First, the twenties were a time of prosperity. The twenties were called the "Roaring Twenties- because of the booming industries, the rising stock market and the wealth of Americans. The twenties were basically happy times, but all good things must come to an end. In 1929 a chain reaction from downward up to the crashing of the stock market began the Great Depression. The Depression made life even worse for the Germans who had a difficult time rebuilding after the war. But America was hit the worst by the Depression. The Germans turned to Hitler because he promised to bring the country back together. Hitler thought War was the answer to Germany's problems, thus, he began to build up his military. Hitler assembled the Nazi Party and became dictator of Germany. In 1932 over five million people were jobless in Germany and in 1936 fewer than 1 million people were jobless, plus the economy was much better. Nazism brought Germany out of the Depression and prosperity back to the country. As a result, Germans joined and supported the Nazi party. To solve Italy's problems Benito Mussolini became dictator of Italy and built the Fascist movement . Mussolini also thought war would bolster his country's economy. He invaded Ethiopia and Albania to distract his country's people from their problems at home. At that point both Italy and Germany invaded new territory. Throughout the 1930's Japan became a very imperialist and militaristic country. While Japan is a small island country, it needs more raw materials and it also needs more "living space."" Japan seeks its natural resources and land to the west in Asia. In 1932 the Japanese took over Manchuria in northeastern China. Many Pacific islands and parts of China were to follow. Now the world had a total of three aggressive countries, which were ready to pounce on any country that came their way. These three countries all did not please the American interests.
