Causes of the Second World War

Revision Notes.

Why did peace collapse in Europe in 1939?

America’s Isolationism Harsh Treaty of Versailles

Hitler’s aims
Nazi-Soviet Pact Failure of League of Nations
Road to War

Britain and Economic Depression

France’s Policy of Appeasement
Rise of Dictatorships

1. Germany after Versailles: Germany’s foreign policy between 1919 and 1933
and Hitler’s policy can only be understood once the extent of German
resentment of the Versailles Treaty is understood. No German politician ever
accepted the Eastern borders dictated at Versailles. All political parties wanted to
overturn the terms of the Treaty but differed in their methods. In fact as early as
1922, Germany signed a Rapallo Treaty with the USSR which was mostly
economic relations but it did mean that in exchange for industrial goods,
Germany could secure food and raw materials. There was a secret agreement in
the treaty which allowed Germany to train their troops in the USSR using
weapons and tanks which broke the Versailles Treaty.

2. The Foreign Policy of Stresemann 1923-29. As the leader of the German

Peoples Party, Gustav Stresemann worked hard to alter the Treaty of Versailles
and make Germany strong: However despite being Chancellor for just four
months, for most of his career he was Foreign Minister.
 In 1923, he appointed Dr. Schacht as special currency commissioner. Dr.
Schacht introduced the Rentenmark. This helped end the inflation crisis.
 In 1924 he negotiated the Dawes Plan with the USA which reduced
reparations and provided Germany with vital loans to curb inflation
 In 1925 he signed the Locarno Treaty. This certainly boosted relations
between France and Germany and led to the removal of foreign troops
from Germany. This was an important change in the TOV. British
Foreign Secretary AUSTEN Chamberlain and Stresemann won Nobel
Peace Prizes for their work.
 In 1926, Germany became a member of League of Nations.
 In 1929, Stresemann negotiated the Young Plan with the USA, which
reduced reparations and helped Germany’s economy.
 While he was negotiating with former enemies and accepting loans, he
was also building up secretly Germany’s armed forces. Before the Nazis
came to power, Germany had 35 army divisions.

3. The Depression Continues: At the start of the 1930s, the Depression got worse
and soon turned into a political problem. The following are the key political
effects of the Depression:
 People criticised the government especially the failure of democracy
 Economic and political problems meant countries looked to dictators
  Countries like Italy, Japan and later Germany decided to solve their
economic problems by expanding into other countries so threatened
peace. Many countries also imposed tariffs on imports, which hindered
trade relations and led to international tension.

The following are the effects of the Depression on a Major Powers:

 USA due to high unemployment, USA had to withdraw many loans
promised to Europe.
 The Weimar Government in Germany broke down in 1933. Germans turned
to Hitler’s Nazis who promised radical change.
 Mussolini decided to solve the country’s economic problems by trying to
build Italy’s empire and thus invaded the mineral rich lands of Abyssinia.
 Britain faced huge unemployment figures and thus was forced to tackle its
domestic problems. While democracy survived, the existence of extreme
Fascist parties like that of Oswald Moseley threatened democracy (used to
dress all in black)
 Japan’s economy was in despair and thus the army, which had great
influence, decided to expand by taking over Manchuria and later China.
 Countries like France and Britain had to priortise their countries’ needs and
thus could not take an active role in the League against aggressive nations.

4. The Rise of Dictators. The poor conditions in Europe made people want
stronger governments so the 1930s saw the rise of dictators and the increase in
international tensions: The following are the main reasons for the rise of
dictators:
 Locarno may have settled the Western Borders but no mention of the
East so people in the East wanted strong leaders to protect them.
 Depression affected all countries causing unemployment and poverty so
people looked to strong and radical leaders who promised reform
 Democracy was seen as the cause of the depression as governments
couldn’t stop poverty and were indecisive.
 Communism was seen to threaten all of Europe so people wanted strong
governments to prevent communism spreading
 Isolationism continued especially as the USA tried to cope with their
own problems. Britain and France were too weak to fight alone.
 France continued to act suspiciously over Germany and built strong
defence lines (Maginot Line) and tried to build allies. These moves led to
fears escalating in Germany.
 Disarmament failed as no member was willing to limit their army size so
tensions increased. The Germans built their own army in secret and
Britain remained sympathetic to Germany.

Thus due to the economic crisis and the threat of war (vengeful Germany) all of
Europe was tense and people looked to strong dictators to ensure strong leaders led
countries.
EXAMPLES:
The problem of Italy, 1935-6:
Before 1935, Italy was seen as a peaceful power that could help to resist Germany. In
1922 Benito Mussolini had come to power and soon became a dictator. Many Italians
felt they had gained nothing from the First World War and suffered economically after
the war. However, they were not seen as a threat. In fact, when the Austrian Nazi Party
tried to take over in Austria in 1934 and Hitler attempted to send them help, but
Mussolini prevented him by sending Italian troops to the Austrian border. One should
note that once Hitler was challenged he immediately backed down when facing against
a possible conflict. Yet when Italy invaded Abyssinia in October 1935, she lost her
reputation as a peaceful nation. Mussolini had looked on the Manchurian crisis with
great interest. Italy too needed to solve their economic problems and like other dictators
Mussolini promised to achieve great successes and did achieve some good. Yet again
the British and French proved weak in their response with limited sanctions imposed. In
addition the Hoare-Laval Plan when uncovered caused outrage and in fact accelerated
the takeover of Abyssinia. The crisis marked the end of the League as an effective peace
keeping body. It led to a split between Italy and Britain as Anthony Eden, the new FM
did not trust Mussolini.
Consequences:
Mussolini subsequently turned to Germany. Japan and Mussolini and Hitler signed the
Anti-Comintern Pact against Communism in 1936. They agreed to the Rome-Berlin
Axis in 1937 and signed a Pact of Steel with Hitler in 1939 after invading Albania in
1938. Some historians argue that failure to take action against Italy was a step along the
road to war as Italy could have easily been defeated and this would have taught Hitler
and Mussolini a valuable lesson. Instead it convinced Hitler that France and Britain
were not easily moved to war. Yet a war with Italy would have been disastrous.

The Civil War in Spain, 1936-1939.

According to the author Rea since 1931 Spain had been a Republic and was run by
Socialist Government. This government favoured land redistribution and autonomy to
certain regions like Basque and Catalonia. The government also attacked the Catholic
Church and tried to limit the power of the army. However, over time conflicts between
extreme political groups occurred. The Communist and Falange (right wing groups)
clashed and street battles became a common sight. On 17th June 1936, three Generals
(Goaded, Franco, Molar) led a mutiny of the Spanish army in Morocco. This spread to
the mainland and a Civil War ensued. General Franco led the rebels who were made up
of the army, the monarchists, and the Catholic Church and rich landowners. They called
themselves Nationalists. This was one of the most savage civil war ever in Europe and
led to half a million Spaniards dying. Because the conflict was between two political
extremes, other countries became involved. Hitler and Mussolini aligned with the
Nationalists. The Republicans were helped by the SU. Because France and Britain
didn’t get involved, Stalin grew disillusioned and withdrew aid to the Republicans,
which allowed the Nationalists to capture more territory and win the war. The war also
allowed Italy and Germany to demonstrate and exercise their military prowess in future
wars especially the advantages of the German’s military engineering and the
effectiveness of aerial bombing. But the destruction of cities like Guernica in April
1937, merely served to convince the British and French government the importance of
peace and thus of the need to try to appease and compromise for the sake of peace.
Why was this war so important?
1. This war represented a struggle between two political extremes.
As the left and right fought, the Communists and Fascist
countries in Europe also got involved.
2. Mussolini sent 56,000 men disguised as volunteers. Hitler sent
bomber aeroplanes and crews, tanks and artillery. The SU sent
munitions and military advisers.
3. The SU also organised groups of volunteers worldwide to help
as International Brigades through Comintern.
4. The war convinced Stalin that France and Britain were not
prepared to cooperate with the SU to prevent the spread of
Fascism. They wanted to keep out of the fighting. So Stalin
grew weary with the west. He withdrew aid in 1938 which
accelerated the success of the Nationalists.
5. The Spanish was an unofficial rehearsal of any future conflict.
German and Italian soldiers were trained in this war. There they
tested out their weapons and tactics. The attack on Guernica in
1937 showed the world the destructive power of modern
military engineering. Newsreels of the destruction of Guernica,
and other cities and the loss of lives were shown in cinemas
worldwide. Such views strengthened the desire for peace.

Japanese Expansion:

Due to the economic depression, Japan looked toward China to solve their economic
crises. USA had always been weary of Japan’s might especially in the early 20th
Century. Japan had a large navy and army and controlled the South Manchurian
railway so in September 1931, used a skirmish as an excuse to take control of
Mukden and overran Manchuria. The League failed to stop Japan and despite
condemning the act, the Japanese ignored it and the League did little else. The
Japanese withdrew from the League and took Jehol and set up a puppet government
(Po Yi). The Emperor Hirohito supported expansion. Mussolini and Hitler watched
with great interest at the turn of events and in 1936 Hitler signed a treaty with Japan.
By 1937, Japan invaded more of China leading to a full scale war and yet again the
League did little. The Japanese soon captured north east China. By 1938 they
controlled most of eastern China and even Shanghai. The Japanese had one clear
aim. They wanted the oil, tin and rubber of south east Asia and even announced that
China, Japan and Manchuria would combine into one economic unit under Japanese
leadership and would be known as the ‘Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere’.
By 1940 Japan signed the Tripartite Axis with Germany and Italy. They soon would
turn to French Indo-China. The League did nothing. They failed to stop Japan and
obviously if Japan got away with aggressive policies so too could other dictators in
their pursuit of economic solutions. Once Japan invaded Indo-China, US banned oil
so the Japanese took it by force from Indonesia making war with Britain and USA
very likely so the Japanese struck first on the 7th December 1941 in Pearl Harbour.
The next day both USA and Britain declared war so on the 11th December Germany
and Italy declared war on USA.
 5. The Failure of the League of Nations was an important step to World War
Two. YOU HAVE COVERED THIS UNDER THE LON TOPIC/ ESSAY
There is no doubt that the League failed in achieving its original aims. But the
following opinions can defend the League:
 Once the USA pulled out, Britain and France who were weakened after
the war faced a hard task. It was difficult for them to impose sanctions
 The Depression made the political situation tenser and this was not due
to the League
 No organisation could have prevented dictators like Mussolini or Hitler
peacefully. The same could be said of Japan.
 The League of Nations had to defend the Treaty of Versailles, which
many believed was unfair and difficult to uphold.
The following opinions run against the League:
 The Manchurian crisis was the turning point and the League should have
stood up to Japan
 Too many members broke the League’s rules and when condemned
merely walked out of the League like Japan and Germany.
 Britain and France didn’t lead strongly and tended to act slowly
 Members of the League were too afraid to risk a war so didn’t stand up
to aggression.
 Ambitious leaders were treated too leniently by the League
 The USA never joined
 The League allowed the old system of alliances to creep back and thus
the main members instead of working towards cooperation acted in
secret to build up allies.
The atmosphere in Europe in the late 1930s was tense as the long process to war
began:
 Disarmament had failed and by the end of the 1930s tanks and aircraft
had become more technological
 Democracy had failed in most of Europe. Several countries led by
aggressive leaders openly defied the League and expanded their lands
 Germany continued to hate the terms of the Treaty of Versailles
 France continued to distrust Germany and remained in ready for war
 Britain did not want to resort to conflict to resist aggression.

6. The Role of Hitler cannot be underestimated in the road to war.

How far was Hitler responsible for the outbreak of World War II?
There are different views on whether Hitler had planned World War Two and was
thus responsible. The traditional historical viewpoint was that Hitler was mainly
responsible. However, a revisionist viewpoint forwarded by AJ Taylor in the 1960s
showed how Hitler was a mere risk-taker or gambler and that as France and Britain
appeased him, he took even bolder risks. So it is Britain, France and the League of
Nations that are to blame as they let Hitler get away with so much. There is no doubt
that both interpretations can be proven. Another more modern viewpoint is that
Hitler had a vision and that he availed of the opportunities or gambles that arose in
the course of events of the 1930s to achieve his vision.
Hitler’s aims as set out in his book Mein Kampf included:
Hitler’s Foreign Aims.

a) Abolishing the Treaty of Versailles and St.Germaine (28th June 1919)

 He felt it was unfair and believed the government had betrayed the
German people.
 He promised he would break the terms once in power as the German
army had not lost the war.
 Many Germans were angry about: the limits to their army, no
Anschluss, loss of Sudentenland, Polish Corridor and Rhineland
demilitarisation.

b) Expand German territory.

 Hitler wanted to regain lost territory and reunite with Austria

 Reunify German minorities in other non-German lands with Germany
 Expand into eastern Europe to give Lebensraum to Germans which tied in
with his Aryan race ideology

c) Defeat Communism.

 Taking over part of the USSR would mean ending Communism

 Hitler blamed Communism for Germany’s failure in WWI and he
suspected that Communism wanted to take over Germany
 Hitler hated the Slav race as felt they were subhuman and barbaric.
Thus Hitler once in power tried to break the Treaty of Versailles.
Volksgemeinschaft

Hitler and the Treaty of Versailles

Terms of the What Hitler The reasons The response

Treaty of did and he gave for from Britain
Versailles when? his action? and France?
Germany’s armed
forces to be
severely limited
The Rhineland to
be demilitarised

Germany
forbidden to unite
with Austria.
The Sudentenland
taken into the new
state of
Czechoslovakia.
The Polish
Corridor given to
Poland.

How did Hitler break the terms of the Treaty of Versailles?

1. Rearmament: Hitler became Chancellor in 1933 and within weeks began to

increase the German armed forces. Thousands of unemployed were drafted
into the army, which solved the unemployment problem for Germany. To many
Germans, Hitler seemed to be well on the road to achieving his promises and
rebuilding the German empire.

How did he manage to rearm Germany?

 He secured popular opinion through propaganda.
 He secretly rearmed in 1933 but made a public show that he was only rearming
as the other League members had not disarmed
 In 1935, he openly staged a massive military rally celebrating Germany’s army.
 In 1936, he introduced conscription to create a half million army and declared
they had an airforce.
 He knew he was breaking the Treaty but he rightly guessed he would get away
with it. Other League members were using rearmament as a solution to their
unemployment problems and the actual failure of the disarmament conference
showed members were not interested in disarmament. In October 1933 he pulled
out of the LON. As Germany were no longer a member of the LON, they had
every right to build up their armed forces as they could no longer rely on
collective security for defence. Churchill objected to Germany’s rearmament
policy and predicted a future conflict.
 Germany signed a non-aggression pact with Poland in 1934 which assured
disagreements would be resolved peacefully. It reassured Britain and France and
reduced their fears. However, the signed a Stresa Pact with Italy in 1935 where
they agreed to work together to ensure stability in Europe and protest against
German aggression. But it did not last long. Britain now feared France more
than Germany as Germany had signed peaceful pacts. Thus in June 1935 Britain
made a naval agreement with Germany (Anglo-German Naval Agreement)

The effects of Rearmament.

 It helped boost Nazi support

 It certainly won much British sympathy
 It broke some of the terms of the Treaty of Versailles without direct
confrontation.
 Britain and Germany signed a Naval Agreement in 1935, which allowed
Germany to build up her navy up to 35% of the British Navy. This policy of
giving concessions to Germany early on to avoid a war has been termed
appeasement.
 The French were outraged with Germany’s rearmament policy but did little.
  Proportion of German Expenditure increased from 7.4% to 38% of total
government expenditure.
 Size of the navy, army and aircraft increased from 30 warships, 100,000
soldiers, 36 planes in 1932 to 95 warships, 1m soldiers and 8250 planes in
1939
 Germany was growing stronger and confident.

2. Saar Plebiscite. The Saar had been run by the League of Nations but in 1935 a
plebiscite was held and 90% in the region voted to reunify with the German Reich.
This was entirely legal and was not forced.
What were the effects of the plebiscite?
 This increased support for Hitler and Nazism. It was a morale booster for
Hitler.
 It was legal and promised hope for other Germans living in non-German
regions.
 Other Eastern European countries expressed concern, as did France.
 It boosted Germany’s supply of coal and minerals as well as manpower.

3. Remilitarisation of the Rhineland. Once again, in March 1936 Hitler took a big
risk and moved his troops into the Rhineland. This was obviously a breach of the
Treaty of Versailles and the Locarno Treaty of 1925. It was a huge risk because if
France had forced him to withdraw, he would have certainly lost the support of the
German army. But once again Hitler chose the perfect time and place.

Why did Hitler get away with Remilitarisation?

 Hitler justified remilitarisation as France and USSR had just signed a treaty to
protect each other in the event of a German attack – The Franco Soviet alliance
of 1935. So he argued that he was being encircled so needed to be able to place
troops at Germany’s frontier. He knew he was taking a risk and had even given
orders to German troops to withdraw if they were opposed by the French.
 Britain also supported this basic need of defence and Hitler was aware of this. In
fact, Britain felt the Rhineland was German anyway so they should have soldiers
there.
 In addition, because of the Abyssinia crisis, the League was busy and while it
condemned Hitler’s actions, it had little power to impose sanctions.
 The French who were obviously directly involved were undecided as elections
were about to be held and few wanted to put war on their political campaign, as
this was unpopular. Thus they did little even though they could have easily
defeated the very weak German Army but were not willing to act without British
support
 Hitler’s big gamble paid off and he grew increasingly confident and bolder.

What do Sources 15 and 16 disagree about? Why mighty they disagree about it?

Source 15 and 16 disagree about the reason for the Rhineland being successfully
remilitarised. Hitler in Source 15 tends to see it largely due to German luck and fate as
they could have been easily defeated and then he stresses their lack of equipment.
Therefore his tone implies fate.
Source 16 tends to blame the French. The French were paralysed and could have easily
have defeated the Germans who were told to ‘beat a hasty retreat’ if the French turned
up. Source 15 is written by Hitler, a man who believed in Germany’s destiny and that
Luck was on their side. Shirer is an anti-Nazi who would like to show the Rhineland as
being due to French failures than German luck.

Reoccupation was a failure for Britain and France and a success for Germany.
France could have easily defeated them. Britain a member of the League should have
stood up to them. Hitler’s army totalled 23,000 yet the French believed it to be more.

Hitler achieved a huge success as he had a small army with a few Junkers who were told
to retreat if the French turned up but they didn’t. It was a huge risk as the Generals
would have turned against Hitler if he had failed. He would also have been ousted out of
power at home. Instead he was seen as a hero whose morale was boosted and therefore
he had proved the allies would not stop him.

4. The Spanish Civil War. As previously mentioned above, Germany supported the
Nationalists led by Franco in their fight against the Republicans (Communists).
Hitler used the Civil War to try out his new armed forces and to test Germany
aircraft. The bombing raids on civilians were a mere test for a bigger war in the
future. Once again the League was defied but remained helpless.

5. The Anti-Comintern Pact or AXIS Allince, 1936-7. Due to shared common

interests, Mussolini and Hitler singed an Anti-Comintern Pact in 1937. The Japanese
had already signed in 1936. The pact aimed to limit the influence of Communism
around the world especially USSR.

6. Anschluss with Austria.

Why was Hitler able to unite with Austria?

 With the success of the Saar plebiscite and remilitarisation of the
Rhineland, Hitler’s confidence soared.
 The Austrian people were mainly German and because they were
economically weak, many believed they would benefit from a ´Greater
Germany´
 Hitler and Mussolini were now allies so Italy would not stop him

 The Nazi party in Austria was very strong and popular.

 The Nazi party stirred up trouble and staged demonstrations to unite with
Germany.
 Chancellor Schuschnigg of Austria was told that uniting with Germany
would solve all his problems and was bullied by Hitler to agree.
 He was forced by Hitler to appoint an Austrian Nazi, Seyss Inquart to a
government job. When Schuschnigg resigned over the Anschluss issue,
 Seyss took over as Chancellor but even the President refused to
recognise him so violence erupted. Seyss asked Hitler for help to restore
order.
 Chancellor Schuschnigg asked for help from Britain and France but they
refused so he called for a plebiscite to see what Austrians wanted
 Hitler marched his troops into Austria in 12th March 1938 to apparently
guarantee a trouble-free plebiscite and restore order.
 99.75% voted for Anschluss. Anschluss was achieved with no force and
won the support of Britain.
 Britain and France did nothing. Italy was now more tolerant of Hitler’s
expansionism. Hitler justified his actions by claiming Austria had been in
the brink of a civil war. Once again Churchill voiced concerns. However,
British politicians like Chamberlain and Lord Halifax suggested that the
unity was justified and that the TOV had been unfair. The pattern soon
became clear, Britain and France were not prepared to go to war over a
flawed treaty and so Hitler got away with breaking yet again another
term.
Why did Britain and France follow a policy of Appeasement in the 1930s?

Britain had increasingly become sympathetic to the plight of Germany and felt that
the Treaty of Versailles had been too harsh. Britain had signed a naval agreement in
1935 and for the next four years adopted a policy of giving Hitler what he wanted
i.e. policy of appeasement. Many associate the policy with NEVILLE Chamberlain
(brother of Austin) in 1937-40 but in fact it had begun much earlier. Being a prime
minister more concerned with social problems at home, he was keen to solve
problems abroad peacefully to avoid spending the nation’s money on unnecessary
wars.

a. Many people in Britain supported this policy as they wanted peace and most
politicians did. In fact only one single politician (Gallaher, a Communist
MP) spoke against Chamberlain when he flew to Munich. 30,000 letters
showed Chamberlain how much the people wanted appeasement.
b. Many British people hoped a strong Germany would stop the growth of
Russian Communism.
c. Britain was unsure if the USA would actually lend support if they went to
war with Germany.
d. Many British people agreed with Hitler that the Treaty of Versailles was
unfair.
e. Many people felt events in Europe were not Britain’s business and felt their
own economic problems should be a higher priority especially high debts
and unemployment.
f. Britain was simply not ready for war and they needed to build up their
armaments
g. Many were not willing to enter a war that would cost so many lives as WWI
h. Britain was unsure if the Commonwealth nations would support a war
against Germany.
i. Britain had done everything possible to keep peace. Britons fought the war
with the feeling that they were in the right, which was important for the
nation’s morale.
j. Many people in Britain felt Czechoslovakia was too far away and that
Britain could hardly help or it wasn’t worth fighting for an unknown country
k. It was difficult to know what Hitler would do as politicians lacked hindsight
l. It should be noted that even before Chamberlain came to power,
appeasement was a well established policy. By not opposing dictators before
1937, Britain and France contributed to dictators aggressive demands and
made Chamberlain’s job more difficult. If Japan or Italy had been stopped,
Hitler would have taken heed. Germany could easily have been opposed e.g.
in the Rhineland as even the German generals were not in favour of this risk.
m. Appeasement bought valuable time for Britain to prepare for the inevitable
war especially the air force. In fact, Chamberlain had set a four year plan
which would take them to 1940. Even after Munich, their spending on
rearmament soared e.g. aircraft production went from 240 to 660 per month
so by 1939 they had overtaken Germany. They had 32 divisions in the army.
Britain had not been ready in 1935, 36 or 38. The economy was not strong
enough.
n. Another matter to consider is the fact that Britain was an empire which
needed a huge army and navy to protect their colonies. This would have been
impossible if they were engaged in a war in Europe. This need was even
more acute when Japan invaded China as now they needed to protect their
interests in the Far East.

Why did Britain follow a policy of Appeasement?

Military Reasons:
Britain was not ready for war in 1937-8 e.g. They only had 2 divisions
compared to Germany’s 80 divisions.
Britain were afraid that they would not get the military help of USA and
Commonwealth states.

Economic Reasons: Britain had to solve its economic problems as going

through a Depression so couldn’t afford war debts. They wouldn’t get USA’s
blank cheque as USA against war.

Fear: Britain didn’t want a repetition of WWI horrors. They would do

anything to avoid war so appeased him. Britain feared USSR who had
grown rapidly and were now seen as a threat. Thus, they wanted to appease
Hitler so Germany became a strong country to act as a buffer zone. Feared
they wouldn’t get USA help so alone.

Public opinion: The attitude of Britain’s empire and commonwealth was

anti-war so they may not support Britain in a war. Also the public in Britain
felt the TOV was unfair and that all Hitler was doing was correcting a
wrong! People felt effects in Europe i.e. Czechoslovakia were not their
business as too far away. It was too remote. The politicians had to show that
 they had done everything possible to avert a war so when war did happen,
the public opinion would be that it was a moral and justified war.

Other:

What are the main criticisms of Appeasement?

a. It gave Hitler the advantage. He grew stronger and stronger. When war came
it was against a strong and powerful Germany. By securing the Sudetenland,
he grew stronger. Fro the tanks and other arms Hitler’s soldiers captured in
Czechoslovakia were used against the Polish and French later.
b. It encouraged Hitler to become aggressive and that each gamble he got away
with encouraged him to take bigger risks. It also encouraged Hitler to believe
he could no anything and this caused war.
c. It put too much faith in Hitler’s promises, which he broke thus appeasement
assumed Hitler, was trustworthy.
d. Appeasement alienated the USSR, as Hitler had never hidden his desire for
lebensraum in the East. Stalin saw appeasement as a clear message that
Britain and France would not stop Hitler in his empire building.
e. Appeasement abandoned millions of Austrians and Czechs to the brutal Nazi
terror.
f. It showed Chamberlain lacked experience in international policies as Hitler
made a complete eegit of him. Hitler could never be appeased as he was
always determined to go to war.
g. Action should have been taken in 1938 when Germany was still weak.
h. Appeasement showed democracy was a failure as dictators like Hitler could
do as he pleased with other countries.
i. Appeasement merely accelerated world war (caused it).
j. Appeasement allowed smaller and weaker nations to fall to Nazism, which
ultimately would affect all nations.

How did Britain and France appease Hitler?

(SEE TABLE ON HITLER AND TREATY OF VERSAILLES)

The Sudetenland, 1938.

How did Hitler take over the Sudetenland?

 After Austria, Hitler grew in confidence and believed the other powers
would continue to appease him as he continued to risk peace in Europe
 E. Benes, the Czechoslovakia leader was anxious as it was obvious
Sudetenland would be next on Hitler’s list. He tried to ensure Britain and
France would lend support as promised in the Treaty of Versailles. France
said they would but with reluctance. Britain led by Chamberlain tried to
secure a promise from Hitler that Czechoslovakia had nothing to fear from
the Reich.
 Thus Hitler’s promise in 1938 seemed to subside any British fears.
  However, it soon became obvious that Hitler had not been honest especially
over the large German populated Sudetenland.
 Henlein, leader of the Nazi’s party in Sudetenland stirred up trouble and
incited the German nationalities to demand unity with Germany.
 This gave Hitler the excuse he needed and soon he made it quite clear that he
would fight for these nationalities. But the German army was not actually
ready.
 Hitler again was taking a big risk as Czechoslovakia was going to involve
Britain and France unlike Austria.
 The Czechs had a modern army so would not be easily bullied and Benes
was willing to fight. The Sudetenland was of vital importance because of its
forts, railways and industries.
 Tension rose in the summer and people’s fears escalated as many feared a
war that would involve civilian bombing as in the Spanish Civil War
 Hitler capitalised on this fear as public opinion pressed Governments to
ensure peace
 By September, Chamberlain flew to meet Hitler in an effort to divert war.
 Hitler moderated his demands and claimed he only was interested in parts of
Sudetenland and would first agree to a plebiscite
 Chamberlain again believed Hitler, as he understood the Sudetenland was
another weakness of the Treaty of Versailles. So the French and British
diplomats agreed and showed the plans to the Czechs.
 But a few days later, Hitler increased his demands to include all of
Sudetenland as he claimed the Czech government was mistreating the
Germans in Sudetenland and that they needed Germany to rescue them
 War now seemed imminent as Britain felt his demands were outrageous
 But with the intervention of Mussolini, all main leaders except Benes, met
on the 29th September and gave in to Hitler to secure peace. Thus
Czechoslovakia was to lose Sudetenland without even being consulted.
 USSR were not included either in the talks which aroused Stalin’s suspicions
 The Munich Agreement was published on the 30 th September and it was
hoped it would ´bring peace for our time´.
 Yet again Hitler’s gamble had paid off, as he knew Britain dared not risk
war.
 He had won Sudetenland without force and this certainly was a prize worth
fighting for.
 On the 1st October, the German army marched into Sudetenland as the Poles
and Hungarians also helped themselves to some of Czechoslovakia.
 Benes resigned at the betrayal of France and Britain.

The main effect of the Munich Agreement were:

a. Delayed war
b. Many began to question the Policy of Appeasement as it showed
Hitler was increasing taking bolder risks and getting away with these
risks.
c. Gave Europe the chance to start preparations for an imminent war.
 d. It seemed to confirm Stalin’s suspicions about France and Britain
being too afraid to stand up to Hitler and their desire to allow Hitler
to threaten the USSR and Eastern Europe.

The End of Appeasement.

Czechoslovakia 1939:
 While the majority of the British public had indicated their distrust of Hitler in
an opinion poll, they were still happy about the fact that the Munich Agreement
had diverted war.
 On the 15 March 1939, Hitler invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia.
 They were met with little resistance from the Czechs or Britain and France
 Chamberlain viewed the invasion as an act of war and aggression as it was
unlike the Sudenten German’s case
 Thus Britain and France warned Hitler of war if he invaded Poland, which was
the next most obvious target.
 Years of appeasement had ended but Hitler was not so convinced and believed
Britain and France would hardly go to war now over Poland

NAZI-Soviet Pact, 1939

It was obvious that after the Czechoslovakia takeover, Poland would be next target
especially the Polish Corridor. Hitler seemed over confident that France and Britain
would continue to appease him after all the Polish Corridor was another weakness of the
Treaty of Versailles but he was not sure about the USSR.

Why did the USSR and Hitler sign the Nazi-Soviet Pact?

 Stalin was concerned over Germany as Hitler had overtly expressed his aims
of expanding into Eastern Europe and Russia and loathed both Communism and
Slavs.
 Stalin despite tireless efforts had failed to secure any real commitment from
Britain and France to ensure USSR’s security
 The League of Nations proved weak and could not guarantee USSR’s safety
(1934) as had failed in the Abyssinian crisis and the Spanish Civil War
 Britain and France’s policy of appeasement was viewed by Stalin with
suspicion as the felt they were trying to create a strong Germany to threaten
communism
 While USSR and France had signed a Mutual Assistance Pact in 1935, the
French had proved weak as they had allowed the Germans to remilitarise
the Rhineland
 The Munich Agreement confirmed his suspicions that Britain and France
cared little for Eastern Europe or the USSR.
 USSR felt disappointed that Britain and France promised aid to Poland, a
potential enemy and not to the USSR.
  German FM Ribbentrop, discussed a pact with Stalin and eventually on the
24th August, 1939 both Stalin and Hitler signed the pact despite being
obvious rivals
 USSR had been extremely disappointed and exasperated at Britain and France’s
lack of commitment and support. They had met in August too but couldn’t agree
and Poland stubbornly refused to allow Russian troops through their lands.
 Stalin felt Britain and France were not strong or reliable allies
 Stalin wanted some land in Poland and control of the Baltic states as these
had once been part of the great Tsar kingdom
 He did not believe Hitler but needed time to rearm before facing Hitler

Thus the Nazi-Soviet Pact was signed. It pledged that Germany and USSR would not
attack each other. There was a secret agreement which involved dividing Poland up
between them.

What were the main effects of the Pact?

 The Pact gave Stalin time to build up his defence and arms.
 It was a personal triumph for Hitler as now he felt he could invade Poland which
he did on the 1st September
 The British and French governments were outraged at the USSR.
 On the 2nd September, France and Britain declared war
 Thus the slide to war promptly began
 Hitler had not expected to fight in the Western Front so soon. It was soon
obvious that Poland had proved too big a risk

Was Appeasement the right Policy?

There are many historical interpretations but it is important to choose one viewpoint and
be able to support this viewpoint.

Chamberlain is often seen as the man most associated with the policy of appeasement
and his most volatile critic was Winston Churchill who took over as leader in 1940.
Chamberlain has often been accused of being a coward but in actual fact he did declare
war when he deemed it necessary.

The main views of appeasement are:

1. It was the right policy for the particular time one is talking about as many lacked
foresight.
2. It was the wrong policy but this can only be claimed due to hindsight.
3. It was a policy that betrayed smaller nations and left them to the mercy of
aggressors
4. It was a risky policy that bought time to prepare for war.
The dominant historical interpretations of appeasement are:

 It was the wrong policy because it encouraged Hitler to take even bolder
risks and gambles. It is believed that if Britain and France had stood up
to him at the time, he would have retreated and backed down as he did
with Mussolini over Austria in 1934. Thus long term peace would have
been secured
 It was the right policy because Britain was not ready for war. Military
advisers justified appeasement, as Britain was simply not prepared for
war. Thus to challenge Hitler, Chamberlain needed time to rearm. He
also needed to secure public support and commonwealth countries
support. It is true that Britain were not sure of Germany’s military
strength but there was a definite need to catch up in terms of soldiers and
aircrafts. (SEE pg 273)

Try to find as much evidence to support the main views from pages 264 – 73.

Firstly it was the right policy at the right time. This can be justified by the fact that the
British army and air force were not sufficiently ready as in 1938 there were only 2 army
division ready to fight as opposed to Germany’s eighty divisions. But by 1939, Britain
had increased their army division to almost 50 and their aircrafts to 8000. A policy of
appeasement helped divert war until Britain was deemed ready. It also seemed to be the
most popular policy for the public and many politicians of that era.

Secondly, it may be viewed as the wrong policy but such a claim can only be made
through hindsight. Chamberlain really did believe that Hitler merely wanted to amend
the Treaty of Versailles, which had been deemed unfair by many Britons. In addition,
Chamberlain was not aware of the actual strength of the German army so obviously
wanted to buy time. France was also unaware how weak Hitler and the German army
were when they marched into the Rhineland but it is only after the event that precise
details were discovered on the actual size of the army. However, if Hitler backed down
in the face of Mussolini in 1934, there does seem to be doubts over their fears. In
addition Hitler’s intentions were made clear as early as the 1920s in his book Mein
Kempt.

In groups try to find evidence for the following points:

Thirdly, the policy of appeasement led to a betrayal of the people of Czechoslovakia.

Finally, the policy was risky but it certainly bought the necessary valuable time for
Britain and France.

Why did war break out in Europe in 1939?

Working in groups of three, look at the following factors and explain how each led
to WWII. Ensure you draw links between each factor e.g. Hitler wanted to break
the terms of the Treaty of Versailles thus much of his foreign policy was related to
breaking the Treaty. The actions taken by Hitler were largely due to the policy of
appeasement adopted by Britain and France as he grew bolder and took more
risks, etc. Make sure you order the relative importance of each factor. Write notes
to help you.

Hitler’s actions

The policy of appeasement

The problems caused by the peace treaties

The Nazi-Soviet Pact

The failures of the League of Nations

Using the structured essay plan on PG 274, write an essay on:

ESSAY - Why had international peace collapsed by 1939?

Revision Questions:

1. How important was Stresemann to Germany in the 1920s?

2. Why was Manchuria so important to the Japanese? What effects did their
invasion have?
3. Name the man who wrote the report on the Manchurian invasion? Why was the
League unwilling to stop Japan? What did Japan do after in 1936 and 1937?
4. Why did Mussolini invade Abyssinia? Who signed the Anti-Comintern Pact?
Who was it against?
5. What was the name of the given to the Spanish Fascists? Who led the
Nationalists? Who helped the Nationalists from abroad? Who helped the
Republicans?
6. Explain why Germany, Italy and the USSR got involved in the Spanish Civil
War?
7. Why did France and Britain stay out of the conflict?
8. What effect did the atrocities have on the rest of Europe?
9. List the main reasons for the failure of the League of Nations during the 1930s?
10. What were the consequences of the failure of the League in the 1930s? (Page
262)
11. What were the main aims of Hitler in 1933?
12. To what extent should the British government be concerned about Hitler’s plans
on Germany? (Pg 256)
13. Draw a timeline to summarise Hitler’s actions from 1933 to 1939? Indicate
whether you feel he was being appeased or acting aggressively or both.
14. To what extent did Hitler expand the armed forces from 1933 to 1939? (Source
10 pg. 259)
15. What factors allowed Hitler to get away with rearming Germany?
16. Why were many Eastern European concerned about Hitler gaining power?
17. Where did Hitler invade in 1936? Give reasons why nobody stopped him?
18. Would you regard the reoccupation of the Rhineland as a success for Hitler or a
failure for the French and British? (Sources 15-17 pg 261)
19. How was it possible for Hitler to justify his claim that Germany was under threat
from encirclement? (Use sources 13 pg. 260)
20. What was the name given to the joining of Germany and Austria? How did
Hitler achieve this?
21. Name the area of Czechoslovakia that Hitler took in 1938? What was the excuse
he used for his invasion?
22. Write a few notes on Appeasement. In your opinion was Britain right to follow
this policy?
23. At which Conference did Chamberlain agree to allow Hitler to take the whole of
Sudentenland? What area did Hitler take in March 1939?
24. Why did the SU make an agreement with Germany in 1939?
25. What happened after Hitler invaded Poland in September 1939?
26. List at least 6 possible long-term and 6 short term causes of World War II?
27. Why did Britain and France follow a policy of appeasement? (Pg. 265)
28. What were the main criticisms of Appeasement?
29. Why did most people in Britain support Appeasement?
30. What were the main effects of Appeasement?
31. What are the main criticisms of the Munich Agreement?
32. What are the main reasons for supporting the Munich Agreement?
33. How did the leaders feel about the Munich Agreement? (Pg. 268).
34. Write a newspaper article for any of the countries involved describing the
Munich Agreement? (Pg. 269)
35. How did the ordinary Czech citizen respond to Germany’s invasion?
36. What were the SU attitudes to France and Britain’s policy of appeasement?
37. How could the British and French governments justify the Munich Agreement to
the USSR?
38. Why did the USSR sign the Nazi-Soviet pact with Hitler?
39. What were the main consequences of the pact?
40. Why was the pact viewed as a dishonest pact at the time?
41. Was the war all Hitler’s fault? (See pg272)
42. Was appeasement the right policy? (See pg 273)

43. Why did war break out? (Pg274)