Background Information
World War II has its roots in imperialism, alliances, and racism. Imperialism is the desire to gain influence by taking over the land, governments, or economies of other countries. Germany’s Adolf Hitler started a war in Europe in 1939 when Germany invaded and conquered Poland. Great Britain and France then declared war on Germany, which led Germany’s ally, Italy (under Benito Mussolini), to enter the war. Both Fascist dictators, Hitler and Mussolini each wanted more land, natural resources, and power in Europe, the Mediterranean, and North Africa. By 1941, Germany controlled Norway, Finland, Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Greece , Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, and parts of the Soviet Union. Hitler was also motivated by a hatred of Jewish people, and in addition to his attempts to gain land and power, he implemented the Holocaust, a progressive program of marginalization, enslavement, and murder of Jews in the countries he conquered. MORE
Developed by the Outagamie County Historical Society with funding from Cooperative Education Service Agency 6, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, and the U.S. Department of Education. © 2006 OCHS.
