The rise of the fascists in Germany and Italy and Japan's growing aggression put the world on the brink of war.

Using newsreel footage, diagrams, maps and dramatic re-creations, this Army orientation film discusses the causes and events that led to the entry of the United States into World War II. After scenes of worldwide battles and bombings, including those of Pearl Harbor, Poland, Albania and the Soviet Union, the film quotes Vice-President Henry A. Wallace: "This is a fight between a free world and a slave world." The film defines the notion of the "free world" by connecting fundamental religious notions of equality with American-style democracy. Shots of Adolf Hitler in Germany, Benito Mussolini in Italy, and Emperor Hirohito in Japan are used to describe the "slave world." Key historical events surrounding the rise to power of these leaders, including the assassination of opposition leaders such as Giacomo Malteotti and Viscount Makoto Saito, are shown. Scenes depicting the destruction of churches and silencing of various religious leaders are followed by shots of fascist parades and the political indoctrination of German, Italian and Japanese school children. After defining the new "slave world," the film discusses American isolationism, beginning with the 1921 Washington Disarmament Conference and concluding with a 1939 Pathé News poll, in which a majority of average Americans expressed their desire to "stay out" of "foreign entanglements." Starting with the Tanaka Memorial, Japan's declared "dream of a world empire," the film then discusses the military ambitions and geopolitical strategies of Italy, Japan and Germany. Japan's incursion into Manchuria in 1931 and her attack on Shanghai in 1932, as well as her projected plans to invade all of China, Indochina, eastern Soviet Union and the western United States, are depicted. Described next are Hitler's global plans and his use of propaganda, intimidation and bribery as a means of "softening up" his political and military prey. Footage showing Mussolini's invasion of Ethiopia, with its extensive aerial bombing, and Haile-Selassi's subsequent unheeded plea to the League of Nations is seen. In conclusion, the film states: "It's us, or them....One must die, one must live."