ORIGINS OF WORLD

WAR TWO

5. Early German breaches of Versailles (1933-

What did Hitler do?
6)
•Fulfilling his election promises to tear up the Treaty of Versailles, Hitler made
a number of moves in 1933-6 before his decisive move into the Rhineland
(1936) he:
• withdrew from the League of Nations and Disarmament Conference (1933);
• tried unsuccessfully to stage a pro-Nazi coup in Austria (1934);
• won a plebiscite on the future of the Saar, which voted 90% to be German
(1935);
• announced German re-armament, including an air-force (1935) and conscription
(1936);
• agreed an increase in Germany’s navy with Britain (1935), allowing Germany
to have as many submarines as Britain, and 35% of its ships (Anglo-German
Naval Agreement)
How did Hitler’s enemies react?
In only two cases was there serious opposition to these moves. First,
Mussolini’s objections prevented Hitler taking over Austria in 1934 (he later did
this in 1938, sheet 7). Second, Italy, France and Britain formed the Stresa
Front in 1935 in response to re-armament to demonstrate their concern.
However, for the most part, these countries either made token protests or
even endorsed Germany’s moves (the Anglo-German Naval Agreement was a
British agreement to Germany re-arming, contrary to Versailles). The USSR’s
response to all of this was finally to join the League of Nations in 1934.
Why did his enemies do so little?
In some cases, Hitler did nothing wrong. For instance, the Saar plebiscite was
part of Versailles - it was only Hitler’s propaganda that was problematic. In
other cases, Britain and France were motivated by distraction from domestic
problems (e.g. Depression), sympathy for Germany, feeling that Versailles was
Significance:
too harsh (e.g. Hitler’s earlyGermany
why should moves were relatively
alone small, and
be disarmed?) and mostly
cynical non-
territorial.
calculationHowever, they
(Britain was set afor
happy powerful
Germanyprecedent forits
to re-arm revision of the provided
land forces, Treaty of
Versailles, making itthe
it did not challenge more difficult
Royal Navy,for Britain
thus and France
the Naval to object on principle
Agreement).
to later revisions (e.g. Rhineland re-militarisation (1936) and Anschluss
(1934)). Only Italy and the USSR stood up to Hitler in any meaningful way.
 ORIGINS OF WORLD
WAR TWO

6. Rhineland Re-militarisation, 1936

What was the problem?
The Treaty of Versailles had de-militarised the Rhineland: the strategic stretch
of German territory between the Rhine river and the French border. Allied
occupation had ended, but Germany was not allowed any troops there.
What did Hitler do?
On 7 March 1936, he marched a small army into the Rhineland to re-militarise
it. They had orders to retreat if challenged by France (which they weren’t).
Having done this, the border with France was swiftly fortified, to consolidate
this gain.
What was the British and French response?
This was a clear breach of Versailles, as well as the 1925 Treaty of Locarno,
and Hitler expected France to react with force, as in 1923 when a late
reparations payment had led to the Ruhr occupation. However, Britain and
France made weak verbal protests and did nothing. The League of Nations
condemned the action, but did nothing.
Why did they do so little?
Both powers were pre-occupied with events in Abyssinia (see sheet 4), which
also reduced the League’s appetite for doing anything and its credibility.
Britain felt sympathy for Germany being unable to place troops in its ‘own
backyard’, and was unwilling to fight over this. French forces were organised
in a defensive rather than an offensive way behind the Maginot Line forts,
making a response difficult. France was also politically unstable, as it was
throughout theThe
Significance: 1930s.
Rhineland is a key precedent for further German
aggression. It was a vital part of the Treaty of Versailles, effectively giving
France a physical barrier (the Rhine) against the German army. Letting Hitler
re-militarise with so little protest was a clear signal that Britain and France
would not oppose further action. Some (e.g. Churchill) see the Rhineland as a
missed opportunity to confront Hitler: his army was weak and clearly in the
wrong. However, in Britain and France, public opinion was firmly against
confrontation over this issue.
 ORIGINS OF WORLD
WAR TWO

7. Anschluss with Austria, 1938

Why was Austria important to Hitler?
He was Austrian, and wanted all Germans united in a Greater Germany. He
also wanted to overturn the Treaty of Versailles, which forbade Anschluss
(German/ Austrian union).
What happened?
In 1934, Hitler had tried and failed to orchestrate Anschluss via a pro-Nazi
coup, after having Austrian Chancellor Dolfuss murdered. Italy forced him to
back down. But by 1938, he was allied with Mussolini due to working together
over Abyssinia and the Spanish Civil War. Hitler encouraged the Austrian Nazi
party to demonstrate violently for Anschluss. The Austrian Chancellor resisted,
promising to hold a referendum, but Hitler’s mobilization of his forces led to
the chancellor agreeing to appoint an Austrian Nazi in charge of the police.
This led to a crackdown on opponents, and to a German occupation and
annexation on 14 March, greeted by cheering crowds of Austrians. His move
was endorsed by a rigged referendum.
How did other countries react?
Italy supported Hitler, as noted above. Britain and France issued the same kind
of weak protests as over the Rhineland, choosing to believe Hitler’s promise
that his actions had no implications for Czechoslovakia - a country now
surrounded by German territory. Once again, neither Britain nor France felt
that they could or should intervene with military force in a German country to
prevent National Self-Determination (Germans being ruled by Germans), not
least given the increasing strength of the German military.
Slarge territorial gain (the Saar (1935) being small, and the Rhineland (1936)
being part of Germany ignificance: This was Hitler’s first already). It made it
much easier for Hitler to continue with his aggression towards the borders left
by Versailles, both geographically (as he now surrounded his next target,
Czechoslovakia) and politically (as he now had a precedent for territorial
change to unite Germans). Britain and France allowed him to set this
precedent with virtually no protest: each time they did this, the German army
was stronger next time, as was the principle that they would allow him to
revise the Versailles Treaty. But even before Austria, the Rhineland had clearly
given him this signal.
 ORIGINS OF WORLD
WAR TWO

8. The Sudeten Issue (Munich Conference),

1938
What was the Sudetenland and why was it important?
It was an area on the borders of Czechoslovakia largely inhabited by ethnic
Germans. The border had been drawn in the Treaty of St Germain, 1919
(Austria-Hungary’s Treaty of Versailles). It contained much industry and strong
mountain defences against Germany. After Anschluss, it was surrounded by
Germany. France and the USSR had treaties to defend Czechoslovakia in the
event of attack.
What happened?
As in Austria, Hitler used a local party (Henlein’s Sudeten German party) to stir
up trouble. Riots in May 1938 were put down by the Czechs, but Hitler
increasingly backed their demands for self-determination. After a failed
attempt at mediation between them and Benes’s Czech Government by Lord
Runciman (British), Hitler promised more support. This led Neville
Chamberlain, British PM, to fly to Germany to try and negotiate a deal to avert
war by dealing directly with Hitler. He agreed a deal that allowed the transfer
of some territory, and managed to get the French and Czechs to agree this.
But Hitler upped his demands at a second meeting, and war looked inevitable.
Then Mussolini proposed a four power conference to resolve this, which took
place at Munich (29-30 September). This agreed a modified plan to transfer
Sudeten areas to Germany, which took place from 1 October - a day when
Britain and Germany signed a new peace deal.
Why did Britain pursue this course?
Chamberlain feared another war like the First World War, and did not see why
Britain should fight to prevent National Self-Determination for Sudeten
Germans. Britain was not ready for war, and could not have prevented
Czechoslovakia being overrun. It was not clear at the time that Hitler’s wanted
more than just to unite Germans. Critics of this ‘appeasement’ policy (e.g.
Churchill) saw it
Significance: as a is
There cowardly missed
a heated chance
historical to fight
debate Hitler.
here. Some see Chamberlain
as the betrayer of a small democracy, postponing war to Britain’s
disadvantage and being fooled by Hitler. It was particularly cynical to exclude
Czechs and Russians from the Munich conference. It encouraged further
aggression (e.g. in 1939). Others see it as a policy that made sense at the
time, when Hitler’s ambitions were not clear, and that it gave Britain vital time
to re-arm (e.g. the RAF).
 ORIGINS OF WORLD
WAR TWO
9. Invasion of Czechoslovakia / Polish Guarantee
(1939)
What happened?
Having taken the border defences of Czechoslovakia via the Munich deal of 30
September, the rest of Czechoslovakia ‘lay naked’ before Hitler’s armies
(Churchill’s words). On 12th March 1939, Hitler invaded the rest of the Czech
portion (Bohemia and Moravia), claiming to have been invited in. The rest was
split up into a supposedly independent state (Slovakia) and territory for
Hungary.
What was the response from Britain and France?
Both were shocked by this blatant breach of Munich and of the principle of
National Self-Determination. At first, Chamberlain appeared to be trying to
hold onto his old policy. But pressure from public opinion (e.g. newspapers)
and Cabinet colleagues seems to have persuaded him that enough was
enough. Within a few days (31 March), Chamberlain had agreed a joint Anglo-
French military guarantee of Poland, Hitler’s obvious next target (German
grievances about Danzig, Posen, Upper Silesia and West Prussia were among
the most bitter resentments about Versailles). This treaty, which was
reaffirmed just days before World War Two, is widely seen as being the end of
Appeasement, and the treaty which brought Britain and France into World War
Two, when Poland was invaded by Germany in September 1939.
However, as with Czechoslovakia, Britain and France were not geographically
able to defend Poland: they needed an ally nearby. The obvious candidate was
the Soviet Union. But Britain and France failed, over the summer of 1939, to
persuade Stalin to join their Polish guarantee. Instead, in August, he signed the
Nazi-Soviet pact (Sheet 10) which guaranteed Russian neutrality in the face of
the inevitable German
Significance: With theattack on Poland.
invasion of the rest of Czechoslovakia, Hitler clearly
departed from the much-supported principle of National Self-Determination, by
taking over an area that was not full of Germans. At this point, it became clear
that his goal was to win Lebensraum (Living Space) in the East, of which this
was a first step. Thus, Britain and France finally saw Hitler’s true colours and
stood up to him, by guaranteeing his likely next victim. This can be seen as
the first step towards inevitable war, and the end of appeasement, which had
failed.
)
 ORIGINS OF WORLD
WAR TWO
10. Nazi-Soviet Pact (August 1939)

What were relations normally like between Nazi Germany and the
USSR?
Very cold. They hated each other’s ideologies. The Axis pact between Italy,
Japan and Germany was actually called the ‘Anti-Comintern’ Pact, to combat
the influence of the Comintern organisation. The USSR joined the League of
Nations to fight fascism.
What happened in 1939?
At the end of March, Britain and France guaranteed Poland against Hitler (see
sheet 9). They then tried to get the USSR to join this guarantee, with various
missions going to Moscow over the summer. Historians differ as to whose fault
it was that agreement was not reached. Instead, on 23 August, a Nazi-Soviet
Pact was unveiled.
What did the pact say?
The public part was a non-aggression treaty between Germany and the USSR.
The secret element of it agreed a division of Poland, so that when Germany
invaded from the West a week later, the USSR soon followed to swallow up
Eastern Poland.
Why did Stalin and Hitler sign it?
Hitler’s motivation is more obvious. As a cynical, deceptive politician, it suited
him to fight a war on just one front, leaving Russia till later (1941, Operation
Barbarossa). Stalin did seem to consider an alliance with the West. But he
suspected that Britain and France wanted him to bear the brunt of the fighting,
and thus for Russia and Germany to destroy each other. In the end, Hitler had
more to offer Stalin (peace and Poland) than Britain and France, which
remained capitalist countries, suspicious of the USSR and opposed to its ideas.
Stalin was also still angry with the West for leaving the USSR out of the Munich
Significance: The Pact
justmade war inevitable, as it meant that Germany could
conference, and had appointed a more cynical Foreign Minister (Molotov)
invade Poland without fear of the USSR retaliating (especially given the
to replace the more pro-Western Litvinov.
rewards promised to the USSR in the secret element of the deal). This, coupled
with the Anglo-French guarantee of Poland, ensured a World War would begin
when Hitler invaded Poland ten days later.