Diplomatic history of World War II

The Diplomatic history of World War II includes the major foreign policies and interactions inside the major coalitions, the Allies and the Axis powers.

Allies

See also: Allies of World War II

Britain, France (until 1940), the Soviet Union (after 1941) and the United States were the main Allies. They were joined by numerous smaller countries, such as Canada, as well as governments in exile, such as the Netherlands. Top Allied leaders met in a series of conferences to discuss strategy.

Britain

Britain - United States

See also: Lend-Lease, Destroyers for Bases Agreement, and Manhattan Project

Though much of the American people were sympathetic to Britain during its dangerous confrontation with Nazi Germany, there was widespread opposition to possible American intervention in European affairs. This was put into law in a series of Neutrality Acts which were ratified by the United States Congress in 1935, 1936, and 1937 respectively. However,President Roosevelt's policy of cash-and-carry still allowed Britain and France to order munitions from the United States and carry them home.

Roosevelt and Churchill drafted the Atlantic Charter aboard the HMS Prince of Wales in August 1941

Churchill, who had long warned agauinst Germany and demanded rearmament, became prime minister after Chambelain [policy of appeasement had totally collapsed and Britain was unable to reverse the German invasion of Norway. After the fall of France in spring 1940, Roosevelt gave Britain all aid short of war. The Destroyers for Bases Agreement which was signed in September 1940, gave the United States a ninety-nine-year rent-free lease of numerous land and air bases in the Atlantic in exchange for the Royal Navy receiving fifty old destroyers. Roosevelt also sold (for cash) munitions that were carried away in British ships, including over half a million rifles, 85,000 machine guns, 25,000 automatic rifles, mortars, hundreds of field guns, with supplies of the necessary ammunition. The British needed these munitions to reequip the soldiers who lost all their arms when Dunkirk was evacuated in June 1940.

Beginning in March 1941, the United States enacted Lend-Lease in the form of tanks, fighter airplanes, munitions, bullets, food, and medical supplies. Britain received $31.4 billion out of a total of $50.1 billion sent to the Allies.

Combined Chiefs of Staff

In summer 1941, two American destroyers shadowing German submarines had already been torpedoed in the North Atlantic Ocean. During the war the senior military commanders of both sides formed the Combined Chiefs of Staff to coordinate action and plan policy, which had to be approved by Roosevelt and Churchill. At the Quebec Conference, 1943 held in Canada in August 1943, Churchill, Roosevelt and the Combined Chiefs plotted strategy against Germany. They began planning the invasion of France, codenamed Overlord using a report by the Combined Chiefs. They also discussed an increase of the bombing offensive against facilities Germany was using in France and the Low Countries. They decided to continue the buildup of American forces in Britain prior to an invasion of France. Churchill kept drawing attention to the advantages of operations in the Mediterranean theatre. They agreed to use more force to force Italy out of the war, and to occupy it along with Corsica. Military cooperation was close and successful.

Technical collaboration

Technical collaboration was even closer, as the two nations shared secrets and weapons regarding the proximity fuze and radar, as well as airplane engines, Nazi codes, and the atomic bomb.

Millions of American servicemen were based in Britain during the war, which led to a certain amount of friction with British men and intermarriage with British women. This animosity was explored in art and film, most particularly A Matter of Life and Death and A Canterbury Tale.

In 1945 Churchill sent British fleet to help the United States attack and invade Japan.

Casablanca conference

Main article: Casablanca Conference

In January 14-24 1943 Roosevelt, Churchill and the Combined Staff met in Casablanca, Morocco, in North Africa. They decided on the major Allied strategy for 1943 in Europe, especially the invasion of Italy and planning for the invasion of France. At Roosevelt's suggestion they agreed on a policy of "Unconditional surrender. This policy uplifted Allied morale, but it also made the Nazis resolve to fight to the bitter end. Roosevelt also tried to establish a working relationship between the two main French allies, Henri Giraud, the French high commissioner in North Africa, and General de Gaulle, leader of the Free French.

India

Serious tension erupted over American demands that India be given independence, a proposition Churchill vehemently rejected. For years Roosevelt had encouraged Britain's disengagement from India. The American position was based on principled opposition to colonialism, practical concern for the outcome of the war, and the expectation of a large American role in a post-colonial era. However in 1942 when the Congress Party launched a Quit India movement, the British authorities immediately arrested tens of thousands of activists (including Jawaharlal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi) and imprisoned them until 1945. Meanwhile India became the main American staging base for aid to China. Churchill threatened to resign if Roosevelt pushed too hard regarding independence, so Roosevelt backed down.

Britain and France

In spring 1939 both Britain and France formally announced they would defend the integrity of Poland. Hitler did not believe they would fight in such a faraway hopeless cause, and Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. Britain and France declared war on September 3, 1939. But there was little they could or did do to help Poland. When Germany began its attack on France in 1940, British troops and French troops again fought side by side. Eventually, after the Germans came through the Ardennes, it became clear that France would not be able to fend off the German attack, and the new Prime Minister Winston Churchill pledged that Britain would continue to fight for France's freedom, even if it must do so alone. The Free French resistance, led by Charles de Gaulle, were formed in London, after de Gaulle gave his famous 'Appeal of the 18th of June', widely broadcast by the BBC.

Prime Minister Winston Churchill and General Charles de Gaulle at Marrakesh, January 1944

In southern France a collaborative government known as Vichy France was set up, allied to Germany. The British were soon at war with the Vichy state, destroying much of its navy and moving into many of its colonies, such as Senegal, on behalf of the Free French government.

Following D-Day, relations between the two peoples were at a high, as the British were greeted as liberators. Following the surrender of Germany in 1945, the UK and France became close as both feared the Americans would withdraw from Europe leaving them vulnerable to the Soviet Union's expanding communist bloc. The UK strongly advocated that France be given a zone of occupied Germany. Both states were amongst the five Permanent Members of the new UN Security Council, where they commonly collaborated.

United States

US-China

Chiang Kai-shek of China with Roosevelt and Churchill at the Cairo Conference in 1943.

File:Mao, Hurley and Chiang.jpg

Mao Zedong, Ambassador Patrick J. Hurley, and Chiang Kai-shek in 1945.

See also: Second Sino-Japanese War and Chiang Kai-shek

The United States was a strong supporter of China after Japan invaded in 1937. Even the isolationists who opposed war in Europe supported a hard-line against Japan. The outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937 saw aid flow into the Republic of China, led by Chiang Kai-shek.

American public sympathy for the Chinese was aroused by reports from missionaries, novelists such as Pearl Buck, and Time Magazine of Japanese brutality in China, including reports surrounding the Nanking Massacre, also known as the 'Rape of Nanking'. Japanese-American relations were further soured by the USS Panay Incident during the bombing of Nanjing. Roosevelt demanded an apology from the Japanese, which was received, but relations between the two countries continued to deteriorate. By early 1941 the U.S. was preparing to send American planes flown by American pilots under American command, but wearing Chinese uniforms, to fight the Japanese invaders and even to bomb Japanese cities. The "Flying Tigers" under Claire Chennault arrived just as the U.S. entered the war.

To augment Chennault's 100 P-40Bs, in May 1941 Washington decided to send 144 Vultee P-48's, 125 P-43's and 66 Lockheed and Douglas medium bombers. The goal was to give China by early 1942, a respectable air force, judged by Far Eastern standards, sufficient to "(a) protect strategic points, (b) permit local army offensive action, (c) permit the bombing of Japanese air bases and supply dumps in China and Indo-China, and the bombing of coastal and river transport, and (d) permit occasional incendiary bombing of Japan."

A year before the U.S. officially entered the war (after Dec. 7, 1941), Chennault developed an ambitious plan for a sneak attack on Japanese bases. His Flying Tigers would use American bombers and American pilots, all with Chinese markings. The U.S. military was opposed to his scheme, and kept raising obstacles, but it was adopted by top civilian officials including Henry Morgenthau, Jr. (the Secretary of the Treasury who financed China) and especially President Roosevelt himself, who made it a high priority to keep China alive. By October, 1941, bombers and crews were on their way to China. However the American attack never took place. The bombers and crews arrived after Pearl Harbor and were used for the war in Burma, for they lacked the range to reach China.

Wartime

After the formal declaration of war in December 1941, the U.S. stepped up the flow of aid, but it had to be routed through India and over the Himalayan Mountains because Japan blocked the other routes. Chiang's beleaguered government was now headquartered in remote Chongqing. Madame Chiang Kaishek, who had been educated in the United States, addressed the US Congress and toured the country to rally support for China. Congress amended the Chinese Exclusion Act and Roosevelt moved to end the unequal treaties. However, the perception that Chiang's government, with his poorly equipped and ill-fed troops was unable to effectively fight the Japanese or that he preferred to focus more on defeating the Communists grew. China Hands such as Joseph Stilwell argued that it was in American interest to establish communication with the Communists to prepare for a land-based counteroffensive invasion of Japan. The Dixie Mission, which began in 1943, was the first official American contact with the Communists. Other Americans, such as Claire Chennault, argued for air power. In 1944, Generalissimo Chiang acceded to Roosevelt's request that an American general take charge of all forces in the area, but demanded that Stilwell be recalled. General Albert Wedemeyer replaced Stilwell, Patrick Hurley became ambassador, and Us-China relations became much smoother.

After World War II ended in 1945, the showdown came between the Nationalists and the COmmunists in a full-scale civil war. American general George C. Marshall tried to broker a truce but he failed. The Kuomintang (Nationalist) military position steadily worsened and by 1949, the Communists were victorious and drove the Nationalists from the onto the island of Taiwan. and other islands. Mao Zedong established the People's Republic of China (PRC) in mainland China, while the Republic of China remains in Taiwan to this day.

Soviet Union

Joseph Stalin controlled the foreign policy of the Soviet Union, with Vyacheslav Molotov as his foreign minister. Their policy was neutrality until August 1939, followed by friendly relations with Germany in order to carve up Eastern Europe. After he ignored repeated warnings, Stalin was stunned when Hitler invaded in June 1941. Stalin quickly came to terms with Britain and the United States, cemented through a series of summit meetings. The U.S. and Britain supplied war materials in large quantity through Lend Lease. There was some coordination of military action, especially in summer 1944. At war's end the central issue was whether Stalin would allow free elections in eastern Europe.

France

French Republic

France and Britain collaborated closely in 1939, and together declared war against Germany two days after it invaded France. Apart from the British Dominions (Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa), no independent nation joined their cause. Britain and France took a defensive posture, fearing German air attacks on cities. France hoped the Maginot Line woulod protect it from an invasion. There was little fighting between the fall of Poland in mid-Spetember and the following spring; it was the Phoney War in Britain or Drôle de guerre – the funny sort of war – in France. Britain tried several peace feelers, but Hitler did not respond.

When Germany had its hands free for an attack in the west, its launched its Blitzkrieg against Denmark and Norway, easily pushing the British out. Then it invaded the Low Countries and tricked Britain and France into sending its best combat units deep into the Netherlands, where they became trapped in the Battle of France in May 1940. The Royal Navy rescued over 300,000 British and French soldiers from Dunkirk, but left behind all the equipment.

Paris fell to the Germans on 14 June 1940, and the government surrendered on 24 June 1940. Nazi Germany occupied three-fifths of France's territory, leaving the rest in the southeast to the new Vichy government, which was a bit more than a puppet state since it still had a navy. However nearly 2 million French soldiers became prisoners of war in Germany. They served as hostages and forced laborers in German factories. The United States suddenly realized Germany was on the verge of controlling practically all of Europe, and it determined to rapidly build up its small Army and Air Force, and expand its Navy. Sympathy with Britain was high, and many were willing to send munitions, but few Americans called for war.

Vichy France

Main article: Foreign relations of Vichy France

The fall of France in June 1940 brought a new regime known as Vichy France. Theoretically it was neutral, but in practice it was partly controlled by Germany until November 1942, when Germany took full control. Vichy collapsed when the Germans fled in summer 1944.

The United States granted Vichy full diplomatic recognition, sending Admiral William D. Leahy to Paris as American ambassador. President Roosevelt hoped to use American influence to encourage those elements in the Vichy government opposed to military collaboration with Germany. The Americans also hoped to encourage Vichy to resist German war demands, such as for air bases in French-mandated Syria or to move war supplies through French territories in North Africa. The essential American position was that France should take no action not explicitly required by the armistice terms that could adversely affect Allied efforts in the war. When Germany took full control the U.S. cut its ties.

• Due to British requests and the sensitivities of its French Canadian population, Canada maintained full diplomatic relations with the Vichy Regime until the beginning of November 1942 and the Case Anton.

Britain feared that Germany would acquire the powerful French fleet. Shortly after the Armistice (22 June 1940), it attacked a large French naval contingent in Mers-el-Kebir, killing 1,297 French military personnel. Vichy severed diplomatic relations. Britain feared that the French naval fleet could wind up in German hands and be used against its own naval forces, which were so vital to maintaining north Atlantic shipping and communications. Under the armistice, France had been allowed to retain the French Navy, the Marine Nationale, under strict conditions. Vichy pledged that the fleet would never fall into the hands of Germany, but refused to send the fleet beyond Germany's reach by sending it to Britain or to far away territories of the French empire such as the West Indies. This did not satisfy Churchill, who ordered French ships in British ports to be seized by the Royal Navy. The French squadron at Alexandria, under Admiral René-Emile Godfroy, was effectively interned until 1943.

The American position towards Vichy France and De Gaulle was especially hesitant and inconsistent. President Roosevelt disliked Charles de Gaulle, and agreed with Ambassadofr Leahy's view that he was an "apprentice dictator."

Preparing for a landing in North Africa in late 1942, the US looked for a top French ally. They turned to Henri Giraud shortly before the landing on 8 November 1942. Finally, after François Darlan's turn towards the Free Forces they played him against de Gaulle. US General Mark W. Clark of the combined Allied command signed a deal with Admiral Darlan on 22 November 1942 a deal in which the Allies recognized Darlan, as high commissioner for North and West Africa. Darlan was assassinated on 24 December 1942, so Washington turned again towards Henri Giraud, who was made High Commissioner of French North and West Africa. He failed to build a political base and was displaced by de Gaulle.

Neutrals

The main neutrals were Ireland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey.

Most of the countries in Latin America were also neutral at least until the end of the war was in sight. Mexico declared war on Germany in 1942 after u-boats sank Mexican tankers carrying crude oil to the United States. It sent a fighter squadron to the war against Japan in 1945. Brazil declared war against Germany and Italy on 22 August 1942 and sent a 25,700-man infantry force that fought mainly on the Italian front, from September 1944 to May 1945. Its Navy and Air Force acted in the Atlantic Ocean.

Sweden

Main article: Sweden during World War II

Sweden remained neutral during World War II, avoiding the fate of occupied Norway and defeated Finland. The dominant historiography for decades after the war ignored the Holocaust and used what it called the "small state realist" argument. It held that that neutrality and cooperation with Germany were necessary for survival, for Germany was vastly more powerful, concessions were limited and were only made where the threat was too great; neutrality was bent but not broken; national unity was paramount; and in any case Sweden had the neutral right to trade with Germany. Germany needed Swedish iron and had nothing to gain--and much iron to lose--by an invasion. The nation was run by a unity government that included all major parties in the Riksdag. Its key leaders included Prime Minister Per Albin Hansson and Foreign Minister Christian Günther. King Gustav V had pro-Nazi proclivities that the government had to keep in check.

Axis

Main article: Axis powers

The dictators of Germany and Italy, Hitler and Mussolini, had numerous conferences. Neither ever met with top Japanese leaders. The Japanese ambassador to Germany handled many of the negotiations between Germany and Japan, but his coded messages home were intercepted and decrypted by the United States starting in 1941. The U.S. shared them with Britain. They revealed important German plans.

Germany

Germany's foreign policy during the war involved the creation of allied governments under direct or indirect control from Berlin. A main goal was obtaining soldiers from the senior allies, such as Italy and Hungary, and millions of workers and ample food supplies from subservient allies such as Vichy France. By the fall of 1942, there were 24 divisions from Romania on the Eastern Front, 10 from Italy and 10 from Hungary. When a country became too undependable, Germany would march in and assume full control, as it did with France in 1942, Italy in 1943, and Hungary in 1944. Although Japan was an official powerful ally, relationships were distant and there was little coordination or cooperation. For example, Germany refused to share the secret formulas for synthetic oil from coal until late in the war.

Hitler

Hitler devoted most of his attention during the war to military and diplomatic affairs. He frequently met with foreign leaders. For example, on January 10, 1943 he met with Rumanian Premier Marshal Ion Antonescu at German field headquarters, with top-ranking generals on both sides. On 9 August 1943, Hitler summoned Tsar Boris III of Bulgaria to a stormy meeting at field headquarters, and demanded he declare war on Russia. The tsar refused, but did agree to declare war on far-away Britain and the U.S. News reports said Hitler tried to hit him and the tsar suffered a heart attack at the meeting; he died three weeks later.

Poland

Main article: Second Polish Republic

Between 1919 and 1939 Poland pursued a policy of balance between Soviet Union and Nazi Germany seeking non-aggression treaties with both

In early 1939 Germany had demanded that Poland join the Anti-Comintern Pact as a satellite state of Germany. Germany proposed to create an extraterritorial highway connecting Germany proper with Danzig and then East Prussia, but Poland refused. Germany also pressed for the incorporation of Danzig, a Nazi ruled city-state with a 90% German population that had been separated from Germany in 1920 and functioning as a Free City in a customs union with Poland ever since. After Poland rejected German proposals regarding Danzig and the Corridor, Hitler turned against Poland in early 1939 and started plans for an invasion later that year. Poland had few friends and no allies.

Two critical developments caught Poland by surprise. At the end of March 1939 Britain and France announced that if Germany invaded Poland they would declare war. In terms of helping Poland in an actual war everyone realized they could do very little. The hope was that the threat of a two-front war would deter Germany, especially since it had to worry about the role of the Soviet Union. Hitler thought Britain and France were bluffing, but he handled the Soviet problem in late August, by a stunning agreement with Stalin in what amounted to a friendly alliance, which included secret provisions to partition Poland—and indeed divide up much of eastern Europe The British and French offer was not a bluff—they did indeed declare war on Germany when it invaded Poland, but neither was in a position to provide serious help. Poland itself had a million-man army (and another million in the reserves), but fell far short in terms of training, air power, artillery, tanks, machine guns, radios and trucks. The Polish military budget was about 2% of Germany's; its commanding general Marshal Smigly-Rydz was not well prepared for the challenge.

Finland

Main article: Military history of Finland during World War II

Mannerheim with Hitler

Although Finland officially was not a part of the Axis, it was aligned with Germany in a war against the Soviet Union. The August 1939 Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact between Germany and the Soviet Union contained a secret protocol dividing much of eastern Europe and assigning Finland to the Soviet sphere of influence. Finland before 1918 had been a province of Russia, and many Finnish speakers lived in neighboring parts of Russia. After unsuccessfully attempting to force territorial and other concessions on the Finns, the Soviet Union invaded Finland in November 1939 during the Winter War, intending to establish a communist puppet government in Finland. Finland won very wide popular support in Britain and the United States. The arms-length collaboration with Germany stemmed from a precarious balance struck by the Finns in order to avoid antagonizing Britain and the United States. In the end Britain declared war to satisfy the needs of its Soviet policy, but did not engage in combat against Finland. Finland concluded armistice negotiations with the USSR under strong German pressure to continue the war, while British and American acted in accord with their own alliances with the Soviets.

Soviet success in Finland would threaten Germany's iron-ore supplies and offered the prospect of Allied interference in the region. The Soviets overwhelmed the Finnish resistance in the Winter War, and a peace treaty was signed in March 1940. It ceded some Finnish territory to the Soviet Union, including the Karelian Isthmus, containing Finland's second-largest city, Viipuri, and the critical defensive structure of the Mannerheim Line.

After the Winter War war, Finland sought protection and support from the Britain and Sweden without success. Finland drew closer to Germany, first with the intent of enlisting German support as a counterweight to thwart continuing Soviet pressure, and later to help regain lost territories. Finland declared war against the Soviet Union on 25 June 1941 in what is called the Continuation War. To meet Stalin's demands, Britain reluctantly declared war on Finland on 6 December 1941, although no other military operations followed. War was never declared between Finland and the United States, though relations were severed between the two countries in 1944 as a result of the Ryti-Ribbentrop Agreement.

Finland maintained command of its armed forces and pursued war objectives independently of Germany. Germans and Finns did work closely together during Operation Silverfox, a joint offensive against Murmansk. Finland refused German requests to participate actively in the Siege of Leningrad, and also granted asylum to Jews, while Jewish soldiers continued to serve in its army.

The relationship between Finland and Germany more closely resembled an alliance during the six weeks of the Ryti-Ribbentrop Agreement, which was presented as a German condition for help with munitions and air support, as the Soviet offensive coordinated with D-Day threatened Finland with complete occupation. The agreement bound Finland not to seek a separate peace with Moscow.

After Soviet offensives were fought to a standstill, Ryti's successor as president, Marshall Mannerheim, dismissed the agreement and opened secret negotiations with the Soviets, which resulted in the Moscow Armistice on 19 September 1944. Under the terms of the armistice, Finland was obliged to expel German troops from Finnish territory, which resulted in the Lapland War. Finland signed a peace treaty with the Allied powers in 1947.

Further reading

• Dear, Ian C. B. and Muichael Foot, eds. The Oxford Companion to World War II (2005), comprehensive encyclopedia for all countries
• Overy, Richard J. The Origins of the Second World War (3rd ed. 2008)
• Steiner, Zara. The Triumph of the Dark: European International History 1933-1939 (Oxford History of Modern Europe) (2011) 1248pp; comprehensive coverage of Europe heading to war excerpt and text search
• Watt, Donald Cameron. How War Came: The Immediate Origins of the Second World War 1938-1939 (1990) highly detailed coverage
• Weinberg, Gerhard L. A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II (1994) comprehensive coverage of the war with emphasis on diplomacy excerpt and text search

Allies

• Beschloss, Michael. The Conquerors: Roosevelt, Truman, and the destruction of Hitler's Germany, 1941–1945 (2002).
• Burns, James. Roosevelt: the Soldier of Freedom (1970).
• Churchill, Winston. The Second World War (6 vol 1948)
• Charmley, John. Churchill's Grand Alliance: The Anglo-American Special Relationship 1940–57 (1996)
• Dallek, Robert. Franklin D. Roosevelt and American Foreign Policy, 1932–1945 (1995).
• Fenby, Jonathan. Chiang Kai Shek: China's Generalissimo and the Nation He Lost (2005).
• Gibson, Robert. Best of Enemies (2nd ed. 2011). Britain and France
• Glantz, Mary E. FDR and the Soviet Union: The President's Battles over Foreign Policy (2005)
• Langer, William and S. Everett Gleason. The Challenge to Isolation, 1937–1940 (1952); The Undeclared War, 1940–1941 (1953) highly influential, wide-ranging semi-official American diplomatic history
• Louis, William Roger; Imperialism at Bay: The United States and the Decolonization of the British Empire, 1941–1945 (1978)
• McNeill, William Hardy. America, Britain, & Russia: their co-operation and conflict, 1941-1946 (1953), 820pp
• Nasaw, David. The Patriarch: The Remarkable Life and Turbulent Times of Joseph P. Kennedy (2012), US ambassador to Britain, 1937-40; pp 281-486
• Reynolds, David. From World War to Cold War: Churchill, Roosevelt, and the International History of the 1940s (2007) excerpt and text search
• Roberts, Geoffrey. Stalin's Wars: From World War to Cold War, 1939–1953 (2006).
• Taylor, Jay. The Generalissimo: Chiang Kai-shek and the Struggle for Modern China (2009).
• Woods, Randall Bennett. Changing of the Guard: Anglo-American Relations, 1941–1946 (1990)
• Young, Robert. France and the Origins of the Second World War (1996)

Axis

• Bix, Herbert P. Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan (2001) excerpt and text search
• Evans, Richard J. The Third Reich at War (2010), a comprehensive history excerpt and text search
• Feis, Herbert. The Road to Pearl Harbor: The coming of the war between the United States and Japan (1950). classic history by senior American official.
• Kershaw, Ian. Hitler: 1936-1945 Nemesis (2001), 1168pp; excerpt and text search
• Mallett, Robert. Mussolini and the Origins of the Second World War, 1933 - 1940 (2003) excerpt and text search
• Mazower, Mark. Hitler's Empire: How the Nazis Ruled Europe (2009) excerpt and text search
• Thorne, Christopher G. The Issue of War: States, Societies, and the Coming of the Far Eastern Conflict of 1941-1945 (1985) sophisticated analysis of each major power.
• Tooze, Adam. The Wages of Destruction: The Making and Breaking of the Nazi Economy (2008), 848pp excerpt and text search
• Weinberg, Gerhard L. Hitler's Foreign Policy 1933-1939: The Road to World War II (2005)
• Wright, Jonathan. Germany and the Origins of the Second World War (2007) 223pp