Causes of World War II
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The causes of World War II have been given considerable attention by historians. The immediate precipitating event was the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany on September 1, 1939, the subsequent decla
During the Battle of Westerplatte, the German battleship Schleswig-Holstein attacks Westerplatte at the start of the war, September 1, 1939
The destroyer USS Shaw explodes during the attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941
"The Big Four" made all the major decisions at the Paris Peace Conference (from left to right, David Lloyd George of Britain, Vittorio Emanuele Orlando of Italy, Georges Clemenceau of France, Woodrow Wilson of the U.S.)
The Japanese march into Zhengyangmen, Beijing, after they captured the city in July 1937
Adolf Hitler
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Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany in the Nazi era from 1933 until his suicide in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chan
Causes of World War II
…have been suggested as ultimate causes. Primary themes in historical analysis of the war's origins include the political takeover of Germany in 1933 by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party; Japanese militarism against China, which led to the Japanese invasion of Manchuria and the Second Sino-Japanese War; Italian…
Formal portrait, 1938
Hitler (c. 1889–90)
Hitler's father, Alois, c. 1900
Hitler's mother, Klara, 1870s