The American Legacy of their national interests. In industrialized Germany there emerged an influential militarist group that advocated the doctrine of Lebensraum (“living space”) starting in 1901 that would become a national doctrine by 1912. It would bring Germany to World War I (1914 – 1918 ) and thirty years later to World War II (1939 – 1945). The original scope of Lebensraum was Eastern Europe and Russia, but this was expanded in World War II to include the whole of Europe and European colonies. Japanese Meiji empire in its later years carried a centrally directed industrialization which made Japan a regional industrial power. Japan’s industrialization also led to overproduction. The need for secure markets and raw materials in Asia which was already owned by the West saw the emergence of ultra-nationalists who organized secret societies that pledged loyalty to the Emperor and greatness for Japan. Membership included influential politicians, military officers, industrialists and ordinary citizens from all walks of life. Though humiliated by the west with unequal treaties, the With nothing but bolos: Fighters in the Island of Samar (c) Public domain 47