Soviet Union
· Soviet leader Joseph Stalin ordered his people to produce more goods in order to strengthen the country in preparation for war.
· Farmers were forced to give up their land and to join collective farms.
· Millions of farmers that resisted were either killed or sent to labor camps.
· Japan felt that they had the right to start an overseas empire, just as European countries such as Britain and France had.
· In 1931, Japan seized Manchuria, China, for its valuable coal and iron.
· The League of Nations failed to help China.
· In 1937, Japan began an all out attack on China, eventually conquering Korea and French Indo-China as well.
· 1936 – German troops move into the Rhineland, bordering France and Belgium.
· 1938 – Germany annexed Austria.
* Both of these actions violated the Versailles Treaty.
· 1938 – Germany claimed the Sudetenland, a part of Czechoslovakia.
* Britain and France had signed treaties promising to protect Czechoslovakia.
· Sept. 1938 – At the Munich Conference, Hitler invited the leaders of Britain and France to Germany and assured them that he wanted no more territory.
* Britain and France gave into Germany hoping that it would avoid warfare. This is known as appeasement.
* However, in 1939, Germany invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia anyway!
· 1939 – In the Nazi-Soviet Pact, Hitler and Stalin agreed not to attack one another.
· They also agreed to divide Poland and Eastern Europe amongst themselves.
· September 1, 1939 – Germany invaded Poland without having to fear of a Soviet attack.
* Two days later, Britain and France declared war on Germany.
