Many people have different ideas about how World War II actually began. It is documented in history that on September 1, 1939, Germany attacked Poland. The reaction to the attack was six long years of war between many different countries. Many wondered what drove the Germans to attack other countries. The Germans took control of Austria and Czechoslovakia without a fight. The reason for this was that the British did not want a bloody repetition of the First World War. The British thought they could avoid conflict by ceding the two countries. France and Britain did not understand Hitler's goal of conquering more of their country's land. France and Britain quickly realized that giving up some of their land to please Hitler would not work. To eliminate the possibility of the Soviet Union attacking the Germans, Hitler made a pact with them. This pact was called the “Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact”. The reason why the Germans made this deal was that they would not resemble the attackers even if they were. The effect of this was that the Soviet Union did not realize what the Nazis were doing until it was too late to try to stop them. The Nazis needed a reason to attack Poland, so they found one. A Nazi named Heinrich Himmler was the man who came up with the idea. Heinrich called the ideaHimmler operation. Himmler's plan was to take a man from one of their concentration camps and dress him in a Polish uniform. They then took him to the border between Poland and Germany, to a small town called Gleiwitz. Himmler later had a Nazi soldier shot to death. This made it look like a Polish attack on a nearby German radio station. On September 15, 1942, Congress gave the president the power to freeze prices, wages, and salaries. The United States imposed a special tax on luxury items such as jewelry and cosmetics. The government established a civil defense system to protect the country from attacks. Many cities suffered blackouts that forced cities on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts to dim their lights. Works Cited http://www.historyonthenet.com/WW2/causes.htm http://history.parkfieldict.co.uk/world-war-ii/why -did-world-war-ii-starthttp://learning .blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/01/sept-1-1939-nazi-germania-invades-poland-startingworld-war-ii/?_php= true&_type=blogs&_r=0http://middle.usmk12.org/ Faculty/taft/Unit7/wwii_legacy.htmhttp://www.us-history.com/pages/h1661.htmlhttp://people.howstuffworks.com/culture- traditions/tv-e-cultura/world-war-ii- affect-television.htm