility", an ineffective compromise that left Germany smaller, weaker and embittered, but capable of rebounding, seeking revenge. Also, with the League of Nations lacking the support and cooperation needed to be an effective international peacekeeping system, the seeds for further conflict in Europe were sown.

Elsewhere, Japan sought raw materials and a mainland empire, putting it in conflict with the United States and China.

The Soviet Union, disappointed that world revolution had not broken out spontaneously, hoped to topple capitalism, by military means if necessary.

Underlying these simple causes, there are themes which resonate to this day.

General

The Second World War started after the actions of Germany and Japan became intolerable to their neighbours. These aggressive acts had continued for a number of years and were eventually met with armed resistance, after the invasion of Poland in Europe, and the invasion of China in Asia. In both cases the attacks were triggered by expansionistic and racist ruling elites, which had come to power over the preceding decades. The reasons for their rise to power shared some similarities, but were also quite different from country to country.

The Nazi Party came to power in Germany by democratic means, although after acquiring power they eliminated most vestiges of Germany's democratic system. The reasons for their popularity included their renouncement of the Treaty of Versailles, which had placed many restrictions on Germany since the end of the First World War, staunch anti-communism, and promises of stability and economic reconstruction. They also appealed to a sense of Germanic identity, superiority and entitlement, which would play an important role in starting the war, as they demanded the integration of lands they considered to be rightfully German.

Italy became totalitarian before Germany, but did so for similar reasons.

Ideological

Communism

The Russian Revolution created a new fear in many Germans of communist insurrection in their own country. Shortly after World War I, there had been an attempted revolt by the communists to seize power in the country, which had been put down by ex-soldiers operating under former commanders. Such forces made up an important part of the early Nazi Party. Most conservative and right wing sections within the Western Allies, including Neville Chamberlain were venomously anti-communist; though they had failed to win support for their war against the Soviet Union from their war weary countries in the 1919-20 interventions; they encouraged and supported right wing fanaticism in "buffer states" like Germany and Poland and tacitly supported fascism in the Spanish Civil War. Some saw in Fascism a force that would militarily oppose the Soviet Union as proxy for Western Capitalism. Not suprisingly, the Nazis recieved a great deal of help from many large corporations, and Britain and France betrayed their European alliances, particularly Czechoslovakia, due to "appeasement". Once the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact had come into force and it was clear Hitler's aggression would not be restricted to anti-Soviet activity, his foreign support waned, although other factors are important. Hitler appealed to this audience in Mein Kampf and duly received support in the years to follow. His expectation of England and America eventually making peace with the Third Reich was based on support he received during the 1920s and 1930s. This reasoning supported his "suicidal" attack on the USSR in 1941, and the hope of joining the USA and Britain as allies against Russia was nursed by the Nazis until the last days of the war.

Expansionism

Italy entered the war because Benito Mussolini, dictator of Italy, hoped to create a New Roman Empire based around the Mediterranean. Bitterness over minimal gains after helping the Allies achieve victory in World War I helped to fuel these expansionist ambitions, coupled with a collective memory of Italy's romanticized past as the heart of the Roman Empire.

Mussolini invaded Albania in early 1939, before the official start of the war, and later invaded Greece. Italy had also invaded Ethiopia as early as 1935. This provoked little response from the League of Nations and the former Allied powers, a reaction to empire-building that was common througout the 1930's.

After World War I, the German State had lost land to Lithuania, France, Poland, and Denmark. The result was relocation, bitterness among Germans for the loss and also difficult relations with those in these neighboring countries, contributing to feelings of revanchism which inspired irredentism. Under the Nazi regime, Germany began its own program of expansion, seeking to restore the "rightful" boundaries of pre-World War I Germany, resulting in the reoccupation of the Rhineland and action in the Polish Corridor, leading to an inevitable war with Poland. However, due to Allied appeasement and prior inaction, Hitler estimated that he could invade Poland without provoking a general war and, at the worst, spark Allied intervention with the war already decided.

Also of importance was the idea of a Greater Germany, where supporters hoped to unite the German people under one nation. Germany's pre-World War II ambitions in both Austria and Czechoslovakia mirror this goal. After the Treaty of Versailles, an Anschluss, or union, between Germany and a newly reformed Austria was prohibited by the Allies. Such a plan of unification, predating the creation of the German State of 1871, had been discarded due to the Austro-Hungarian Empire's multiethnic composition as well as competition between Prussia and Austria for hegemony. At the end of World War I, the majority of Austria's population supported such a union.

Japan gave up all but the few islands it had gained in the First World War. All of these nations were left stinging by the loss (or little gain) they received from the war. This attitude led many members of these nations to support those individuals and political parties who wished to gain territory.

Thus, all the nations considered aggressors in World War II were left wanting for territory in some way by World War I.

Germany lost territory after the war. Notably the Polish Corridor the Memel Territory (to Lithuania), the Province of Posen and the most economically valuable eastern portion of Upper Silesia. The economically valuable regions of the Saarland and the Rhineland were placed under the authority (but not jurisdiction) of France.

At Versailles, Italy had been promised large chunks of Austrian territory, but received only South Tirol, and promises made about Albania and Asia Minor were ignored by the more powerful nations.

Hungary, an ally of Germany had also been stripped of enormous territories after the partition of Austria-Hungary and hoped to regain those lands by allying with Germany.

Japan had also, in 1915, joined the Allies and taken a German colony in China and a few islands which it had occupied, as well as swaths of Siberia and the Russian port of Vladivostok. Japan was forced to give up all but the few islands it had gained in the war. All of these nations were left stinging by the loss (or little gain) they received from the war. This attitude led many members of these nations to support those individuals and political parties who wished to gain territory for these nations.

Fascism

The French slogan of "Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity", whose concepts had been adopted to some extent throughout Europe, was superceded by "Work, Family, and Fatherland".

In short, under fascism the individual is not as important as the group. Loyalty to the nation-state is prized above all else. Those who cannot work, such as the disabled, are less valuable than those who can contribute to the common good.

Isolationism

Isolationism was the dominant foreign policy of the United States following World War I. Although the U.S. remained active in the Western Hemisphere and the Pacific, it withdrew from European alliances.

Popular sentiment in Britain and France was also isolationist. In reference to Czechoslovakia, Neville Chamberlain said "How horrible, fantastic it is that we should be digging trenches and trying on gas-masks here because of a quarrel in a far away country between people of whom we know nothing. I am myself a man of peace from the depths of my soul."

Within a few years of this statement, Paris would be occupied, bombs would be falling on London, and Japanese soldiers would be on American soil.

Militarism

A highly militaristic and aggressive attitude prevailed among the leaders of Germany, Japan and Soviet Union. Compounding this fact was the traditional militant attitude of the first two, and the former Russian Empire had a similar track record that is often underestimated.

Nationalism

Perhaps the greatest underlying factor causing the war, nationalism was the primary reason for German, Italian and Japanese aggression. Fascism in these countries was built largely upon nationalism and the search for a cohesive "nation state". Hitler and his Nazi party used nationalism to great effect in Germany, already a nation where fervent nationalism was prevalent. In Italy, the idea of restoring the Roman Empire was attractive to many Italians. In Japan, nationalism, in the sense of duty and honor, especially to the emperor, had been widespread for centuries.

Racism

The Nazis believed that Germans, the "Aryan race", were the master race. The Nazis propagated anti-semitism as a means to gain power. Evidence of Nazi racism can also be seen in their attitude towards the "Rhineland Bastards", children of French colonial troops in the Rhineland.

Japan, led by a militaristic government, had an increasingly imperialistic program in the 1930s. Many Japanese were virulently racist, both towards Europeans, but also against other Asian peoples such as Koreans, Ainu, and Chinese. To these Japanese racists, anyone who was not Japanese was considered inferior and treated as such. Rapid industrialization and progress through the 19th and 20th centuries had left them economically and technologically ahead of their neighbours. This made officials in Washington highly suspicious of Japanese actions, which proved to be well-founded, as Japan used that technological lead to invade and brutally occupy many of Japan's Asian neighbors in the 1930s and 1940s. Compounding worries, China was unable to effectively counterbalance Japanese power at the time due to a number of factors: the Chinese Civil War, lack of strong leadership, and technological inferiority, especially in aircraft.

Structural or Systemic

Treaty Obligations

The Treaty of Versailles was neither lenient enough to appease Germany, nor harsh enough to prevent it from becoming the dominant continental power again.

The Treaty can be said to be the single most important, indirect cause of the war. It placed the blame, or "war guilt" on Germany and Austria-Hungary, but due to a poor translation this was understood in Germany to mean Germany alone. Secondly, harsh reparations imposed by the treaty hampered the German economy by causing rapid hyperinflation (the Weimar Republic printed trillions to help pay off its debts) and caused people to support authoritarian parties like the Nazis and the Communists. In Germany, the Treaty forced the country to limit its armed forces to 100,000, forbade it having an airforce, demilitarized the Rhineland, a region in western Germany next to France, and placed the Saar region under the League of Nations' control. These restrictions not only hampered the German economy (the Saar region, though small, was fairly industrialized) but also created bitter resentment towards the victors of the First World War within Germany making it easy to whip up popular sentiment against the Western Allies. A part of that resentment was that many Germans felt that they had never been truly defeated in battle since the country had never been conquered; many felt that the German government had agreed to an armistice on the understanding that Wilson's Fourteen Points would be used as a guideline for the peace treaty. However, the Treaty of Versailles and the subsequent peace treaties disregarded the Fourteen Points in many instances. An opposite view of the Treaty by some historians is that it did not go far enough in permanently neutering the capability of Germany to be a great power. For example the Treaty did not divide Germany into smaller, less powerful states incapable of disrupting the balance of power in Europe, in effect 'undoing Bismarck's work'. This is what the French delegation at the Paris Peace Conference had wanted but it did not succeed in including it in the Treaty because it was opposed by other delegations.

Economic Depression

The Great Depression resulted in 33% unemployment rate in Germany and a 25% unemployment rate in the US. The German mark's value became 1 trillionth its former rate. This led many people to support dictatorships just for a steady job and adequate food.

The Great Depression hit Germany second only to the United States. Severe unemployment prompted the Nazi party, which had been losing favor, to experience a surge in membership. This more than anything contributed to the rise of Hitler in Germany, and therefore World War II in Europe. After the end of World War I many American industries and banks invested their money in rebuilding Europe. This happened in many European countries, but especially in Germany. After the 1929 crash many American investors fearing that they would lose their money, or having lost all their capital, stopped investing as heavily in Europe.

Competition for Resources

Other than a few coal and iron deposits, Japan lacks true natural resources. Japan, the only Asian country with a burgeoning industrial economy at that time, feared that a lack of raw materials might lead to an inability to grow. In the hopes of expanding its resources, Japan invaded Manchuria, with plans to conquer much more land through the Asian mainland and the entire western Pacific. The Imperial Navy eventually began to feel that it did not have enough fuel reserves. Therefore, they supported the idea of seizing islands in the Pacific with raw materials, including the Dutch East Indies and the Philippines. This would require the elimination of the US fleet in Pearl Harbor.

For a variety of reasons, Japan and the United States relations were very suspicious. Japan hated American power in the region and the US did not trust Japanese intentions. The two were often in competition for resources in the region. Any time one of the sides gained power or resources, the other country felt the need to gain something as well.

Japan felt threatened by the US and wanted sole power in the Pacific region. At the same time some Americans began to develop racist feelings towards Japanese and other Asian Americans. Several laws were also passed in America and Canada which were more or less prejudiced against the Japanese and other Asians.

European Civil War

Some academics are calling World War II a European Civil War.

Psychological

Appeasement

Appeasement is a response to aggression in which the defender grants concessions in return for peace. As a diplomatic strategy, it fails. Britain and France demonstrated this in 1938 by sacrificing a potent ally, Czechoslovakia, hoping to avoid a repeat of the horrors of World War I.

Appeasement not only gave Hitler what he wanted; it made him more likely to push for more and also gave the Germans time to rearm. Hitler himself said that when he reoccupied the Rhineland, "that the Army had a standing order to retreat" if the French showed any resistance. When he invaded Poland, he doubted that France and Britain would intervene any more decisively than they did for Czechoslovakia, Austria, or to enforce the disarmament provisions of the Treaty of Versailles.

Mental Illness

Other psychologists have argued that while human temperament allows wars to occur, they only do so when mentally unbalanced men are in control of a nation. This school of thought argues leaders that seek war such as Napoleon, Hitler, and Stalin were insane.

Sexuality

There has also been a revival of interest in recent times, among many academic historians, with regard to the profound cult of masculinity that permeated fascism, the attempts to systematically control female sexuality and reproductive behavior for the ends of the State. Italian fascists viewed increasing the birthrate of Italy as a major goal of their regime, with Mussolini launching a program, called the "Battle For Births", to almost double the country's population. The exclusive role assigned to women within the State was to be mothers and not workers or soldiers.

According to Anson Rabinbach and Jessica Benjamin, "The crucial element of fascism is its explicit sexual language, what Theweleit calls 'the conscious coding' or the 'over-explicitness of the fascist language of symbol.' This fascist symbolization creates a particular kind of psychic economy which places sexuality in the service of destruction. Despite its sexually-charged politics, fascism is an anti-eros, 'the core of all fascist propaganda is a battle against everything that constitutes enjoyment and pleasure'… He shows that in this world of war the repudiation of one's own body, of femininity, becomes a psychic compulsion which associates masculinity with hardness, destruction, and self-denial."

Specific Events

Franco-Prussian War

The Franco-Prussian War was initiated by Napoleon III, who was alarmed at the rapid growth in population and unity among the German people. This period marked a relative decline in the strength of France, which would continue into the 20th century. The territory of Alsace-Lorraine, a historic battleground, had been part of France since 1648, when part of it was first obtained after the Peace of Westphalia. When France lost this territory to the newly unified Germany, the revanchism that shaped French policy up until World War I took hold.

Also, following the Franco-Prussian war, the continental Great Powers adopted conscription and large standing armies, even during times of peace.

World War I

The so-called War to End All Wars did not solve any of the problems which had caused it; indeed, many scholars have begun to think of World War I and II as World War Part I and Part II. Large groups of nationalistic minorities still remained trapped in other nations. For example, Yugoslavia (originally the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes) had 5 major ethnic groups (the Serbs, Croats, Macedons, Montenegrins, and the Slovenes), and it was created after the war. Other examples abound in the former lands of Austria-Hungary which were divided up quite arbitrarily and unfairly after the war. For example, Hungary was held responsible for the war and stripped of two thirds of its territory while Austria, which had been an equal partner in the Austro-Hungarian government, had its territory expanded.

The Germans had a difficult time accepting defeat. At the end of the war, the navy was in a state of mutiny, and the army was retreating (but not routing) in the face of an enemy with more men and material. Despite this reality, some Germans, notably Hitler, advanced the idea that the army would somehow have triumphed if not for the German Revolution at home. This "Stab in the Back" theory was used to convince the people that a second world war would be winnable.

League of Nations

The League of Nations was an international organization founded after World War I to prevent future wars. The League's methods included disarmament; preventing war through collective security; settling disputes between countries through negotiation diplomacy; and improving global welfare. The diplomatic philosophy behind the League represented a fundamental shift in thought from the preceding hundred years. The old philosophy, growing out of the Congress of Vienna (1815), saw Europe as a shifting map of alliances among nation-states, creating a balance of power maintained by strong armies and secret agreements. Under the new philosophy, the League was a government of governments, with the role of settling disputes between individual nations in an open and legalist forum. The impetus for the founding of the League came from U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, though the United States never joined the League of Nations.

The League lacked an armed force of its own and so depended on the Great Powers to enforce its resolutions, keep to economic sanctions which the League ordered, or provide an army, when needed, for the League to use. However, they were often very reluctant to do so.

After a number of notable successes and some early failures in the 1920's, the League ultimately proved incapable of preventing aggression by the Axis Powers in the 1930's.

Weimar Republic

The Weimar Republic governed Germany from 1919 to 1933. The republic was named after the city of Weimar, where a national assembly convened to produce a new constitution after the German Empire was abolished following the nation's defeat in World War I. It was a liberal democracy in the style of France and the United States.

The Beer Hall Putsch was a failed Nazi coup d'état which occurred in the evening of Thursday, November 8 to the early afternoon of Friday, November 9 1923. Adolf Hitler, using the popular World War I General Erich Ludendorff, unsuccessfully tried to overthrow the Weimar Republic. Following the Putsch, Hitler was imprisoned and wrote Mein Kampf.

Nazi Dictatorship

Hitler was appointed chancellor on January 30, 1933. The arson of the parliament building on February 27 (which some have claimed the Nazis had instigated) was used as an excuse for the cancellation of civil and political liberties, enacted by the aged president Paul von Hindenburg and the rightist coalition cabinet led by Hitler.

After new elections a Nazi-led majority abolished parliamentarism, the Weimar constitution, and practically the parliament itself through the Enabling Act on March 23, whereby the Nazis' planned Gleichschaltung (regimentation) of Germany was made formally legal.

In the "Night of the Long Knives", Hitler's men murdered his remaining political rivals.

After Hindenburg died on August 2, 1934, the authority of the presidency fell into the hands of Adolf Hitler; and without much resistance from the army leadership, the Soldiers' Oath was modified into an oath of obedience to Adolf Hitler personally.

In violation of the Treaty of Versailles and the spirit of the Locarno Pact, Germany reoccupied the Rhineland on Saturday, March 7, 1936. The occupation was done with very little military force, the troops entering on bicycles, and could easily have been stopped had it not been for the appeasement mentality. France could not act due to political instability at the time. In addition, since the remilitarization occurred on a weekend, the British Government could not find out or discuss actions to be taken until the following Monday. As a result of this, the governments were inclined to see the remilitarisation as a fait accompli.

Spanish Civil War

Germany and Italy lent support to the fascist insurrection led by Francisco Franco in Spain. The Soviet Union supported the existing government, the Spanish Republic. Both sides used this war as an opportunity to test improved weapons and tactics. The Bombing of Guernica was a horrific attack on civilians which foreshadowed events that would occur throughout Europe.

Sino-Japanese War

The Second Sino-Japanese War began in 1937 when Japan attacked deep into China from its foothold in Manchuria. The Japanese captured the Chinese capital city Nanking (now Nanjing), and committed brutal atrocities in the Rape of Nanking.

Anschluss

The Anschluss was the 1938 annexation of Austria into Germany. This was expressly forbidden in the Treaty of Versailles.

The Anschluss was preceded by a period of growing political pressure on Austria, exerted by Germany, demanding recognition of the outlawed Austrian National Socialist (Nazi) Party and later, their share of government. In 1938, Austrian chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg, in a last bid to retain Austrian independence, announced a referendum to determine independence or union with Germany. Germany then pressured Schuschnigg into resigning. A well-planned coup d'état by the Nazi Party on March 11 meant that when Wehrmacht troops entered Austria to enforce the Anschluss, no fighting ever took place.

The international response to the Anschluss was mild. The drafters of the Treaty of Versailles, the Allies of World War I, only lodged diplomatic protests. No concrete action was taken to reverse the Anschluss, even though the Allies were, on paper, committed to upholding the terms of the Treaty. Austria ceased to exist as an independent state.

Munich Agreement

With Austria secured, Hitler turned his attention to Czechoslovakia. Unlike Austria, Czechoslovakia was not a German-speaking country, had a large and modern army backed with a huge armament industry, and had a military alliance with France. Hitler first demanded the mountainous border region called the Sudetenland, in which lived a significant German-speaking population. This region formed about one third of Bohemia (western Czechoslovakia) in terms of territory, population, and economy. The Sudetenland was equipped with a huge defensive system (larger than the Maginot line) and represented Czechoslovakia's only viable military defense against Germany.

Following lengthy negotiations, and blatant war threats from Hitler, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and French leaders appeased Hitler. In the Munich Agreement of September 30, 1938, the four European powers allowed, "for the sake of peace", German troops to occupy the Sudetenland. Czechoslovakia, which at that time had already mobilized over one million troops and was prepared to fight to preserve its independence, was not allowed to participate in the conference. When the French and British negotiators informed the Czechoslovak representatives about the agreement, and that if Czechoslovakia would not accept it, France and Britain would consider Czechoslovakia to be responsible for war, president Edvard Beneš capitulated. German (and soon after also Polish and Hungarian) forces invaded. A few months after that, on March 15, 1939, the remaining parts of Czechoslovakia were occupied by Germany as well. Slovakia became a German puppet state, recognized by France, Britain and other important powers (see under Jozef Tiso).

Before Munich, France, Czechoslovakia and Poland were together strong enough to stop German aggression. By betraying its ally, France lost a good chance to prevent itself from being overrun.

Soviet-Japanese Border War

In 1939, the Japanese attacked north from Manchuria into Siberia. They were decisively beaten by Soviet units under General Georgy Zhukov. Following this battle, the Soviet Union and Japan were at peace until 1945. Japan looked south to expand its empire, leading to conflict with the United States over the Philippines and control of shipping lanes to the Dutch East Indies. The Soviet Union focused on the west, leaving only minimal troops to guard the frontier with Japan.

Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact

The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was a non-aggression treaty between Germany and the Soviet Union. It was signed in Moscow on August 23, 1939, by the Soviet foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov and the German foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop.

In 1939, neither Germany nor the Soviet Union were ready to go to war with each other. The Soviet Union had lost territory to Poland in 1920 and would not tolerate German occupation of all of Poland. Although officially labeled a "non-aggression treaty", the Pact included a secret protocol, in which the independent countries of Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania were divided into spheres of interest of the parties. The secret protocol explicitly assumed "territorial and political rearrangements" in the areas of these countries.

Subsequently all the mentioned countries were invaded, occupied or forced to cede part of their territory by either the Soviet Union, Germany, or both.

Invasion of Poland

Britain and France both signed military alliances with Poland. The Germans invaded on September 1, 1939, falsely claiming that Poland had attacked first. Britain and France declared war on Germany. Within weeks, the Soviet Union attacked Poland from the east, ending any chance the Polish military had of holding out until France could organize an attack on Germany.

Invasion of the Soviet Union

By attacking the Soviet Union in June, 1941, Hitler committed what is widely regarded as a strategic blunder. Leaving the United Kingdom unbeaten in his rear, he opened up a debilitating two front war. Another theory goes that if Hitler had not attacked, Stalin would have done so first, under conditions in which the large Red Army could bring all its force to bear.

Attack on Pearl Harbor

The Japanese Combined Fleet attacked Pearl Harbor hoping to destroy the United States Pacific Fleet at anchor. Even though the Japanese knew that the U.S. had the potential to build more ships, they hoped that they would feed reinforcements in piecemeal and thus the Japanese Navy would be able to defeat them in detail. This nearly happened during the Battle of Wake Island shortly after.

Within days, Germany declared war on the United States, effectively ending isolationist sentiment in the U.S. which had so far prevented it from entering the war.

See also

• War
• World War I
• World War II

References

External links

• [The History Channel]
• [France, Germany and the Struggle for the War-making Natural Resources of the Rhineland] Explains the long term conflict between Germany and France over the centuries, which was a contributing factor to the World Wars.

World War II
Theatres	Main events		Specific articles		Participants
Prelude: • Causes • in Europe • in Asia Main theatres: • Europe • Eastern Europe • Africa • Middle East • Mediterranean • Asia & Pacific • China • Atlantic General timeline: Timeline		1939: • Polish Campaign • Phony War 1940: • Norwegian Campaign • Battle of France • Battle of Britain 1941: • Operation Barbarossa • Attack on Pearl Harbor • Battle of Moscow • Siege of Leningrad • Battle of Sevastopol 1942: • Battle of Stalingrad • Operation Torch • Battle of Midway • Dieppe Raid 1943: • Battle of Kursk • Italian Campaign 1944: • Battle of Normandy • Operation Bagration • Battle of the Bulge • Battle of Leyte Gulf • Operation Market Garden 1945: • Operation Blackcock • Battle of Berlin • End in Europe • Hiroshima & Nagasaki • Battle of Manchuria • Surrender of Japan		• Resistance • Home Front • Technology • Production • Equipment • Cryptography • Blitzkrieg • Phony War Civilian impact and atrocities: • Holocaust • Japanese war crimes • Strategic bombings • Allied war crimes Aftermath: • Effects • Casualties • Cold War		The Allies •  Soviet Union •  United Kingdom •  United States •  China •  Poland •  France •  Netherlands •  Belgium •  Canada •  Norway •  Greece •  Yugoslavia •  Czechoslovakia •  Australia •  New Zealand •  South Africa •  India •  Egypt •  Brazil • more... The Axis •  Germany •  Japan •  Italy •  Hungary •  Bulgaria •  Romania •  Finland • more...
See Also Topics Military engagements Conferences Total war WWII in contemporary culture Military awards of World War II Attacks in North America More information on World War II: [[wiktionary:Special:Search/World War II|World War II]] from Wiktionary [[wikibooks:Special:Search/World War II|WWII Textbooks]] from Wikibooks [[wikiquote:Special:Search/World War II|WWII Quotations]] from Wikiquote [[wikisource:Special:Search/World War II|WWII Source texts]] from Wikisource [media] from Commons [[wikinews:Special:Search/World War II|WWII News stories]] from Wikinews
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