what caused the world war 2
Causes of World War II
The culmination of events that led to the outbreak of war are generally understood to be the 1939 invasion of Poland by Germany and Soviet Russia and the 1937 invasion of the Republic of China by the Empire of Japan .
Causes of World War II Axis powers World War II by country Anti-Comintern Pact History of Germany Andreas Hillgruber Diplomatic history of World War II Remilitarization of the Rhineland Joachim von Ribbentrop World War II Blockade of Germany (1939–1945) History of Poland History of the Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946) International relations (1919–1939) Cold War History of Western civilization History of Poland (1939–1945) History of Austria Georges Bonnet History of France Danzig crisis International relations (1814–1919) Benito Mussolini Nazi Germany Adolf Hitler European foreign policy of the Chamberlain ministry Nazism William Christian Bullitt Jr. Remilitarisation of the Rhineland French Third Republic Fascism and ideology Foreign policy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration Catholic resistance to Nazi Germany History of Australia Allies of World War II Robert Coulondre Second Sino-Japanese War History of United States foreign policy Treaty of Versailles Herbert von Dirksen Joseph Stalin Historikerstreit Polish–Soviet War Eastern Front (World War II) Germany–Soviet Union relations, 1918–1941 History of the United Kingdom Foreign relations of the Soviet Union Diplomatic history of World War I Ion Antonescu History of French foreign relations List of modern great powers Kingdom of Italy History of the foreign relations of the United Kingdom World War I League of Nations German resistance to Nazism Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact Weimar Republic Léon Blum History of socialism Nazi racial theories History of Italy Munich Agreement Catholic Church and Nazi Germany Soviet Union Germany–Japan relations Interwar period Suez Crisis Fascism History of the United States History of Lithuania Carol II of Romania History of the Netherlands Spanish Civil War French Resistance New Order (Nazism) Japan–United States relations Invasion of Poland René Massigli Foreign relations of India Appeasement History of Poland (1945–1989) Late modern period Themes in Nazi propaganda Saint-John Perse Economic history of the United Kingdom Carl Friedrich Goerdeler Vichy France United Kingdom–United States relations Iran–Iraq War Leon Trotsky History of Europe Greco-Italian War Franklin D. Roosevelt Key events of the 20th century South African Border War History of Russia Hugo W. Koehler Neville Chamberlain Soviet Union in World War II Mohammad Reza Pahlavi Erwin Rommel Anti-communism Russo-Japanese War Timeline of events preceding World War II France–United Kingdom relations Pacific War Winston Churchill Operation Barbarossa German–Soviet economic relations (1934–1941) United States involvement in regime change History of Albania Empire of Japan Marxism–Leninism Foreign relations of the Axis powers Anschluss Military history of France during World War II Japanese war crimes Military history of Japan Fascist Italy (1922–1943) Cold War (1953–1962) History of the Jews in Poland Soviet–Afghan War Presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt, first and second terms Paul von Hindenburg Military strategy Responsibility for the Holocaust Zhou Enlai History of U.S. foreign policy, 1913–1933 History of Guatemala History of Hungary Military history of the United States during World War II Eastern Bloc History of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1648–1764) Wellington Koo Sir Henry Wilson, 1st Baronet China–United States relations Foreign policy of the Donald Trump administration Latin America American imperialism Military history of the United Kingdom during World War II Charles Theodore Te Water Charles Corbin French Indochina Hans-Adolf von Moltke Battle of France German National People's Party War guilt question Military history of Italy during World War II Amin al-Husseini History of the Philippines Fourteen Points History of Poles in the United States German radio intelligence operations during World War II Flight and expulsion of Germans (1944–1950) Napoleon III Winter War Vietnam War Economic history of the United States Korean War History of Israel Foreign policy of the George W. Bush administration Military history of Italy Otto von Bismarck Imperialism Presidency of Woodrow Wilson Alfred Hugenberg Presidency of Harry S. Truman David Lloyd George Interwar Britain Battle of Britain Luftnachrichten Abteilung 350 History of social democracy German Empire Strategic bombing during World War II Military history of Canada Pacific Theater aircraft carrier operations during World War II Persecution of Christians History of Latvia Francisco Franco Nationalism Occupation of Czechoslovakia (1938–1945) Douglas MacArthur Houston Stewart Chamberlain Chetniks Anne de Montmorency, 1st Duke of Montmorency Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact negotiations Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Iran–United States relations Italy Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598) Presidency of Franklin D. 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Carp Free France Yugoslav coup d'état Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict Nawaz Sharif Sixth Labour Government of New Zealand Persecution of Muslims Kosovo War History of U.S. foreign policy, 1861–1897 History of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569–1648) John Maynard Keynes Slavery in ancient Rome Neoliberalism Presidency of Joe Biden Gaza War (2008–2009) Pierre Trudeau Slavic Native Faith Dreyfus affair Italian fascism Waffen-SS Economic history of Portugal Zdeněk Fierlinger Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg American entry into World War I Ancient Carthage Antisemitism in Europe Adolphe Thiers History of the Royal Navy (after 1707) Fumimaro Konoe European Union History of the Dominican Republic United States in the Vietnam War History of Schleswig-Holstein Thirty Years' War Former eastern territories of Germany History of opera Balfour Declaration Economics of fascism Foreign relations of Taiwan Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920) Lyndon B. Johnson History of Slovakia Pakistan Schlieffen Plan Hungarian Revolution of 1956 Sukarno George F. Kennan Konrad Henlein Juan Perón Ukraine Polish–Lithuanian War Relations between the Catholic Church and the state Religion in Nazi Germany History of the United States (1865–1918) Israeli occupation of the West Bank Islamic terrorism History of the socialist movement in the United States Free City of Danzig History of Białystok Spanish–American War History of Portugal Committee of Union and Progress American propaganda during World War II Lee Kuan Yew Slavery in the United States History of Bangladesh Politics of Georgia (country) Benazir Bhutto Croat–Bosniak War Political positions of Mitt Romney Edward Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax History of the United States Navy North Korea Historiography of the British Empire History of Vietnam Konrad Adenauer Reformation British Raj Treaty of Trianon History of the Soviet Union (1964–1982) Unification of Italy Max Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook Progressive Era Timeline of the Libyan civil war (2014–2020) Conservatism Herbert Hoover History of Algeria Prussia Somalia Industrial Revolution Military history of South America Hermann Göring Jeremy Corbyn Invasion of Yugoslavia Burmese–Siamese War (1765–1767) Julius Nyerere Canada–United States relations Anarchism in Brazil History of Paris Australian Army during World War II Édouard Daladier Rescue of Jews by Catholics during the Holocaust History of Bulgaria Yemen Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia Axis occupation of Greece Anti-Chinese sentiment Richard Nixon Kuomintang Warsaw Uprising History of communism Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Colombian peace process Presidency of George Washington Detribalization International reactions to the Syrian civil war Women's suffrage Robert Menzies Populism Occupation of the Baltic states Pol Pot History of Guyana Enlargement of NATO Military deception 1964 Brazilian coup d'état Angolan Civil War Xi Jinping Tientsin incident Safavid Iran History of the United Kingdom during the First World War Taiwan History of Denmark World War II in Yugoslavia Albania Haile Selassie Foreign policy of Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential election Serbia Labor history of the United States History of the Jews in Russia Adolf Galland Foreign policy of the Russian Empire Russian Civil War Air raids on Japan History of Tyre, Lebanon Fake news Anti-Catholicism John Adams Presidency of Theodore Roosevelt History of the United States Marine Corps History of Gibraltar Cold War in Asia History of Islam Yulia Tymoshenko International sanctions during the Russo-Ukrainian War Foreign policy of the John F. Kennedy administration Trumpism Poland Battle of the Atlantic Boris Johnson Pacifism Tây Sơn wars Eleftherios Venizelos Portuguese Colonial War History of China Italian diaspora Timothy Mason History of Asia Military history of Australia during World War I Classical Anatolia War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) 17 October Revolution Central Intelligence Agency History of Virginia Oder–Neisse line History of Australia (1901–1945) Battle of the Bulge Islamic fundamentalism in Iran Deng Xiaoping Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Somaliland War of Independence Prelude to the attack on Pearl Harbor Mediterranean and Middle East theatre of World War II Special Operations Executive Political positions of John McCain Anglo-German Naval Agreement Draža Mihailović History of Israel (1948–present) Bashar al-Assad Syria Ian Smith Boxer Rebellion Roman Republic History of economic thought Political positions of Joe Biden Che Guevara Contract Piracy Mircea Eliade Reactions to the 2021–2022 Russo-Ukrainian crisis History of the Jews in Hungary 1965 in the Vietnam War Myth of the clean Wehrmacht History of Somalia Fish for finance Glossary of baseball terms International response to the Spanish Civil War Pope John Paul II Political positions of Noam Chomsky Events leading to the attack on Pearl Harbor Russia–European Union relations Ethiopia History of the nude in art Myanmar Subprime mortgage crisis List of Fables characters History of Asmara 1953 Iranian coup d'état Jean Chrétien French invasion of Russia Rudolf Hamburger History of terrorism India–United States relations History of Málaga Bosnian War Presidency of Richard Nixon South African criminal law Convention People's Party German militarism Chinese Communist Revolution William Lyon Mackenzie King Romania Sierra Leone History of Peru Military history of Mexico History of the Republican Party (United States) Croatian War of Independence Political views of Adolf Hitler Cavalry Tanks of the Soviet Union Russia–Ukraine relations Sri Lankan Civil War George Orwell Police brutality by country Germany Muslim Brotherhood Edward Spears Red Army Leonid Brezhnev Tanks in the German Army Ante Pavelić History of radar Criticism of communist party rule Territorial evolution of Poland Richard Sorge Baby boomers Slavery History of the United States (1789–1849) Political status of Taiwan Timeline of United States military operations Paris Commune Operation Achse Soviet Armed Forces Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine Donald Trump 2016 presidential campaign Bretton Woods system Sudan History of German settlement in Central and Eastern Europe Bulgaria–United States relations History of Croatia Holy Roman Empire History of the Catholic Church in Mexico Allies of World War I The Holocaust Wang Jingwei regime Cyprus problem Harold Wilson List of The Shield characters The Dresden Files characters Prelude to the Russian invasion of Ukraine Saddam Hussein Nanjing Massacre Benjamin Disraeli Radar in World War II German invasion of Belgium (1940) Ketuanan Melayu Donald Trump Role of Douglas Haig in 1918 South African Wars (1879–1915) South Korea Crusader states Thailand Vietnam War of the Austrian Succession Presidency of Barack Obama Imperial Japanese Navy Rudolf Hess Steele dossier History of U.S. foreign policy, 1829–1861 Economic history of China before 1912 History of the Central Intelligence Agency History of Catalonia A. 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Taylor Presidency of Abraham Lincoln Romanian Communist Party French colonial empire William Howard Taft Lviv Percentages agreement Puerto Rico Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation History of Indiana Nelson Mandela Mercenary European theatre of World War II History of the Qing dynasty Foreign internal defense Political positions of Ron Paul 2014 Scottish independence referendum Alexander Zinoviev Nevile Henderson Bleiburg repatriations History of East Germany Haiti Roman conquest of the Iberian Peninsula Sweden Colonial Nigeria History of espionage The Spirit of the Age Presidency of William McKinley Spain Propaganda in Japan during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II Nguyễn dynasty China Operation Market Garden History of Argentina Sino-Indian War Ustaše Government of Vladimir Lenin Taiwanese indigenous peoples Albanian nationalism Nicolae Petrescu-Comnen Blueberry (comics) Zbigniew Brzezinski Joseph Chamberlain History of Cumbria Historical negationism History of Mongolia Junkers Ju 87 Types of socialism American Civil Liberties Union Interwar France Political career of Rab Butler (1929–1941) History of broadcasting in Australia Sandinista National Liberation Front Adolf Hitler's cult of personality New Imperialism Aegean dispute Military history of Puerto Rico Consequences of the attack on Pearl Harbor History of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict Iran Pope Pius XII and the Holocaust History of antisemitism Anti-German sentiment 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état Falklands War Pierre Laval Historiography of the causes of World War I Canada in World War II Military history of France George Washington Interracial marriage Adam von Trott zu Solz Interim Peace Abraham Lincoln History of France (1900–present) History of the Social Democratic Party of Germany Soviet war crimes Attack on Pearl Harbor Women in government Hoa people Ngo Dinh Diem George W. 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