The Middle East (1936–1947): Nationalism, World War II, and Shifting Alliances

Between 1936 and 1947, the Middle East experiences profound transformations shaped by nationalist struggles, the upheaval of World War II, and the reconfiguration of international politics. This critical era sees the decline of European colonial influence, the emergence of independent states, and intensified regional rivalries that set the stage for lasting conflict.

Arab Nationalism and Independence Movements

The late 1930s witness rising nationalist fervor across the region, particularly in areas under British and French mandates. In Iraq, nationalist pressures culminate in greater autonomy, though British influence remains strong due to strategic interests, especially the oil industry. Despite the 1930 Anglo-Iraqi Treaty granting formal independence, Britain retains military bases and economic control, fueling Iraqi resentment.

Similarly, Egypt negotiates the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936, which grants increased self-rule but leaves British military presence intact, notably at the strategic Suez Canal. This partial independence intensifies Egyptian nationalist demands for complete sovereignty.

Syria and Lebanon: The Decline of French Control

French dominance over Syria and Lebanon begins to unravel during this period. In Syria, widespread nationalist agitation forces France to agree to independence in principle through the Franco-Syrian Treaty of 1936. However, France reneges on implementation, leading to unrest. During World War II, the defeat of France by Nazi Germany in 1940 critically weakens French authority, allowing nationalist forces in Syria and Lebanon to assert greater independence.

Lebanon achieves formal independence in 1943 following tense negotiations culminating in the National Pact, which establishes a sectarian power-sharing arrangement among Maronites, Sunnis, Shias, and Druzes. France attempts to reassert control in both Lebanon and Syria after the war, but international pressure, notably from Britain and the United States, compels French withdrawal. Both countries gain full independence by 1946, ending French colonial rule in the Levant.

World War II and its Impact on the Region

The onset of World War II (1939–1945) dramatically reshapes the Middle East. Though initially neutral, Iran’s strategic importance leads Britain and the Soviet Union to invade in 1941, overthrowing Reza Shah Pahlavi and installing his son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, as shah. Allied occupation secures crucial supply routes for Soviet resistance against Nazi Germany. This occupation simultaneously undermines Iranian sovereignty and triggers intensified nationalism, laying the groundwork for later political upheavals.

In Iraq, nationalist resentment against British control culminates in a pro-Axis coup in April 1941, led by Rashid Ali al-Gaylani. Britain swiftly suppresses this rebellion, reoccupying Baghdad and reinforcing its grip on Iraqi affairs until war’s end. Nonetheless, this episode highlights growing Iraqi nationalism and anti-colonial sentiment.

Turkey, under President İsmet İnönü, successfully maintains strict neutrality throughout World War II, leveraging its strategic position to secure advantageous diplomatic and economic agreements with both Axis and Allied powers. Post-war, however, Turkey increasingly aligns with Western interests, laying foundations for Cold War affiliations.

Palestine: Rising Tensions and British Withdrawal

In British-mandated Palestine, escalating conflict between Arab and Jewish communities marks this period decisively. The 1936–1939 Arab Revolt emerges from Arab opposition to increased Jewish immigration and land purchases. Britain suppresses the revolt with considerable force, but the underlying tensions persist. In response, the British issue the White Paper of 1939, limiting Jewish immigration, aiming to appease Arab demands while alienating Zionists and Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi persecution in Europe.

Following World War II, Jewish resistance to British rule intensifies through militant groups such as the Irgun and Lehi, who violently oppose British presence and demand unrestricted Jewish immigration. Britain, exhausted and facing international pressure, ultimately refers the Palestine question to the newly created United Nations in 1947, leading directly to the partition resolution and subsequent declaration of the state of Israel in 1948.

Saudi Arabia and the Gulf: Emergence of Oil Wealth

In Saudi Arabia, the late 1930s and 1940s bring profound changes. The discovery of commercially viable oil in 1938 by the American-owned Arabian American Oil Company (ARAMCO) transforms Saudi Arabia's economy and strategic importance. During World War II, Saudi Arabia’s neutrality and willingness to cooperate with the Allies secure its position as a pivotal Western partner. King Abdulaziz ibn Saud uses newfound oil wealth to consolidate central control, modernize infrastructure, and significantly enhance the kingdom's international status.

The smaller Gulf states (Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and the future UAE) remain under British protection, with Britain increasingly involved in developing regional oil resources. Oil exports from Kuwait, initiated in 1946, substantially boost the sheikhdom’s economic prospects, foreshadowing broader economic transformations throughout the Persian Gulf.

Iran and Turkey: Post-War Realignment and Early Cold War Dynamics

Following wartime occupation, Iran becomes an early Cold War flashpoint. In 1945–1946, the Soviet Union attempts to establish pro-Soviet separatist republics in Iranian Azerbaijan and Kurdistan. Diplomatic pressure from the United States and Britain forces Soviet withdrawal in 1946, leaving Mohammad Reza Shah dependent upon Western support. This crisis significantly heightens Cold War tensions, positioning Iran as a key Western ally against Soviet influence.

Turkey, facing Soviet demands for territorial concessions and joint control of the Turkish Straits, moves decisively toward the West. In 1947, the Truman Doctrine explicitly extends American military and economic assistance to Turkey (and Greece), cementing its strategic alignment with NATO and marking its entry as a crucial player in Cold War geopolitics.

Legacy of the Era (1936–1947)

Between 1936 and 1947, the Middle East moves decisively toward independence from European colonialism, shaped by World War II and emerging Cold War tensions. The establishment of independent Arab states, the assertion of nationalist identities, and intensified regional conflicts—especially the Palestine issue—lay foundations for enduring political struggles. The emergence of oil as an economic powerhouse reshapes the geopolitical significance of the Arabian Peninsula and Gulf. The era’s developments leave a lasting legacy of nationalism, conflict, and strategic rivalry, profoundly influencing regional dynamics throughout the remainder of the twentieth century.

Irgun, in addition to its terrorist activities, participates also in the organization of illegal immigration into Palestine after the publication of the 1939 White Paper.

Irgun's violent activities lead to execution of many of its members by the British; in retaliation, Irgun executes British army hostages.

After a policy split in Irgun in 1940, thirty-three-year-old Avraham Stern founds a small terrorist splinter group, LEHI, formally Lohame Herut Yisra'el (Hebrew: "Fighters for the Freedom of Israel"), also known as the Stern Gang, or Stern Group, after its founder.

Another of its founding members,  twenty-five-year-old Yitzhak Shamir, had joined the Betar Zionist youth movement as a young man and studied law in Warsaw.

He had emigrated to Palestine in 1935 and enrolled at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, where he had joined Irgun.

The fanatically anti-British Stern gang repeatedly attacks British personnel in Palestine in addition to inviting aid from the Axis powers.

The British police retaliate by killing Stern in his apartment in February 1942; many of the gang's leaders are subsequently arrested, including YTitzhakShamir, who subsequently escapes to play a central part in reorganizing the Sternist Central Committee.

Menachem Begin, a young soldier in the Polish army-in-exile, first comes to Palestine in April 1942 in the aftermath of the loss of the Struma, and immediately sets out to draw together the whole underground, including Lehi, in preparation for a Jewish war of liberation against the British.

The recipient of a law degree from the University of Warsaw in 1935, Begin had been active in the Zionist movement throughout the 1930s, and in 1938 had become the leader of the Polish branch of the Betar youth movement.

When the Germans invaded Warsaw in 1939, he escaped to Vilnius (his parents and a brother will later die in concentration camps) only to be arrested by the Russians and sentenced to eight years in a labor camp.

The Soviet authorities had deported Begin to Siberia in 1940, but had released him in 1941, whereupon he had joined the Polish army in exile, with which he has come to Palestine.

Begin is a disciple of the late Ze'ev Jabotinsky, but he rejects Jabotinsky's pro-British sympathies.

The Irgun and Stern Gang step up harassment of British forces in Palestine in an attempt to obtain unrestricted Jewish immigration, as news regarding Nazi persecution of Jews in Europe increases by 1943.

Jewish commandos from the Irgun and Stern gang fail in an attempt to murder the British high commissioner Sir Harold MacMichael and Lady MacMichael in Jerusalem.

MacMichael is blamed for sending at least 768 Jewish refugees aboard MV Struma to their deaths.

Seven unsuccessful attempts, mainly by Lehi, have been undertaken to assassinate him during his sojourn in Palestine

In the last, both he and his wife narrowly escape death in an ambush Lehi mounted on August 8, 1944. on the eve of his replacement as High Commissioner.

Educated at Bedford School, MacMichael had graduated with a first from Magdalene College, Cambridge.

After passing his civil service exam, he entered the service of the British Empire in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan.

He then served in the Blue Nile province until 1915 when he became a senior inspector of Khartoum province, rising to the position of civil secretary in 1926.

In 1933 he became Governor of Tanganyika until 1937.

MacMichael also serves a stint as High Commissioner of Malta.

The Arabs of Palestine have remained largely quiescent throughout the war.

Amin al-Husseini has fled—by way of Iraq, Iran, Turkey, and Italy—to ...

The Haganah's activities in Palestine have been moderate throughout the war, in accord with the organized Jewish community's policy of havlaga ("self-restraint").

By contrast, the Irgun and the Stern Gang, which finds even the Irgun too mild, turn against the British occupation in 1944 despite vehement opposition from Chaim Weizmann and others promoting the Jewish cause overseas.

Under Menachem Begin's leadership, the Irgun and the Stern Gang embark on widespread attacks on the British.

The Stern Gang attacks airfields, railway yards, and other strategic installations, usually with success, though at heavy loss in members killed or captured.

The Stern Gang's terrorist activities extend beyond Palestine: two members assassinate Lord Moyne, British minister of state in the Middle East and a close personal friend of Churchill, at Cairo, on November 6, 1944.

Moyne's assassination also leads the Haganah, which opposes the political philosophy and terrorist activities of the Irgun and the Stern Gang, to cooperate with the British against these groups.