The Origins of the Second World War (Seminar Studies)

Now in its fifth edition, The Origins of the Second World War explores 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. This book argues that the global conflict 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. Richard Overy covers 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 emphasizing that any explanation of the outbreak of hostilities must be global in scope. This new edition includes more discussion of the role of empire and the imperial background to the war. Containing several new 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 in history. Cover Half Title Series Title Copyright Contents List of figures List of tables List of maps Preface Chronology Who’s who Part I Background 1 Explaining the Second World War Part II Analysis 2 The international crisis 3 Economic and imperial rivalry 4 Armaments and domestic politics 5 War over Poland 6 From European to world war Part III Assessment 7 Hitler’s war? Part IV Documents 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 Imperialism and war 11 Economic pressure on Japan 12 Mussolini’s vision of empire 13 Hitler’s ‘Second Book’: Lebensraum and the Jews 14 Economic appeasement 15 The Four-Year Plan 16 Economic dangers for Britain 17 The crisis in France 18 ‘Peace for our time’ 19 The change of mood in the west 20 Hitler plans to crush Poland 21 Chamberlain guarantees Poland 22 The Franco-British ‘war plan’, 1939 23 British intelligence on Germany 24 Stalin warns the west after Munich 25 The Franco-British failure in Moscow 26 The Soviet reaction to German advances, 1939 27 The German-Soviet Pact 28 Britain’s probable attitude 29 Hitler gambles on western weakness 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 British demand for peace 36 The Three-Power Pact 37 ‘Arsenal of Democracy’ fireside chat 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 Bibliography Index "Now in its 5th edition, The Origins of the Second World War explores 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. This book argues that the global conflict 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. Richard Overy covers 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. This new edition includes more discussion of the role of empire and the imperial background to the war. Containing several new 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 in history"-- Provided by publisher