Germany was defeated in the First World War and was left without colonies on the basis of the Treaty of Versailles, thus being put in an even more subordinate position. Although they were on the winning side, Italy and Japan did not have too much reason to be content with the "spoils of war". The end of World War I also brought about the breakdown of the prewar economic order based on free trade. Most states turned to protectionism and autarchy after the war, which was fertile ground for both conflict and economic instability, which had come to full effect in the Great Economic Crisis since 1929. A new factor was the emergence of two ideologies - fascism and communism. Both, in their own way, represented a radical alternative to the post-war world order, and their mutual rivalry was reflected in international politics.
Explanation:
Nationalism extended to Asia, especially to the possessions of the European colonial powers, whose subjects began to regard their position as a betrayal of Versailles principles. Nationalism continued to be expressed as racism, which played an important role in the deterioration of Japan-US relations.
Nationalism and revanchism were particularly strong in Germany because of the large territorial, colonial and financial losses prescribed by the Treaty of Versailles. By that peace, Germany lost almost 13% of its home territory and all its colonies, while the annexation of neighboring territories was banned, damages were imposed and restrictions were imposed on the size and power of the German army. Japan, as a country without its own resources of many important resources, has been hit hard by the economic crisis.
As a consequence, militarism began to flourish in Japanese ruling circles, namely the belief that Japan could only secure prosperity at the expense of neighboring Asian states, that is, European colonial possessions.
Accordingly, in 1931, the Japanese invaded the Chinese province of Manchuria. Many Japanese and other historians consider this event to be the real beginning of World War II. Western powers, exhausted and overwhelmed by the economic crisis, did not respond to it.
