Why Did War Break Out in Europe in September 1939?

Why Did War Break Out in Europe in September 1939?

Author: Murray Baird

Publisher:

Published: 2013-09

Total Pages: 20

ISBN-13: 9783656294429

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Essay from the year 2002 in the subject History Europe - Germany - National Socialism, World War II, grade: 1C, University of Stirling, course: Modern European History, 1919 - 1991, language: English, abstract: War broke out in Europe in September 1939 because of the conjunction of several factors. However, the over-riding factor was the fruition of Hitler's dynamic ideological foreign policy aims to create lebensraum and racial mastery. Although Hitler's aims did not run to a strict timetable this does not mean that they were unimportant, or that there was no associated plan and that he was therefore a mere opportunist. After all, the strength of any plan lies, not in its rigidity, but in its flexibility to adapt to beneficial developments as they arise. To be able so to do the German domestic, economic and military infrastructure had to be in place - such was Hitler's plan. In addition, the breakdown of the European diplomatic order in the face of new, dynamic ideologies and the manipulation of the international system by Hitler clouded his true intentions. Britain and France's foreign policies also contributed to initially delaying the onset of war, as did the dilatory foreign policy of Soviet Russia. A change of attitude towards Germany from the western democracies and the increase in pace of German expansionism, together with a policy change to an alliance with the Soviet Union, would herald the outbreak of eventual war in September 1939.


World War II: A Very Short Introduction

World War II: A Very Short Introduction

Author: Gerhard L. Weinberg

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2014-11-13

Total Pages: 153

ISBN-13: 0191008761

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The enormous loss of life and physical destruction caused by the First World War led people to hope that there would never be another such catastrophe. How then did it come about that there was a Second World War causing twice the 30 million deaths and many times more destruction as had been caused in the previous conflict? In this Very Short Introduction, Gerhard L. Weinberg provides an introduction to the origins, course, and impact of the war on those who fought and the ordinary citizens who lived through it. Starting by looking at the inter-war years and the German invasion of Poland in September 1939, he examines how the war progressed by examining a number of key events, including the war in the West in 1940, Barbarossa, The German Invasion of the Soviet Union, the expansion of Japan's war with China, developments on the home front, and the Allied victory from 1944-45. Exploring the costs and effects of the war, Weinberg concludes by considering the long-lasting mark World War II has left on society today. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.


The Last European War

The Last European War

Author: John Lukacs

Publisher: Yale University Press

Published: 2001-01-01

Total Pages: 580

ISBN-13: 9780300089158

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This absorbing study of the first phase of World War II tells not only how events happened but why. Eminent historian Lukacs presents an extraordinary narrative of these two years, followed by a detailed sequential analysis of the political, military, and intellectual relations and events.


The Second World War

The Second World War

Author: Antony Beevor

Publisher: Back Bay Books

Published: 2012-06-05

Total Pages: 829

ISBN-13: 0316084077

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A masterful and comprehensive chronicle of World War II, by internationally bestselling historian Antony Beevor. Over the past two decades, Antony Beevor has established himself as one of the world's premier historians of WWII. His multi-award winning books have included Stalingrad and The Fall of Berlin 1945. Now, in his newest and most ambitious book, he turns his focus to one of the bloodiest and most tragic events of the twentieth century, the Second World War. In this searing narrative that takes us from Hitler's invasion of Poland on September 1st, 1939 to V-J day on August 14, 1945 and the war's aftermath, Beevor describes the conflict and its global reach -- one that included every major power. The result is a dramatic and breathtaking single-volume history that provides a remarkably intimate account of the war that, more than any other, still commands attention and an audience. Thrillingly written and brilliantly researched, Beevor's grand and provocative account is destined to become the definitive work on this complex, tragic, and endlessly fascinating period in world history, and confirms once more that he is a military historian of the first rank.


Poland 1939

Poland 1939

Author: Roger Moorhouse

Publisher: Basic Books

Published: 2020-07-14

Total Pages: 433

ISBN-13: 0465095410

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A "chilling" and "expertly" written history of the 1939 September Campaign and the onset of World War II (Times of London). For Americans, World War II began in December of 1941, with the bombing of Pearl Harbor; but for Poland, the war began on September 1, 1939, when Hitler's soldiers invaded, followed later that month by Stalin's Red Army. The conflict that followed saw the debut of many of the features that would come to define the later war-blitzkrieg, the targeting of civilians, ethnic cleansing, and indiscriminate aerial bombing-yet it is routinely overlooked by historians. In Poland 1939, Roger Moorhouse reexamines the least understood campaign of World War II, using original archival sources to provide a harrowing and very human account of the events that set the bloody tone for the conflict to come.


The Origins of the Second World War in Europe

The Origins of the Second World War in Europe

Author: Philip Michael Hett Bell

Publisher: Pearson

Published: 1997

Total Pages: 396

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This addition to Longman's Origins of Modern Wars series traces the course of events that led to the Second World War in Europe from 1932 through to Germany's invasion of Russia in 1941.


The Road to September 1939

The Road to September 1939

Author: Jehuda Reinharz

Publisher: Brandeis University Press

Published: 2018-01-02

Total Pages: 432

ISBN-13: 1512601543

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

In European and Holocaust historiography, it is generally believed that neither the Zionist movement nor the Yishuv, acting primarily out of self-interest, energetically attempted to help European Jews escape the Nazi threat. Drawing on the memoirs, letters, and institutional reports of Chaim Weizmann, Zeev Jabotinsky, David Ben-Gurion, and many others, this volume sheds new light on a troubled period in Jewish history. Reinharz and Shavit trace Jewish responses to developments in Eastern and Central Europe to show that - contrary to recent scholarship and popular belief - Zionists in the Yishuv worked tirelessly on the international stage on behalf of their coreligionists in Europe. Focusing particularly on Poland, while explicating conditions in Germany and Czechoslovakia as well, the authors examine the complicated political issues that arose not just among Jews themselves, but also within national governments in Britain, Europe, and America. Piercing to the heart of conversations about how or whether to save Jews in an increasingly hostile Europe, this volume provides a nuanced and thoughtful assessment of what could and could not be achieved in the years just prior to World War II and the Holocaust.


Faustian Bargain

Faustian Bargain

Author: Ian Ona Johnson

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2021

Total Pages: 369

ISBN-13: 0190675144

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Pre-publication subtitle: Soviet-German military cooperation in the interwar period.