Which nation was the heart of Europe's industrial complex in world war 2?

Answer 1

Arguably, Germany had the greatest industrial wartime economy in Western Europe immediately prior to and during the beginning of World War II. Nazi policies of nationalized industries and their ability to efficiently and profitably run such industries resulted in greatly increased production when compared with other European countries. This was evidenced by Great Britain's inability during the early years of the war to keep up with German weapons production, which led to FDR's Lend-Lease deal with the UK. However, as the war waged on and Germany increasingly had to concentrate on maintaining control over eastern Europe in order to maintain a steady stream of raw and Natural Resources, Russia became the top producer under Stalin due to the country's abundance of resources and workers. While Japan was also a contender for industrial production in the Pacific, a number of trade restrictions imposed by the US had seriously hindered their ability to import materials by 1941. This resulted in Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and the United States decision to go to war, after which the US became the unprecedented top producer of war materials engaged in the conflict.