The objective of Hitler's strategy in eastern Europe was to provide the so-called "master race" of

Germans with a "place to live." Because Hitler was a natural gambler, he solved Germany's problems
through a combination of diplomatic deception and innovative military strategy. He was astute in his
understanding of how to take advantage of the disparities that existed among the European countries to
achieve many of his objectives without resorting to war. In 1935, he and Benito Mussolini, the Fascist
dictator of Italy, proclaimed the formation of an alliance between Rome and Berlin that would be known
as the Axis. The Japanese were the only industrial power in Asia at the time, and they dominated the Far
East. They desired the natural resources of China and Southeast Asia, but their progress was halted by
European colonial powers or the United States. They began their war with China in 1937, after having
already conquered Manchuria in 1931.

Both Japan's invasion of Manchuria and Italy's conquest of Ethiopia were able to proceed despite the
ineffectiveness of the League of Nations. Soon after, Germany, Italy, and Japan came together to form
an alliance against the democratic governments of the West, which were hoping to prevent another
war, as well as the communist government of the Soviet Union, which the majority of people did not
trust.