axism

World War II - The Third Reich LEADING TO WAR | THE ALLIES | THE AXIS | MAJOR BATTLES | THE HOLOCAUST | LITTLE BOY & FAT MAN

The Axis

In 1933, Adolf Hitler led the Nazi Party to power. He ended parliamentary government and assumed dictatorial powers. In 1939, Germany invaded and annexed Czechoslovakia under the protection of the Munich Conference, then signed a non-aggression pact dividing Poland. On September 1st, they ignited a world war by invading Poland.

Italy, controlled by the Fascist Party led by Benito Mussolini, announced a Rome-Berlin alliance on October 25, 1936, creating the Axis. In 1943, as America joined WWII, the Italians attempted surrender but German forces invaded.

Japan was convince that the Americans, once involved in the European war, would be willing to negotiate peace in the Pacific. They then signed the Tripartite Act in late 1940, making them a part of the Axis Powers. Then, on December 7, 1941, they attacked Pearl Harbor and took Burma, Malaya, Singapore, and the Dutch East Indies in rapid succession. By March 1942, the Japanese had conquered an empire.