Opposition to World War II

• 1. Interwar Diplomacy And Failure

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  The League of Nations formed its headquarters in Geneva after the First World War ended. Its goal was to prevent another global conflict through diplomacy and a united international community. However, the organization failed to stop aggressive nations during the invasions of Manchuria and Ethiopia. The annexation of Czechoslovakia further demonstrated the League's ineffectiveness. Opposition to these invasions sometimes came from politicians within the aggressor nations themselves. Japanese Minister Kijūrō Shidehara spoke against the expansionist policies of his government. A school of historical thought held that appeasement precipitated a wider war by emboldening aggressive nations.

• 2. Axis Internal Resistance Plots

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  Opposition to what would become World War II reached its height in the German military with the Oster conspiracy. This plot aimed to remove Hitler from power should pressure placed on Czechoslovakia lead to war. No similar plans are known for the invasion of Poland. Rudolf Hess traveled to Scotland in May 1941 in an attempt to start peace negotiations. His full motives remain unclear but he had no intention of opposing the upcoming invasion of Russia by Germany. Admiral Yamamoto was part of a military faction that argued against attacking America in particular. Once war was decided upon he became a key contributor to the Pacific attacks.

• 3. British Pacifism And Fascist Opposition

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  Oswald Mosley and his British Union of Fascists were opposed to war believing it was not in Britain's national interest. They believed Britons should fight for Britain alone rather than join a global conflict. Editorials and cartoons in Action often asserted that the British Empire needed to prepare for a defensive war against Japan. Mosley devoted all of the party's efforts to the Peace Campaign calling for a referendum on the continuation of the war. The campaign ended after Mosley and many other senior BUF members were interned under Defence Regulation 18B in May 1940. Throughout the British Empire pacifists were jailed for expressing antiwar sentiment.

• 4. American Isolationist Movements

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  A Gallup poll conducted between September 1 and the 6th of September 1939 found that 90% of Americans said no to declaring war on Germany. A separate question from the poll asked what level of assistance should be given to the British Polish and French. When asked about sending army and naval forces abroad 16% said yes with 84% saying no. Isolationism was strongest in the United States where oceans separated it on both sides from the war fronts. Charles Lindbergh was perhaps the most famous isolationist leading the America First Committee. Students at UC Berkeley in 1940 led a large protest in opposition to the war.

• 5. Soviet Policy Shifts And Communist Fronts

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  The Communist front organizations opposed the war during the period of the Nazi-Soviet pact. Most dutifully followed orders from Moscow regarding the conflict. In 1940 Britain's Daily Worker referred to the Allied war effort as the Anglo-French imperialist war machine. Joseph Stalin ordered a series of military attacks on Poland Finland Estonia Latvia Lithuania and Romania. Communist parties around the world reversed course when Germany invaded the Soviet Union on the 22nd of June 1941. They then advocated that material support be extended to the Soviets. A small number of socialists continued to oppose the war but very few Comintern members obeyed Moscow.

• 6. Colonial Nationalist Reactions

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  In India independence leader Mahatma Gandhi led the Quit India Movement to obstruct any efforts to support the British in the war. Some nationalists went beyond opposition to the war to form the Indian National Army and fight alongside Japanese forces. Opposition was also seen among the Ceylonese garrison on the Cocos Islands which mutinied due to the influence of the Trotskyist Lanka Sama Samaja Party. Over 125 African-Americans were imprisoned for resisting the draft or sedition including Elijah Muhammad. Many of them viewed the Japanese as the champions of the non-white people of the world.

• 7. Postwar Cultural Legacies

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  The post war view in Allied nations was that it was necessary and noble with it being referred to informally as the good war. Within the defeated former Axis powers the war has been represented as a national shame leading to Japanese pacifism. In the less significant Axis countries of Italy and Hungary the war is viewed negatively. The extent to which they were victims or perpetrators of the war is debated. At the Yalta Conference in February 1945 the Allies agreed that only unconditional surrender would be accepted from the Axis powers. This reduced the options open to those who opposed a continuation of the war.