📘 SECTION 5 — From Regional Conflicts to Global World War II

Why is the period 1937–1941 considered a preview of World War II?

Because regional wars already showed total war, civilian targeting, and the failure of international peacekeeping.

How did conflicts in Asia and Europe connect before 1941?

Aggression in both regions went unchecked, encouraging further expansion by revisionist powers.

What did the wars in China reveal about modern warfare?

That civilians would be central targets through bombing, terror, and mass violence.

What forms of violence against civilians occurred in Asia before 1941?

Massacres, aerial bombing, forced labor, sexual violence, and biological and chemical warfare.

How did events in China affect American public opinion?

Sympathy for China increased opposition to Japanese expansion.

Why did U.S. policy toward Japan harden before Pearl Harbor?

Japanese aggression threatened American interests and stability in Asia.

What did Japan’s actions demonstrate about the League of Nations?

That the League lacked the power and unity to enforce collective security.

Why was the failure of the League of Nations dangerous?

It signaled that aggressive states could act without serious consequences.

What shared grievance united Germany, Italy, and Japan?

All felt mistreated and marginalized by the post–World War I international order.

What does the term “Axis Powers” refer to?

The alliance between Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Imperial Japan.

Why did the Axis powers reject the postwar international system?

They viewed it as unfair and dominated by older imperial powers.

How did ideology shape Axis expansionism?

Nationalism, militarism, and racial hierarchy justified conquest.

Why did World War II become a truly global conflict?

Regional wars merged as alliances expanded across continents.

How did unresolved issues from World War I contribute to World War II?

Grievances over borders, power, and legitimacy carried directly into renewed conflict.

Why is World War II often described as a continuation of World War I?

Because the political, territorial, and moral questions of WWI were never fully resolved.

What role did total war play in escalating the conflict?

The mobilization of entire societies made wars harder to contain or end.

How did early Axis successes affect international stability?

They undermined deterrence and encouraged further aggression.

Why did collective security fail in the interwar period?

Nations were unwilling to risk war to enforce peace.

How did imperial ambitions drive the path to global war?

States sought territory and resources through conquest rather than cooperation.

What central lesson emerges from the road to World War II?

An unstable peace and unchecked aggression can make global war inevitable.