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Article: WAR CRIMES.(World War II)
- Article from:
- Current Events, a Weekly Reader publication
- Article date:
- November 19, 1999
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 Weekly Reader Corp. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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BACKGROUND
World War II had its origins in three different conflicts, which merged into a world war after 1941. The first stemmed from Adolf Hitler's desire for the European expansion of Germany. The second was Japan's struggle against China. The third conflict was between Japan and the United States in the Pacific region.
For six months after the German invasion of Poland starting the European war, there was a period of "phony war," when little fighting took place. But the Germans then occupied Norway and Denmark (April 1940), then invaded Belgium and Holland, followed immediately by the invasion of France. Holland surrendered in four days, Belgium in ...