Sunday, June 1, 2008

Second World War - Chapter 2

Chapter 2 - The preparations

With the end of WWI, the Germany was in a dificult position, mainly because of the Treaty of Versailles. According to this, Deutchland (other name of Germany) must have to pay the reparations of the war, lose 13% of its national territory, all of its overseas colonies (including Kamerun, German East Africa, German Southwest Africa, Togoland and German New Guinea), 12.5% of its population (mitigated subsequently by major demographic shifts) and 16% of its coalfields, and 48% of its iron and steel industry. It had also to confront with the Economic Crise of 1929. This critical vision of the country had facilited the enroll to the political progamme of Adolf Hitler (in other words, this was the beginnig of the Nazis).

Adolf was a political leader that request the revision of the Treaty of Versailles. Hitler made a speech, charismatic to a great part of the german population, based in the proclamation of the superiority of the german race (Ariana) and in a racism thought to the jewish people. The proclamation of the Ariana race and the thought of racism to the jewish people was justified by the right of expansion of Germany's borders (“Lebensraum”), conquering territories of inferior countries/kingdoms, mainly in Central and Eastern Europe.

The Empire of Japan share with Germany the same thought of power. Since the decade of Thirty the country was ruled by a Militar Party and tried to achived markets to market her prodution, that was in growth, and to achive commercial facilities. It also wanted to extend its boreders trought the Pacific Ocean. Beetween the years 1931 and 1932 conquered Manchuria and in the year 1937 invaded China, threatening some english colonies (like Singapure, Malasia, India, etc.) and american colonies in the Pacific.

The Nazi Germany, the Fascist Italy and the Niponic Empire (Japan) apresented political leaders that had in comun the militar preocupations and, mainly, a dislike to the countries that win "the battle for the rule of oceans". On 1 July of 1939 the Rome-Berlin Axis was created, resulted by the sanctions imposted to Italy in the end of the War in Ethiopia (1935). Later Japan join to the same Axis.

One of the stages of testing of the WWII (beyond Austria, Manchuria and Ethiopia, this last the "less" agressive) was the Civil War in Spain (1936-1939). In this conflict, England, France and the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) supported the republican government, while Germany and Italy supported the nacionalist faction of General Franco, to who had garante a support of weapons. It was in this conflict that Germany started to experiment its weapons and vehicles, such as the “Heinkel 111”.

Hitler wanted to conquer territories that, in tradiction terms, were germanic (like the region that today is the Chech Republic) and the West (France, England, etc.) was confident in a trate politic. This decision had only give more trust to the germans. It was only after Praga fell to the power of the Wehrmacht (german army) that the western countries start to wake to the german problem. A USSR, fearing a possible invasion of the Nazis, signed the Soviet-german pact, on 23 August of 1939. This pact had permited to Hitler to begin the war, now that he only had to combat in one front.

The September 1, 1939: the Wehrmacht advanced on Poland and in the 3 of that same month, England and France declared war on Third Reich. THis was the beginnig of the Second World War.

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