ECONOMIC and POLITICAL UNREST A FTER WORLD WAR I ended combat operations in 1918 dramatic economic and political changes began taking place around the world Starting in the early 1930s many countries experienced the Great Depression Banks failed people lost jobs and most govern ments focused on economic problems On the political front several other countries began building empires In Italy a Fascist government under Benito Mussolini took control and later attacked Ethiopia and Libya in northern Africa In the Far East Japan invaded Manchuria and China All these developments made government leaders around the world nervous However the most disturbing activities were happening in Germany Upon signing the Treaty of Versailles at the end of World War I Germany was required to give up land make payments to other countries for damages caused during the war and disband most of Germany’s military and other forces were on display at each annual rally 1923 38 of the Nazi Party
its military Many Germans were angered and humiliated by these terms They became even more upset when the German economy collapsed In the midst of this unrest Adolf Hitler gained popu larity as he blamed Germany’s problems on its Jewish citizens and his National Socialist or Nazi Party took control of the government Hitler began rebuilding Germany’s military might at first behind the scenes and then in plain sight of other nations Other major Western powers Great Britain France and the United States were too pre occupied with their own economic problems or too tired of warfare to stop Germany as it took over the neighboring countries of Austria and Czechoslovakia Hitler didn’t stop there He made alliances with Japan and Italy forming what became known as the Axis Powers and made a separate non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union as Russia was then known agreeing that neither country would attack the other Then on September 1 1939 Hitler’s army and air force invaded Poland with a lightning-fast attack called a blitzkrieg Shocked and worried for their own countries safety Great Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later and World War II of ficially began COVERT OPS THE BIG SECRET Imagine asking 10,000 people to keep a secret That’s what the Brit ish government did with the more than 10,000 people who worked at Bletchley Park or in other parts of Britain and Europe The code breakers included engineers mathematicians translators speed writing specialists radio operators and puzzle experts Some served in the military others were civilians Thousands of them spent hours each day listening in on radio traffic coming out of Germany and writ ing down each letter or number they detected Then code experts using early computers deciphered the messages and determined their meaning Amazingly the whole operation was kept hush-hush especially from the Germans 0909
10 CHAPTER ONE FIGHTING against MIGHT T HERE IS AN OLD saying that Might makes right This means that the strongest opponent usually wins and gets its way When World War II broke out in 1939 Germany had a stronger army and air force than any other nation in Europe and its navy was growing In the Pacific Japan was far stronger than any of its neighbors and intent on using its powerful navy and air force to dominate the region The U S could rival Germany’s or Japan’s military strength but it was determined to stay out of the war at first The U S would eventually declare war against the Axis Powers in December 1941 fol lowing a surprise attack by the Japanese on the American naval base at Hawaii’s Pearl Harbor Based on the idea of might makes right Germany and Japan were certain to win the war and control their parts of the world In fact that is what was happening in 1939 and 1940 Pushing east German forces quickly subdued Poland’s inferior military Then turning west they occupied the Netherlands Belgium Luxembourg and large parts of France To the north Germany took control in Norway and Denmark and then moved southward into Greece and Yugoslavia Meanwhile the Japanese were spreading their empire
Japan used its fighter planes opposite in the East while Germany bombed England above 1111
