The forces that produced the Second World War began with the end of World War I and the Treaty of Versailles, which imposed severe restrictions and humiliating penalties upon Germany and her allies. Fueled by the Great Depression, a wave of strong nationalism within Germany (a nation whose unemployment reached six million people, or 43 percent of the population) contributed to the election of Adolph Hitler and his program of National Socialism. Hitler assumed power at the end of 1932. He planned to return Germany to greatness by rebuilding its military, restoring economic prosperity, and taking resources and territory from its weaker neighbors.

Meanwhile, in Italy, Benito Mussolini came to power in the 1930s under the banner of ardently nationalistic Fascism. Germany and Italy linked forces in 1939 with the so-called Pact of Steel. On the other side of the world, Japanese exports declined by nearly 50 percent during the late 1920s. This was incentive for Japanese aggression and the invasion of Manchuria in 1931 in order to acquire natural resources. Italy attacked Ethiopia in 1935, and Germany took control of the Rhineland the following year. By September 1940, Japan, Germany, and Italy formed an alliance to support one another as a means of achieving their goals. The outbreak of war brought the deep political and moral crises of twentieth-century Europe to a climax. Germany wanted dominance over Europe, and Japan desired to control Asia.

The two dictators, Benito Mussolini on the left and Adolph Hitler on the right, sought to control Europe following the worldwide depression of the 1930s. Courtesy of the Cleveland Public Library.