VWhy did International peace collapse post 1939

● Foreign policy
○ A government strategy for dealing with other nations
○ Hitler’s aims
■ Create a greater germany
● Reunite Germany with by reclaiming the land ‘stolen’ in the treaty of versailles
● Germany grow bigger and wanted more land more this
● He wanted living space
● Create a union with german speaking areas
■ Wanted Jews out of his country
■ Lebensraum in the
● Obsessed about germany growing bigger
■ Rebuild Germany military
● Only achieve his foreign policy aims through
military force
○ Breaking treaty of versailles
● Economic go focused on rebuilding
■ Destroy Versailles
● Break the treaty
○ Refused to pay reparations
○ Unite the lost territories
○ Build up resources
■ Destroy communism
● No secret hatred of communism
● Many germans were scared of threat of communism
● Goal was to destroy communism
○ Book and made speeches full of these ideas
■ Let his generals know his plans in the ‘secret book’

8 steps to War: SCRAMCUP

● Saar Valley
○ Controlled by the League of Nation since 1919
○ 1935- plebiscite (vote if Germany or France)
■ 90% of the Saar voted for German ruling
■ Legal victory & boosted Hitler’s morale
■ Got back control of coal and iron industries
■ After Plebiscite- Hitler said no more demands (from France)
○ Saarland is the industrial area
■ Helps make their economy stronger
● Conscription and rearmament
○ Hitler believed that strong German foreign policy meant strong German military
■ Re-arm and other European powers were sympathetic to German protests
 ● Versailles had been unreasonable and didn’t prevent Germany building
warships, tanks and planes
○ 1933- prepares generals
■ Treble the size of the army up to 300,00 men
■ Build 1,000 war planes
○ Rearms in secret for 2 years
○ 1935- reintroduces conscription (violation of the treaty)
■ Anglo- German Naval pact- Agreement that Germany could have a smaller fleet than
Britain but could have submarines- another violation
○ Britain went against its Stresa Front allies and it angered them
● Rhineland
○ 1936
■ Britain Times- German troops only
marching into their own area
■ League was dealing with Abyssinian Crisis
● Sneakily invaded Rhineland
■ German troops were told that at first sign
of French or British forces
● They should retreat
● British accepted reoccupation
○ Saw German actions as
perfectly reasonable
■ British didn’t think the Rhineland was worth risking a war over
● Telling a nation where they could or could not put troops in their own country
seemed unfair
■ Start of policy of appeasement
● Britain and France allowed Hitler to get his own way to avoid war
○ Lack of resistance to the reoccupation of Rhineland
■ Encouraged Hitler to challenge the international community
○ Hitler’s reasons
■ The attention was focused at the Abyssinian crisis
■ Franco-Soviet pact was officially ratified by the French government in Feb 1926
● Used this as an excuse that Germany felt threatened
○ Claimed germany was “encircles” and therefore vulnerable
○ International response
■ 14 March (1 week after the event)
● Condemned the action
○ Violation of both treaties
■ France
● Condemned the reoccupation and looked for Britain to back them in military
action
■ Britain
● Issued a formal protest at how Germany had dealt with her grievance
 ● Anthony Eden flew to Paris for talks to try and bring France to Britain’s way of
thinking
○ Avoid military action
○ Why did Britain appease at this point?
■ Many within Br Government believed G had genuine grievance about Rhineland
● Right to revise the treaty of Versailles
■ Many in government still saw Germany as a buffer to the spread of communism to the
East
■ Government was also aware of the strength in feeling in britain against taking military
action
■ French instability was a concern
● 24 governments in 10 years
■ British military was not prepared
● Considerable disarmament has taken place in the 1920’s
○ Reasons for french response
■ French generals overestimated number of german troops (22,000)
● Believed French army couldn’t cope without British help
■ Maginot Line meant french military was now mainly defensive
● Not ready to take action
■ French public opinion split
● Many believed the french govt had antagonised the Germans
■ French government was worried if it acted alone it would be condemned by the league
as aggressors
● Rhineland was German territory
○ British Public Opinion (Majority View)
■ Most People in B believed that Britain was right to appease over the Rhineland
● 11 million people voted against fighting
■ Some voices within British politics who were beginning to question Hitler’s actions
● Churchill was a ‘voice in the wilderness’
○ Suggested that his actions were ‘sinister’
● Harold MacMillan claimed “there would be no war now, but unless a settlement
is made… there will be war in 1940”
○ Consequences
■ Hitler’s popularity soared in Germany
● His own confidence increased
○ Claimed that “the 48 hours after the Rhineland were the most nerve-
wrecking in my life”
■ Hitler had ‘tested the water’
● Saw the strength of british desire to avoid conflict
■ October 1936
● Hitler and Mussolini signed the Rome-Berlin axis
○ Giving H the ally he lacked
● Spanish Civil war 1936-39
○ Franco began uprising in Morocco
 ■ Wrote a letter to Hitler asking for his assistance
■ Germany immediately sent transport planes to get Franco’s forces to Spain
● Over next few years, Nazi’s continued to support nationalists
○ Conflict between right wing/fascist army rebels (lead by General Franco) against Left Wing
Republican government (backed by armed workers militias)
■ Right wing looked to fascist Germany and Italy for help
■ Left wing Republican government, was helped by Britain, France, Soviet Union
○ Hitler was quick to respond
■ Provided aircraft and 6000 German troops
○ Stalin agreed sending Spain hundreds of military advisers and equipment
■ He was anxious to deprive Fascism of an easy victory
● Would strengthen germany- Russia’s enemy
○ The Spanish civil war ended in a Fascist victory for General Franco in 1939
○ Hitler supported franco
■ The bombing of the Basque town of Guernica by German Condor Legion
○ Hitler’s involvement
■ Fight communism: feared that communism would spread to Germany
● Broad aim was to destroy birthplace of communism (USSR)
■ Test weapons: test his re armed forces’ new tanks and aircraft
● Guernica was famously bombed by the Condor legion in 1937
○ An experiment in the terror bombing of cities
● Fighter pilots also improved their aerial combat tactics
■ Allies: An allied Spain would make Britain and France reconsider interfering in Hitler’s
wars in the East
● Spain was well placed to threaten Britains key naval base of Gibraltar
● France would have an enemy to its South
■ Resources: Hitler hoped Spain would provide the German armaments industry with
essential raw materials like iron, copper, mercury
● Franco and Hitler never got along
○ No trade agreements made
■ Spain neutral in WW2
■ Supply of tanks and heavy weapons
● Useful experience in training her airmen and tes=ting equipment such as tanks.
The first batch of German tanks arrived in September, followed by a larger batch
in October. They were the Panzer I. Bombs, shells and guns.
■ Air forces
● First request was for 10 transport planes to ferry nationalist troops from
Morocco to Spain in 1936. In July 1936, Hitler sent the Nationalists 26 Germany
fighter aircraft and 30 Junkers 52s from Berlin and Stuttgart to Morocco. And
was able to transport over 15,000 troops to Spain. Hitler continued to give aid
and covered it by sending the via Portugal.
■ The Condor legion
● German Aircraft continued to assist Nationalists, moved men and supplies and
carried out bombing. Germany also provided training for Nationalist officers,
 thousands of rifles and small arms were provided. Germany also provided the
Nationalists with a radio transmitter for broadcasting propaganda. In April
1937, German Condor Legion aircraft were ordered to support a Nationalist
advance into the area by carrying out bombing runs on important roads, bridges
and installations.
■ Resources
● In 1936, Hitler had sent Franco 26 German fighter aircrafts. Additionally, he sent
30 transport planes to Morocco. This was the beginning, however. In total, there
were a total of 15,000 troops to Spain
● The Anti Comintern Pact
○ Signed by Germany and Japan in 1936
○ Italy joins in 1937
○ Agreement directed against the comintern (USSR agency)
■ Promotes communism revolutions
○ Real purpose was so that neither would assist USSR if he attacked their countries
● Anschluss
○ Means “link up”
○ Invasion march in 1938
○ Violates the treaty of versailles
○ National Socialism grew in Austria
■ Hitler offered a great deal of support to the Austrian Nazi Party
○ July 1934
■ Austrian Nazi attempted to seize power
● Chancellor, Dollfuss was assassinated and period of civil unrest followed
○ Austrian Nazis began using terror methods to destroy their enemies
■ Killing 800 people between 1934-38
○ The new Chancellor (Schuschnigg) faced a dilemma and wanted to maintain independence but
needed to combat the threat of a Nazi seizure of power
■ Formed alliances with the socialist and communists which invoked further unrest
■ Schuschnigg organised a vote (plebiscite) asking Austrians to remain independent or
form union with Germany
● Altered the voting rules to exclude younger voters
○ Those who were more likely to sympathise with the Nazi party
○ Hitler sent Schuschnigg an ultimatum
■ Ordering him to hand power to the Austrian Nazi party
● On account of the obvious fraud in the plebiscite or face invasion
○ Schuschnigg realised that neither France or Britain would go to war over war against Germany
because of this
■ He resigned but nobody was there to take over and he did not want to appoint a Nazi
successor
● Government in state of instability
○ Austrian Nazi’s begin seizing control of government buildings
■ Enraged at the lack of Nazi appointment
● Hitler Signed an order or troops to enter Austria
 ○ At the same time, president appoints Austrian Nazi leader (Seyss-Inquart) as chancellor
○ 12 March 1938
■ German troops crossed the border into Austria
● Austrians greeting them as heroes
○ Hitler announces Anschluss in front of a large crowd in Vienna
■ A new plebiscite was arranged
● 99.73% voted in favour of the anschluss
○ Nazi’s moved quickly to arrest opposition leaders
■ Secure total control of Austria
● Munich
○ Hitler demanded Sudetenland
■ Borders of Czechoslovakia
■ Inhabited by ethnic germans
■ 3 million Germans
■ Sudeten German party claimed that Czech dominated government discriminated
against them
● Called for union with Germany
■ Hitler wanted to use the Sudeten germans to create trouble in czechoslovakia
● He had Rhineland and Austria
○ A preference for invading and “restoring order”
■ Desperate to avoid war
● Neville Chamberlain (britain prime minister) met with Hitler on 15th september
● After persuading France to agree to giving Germany an area of population of
over 50% German
○ Chamberlain returns to Hitler with the good news and Hitler refuses. He
wanted ALL sudetenland
● Locks War
○ Chamberlain calls the crisis ‘a quarrel in a faraway country between
people of whom we know nothing’
○ 1938
■ Hitler demands union of Germany with Sudetenland
■ Plans invasion
○ 29 september
■ Who is there?
● Adolf Hitler
● Benito Mussolini
● Neville Chamberlain (PM of Britain)
● Edouard Daladier (PM of france)
■ Munich Pact
● Permits Nazi German annexation of Czechoslovakia’s Sudetenland
● Hitler promised to not go further
○ No further territorial expansion
● Chamberlain waves a “piece of paper” with Hitler’s statement that he does not
want war
 ● German troops march into Sudetenland and are welcomed as heroes
■ Legacy
● Appeasement!!
■ Hitler had promised Britain that Sudetenland would be his “last territorial demand”
● Czechoslovakia
○ On 15 march, 1939
○ German troops marched into Czechoslovakia
■ Took over Bohemia and established a Protectorate over Slovakia 1939
○ Britain outraged
■ Begin to realize that war was the only method to stop Hitler
○ End of appeasement
■ Proved that Hitler lied at Munich
■ Showed that Hitler was not just interested in a “Greater Germany”
● Czechs were not Germans
■ 17 march
● Chamberlain gave a speech saying that he could not trust Hitler not to invade
other countries
■ 31 March
● Chamberlain guaranteed to defend Poland if Germany invaded
● USSR/Nazi Pact (Non-aggression pact)
○ 1939
■ Hitler wanted to invade Poland
● Fear repercussions
○ August 1939
■ Germans and Russia agree not to fight
■ Hitler wanted to prevent war with Russia, Britain and France
○ 23 August 1939
■ The world was shocked when Russia and Germany signed a 10 year ‘non-aggression
pact’
● Hitler wanted to destroy communism and Russia was communist
● Poland
○ 1939
■ Demanded union with Danzig
■ Threatens war
○ Chamberlain promised to protect the Poles from German invasion
○ September 1, 1939
■ Hitler invaded Poland
○ Britain and france declare war on Germany
● Historians believe this?
○ Up until 1960s Historians believe that Hitler had a step by step plan for war
○ In the 1960s, AJP Taylor came up with a new interpretation
■ He sees Hitler as a gambler rather than a planner
● Willing to take risks to see what he can get away with
 ■ League of nations allowed him to get away with breaking the treaty of versailles each
time he became bolder
○ AJP Taylor believes
■ It was great britain, the allies and the league of nations who can be blamed for not
stopping Hitler
○ Question:
■ To what extent do you agree with the view that it was Hitler’s fault for world war 2
● 1933- German government spent 1.9 million marks on the military
● 1935- staged a rally to show might of German army
○ Reintroduced conscription
○ Boosted Nazi support
○ Gained sympathy from Britain
○ The army did not look TOO big
○ French were angry but couldn’t do anything
● 1939- spending 32.3 million marks on the military
● Hitler drafted 1000s of unemployed people in the army
● Reduced unemployment and made Germany look strong
○ He did it secretly at first so as not to upset other countries
● Claimed he was only rearming because Britain and France were

Hitler’s Foreign Policy acronym- MARVEL

● Make Germany great
● Anschluss
● Restore pride
● Versailles destroyed
● End communism
● Lebensraum

The remilitarisation of Rhineland was more important to Hitler’s plan than Spanish civil war?
Rhineland remilitarisation
● Hitler’s popularity soared in Germany.
● Hitler had ‘tested the water’ and saw the strength of British desire to avoid conflict.
● Hitler had secured the western borders - could now look to the east.
● In October 1936, Hitler and Mussolini signed the Rome-Berlin Axis, giving Hitler the only ally he
locked.
● Part of treaty of versailles destroyed
● Wanted generals support
Spanish Civil War
● Helped make allies with other countries
● Wanted iron, metal and mercury for his armaments industry
● Stop communism
● Testing weapons
○ Guns, tanks, planes
Overall
 ● The rhineland remilitarisation was more important
IGCSE
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