Who Started World War 2

World War II is widely considered one of the most devastating conflicts in human history. Approximately 70 million people were killed and nations were forever changed as a result of the six-year-long war. But who was ultimately responsible for the beginning of this conflict?

Although Adolf Hitler is widely considered to be the leader of Nazi Germany, it was actually his ally, Japan, that started World War II. In the early morning of December 7, 1941, Japanese forces launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii. This attack was the catalyst for the United States’ entry into the war and resulted in the dismemberment of the Japanese Empire.

However, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was simply the culmination of years of political and military buildup in Europe and Asia. In the decade before the war, many of the major nations in the Western world had built powerful militaries and formed influential alliances with one another in an effort to gain territorial control and increased power.

Hitler, who was appointed Chancellor of Germany in 1933, quickly violated the Treaty of Versailles that dictated the terms of Germany’s surrender after World War I. The treaty limited the size of Germany’s military, but Hitler wanted to build a powerful German army and expand Germany’s borders.

Concurrently, Japan was growing increasingly aggressive in Asia and gaining more control of the region, forming an Axis alliance with Germany, Italy, and other minor powers in 1940. This axis aimed to control Europe and all of Asia, leading to increased international tension and the eventual Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

Ultimately, both Japan and Nazi Germany played major roles in the start of World War II. Both countries sought to expand their empires, ignoring the terms of international treaties, and both contributed to a great deal of international tension that eventually led to war.