Everyone knows that World War II was a war where one side, Germany, Italy and Japan, along with their allies, fought against most of the rest of the world. But there were other countries involved and also groups of people from countries, that were fighting on both sides. In the beginning of the war, Russia was on the side of the Germans, Italians and Japanese but that changed when Hitler invaded them. The allies had volunteers on their side from places like Poland and France, But what was the deal with the German Army?

Americans Fighting In Europe
Photo Source: US Army

Officially The Axis powers in World War II were Germany, Italy, Japan, Hungary, Romania,and Bulgaria.They also had volunteers from other places like India and several countries around the world. One little known fact is that the Germans also had Russians fighting on their side. The Russians, known as white Russians had some of the newest German planes and flew them against Stalin and the mother land. The White Russians had the old czarist markings on their planes and these were clearly visible as they entered the battle.

Russian Tank
Photo Source: This Photo Is Said To Be In The Public Domain

During the rise of Nazi power, the Nazis wanted to eliminate the Free Masons in Germany. This was not a top priority, but somewhere in the middle. As the world found out the hard way, the top priority was elimination of the Jews and Gypsies with some Christians a close second. If a person conceded to give up their connection to the Masons they were told that they would be allowed to continue their lives in Germany. Pressure was constantly applied to the Free Masons until in 1934 a German judge ruled that if people hadn't left the Free Masons by January 1, 1933, they no longer could join the Nazi party. This forced the Masons in Germany to have to decide whether to stay a Mason or to have their careers destroyed and maybe worse. If you were a Free Mason in the German civil service at the time, you were harassed until you retired. Later in 1934, all memberships in lodges were banned for soldiers and civilians alike. Later in 1934 as the ball rolled along, lodges were declared hostile to the state and their assets were confiscated. Papers began to state that there was a conspiracy link between the Jews and the Masons to overthrow the German state. Later on, in 1935, the political clergy were added to the list. Heydrich created a special section of the SS to deal with Free Masons.

Hitler hated the Slavs. They were mostly the Polish, Russian and Ukrainians. If you were a Slav, that could be your death sentence. Not only did he feel that these people were backward, but they certainly were not of the Aryan race and he felt that they would contaminate the German blood lines. Polish persecution by Germans was nothing new when Hitler did it. In the 18th century, the Prussians tried to get the idea across that the Poles were not Europeans and compared them to primitive tribes. Hitler had another reason to hate the Poles, they had gotten the Danzig, a former German territory, after World War I. For quite awhile he respected the white Americans. He felt that the Germans, who had migrated there, were the best that Germany had to offer and he really wanted them to join his cause, but this came to an abrupt end when he could not wait any longer and declared war on the U.S.

Here is where the world stood during the war:

Afghanistan never entered into World War II. Hey I guess it really wasn't a World War, was it? Andorra was also neutral. Well it was close enough to a world war. Albania had been conquered by Italy, so they had no choice. Argentina didn't declare war on the Axis powers until March, 1945. Armenia fought with the Soviet Army against the Germans. Australia declared war on Germany early in the war. Austria had become part of Germany in 1938. Bahrain declared war on Germany in 1939. Belgium was neutral, but Germany invaded and conquered them. Bolivia declared war on Germany in December, 1943. Brazil declared war against Germany in 1942 after their ships were attacked. Bulgaria joined the Germans in 1941. Canada declared war on Germany in 1939. Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, mutinied against the British and wanted to hand the islands over to the Japanese. Three soldiers were executed, they were the only British Commonwealth troops to be executed for mutiny in World War II. Chile broke relations with Germany in 1943. China's war was against the Japanese and they had been fighting since 1931. Colombia broke relations with the Axis powers after Pearl Harbor and declared a state of belligerency against Germany in 1943 after one of their ships was sunk. Costa Rica declared war on Germany after Pearl Harbor. Cuba declared war on Germany in 1941. Czechoslovakia had been dismembered by Germany. Denmark was occupied by Germany. The Dominican Republic declared war on Germany after Pearl Harbor but didn't contribute troops. Ecuador declared war on Germany in February, 1945. Egypt was officially neutral, but allowed British troops to use the country as a base. El Salvador declared war on Germany right after Pearl Harbor. Estonia was taken over by the USSR. Ethiopia was invaded by Italy. Fiji's soldiers served with the New Zealand Army. Finland was invaded by the USSR. Georgia was part of the USSR, but some Georgians joined the Axis powers. Greece was invaded by Italy, then Germany. Guatemala and Honduras declared war on Germany in 1941. Hong Kong was captured by the Japanese. Hungary was an ally of the Germans. The Indian Empire, which included India, Pakistan and Bangladesh fought on the allied side, but a few fought for the Japanese. The estimate is 40,000 and even less fought for the Germans.The estimate here is 2,000. Indonesia was then the Netherlands East Indies. It was defeated by Japan. Iran was invaded by the allies because of German influence with the government and the government overthrown. Iraq was invaded by allied troops and the government overthrown. Iceland was invaded by Germany. Eire (Republic of Ireland) remained neutral even though it had been a member of the Commonwealth, but Northern Island was part of the United Kingdom. Korea had been conquered by Japan. Laos had been divided up by the Japanese. Latvia had been a Soviet Protectorate. Lebanon was under the control of France and later Vichy France. Liberia had declared neutrality, but it allowed allied troops to use it as a base and supplied rubber to the allied armies. Liechtenstein had close relations with Switzerland and remained neutral. Lithuania was annexed to the USSR. Luxembourg was invaded by Germany. Malaya was invaded by Japan. Malta reaffirmed its loyalty to Britain in 1939. Mexico declared war on Germany in 1942. Monaco was pro French but tried to stay neutral. It was invaded by Italy. Mongolia fought alongside of the USSR. Morocco was invaded by the allies in 1942. Nepal declared war on Germany in 1939. The Netherlands was invaded by Germany. Newfoundland was not part of Canada in those days, it declared war on Germany in 1939. New Zealand declared war on Germany in 1939. Nicaragua declared war on Germany right after Pearl Harbor. Norway was invaded by Germany. Oman declared war on Germany in 1939. Panama was under American Control. Paraguay declared war on German in 1945. Peru declared war on Germany in 1942. The Philippines were invaded by Japan. Poland was invaded by Germany in 1939. Portugal imported material to Germany until 1943, but also granted bases to the British on the Azores and gave refuge to hundreds of thousands of Jews. Macau remained neutral. Portuguese Timor was invaded by the Australians and Dutch. Romania joined the axis powers. San Marino joined Italy and declared war on Britain in 1940 and when the Italians surrendered, they declared war on Germany in 1944. Saudi Arabia remained neutral. Singapore was invaded by Japan. South Africa declared war on Germany in 1939. Southern Rhodesia was under the British. The USSR was invaded by Germany. Spain sent volunteers to fight with the Germans, but then declared its neutrality in 1943. Sweden was neutral. Switzerland was neutral, but had mobilized for war against Germany. The Germans had drawn up plans to invade, but never did. Syria was under France. Tanna Tuva was under the USSR. Thailand was an ally of Japan and declared war against the U.S. and Britain. Tonga declared on the side of Britain. Trans jordan was under British control. Turkey declared war on Germany in 1945. The United Kingdom declared war on Germany in 1939. Channel Islands were occupied by Germany. The U.S. declared war on Germany in 1941. Uruguay joined the allies in 1945 after being neutral. Venezuela severed relations with the Axis after Pearl Harbor and declared war on Germany in 1945. Yemen was neutral. Yugoslavia was attacked by Germany and its allies and forced to sign an armistice.

As you can see from above, many of the South American countries didn't declare war on Germany until they were sure that it would lose. At that time many of them were run by dictators, who didn't want to back the wrong horse. I think that it is interesting that Switzerland was all ready for the battle with Germany. They were probably too small to last long, but they weren't ready to give up either. It was sort of what happened when the Russians invaded Finland. The Fins gave them such a hard time that they had to keep bringing in more and more troops until they finally won. Belgium is another example of a smaller country putting up a stiff resistance against a big one. They gave the German unexpected heavy resistance in World War II.

Indeed, World War II was a big war, but there were several countries that somehow managed to stay out of the fray.