The origins of the Second World War
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
The origins of the Second World War
（Seminar studies in history）
Routledge, 2016
4th ed
- : pbk
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Note
"First edition published 1987 by Pearson Education Limited. Third edition published 2008"--T.p. verso
Includes bibliographical references and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
Exploring the reasons why the Second World War broke out in September 1939 and why a European conflict developed into a war that spanned the globe, The Origins of the Second World War argues that this was not just 'Hitler's War' but one that had its roots and origins in the decline of the old empires of Britain and France and the rise of ambitious new powers in Germany, Italy and Japan who wanted large empires of their own.
This fourth edition has been revised throughout, covering the origins of the war from its background in the First World War to its expansion to embrace the Soviet Union, Japan and the United States by the end of 1941. Creating a comprehensive and analytical narrative while remaining a succinct overview of the subject, this book takes a thematic approach to the complex range of events that culminated in global warfare, discussing factors such as economic rivalry, rearmament and domestic politics and emphasising that any explanation of the outbreak of hostilities must be global in scope.
Containing updated references and primary source documents alongside a glossary, a chronology of key events and a Who's Who of important figures, this book is an invaluable introduction for any student of this fascinating period.
Table of Contents
Preface
List of figures
List of tables
Maps
Chronology
Who's Who
PART ONE BACKGROUND
1 EXPLAINING THE SECOND WORLD WAR
PART TWO ANALYSIS
2 THE INTERNATIONAL CRISIS
The collapse of the League
France and Britain
America and the Soviet Union
From the Rhineland to Munich
3 ECONOMIC AND IMPERIAL RIVALRY
The imperial powers
The 'have-not' powers
The failure of 'economic appeasement'
4 ARMAMENTS AND DOMESTIC POLITICS
Rearmament
Finance, industry and labour
Rearmament and domestic politics
5 WAR OVER POLAND
The aftermath of Munich
The Soviet factor
The outbreak of war
6 FROM EUROPEAN TO WORLD WAR
The war in the west
Barbarossa
The coming of world war
PART THREE ASSESSMENT
7 HITLER'S WAR?
PART FOUR DOCUMENTS 101
1 The Treaty of Versailles and Germany
2 The Covenant of the League
3 The search for a settlement
4 American 'appeasement'
5 Stalin anticipates war
6 The 'Hossbach memorandum'
7 Preparation for war before Munich
8 The Munich Conference
9 The Munich Agreement
10 Economic pressure on Japan
11 Mussolini's vision of empire
12 Economic appeasement
13 Britain and Germany in the Balkans
14 The Four-Year Plan
15 Economic dangers for Britain
16 The crisis in France
17 'Peace for our time'
18 The change of mood in the west
19 Hitler plans to crush Poland
20 Chamberlain guarantees Poland
21 The Franco-British 'war plan', 1939
22 British intelligence on Germany
23 Stalin warns the west after Munich
24 The Franco-British failure in Moscow
25 The Soviet reaction to German advances, 1939
26 The German-Soviet Pact
27 Britain's Probable Attitude
28 Hitler gambles on western weakness
29 The last gasp of appeasement
30 Bonnet's doubts about war
31 Poland in the middle
32 The last days of peace
33 Chamberlain's 'awful Sunday'
34 Berlin proposes peace
35 A Demand for Peace
36 The Tripartite Pact
37 Preparation for total mobilization in Germany
38 The Barbarossa Directive
39 The German attack on Russia
40 Russia raises the price for co-operation
41 Japan decides on war
42 Creating the new world order
GLOSSARY
REFERENCES
INDEX
by "Nielsen BookData"