Axis Powers Dbq

The Axis Powers; Rise and Consequences

The Axis Powers, initially consisting of Germany and Italy, were the major aggressors in World War II. This pact later included Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Finland, Yugoslavia, Independent State of Croatia and Croatia, with Japan emerging as another major aggressor (Source 1). The alliance between Japan, Germany and Italy was known as the Tripartite Pact, also known as “the Axis alliance” (Source 1). In all, the Axis Powers killed millions and committed countless atrocities. What was their motivation? What did they desire? The answer is intriguing, and surprisingly subtle. All three countries had different motives, but it was their underlying distaste for current social order that brought

them together.
Benito Mussolini was the Prime Minister of Italy. He created the Fascist Party, becoming a dictator and reforming Italy into an anti-democratic society. Before his reformations of Italy, and before the first World War, Mussolini was a journalist who wrote about socialism. After World War I (WWI), Mussolini longed for the socialist revolution to take place to topple European monarchies, as the current state of Europe seemed perfect for the socialist revolution he was hoping for (Source 7). He moved to Switzerland to promote socialism, although he was later expelled from the country (Source 2). In Italy, their economy was weakening, their rewards from WWI weren’t as much as they hoped for, gaining very little territory, and the government was weak. According to Source 6 Mussolini gave the Italian people someone to turn to during the recessions after WWI. He helped restore order in an Italy that was slowly descending into chaos. It was critical for someone to rise up and restore order. Just like Adolf Hitler, Mussolini fought in WWI. Another similarity is that both men wanted to destroy or neutralize Soviet Communism, along with both men appealing greatly to their respective countries, saving their countries after the first World War repercussions (Source 1). The irony was that Mussolini got removed from his own socialist party (Source 7).
Adolf Hitler was a racist man, mainly due to his belief that Germany’s loss in WWI was because of traitors in Germany, and not the Allies. This radical assumption fit well with Germany’s state after the first World War, setting the stage for Hitler’s rise. According to Source 6, “Like many Germans, Hitler came to believe the country’s devastating defeat could be attributed not to the Allies, but to insufficiently patriotic “traitors” at home—a myth that would undermine the post-war Weimar Republic and set the stage for Hitler’s rise.”
In each of their respective countries, chaos erupted after WWI, with the Treaty of Versailles contributing heavily.

The irony is that Italy and Japan both won WWI (Source 5). The way the countries were treated after the War is another major reason why World War II (WWII) started. In Germany, life was much worse before WWII than before the first World War. Germany had to pay $800 billion in war reparations, (which it didn’t have) their military had to be reduced to just 100,000 men, they had to give up territory, and couldn’t have an air force. According to Source 7, ”Germany had been on the losers’ side, and they got absolutely wrecked by The Treaty of Versailles. They lost territory, had to demilitarise the Rhineland, had to reduce their army to just 100,000 men, couldn’t have an airforce, had to pay the Allies a huge amount of money that it didn’t have, [...] On top of that, a bad economy and weak governments meant that when a small, angry man with a silly moustache came along and said that he could fix everything, the German people loved it. (3:21-3:52) What crippled Germany the most was its economic debt and weak government. To pay for the debt, the government printed more money, which didn’t help pay off the debt. What it did was cause prices to skyrocket, due to more German currency being worth less. In 1919, 1 United States Dollar (USD) was worth 48 German notes. By 1923, 1 USD was worth 4,210,500,000,000 German notes. Just like Italy, it wasn’t very hard for

someone to rise up and attempt to restore order. Hitler and his newly remade Nazi Party overthrew the government and Hitler established a dictatorship with him at its center. Italy and Germany were similar, and both countries knew that. Having two Fascist dictators in the same area was worrying to France and the British, but their methods of stopping the Germans and Italians before the official start of WWII were fairly useless (Source 7). On May 22nd, 1939, Italy and Germany signed The Pact of Steel, forming the Axis power (Source 1). Germany had domination over most of continental Europe and Italy had domination over the Mediterranean Sea.
Over on the other side of Asia, another country was annoyed at how other countries were treating it. This country was Japan, and Japan hated how the US treated them, especially how the US pulled them out of isolationism, imposed a number of “Unequal Treaties,” and were crippling Japan’s economy. Since Japan had little to no natural resources, along with what the US was doing to Japan, Japan led an invasion of China on July 7th, 1937 to get more natural resources, at the same time initiating the war in the Pacific. This was after occupying Manchuria in 1931. After (most likely) staging incidents between Chinese and Japanese forces, Japan led numerous invasions of China, committing atrocities along the way, according to Source 7, “Then, in another incident that was maybe staged by the Japanese, gunfire was exchanged by Japanese and Chinese troops at the Marco Polo Bridge. And the Japanese launched yet another invasion against China. The swept through Beijing and Shanghai, and then advanced through the Yangtze Valley to China’s then-capital, Nanking. It was here that saw the worst of Japan’s shocking atrocities committed against the Chinese people.” (7:35-7:55) Japan signed onto the Tripartite Pact on September 27th, 1940, joining Germany and Italy. This was almost four years after Japan signed the Anti-Comintern Pact. “Italy joined the Anti-Comintern Pact on November 6, 1937” (Source 3).
Meanwhile in Europe, Germany made a shocking alliance with the Soviet Union and took over Poland, due to Great Britain and France’s threats of war proceeding an invasion of Poland. Despite the alliance with the Union not lasting long, it was enough for Poland to become a part of Germany and the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union was not a part of the Axis Powers, as the Union never officially signed on before switching sides after Hitler invaded the Union in 1941.
After those successes, Hitler attempted to convince other countries to join the Axis Powers. “Germany offered economic aid to Slovakia and military protection and Soviet territory to Romania, while warning Hungary that recent German support for Hungarian annexation of Czechoslovakia and Romanian territory might change to the benefit of Slovakia and Romania,” according to Source 1. Most attempts went fruitful, as seen with the aforementioned countries. Finland joined against the Soviet Union hoping to regain lost territory during the 1939-40 WInter War (Source 1) Yugoslavia reluctantly joined, but the government that signed onto the Pact was overthrown soon after (Source 1).
Life was intolerable in all the occupied territories. “Persecution, forced labor, harsh punishments...” discrimination and death were commonplace (Source 8). In Europe, for example, the Nazis mustered ethnic minorities and other unwanted individuals. Jewish people were particularly persecuted, as “millions of Jewish people would suffer through the terrible events of the Holocaust” (Source 8).
The Axis Powers in the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum must be included due to the incredible story of the Axis Power’s rise and actions during WWI. Motivation for war is always a complex and intriguing question, especially when finding out the motivation for the major aggressors in the largest and most consequential war in the history of mankind. It is crucial for the history of the Axis Powers and their actions during the second World War to learn and never repeat what had taken place during the war. As philosopher and writer George Santayana elegantly stated, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” As stated previously, Germany, Italy and Japan all wanted more power and to be filled with honor and pride and not worthlessness and pure pity, exactly what Germany was after the first World War. Having the ability to teach Americans and people all around the globe the horrors of the Axis Powers and their motivation for such atrocities.
Another major reason to include the Axis Powers in the U.S.

Holocaust Memorial Museum is because of how easily democracy can fail and its seemingly endless consequences. Seen before with the rise of the Soviet Union near the end of the first World War, Germany and Italy had democratically elected leaders, Hitler and Mussolini, turn on their countries and start to wipe out any “inferior races” in their increasingly imperialist homelands. This included, but was not limited to, Jewish people, disabled people, and LGBTQ+ members. In WWII, despite in previous wars the line between “Good Guy” and “Bad Guy” were reasonably blurred, the Axis Power’s ethnic cleansing and other clear war crimes allowed them to be easily distinguishable as the “Bad Guys.” There are no justifications for the war crimes Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and Imperialist Japan have committed. Historians debate time and time again how preventable the Second World War really was, but no matter the debate, the end result is always the same; 50 to 80 million victims no longer walk the Earth. What could have been the next Nobel Prize winner or the discoverer of the cure for cancer, none mattered. As seen prior, the atrocities committed by Germany, Italy, and Japan were due to the state of Europe. Thus theorizing what would be if Hitler would be put down as a child is ineffective; someone rising up to establish order in Germany, Italy, and failing states in Europe was

inevitable.
In conclusion, Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, in some way, were saviors. To their people, they brought hope, but they also brought anger, frustration, and severe racism towards those not deserving of the fury of their respective countries. Giving the American people a reliable, unbiased way to understand and remember the rise and fall of the Axis Powers may cement the idea that in no case is the solution to a massive crisis is radicalism, aggression, and genocide, for generations to come.

Works Cited

Source 1: “Axis Alliance in World War II.” United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005177.
Source 2: “Benito Mussolini.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 3 Jan. 2018, www.biography.com/people/benito-mussolini-9419443.
Source 3: Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Axis Powers.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 27 Dec. 2017, www.britannica.com/topic/Axis-Powers.
Source 4: Clairmont, Nicholas. “‘Those Who Do Not Learn History Are Doomed To Repeat It." Really?” Big Think, Big Think, 31 July 2013, bigthink.com/the-proverbial-skeptic/those-who-do-not-learn-history-doomed-to-repeat-it-really.
Source 5: Daley, Jason. “Why We Call the Axis Powers the Axis Powers.” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 1 Nov. 2016, www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/why-we-call-axis-powers-axis-powers-180960980/.
Source 6: History.com Staff. “Adolf Hitler.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2009, www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/adolf-hitler.
Source 7: OverSimplified, director. WW2- OverSimplified (Part 1).
Source 8: OverSimplified, director. WW2- OverSimplified (Part 2).