Dictators Threaten World Peace

Dictators Threaten World Peace

The seeds of new conflicts had been sown in World War I.

Less than twenty years after the end of World War I, brutal fighting would erupt again, this time not only in Europe1, but also in Asia2.

For many nations, the Treaty of Versailles3 had brought not peace, but bitterness, anger, frustration, despair, and a desire for revenge.

Germany4 was mad for being blamed for World War I.

Russia, now the Soviet Union5, was mad that they had to give up land to create new countries.

In addition, the Great Depression6 had touched almost every corner of the world and did nothing to help the war-torn nations of Europe to rebuild.

Instead, the countries were expected to pay off huge war debts while trying to deal with widespread hunger, homelessness, and unemployment.

Often, this unrest led to revolution which brought the rise of leaders driven by dreams of national greatness7 and territorial expansion8.

In country after country, dictators9 seized power and threw out elected leaders.

Totalitarian10 governments were created in which a single party of leader controls the economic, social and cultural lives of its people.

Dictators Threaten World Peace: Japan
In Japan, factories had to import11 all of the resources needed to produce goods.

During the 1920s, Japan did not earn enough money from its exports to pay for its imports, which limited economic growth and increased unemployment.

These difficult economic times helped undermine the political system.

As the power shifted toward military control, Japan started on a course toward aggressive military expansion12.

Japanese military leaders argued that the only way for Japan to get needed resources was to seize territory.

They targeted the resource-rich areas of northern China13 as the perfect place to conquer.

After the invasion, the military was effectively in control.

Dictators Threaten World Peace: Soviet Union
In the Soviet Union, when Vladimir Lenin died, Joseph Stalin14 took over the huge country.

Stalin launched a massive campaign to make the Soviet Union a truly communist country.

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