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I RAQ ’ S H ISTORY TO 1990 47

the armies of Nazi Germany invaded Poland. As the German war machine rolled over Europe, crushing France by June 1940, Great Britain found itself in a desperate struggle against the Nazis. Because many Arab nationalists in Iraq did not like British influ- ence over their government, some officers in the Iraqi army sup- ported the German dictator Adolf Hitler. In 1941 these officers revolted against the administration of Abdulillah, forcing the regent to flee the country. To restore order, British troops landed in Iraq, put down the coup , and placed Abdulillah back in charge of the government. When he was returned to power, Abdulillah tried to purge Iraq of those who dissented with his rule, imprisoning or executing many nationalists and establishing tight restrictions. After World War II ended in 1945, Iraqi society grew more open. The press, which had been censored during the war, was allowed greater freedom. Political parties, once banned, were given permis- sion to organize. When the economy weakened, though, unrest grew. The government again began to limit freedom, increasing dis- satisfaction with the monarchy. Other events in the Middle East would also lead to unrest, particularly the conflict in the area of British Palestine. After the First World War, the region along the eastern Mediterranean coast known as Palestine had been placed under British rule by the League of Nations. In ancient times the region had been the homeland of the Jewish people; some Jews had never left the land, while others arrived as settlers during the 19th and early 20th centuries. At the same time, Arabs who had lived in the land for centuries were not happy about the arrival of these Jewish settlers, and they often attacked settlements. During World War II, the Nazis had attempted to carry out Hitler’s “final solution”—the extermination of the Jews—and approximately 6 million European Jews were killed in concentration camps. After the end of the war,