Key Events Of Ww2

World War I set the stage for World War II. The Treaty of Versailles at the end of World War I exacted harsh measures on Germany. The treaty required Germany to admit responsibility for the devastating war and to pay reparations to the Allies for the cost of the war. The rise of Fascism in Italy and Germany and the militarist government of Japan created governments with massive amounts of power that wanted to extend that power. In Germany, Hitler wanted to rally the German people to his cause to improve the devastated German economy and regain land lost in the first World War. Germany proceeded to annex Austria and Czechoslovakia, and the powers of Europe, France and Britain, were reluctant to interfere and escalate the situation. Hitler, believing himself to be unstoppable, invaded Poland, which prompted Britain and France to declare war. While World War I impacted the development of World War II, they were drastically different in how they fought their battles. Battles in World War I were fought in the dreaded trenches, where each side fought bitterly to gain little advancement. Most battles were stalemates and each side attempted to gain
advantages with new strategies, such as with the use of mustard gas. World War II introduced

In Asia, various forms of nationalism began with native attempts to defend their interests or religious beliefs. For example, in Burma, University students protested against the persecution of Buddhism. Eventually, these acts led to the desire to establish nationhood, and many urban intellectuals used traditional values to rally the common people to their causes. In India, nationalists began by attempting reform instead of revolution, but change was slow. Indian nationalists, led by Gandhi, then began nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience to prompt change. In China, nationalism came through the rise of communism, and, in Japan, attempts at democracy faced cultural conflicts between those that rejected Western institutions and those that wished to apply Western ideals to Japanese government. In addition to cultural conflicts, increasing economic inequality plagued the newly established nations. The decline of the Ottoman Empire in the Middle East led to the rise of Arab nationalists. The inevitable fall of the Ottomans allowed Turkey to establish itself, and President Kemal successfully modernized the country in areas such as the economy. Iran attempted to establish unity in its own country after the fall of the Qajar dynasty, but Reza Khan was unable to modernize the country due to foreign influence. Throughout the Middle East, Arab nationalists attempted to establish a Arab nation, but foreign interference and disagreements on what constituted an Arab led to conflicts in the region. For example, the League of Nations established Palestine as a Jewish state, ignoring the large Muslim population, and creating religious tensions in the region

The natives of Asia and Africa responded differently to European imperialism and many were ultimately unsuccessful in their attempts to resist. Southeast Asia was reluctant to adopt Western education, democratic and economic institutions, and their weariness often led to conflict, such as in the Philippines were natives employed guerilla warfare against Europeans. However, these attempts at resistance were often unsuccessful. Some Asian areas responded differently to European imperialism. In India, most benefited from British rule and the western technological and scientific advances that came with the British raj, but India suffered economically in the textile industry due to competition from British textiles and British rule also greatly affected Indian pride. Though many in India assimilated to British Imperialism, many felt they were betraying their cultural loyalties. Thailand was successful in thwarting European imperialism and they were successful because they attempted to introduce western learning in order to maintain relations with European powers and avoid invasion. This allowed Thailand to remain independent and act as a buffer state between British and French colonies. European imperialism in Africa differed slightly.
Indirect rule in Africa allowed for the preservation of traditional customs and placed local leaders in positions of power that reported to the respective European power. This form of government led to less resistance by the African natives, but indirect rule was not always possible. Direct rule often caused resistance from African natives that wanted to protect their traditional institutions. Regardless of these two forms of rule, there were some exceptions to how African nations coped with Europe. In Kenya, many welcomed European settlers to promote economic development. However, regardless of the few exceptions where Europeans were met with cooperation, many natives in Asia and Africa formed resistance movements, like the Sepoy Rebellion, but all were largely
unsuccessful.