27.1 The Origins of War: Europe, Asia, and the United States

The Rise of Fascism and Nazism in Europe

The interwar period (1919–1939) saw economic collapse and political instability push several European nations toward authoritarian rule. Understanding how fascism took hold in Italy and Germany, and how aggression in both Europe and Asia escalated into a global war, is central to understanding why the United States eventually abandoned neutrality and entered World War II.

Rise of Fascism in Interwar Europe

Fascism first took root in Italy under Benito Mussolini. It emphasized nationalism, authoritarianism, and militarism, and it gained popular support because of economic instability after World War I and widespread fear of a communist revolution. Mussolini became Prime Minister in 1922 and quickly built a totalitarian state that suppressed political opposition and tightly controlled the media.

In Germany, Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party developed their own version of fascism that combined authoritarian nationalism with extreme racism and antisemitism. The Nazis scapegoated Jews and other minorities for Germany's economic suffering and its humiliation after World War I.

Hitler became Chancellor in 1933 and consolidated power rapidly:

• The Enabling Act (1933) gave him the authority to pass laws without the Reichstag (parliament), effectively ending democratic government.
• The Nuremberg Laws (1935) stripped Jews of citizenship and civil rights, codifying discrimination into law.
• Germany rearmed in direct violation of the Treaty of Versailles, reoccupied the Rhineland in 1936, and pursued the creation of a "Greater Germany" by annexing Austria and the Sudetenland.

Factors Contributing to the Outbreak of World War II

Several long-term forces created the conditions for another global conflict:

• Imperialism: Major powers competed to expand their territories and access to resources, generating friction across Europe, Africa, and Asia.
• Militarism: Nations poured resources into building up their armed forces and weaponry, creating an atmosphere of tension and mutual distrust.
• Nationalism: Extreme national pride and beliefs in racial or cultural superiority fueled aggressive foreign policies and territorial disputes.
• Alliance systems: A complex web of alliances meant that a conflict between two nations could quickly drag in many others.
• Arms race: Countries competed to build the most powerful militaries, making diplomacy harder and war more likely.

These factors echo the causes of World War I, but the added ingredient of fascist ideology made the aggression more deliberate and ideologically driven.

Triggers of World War II

In Europe:

1. Anschluss (March 1938): Germany annexed Austria, uniting the two German-speaking nations in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. The international community did not intervene.
2. Munich Agreement (September 1938): Britain and France permitted Germany to annex Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland in exchange for a promise of no further expansion. This is the most well-known example of appeasement, the policy of making concessions to avoid war. It failed: Hitler seized the rest of Czechoslovakia within months.
3. Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact (August 1939): Germany and the Soviet Union secretly agreed to divide Eastern Europe between them, including Poland and the Baltic states. This pact freed Hitler to invade Poland without fear of a two-front war.
4. German invasion of Poland (September 1, 1939): This was the direct trigger. Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later, beginning World War II in Europe.

In Asia:

1. Japanese invasion of Manchuria (1931): Japan seized this resource-rich region of China and established a puppet state called Manchukuo. The League of Nations condemned the invasion but took no meaningful action.
2. Second Sino-Japanese War (began 1937): Full-scale war between Japan and China escalated tensions across the Pacific as Japan sought to dominate East Asia.
3. Attack on Pearl Harbor (December 7, 1941): After years of rising tensions over Japanese expansion and U.S. economic sanctions (including an oil embargo), Japan launched a surprise attack on the U.S. naval base in Hawaii. This brought the United States directly into the war.

Roosevelt's Pre-War Policy Balance

President Franklin Roosevelt faced a difficult balancing act: much of the American public supported isolationism, but the growing threat from the Axis powers made total neutrality increasingly dangerous. U.S. policy shifted gradually from strict neutrality toward active support of the Allies.

• Neutrality Acts (1935–1937): Congress passed a series of laws designed to keep the U.S. out of foreign wars by prohibiting arms sales and loans to nations at war.
• Cash and Carry (1939): This revision allowed warring nations to buy U.S. goods as long as they paid in cash and transported them on their own ships. In practice, this benefited Britain and France because they controlled the Atlantic shipping lanes.
• Lend-Lease Act (March 1941): The U.S. could now lend or lease war materials to any nation whose defense was considered vital to American security. This was a major shift away from neutrality and funneled billions of dollars in supplies to Britain, the Soviet Union, and China.
• Atlantic Charter (August 1941): Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill issued a joint declaration outlining post-war goals, including national self-determination, free trade, and collective security. Though the U.S. was not yet officially at war, the Charter signaled clear alignment with the Allies against the Axis powers.