Table Of ContentThe Origins of the Second
World War
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.
Richard Overy is Professor of History at the University of Exeter. He has
authored and edited more than thirty books on the European dictators, the
Second World War and the history of air power.
Introduction to the series
History is the narrative constructed by historians from traces left by the
past. Historical enquiry is often driven by contemporary issues and, in
consequence, historical narratives are constantly reconsidered, reconstructed
and reshaped. The fact that different historians have different perspectives
on issues means that there is often controversy and no universally agreed
version of past events. Seminar Studies was designed to bridge the gap
between current research and debate, and the broad, popular general
surveys that often date rapidly.
The volumes in the series are written by historians who are not only
familiar with the latest research and current debates concerning their topic,
but who have themselves contributed to our understanding of the subject.
The books are intended to provide the reader with a clear introduction to a
major topic in history. They provide both a narrative of events and a critical
analysis of contemporary interpretations. They include the kinds of tools
generally omitted from specialist monographs: a chronology of events, a
glossary of terms and brief biographies of ‘who’s who’. They also include
bibliographical essays in order to guide students to the literature on various
aspects of the subject. Students and teachers alike will find that the selection
of documents will stimulate the discussion and offer insight into the raw
materials used by historians in their attempt to understand the past.
Clive Emsley and Gordon Martel
Series Editors
The Origins of the Second
World War
Fifth Edition
Richard Overy
Cover image: Shawshots/ Alamy Stock Photo
Fifth edition published 2022
by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group,
an informa business
© 2022 Richard Overy
The right of Richard Overy to be identified as author of this work
has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of
the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
First edition published by Pearson Education Limited 1987
Fourth edition published by Routledge 2017
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been requested
ISBN: 978-0-367-62083-7 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-367-62082-0 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-10785-9 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003107859
Typeset in Sabon
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
Contents
List of figures viii
List of tables ix
List of maps x
Preface xi
Chronology xiii
Who’s who xvii
PART I
Background 1
1 Explaining the Second World War 3
PART II
Analysis 11
2 The international crisis 13
3 Economic and imperial rivalry 33
4 Armaments and domestic politics 48
5 War over Poland 64
6 From European to world war 85
PART III
Assessment 99
7 Hitler’s war? 101
vi Contents
PART IV
Documents 105
1 The Treaty of Versailles and Germany 107
2 The Covenant of the League 108
3 The search for a settlement 108
4 American ‘appeasement’ 109
5 Stalin anticipates war 109
6 The ‘Hossbach memorandum’ 110
7 Preparation for war before Munich 111
8 The Munich Conference 112
9 The Munich Agreement 113
10 Imperialism and war 114
11 Economic pressure on Japan 114
12 Mussolini’s vision of empire 115
13 Hitler’s ‘Second Book’: Lebensraum and the Jews 116
14 Economic appeasement 117
15 The Four-Year Plan 118
16 Economic dangers for Britain 118
17 The crisis in France 119
18 ‘Peace for our time’ 119
19 The change of mood in the west 120
20 Hitler plans to crush Poland 120
21 Chamberlain guarantees Poland 121
22 The Franco-British ‘war plan’, 1939 122
23 British intelligence on Germany 122
24 Stalin warns the west after Munich 123
25 The Franco-British failure in Moscow 123
26 The Soviet reaction to German advances, 1939 125
27 The German-Soviet Pact 125
28 Britain’s probable attitude 126
29 Hitler gambles on western weakness 127
30 Bonnet’s doubts about war 128
31 Poland in the middle 128
32 The last days of peace 129
33 Chamberlain’s ‘awful Sunday’ 130
34 Berlin proposes peace 131
35 A British demand for peace 131
36 The Three-Power Pact 132
37 ‘Arsenal of Democracy’ fireside chat 132
38 The Barbarossa Directive 133
Contents vii
39 The German attack on Russia 134
40 Russia raises the price for co-operation 134
41 Japan decides on war 135
42 Creating the new world order 136
Glossary 137
Bibliography 142
Index 153
Figures
2.1 A Japanese tank in 1938 somewhere on the front line in the
war with Nationalist China 15
2.2 A Republican poster from the Spanish Civil War,
‘Comrades of the rearguard’ 28
3.1 The Palace of Beauty at the Wembley Empire Exhibition in
London in 1924 36
4.1 Hermann Goering, Commander-in-Chief of the German
Air Force, announces the launch of the Four-Year Plan for
economic self-sufficiency to an audience in Berlin on 28
October 1936 51
5.1 Neville Chamberlain, Prime Minister of Great Britain, and
Edouard Daladier, Prime Minister of France, at the Munich
Conference in September 1938 65
5.2 A meeting to discuss a Franco-Soviet agreement in 1935
between the Soviet leader, Josef Stalin, and the French
Prime Minister, Pierre Laval 75
5.3 A German propaganda photograph of murdered German
civilians in the Polish town of Bydgoszcz (Bromberg) on 4
September 1939 83
6.1 Battleships of the United States Navy on fire in the docks
at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, after the Japanese air attack on 7
December 1941 96
Tables
4.1 Military expenditure of the major powers, 1932–9 56
4.2 Aircraft production of the major powers, 1933–40 56
