1933

Hitler came to power in Germany in 1933.

His aims:
- Defeat communism
- Abolish the Treaty of Versailles
- Master race (Alyans superior to other races)
- Volksmeinshaft: Unified community
- Expansion of German territory: Getting back territory taken by the ToV (Lebensraum)
Rearmament
The first thing Hitler did in 1933 was to rear Germany. Hitler promised he would make
Germany Strong again and abolish the ToV. And he also reduced unemployment with this.
German people and Britain supported this move. His excuse was that other countries
refused to disarm so.
He got away with it and this is because of appeasement.
He also took Germany out of the LN.

Appeasement was a policy of making political and material concessions to an aggressive

power to avoid conflict. (Chamberlain loved this).
Some things for and against appeasement:

FOR AGAINST

Britain and many others saw Hitler as a Appeasement meant trusting Hitler, but he
buffer to the threat of spreading often went back to his promises of “that’s all
communism. that he wanted”

Everyone remembered the horrors of the German arms?

Great War and wished to avoid another war
at almost any cost.

The British government believed the armed Britain and France needed to stand up to
forces were not ready for war against Hitler. Hitler to prevent a later bigger and more
dangerous move.

American support was crucial in the Great Appeasement sent a message to Stalin and
War but American leaders were determined the USSR that Britain and France would not
not to be dragged into another European stand in Hitler’s way if he invaded Russia.
war.

Britain and France had large debts and Japan and Italy’s leaders had gotten away
huge unemployment. They couldn’t afford with acts of aggression.
war.
1934
The League of Nations Disarmament Conference’s collapse showed that other countries
were not prepared to disarm.
Hitler tried to take over Austria but Mussolini stopped him.

1935
Hitler staged a military rally. Signed a naval agreement with Britain to increase Germany’s
navy up to 35% of the size of the British navy.
The Saar plebiscite
In 1935 the LN had promised a plebiscite for the people in the Saar region to vote if their
region should return to German rule. Germany had a massive campaign to persuade these
people. Around 90% of the people voted to return to German rule and Hitler declared he had
no further territorial demands to make of France.

FRANCE AND THE USSR SIGNED THE TREATY OF MUTUAL ASSISTANCE.

1936
Remilitarization of the Rhineland
Hitler took a risky step by moving troops into the Rhineland which was a demilitarized zone.
This had two possible outcomes: Hitler forced to withdraw, losing support, or the
militarization of the Rhineland. But he had chosen the time and place well since France and
the USSR had just signed the Treaty of Mutual Assistance. Hitler claimed that he should be
allowed to place troops on his frontiers in the face of such a threat. Hitler also knew that
many people in Britain supported this, so he knew Britain would not intervene.
The League of Nations condemned Hitler’s actions but its attention was on the Abyssinian
crisis so they had no power to do anything about it.
The Spanish Civil War
This year, a civil war in Spain gained an international dimension. It was between the
Republican government and the right-wing rebels under General Franco. The USSR
supported the Republican government in the form of weapons, aircraft, and pilots and
Germany and Italy supported General Franco. Mussolini sent thousands of troops and Hitler
sent aircraft and pilots.
The Nationalists (right-wing) won and ruled Spain(1937). Consequences:
- It gave combat experiences to German and Italian troops.
- Strengthened the bond between Hitler and Mussolini.
- Convinced Hitler that he could persuade Britain and France to remain neutral in the
future war.
- The USSR became suspicious of Britain and France because of their reluctance to
get involved in opposing fascism.
—
Germany and Japan signed an Anti-Comintern pact, to oppose communism
1937
The Nationalists won.
Chamberlain became Prime Minister of Britain
Italy also signed the Anti-Comintern pact.

1938
Anschluss with Austria
Hitler tried to take over Austria again, now with Italy as an ally. Many people in Austria
supported this idea of union with Germany (Anschluss) since this country was so
economically weak. Hitler encouraged Austrian nazis to cause riots and he told the Austrian
chancellor that only Anschluss could sort out these problems. The Austrian Chancellor
appealed for a gesture of support from other nations (Britain and France) but they failed to
provide support: Britain was in favor of this union. So, the Austrian Chancellor called for a
plebiscite. Hitler, not willing to lose, sent Nazi troops into Austria supposedly to guarantee a
trouble-free plebiscite. Under the eyes of the Nazi troops, 99,75% voted for Anschluss.
The Sudetenland & invasion of Czechoslovakia
The Leader of Czechoslovakia was horrified by Anschluss. He realized Czechoslovakia
would be the next country on Hitler’s list and it seemed that Britain and France were not
prepared to stand up to Hitler (appeasement). Beneš (Czechoslokia’s leader) searched for a
guarantee from the British and French that they would defend Czechoslovakia if Hitler
invaded.
Chamberlain asked Hitler if he had plans on Czechoslovakia and he answered no. It was a
lie: the Sudetenland included a large number of Germans who demanded to be a part of
Germany. Hitler then made it clear that he intended to fight Czechoslovakia if necessary
(although the German army was not prepared for war). So Britain, France, and the USSR
promised to support Czechoslovakia if it came to war. In September, Chamberlain and Hitler
met. Hitler moderated his demands, saying he was only interested in parts of the
Sudetenland - and then only a plebiscite showed that the Sudeten Germans wanted to join
Germany. Chamberlain was convinced that if Hitler got what he wanted, he would be
satisfied.
Three days later Hitler said he regretted previously arranged terms, he wanted all the
Sudetenland. He claimed that the Czech government was mistreating the Germans and he
had to rescue them. Chamberlain refused and the British navy was mobilized. On
September 20th, France, Britain, Italy, and Germany decided the fate of Czechoslovakia,
without Czechoslovakia or the USSR (The Munich Agreement). All the Sudetenland was
given to Hitler. This was also appeasement, but it wasn’t preventing war, just delaying it.

1939
The end of appeasement
Invasion on Czechoslovakia
On 15 March, German troops took over the country Czechoslovakia. Britain and France did
not react, but Chamberlain thought this was a step too far: The Czechs were now separated
from their homeland. It was now clear that Hitler could not be trusted and his next target
would likely be Poland. Britain and France told Hitler that if he invaded Poland they would
declare war on Germany. Hitler did not believe in this, after years of appeasement.

Nazi-soviet pact
Stalin knew that Hitler's ultimate aim was to attack the USSR and he thought that Britain and
France were powerless to stop Hitler or that they were happy for Hitler to take over Eastern
Europe. In August, Hitler and Stalin signed the Nazi-Soviet Pact in which they agreed not to
attack each other and privately they also agreed to divide Poland between them.

This ensured Hitler he would not face a war on two fronts if he invaded Poland. He promised
Stalin that they could have the rest of Poland but he never intended to allow Stalin to keep
these territories.
And the USSR, this pact gave them some territory that had once been part of Russia and
most importantly: it gave him TIME. Time to get their forces ready to protect the USSR. On
September 1st, German forces invade Poland from the west. The day after, Britain and
France declared war on Germany

PRACTICE QUESTIONS
1. In what ways did Hitler break the Treaty of Versailles between 1933 and the end of
1938?

2. What were the aims of Hitler’s foreign policy?

3. Describe Hitler’s takeover of Austria in 1938.

4. Describe Hitler’s policy towards Czechoslovakia in 1938–39.

5. What were the consequences of the Spanish Civil War for peace in Europe?
6. What happened in relation to the Sudetenland during 1938 which raised tensions in
Europe?

7. Why did Britain and France follow a policy of appeasement with Germany in the
1930s?

8. Why was Hitler able to re-militarise the Rhineland in 1936?

9. Explain why Hitler wanted the Nazi-Soviet Pact of 1939.

10. Why was Hitler’s invasion of Czechoslovakia in March 1939 significant?

11. Why was involvement in the Spanish Civil War of benefit to Hitler?

12. ‘The policy of appeasement was justified.’ How far do you agree with this statement?
Explain your answer.

13. ‘Appeasement was a sensible policy.’ How far do you agree with this statement?
Explain your answer.

14. How far was Hitler’s determination to overturn the Treaty of Versailles to blame for
war in 1939? Explain your answer.

15. ‘The policy of appeasement played a greater part in the outbreak of war in 1939 than
did the Nazi-Soviet Pact.’ How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your
answer.

16. How far was the outbreak of war in 1939 Hitler’s fault? Explain your answer.

17. ‘Chamberlain’s attempts to reach agreement at Munich were worthwhile.’ How far do
you agree with this statement? Explain your answer.