How did Germany, Italy, and Japan try to make up for the lack of natural resources they could access during the Great Depression?
During the Great Depression, Germany, Italy, and Japan faced challenges regarding their limited access to natural resources. To mitigate these issues, each country adopted various strategies:
1. Germany:
Germany aimed to achieve autarky, or economic self-sufficiency, to compensate for the lack of resources. The government initiated initiatives such as the Four Year Plan, headed by Hermann Göring, which focused on increasing domestic production. They also explored alternative resources like coal, lignite, and synthetic materials. Additionally, Germany sought to annex resource-rich territories like Austria and Czechoslovakia to acquire more natural resources.
2. Italy:
Italy, under the fascist rule of Benito Mussolini, aimed to create an empire to access the resources it lacked. Mussolini pursued territorial expansion and sought to establish control over countries that possessed significant resources, such as Ethiopia in 1935-1936. This expansion was guided by the concept of autarky, which aimed to make Italy self-sufficient and less dependent on imports.
3. Japan:
Japan, which was heavily dependent on imports due to limited domestic resources, pursued an aggressive expansionist policy in the 1930s. The government sought to secure resources, particularly oil, rubber, and iron ore, by expanding their territories in East Asia. This led to invasions of Manchuria (1931), China (1937), and Southeast Asian nations like Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.
In summary, Germany, Italy, and Japan adopted a combination of strategies including domestic production, territorial expansion, and resource acquisitions to compensate for their lack of natural resources during the Great Depression. These approaches eventually contributed to the tensions that led to World War II.