Weapons Before War

How the Arms Race Began in the 1930s

By: Jonas Merakai

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Paperback | 20 February 2026

At a Glance

Paperback
280 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.6

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Why did so many leaders insist the world wanted peace while factories quietly retooled for tanks, bombers and submarines? How did careful language, creative finance and technical innovation turn the 1930s into a decade of hidden acceleration towards disaster?

This book follows the 1930s arms race from the inside out, tracing how German rearmament unfolded through workarounds, front companies, and Mefo bills. Readers are taken into cabinet rooms, design bureaus and dockyards to see how the supposed peace of the interwar years rested on fragile assumptions. It shows how military technology evolved unevenly during the interwar period, why some governments hesitated, and how others pushed ahead.

Across its chapters, the narrative connects the origins of World War 2 to choices about budgets, treaties, and radar masts along cold coastlines. It explains the financing of Meffo bills in plain language, unpacks radar development in Britain, and follows the collapse of the limits that once promised stability under naval treaties. Along the way, it examines U-boat warfare history and Allied rearmament debates to show why democracies struggled to match authoritarian speed.

For readers of serious history who want more than battles and personalities, this book offers a clear mental model of how weapons, money and ideas interact. It shows how weapons before World War I can shape the conflicts that follow, and invites readers to recognise early warning signs when technology and fear begin to outrun diplomacy.

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