Essays and notes on Road to World War 2

Describe the ways in which Germany broke the Treaty of Versailles in the period
1935–1938.

Hitler’s had said in Mein Kampf (1924) that he would abolish the Treaty of Versailles.

The first way Hitler broke the Treaty was over Germany’s armed forces. In 1934, he
destroyed the League of Nations Disarmament Conference by demanding equality of
arms with France and Britain – this broke the Treaty because it had set up the League
with the stated aim of achieving disarmament. At first, Hitler broke the Treaty’s terms
by building up his army in secret, drilling volunteers with spades instead of rifles. Then,
in 1935, he openly held a huge rearmament rally. The other nations let him get away
with it – Britain even made a naval agreement with Germany, accepting that Germany
had a right to have a navy of 35% of the British navy (i.e. this broke the Treaty, which
said that Germany could only have 6 battleships). After 1936, Hitler reintroduced
conscription, and began to pump huge sums into Germany’s armed forces. Germans
were told ‘guns not butter’. By 1939, Germany had 95 warships, 8,250 airplanes and an
army of nearly 1m. men (many more than the 0 planes and 100,000 men stated in the
Treaty of Versailles). Hitler even war-tested his armed forces in the Spanish Civil War;
in 1936 he told his generals to get ready for war in 4 years’ time.

The second way Hitler broke the Treaty was over the Rhineland (declared a demilitarised
zone). In 1936, Hitler moved his troops into the zone, claiming that the recent treaty
between France and Russia threatened Germany’s safety. His commanders had orders to
retreat if the French army tried to stop them, but this time it was France who did nothing.
The League of Nations, busy with the Abyssinian crisis, also did nothing.

The third way Hitler broke the Treaty of Versailles occurred in 1938. The Treaty forbade
Anschluss between Germany and Austria. An attempted Nazi putsch in Austria failed in
1934, but in 1938 Hitler tried again. Austrian Nazis organised riots, while Hitler
pressurised the Austrian Chancellor Schuschnigg to declare Anschluss. Schuschnigg
asked both France and Britain for help, but was refused, so he suggested instead a
plebiscite. To prevent the possibility of a ‘no’ result, Hitler invaded. The Germans were
greeted by a frenzied, stage-managed demonstration. Some 30,000 Austrians were
imprisoned. Next month, in a referendum, 99% of Austrians voted yes to Anschluss.
By the end of 1938, Hitler was doing the same thing in the Sudentenland, which
the Treaty of Versailles had given to Czechoslovakia. Sudeten Nazis, led by Henlein,
caused trouble, claiming that they were being oppressed by the Czechs. Hitler demanded
union, and threatened war. This time, although the Czech leader Beneš was prepared to
fight, it was Britain and France who, at Munich, broke the Treaty of Versailles and gave
the Sudetenland to Germany. Which just left Danzig, and the Polish corridor . . .

It can be argued that it was not just Hitler who broke the Treaty of Versailles, but also
Britain and France, when they allowed him to do what he did.
Describe the ways that Hitler threatened the peace of Europe in the years 1933–38.

Hitler threatened the peace of Europe by rearming. In 1934 he wrecked the League of
Nations Disarmament Conference. Then he built up his army – at first in secret, then, in
1935, openly holding a huge rearmament rally. Britain even made a naval agreement
with Germany, accepting Germany’s right to a navy 35% of the British navy. After
1936, Hitler reintroduced conscription, and poured money into Germany’s armed forces.
By 1939, Germany had 95 warships, 8,250 airplanes and an army of nearly 1 million.
Germany’s rearmament threatened the peace of Europe because it undermined the treaty
of Versailles, and because it forced other countries to rearm and get ready for war. An
armed Europe made war more likely. Hitler even war-tested his armed forces in the
Spanish Civil War; in 1936 he told his generals to get ready for war in 4 years’ time.

In 1936, Hitler moved his troops into the Rhineland demilitarised zone (although
his commanders had orders to retreat if the French army tried to stop them). This
threatened the peace, not only because there was a chance that France would fight back,
but because it discredited the League of Nations, which did nothing. The remilitarisation
of the Rhineland also undermined the peace because it broke the Locarno Pact, a treaty to
respect frontiers and not to go to war.

Two more events in November 1936 threatened the peace of Europe. Hitler
made the Axis alliance with Italy, and then expanded it with Italy and Japan into the Anti-
Comintern Pact – an alliance against communism. Hitler had allies now, and could
afford to be more aggressive.

Hitler also endangered the peace of Europe by inciting Nazis in other countries.
In 1938 he got Austrian Nazis to demand Anschluss – then he invaded Austria and
declared Anschluss (when he had tried in 1934, Mussolini had stopped him by massive
the Italian army on the frontier – now Italy was Hitler’s ally). This, too broke the Treaty
of Versailles, but it also destroyed the reputation of France and Britain. In 1938, the
Austrian Chancellor Schuschnigg had asked Britain and France to help, but they had
refused. This (and the west’s ignoring of human rights violations such as Kristallnacht,
1938) endangered the peace of Europe by making Hitler think he could do anything.

In 1938, Hitler got Sudeten Nazis, led by Henlein, to cause trouble, claiming they
were being oppressed by the Czechs. Hitler demanded union, and threatened war – and
the Czech leader Beneš was prepared to fight. War seemed very close. But then, at
Munich, Britain and France gave the Sudetenland to Germany. This was appeasement in
action, and it still endangered the peace because it made Hitler think that he could take
lebensraum in Poland with impunity.

These actions of Hitler threatened the peace. But it can be argued that it was not
just Hitler who undermined the peace of Europe, but also Britain and France, when they
allowed – and even helped – him to do what he did.
What was appeasement? Describe how Britain and France ‘appeased’ Hitler in the
period 1933–1938.

Appeasement can be defined as ‘giving a bully what he wants’. It describes animal

behaviour, where a weaker animal adopts a submissive posture towards a more powerful
animal. It is claimed that this is what Britain and France did with Hitler in the 1930s.

Hitler built up his army. After 1936, he reintroduced conscription, and by 1939
Germany had 95 warships, 8,250 airplanes and an army of 1m.. Hitler even war-tested
his armed forces in the Spanish Civil War. Britain and France turned a blind eye to these
breaches of the Treaty of Versailles – Britain even made a naval agreement with
Germany, accepting Germany’s right to a navy 35% of the British navy. This looked like
appeasement. In 1936, Hitler moved his troops into the Rhineland. The appeasement
here, again, was that France did nothing to stop this open breach of Versailles.

In 1938 Hitler went further. He invaded Austria and declared Anschluss. This,
too broke the Treaty of Versailles. Again, France and Britain did nothing – even though
the Austrian Chancellor Schuschnigg asked Britain and France to help. This (and the
west’s ignoring of human rights violations such as Kristallnacht, 1938) might be regarded
as appeasement – failing to confront the bully.

Up to 1938, however, France and Britain were not wholly appeasing Hitler.
Some people sympathised with Hitler’s aims – their inaction was not the result of fear
alone. Wasn’t it reasonable that Germany have an army? The Rhineland belonged to
Germany, shouldn’t German troops be stationed there? Versailles had given other
countries self-determination, why not Austria and Germany? This was not appeasement,
it was agreement.

It is the 1938 crisis that is usually presented as appeasement. In 1938, Hitler got
the Sudeten Nazis, led by Henlein, to cause trouble, then he demanded union. But then
Chamberlain intervened. On 15 September he met Hitler at Berchtesgaden. Hitler
threatened war, but promised that this was the ‘last problem to be solved’. Chamberlain
decided that Hitler was ‘a man who can be relied upon’, and persuaded the Czechs to
hand over the Sudetenland. But when he met Hitler again, at Bad Godesberg (22
September), there were more demands, and Chamberlain refused. War seemed near, and
Chamberlain was not sure Czechoslovakia was a ‘great issue’ which needed war.
Instead, he decided that it was ‘a quarrel in a far-away country between people of whom
we know nothing’ and, at Munich (29 September), Britain and France gave the
Sudetenland to Germany. They gave the bully what he wanted.

These actions of Britain and France are called appeasement, and Chamberlain did
want to avoid war. But it can be argued that it was not appeasement only, and that other
factors were important – such as agreeing with the Germans, a feeling that this wasn’t
Britain’s business, and playing for time to build up Britain’s armed forces.
Describe the steps after the Munich conference of September 1938 that led to the
outbreak of war in September 1939.

After Munich, the Czechs chose not to fight. In October 1938, Hitler marched into the
Sudetenland unopposed. He declared: ‘Thus we begin our march into the great German
future . . .’ Hitler ruled that other land in Czechoslovakia must be given to Hungary, and
Poland took back Teschen by force. The rest of Czechoslovakia was split into three
powerless statelets – Bohemia, Slovakia and Ruthenia.

In Germany, Nazi oppression was growing – 8 November (Kristallnacht) saw the

start of persecution of the Jews. In Britain, it was clear that it was necessary to get ready
for war. A National Register was set up in December 1938 stating what everyone would
do in time of war, and in February 1939 Parliament started supplying air raid shelters to
the people of London.

In February, Franco finally won the Spanish Civil War. It seemed that the forces
of fascism were winning everywhere. British MPs angrily shouted ‘Heil Chamberlain’ at
the Prime Minister; a mood for war was growing in Britain.

Then, in March 1939, Hitler took over the rest of Czechoslovakia. He bullied
Bohemia into placing itself ‘confidently’ into his hands, then German troops marched into
Prague and made Bohemia a German protectorate. He took over Slovakia a week later.
Chamberlain recalled the British ambassador from Berlin, and promised that if Hitler
attacked Poland, Britain and France would give Poland ‘all support in their power’. In
April, Italy conquered Albania, so Chamberlain made the same promise to Greece and
Romania.

Europe started to get ready for war. Parliament passed the Civil Defence Act
(plans to evacuate children from London), tripled spending on the defence budget, and
introduced conscription. Later that month, Mussolini and Hitler signed the Pact of Steel,
promising to support each other if there was a war.

Russia, also, was getting worried. In April 1939, the USSR asked Britain and
France to form an alliance against Germany. But the British made a mess of the
negotiations and, on 23 August 1939, Russia made instead an alliance with Hitler. In a
secret clause they agreed to attack and split Poland between them.

At the end of August 1939, Hitler sent 2000 Nazis to Danzig. The Germans in
Danzig rioted and demanded union with Germany. Hitler threatened war and demanded
the Polish corridor. It was a familiar pattern. This time, Britain did not appease Hitler,
so, on 1 September 1939, Hitler invaded Poland.

On 3 September 1939, Britain declared war on Germany.

In March 1939, Britain changed its policy towards Germany. Why?

Dring 1938, Britain had followed a policy of appeasement – with misgivings. But when
the Nazis engineered their ‘protectorate’ over Bohemia and Slovakia on 15 March 1939,
Chamberlain promised to defend Poland in the event of a Nazi invasion.

The main reason for this change in policy was what Chamberlain called the ‘shock to
confidence’. Chamberlain had been prepared to believe Hitler’s promise that he had no
more demands for territory in Europe, but Czechoslovakia proved that Hitler had lied.
The British people realised that appeasement had failed. They realised that Hitler could
not trusted, and that he would only be stopped by (threat of) war.
Also, the invasion of Czechoslovakia was important because it was the first time
that Hitler had taken over a non-Germanic people. Before 1939, many people in Britain
had sympathised with Hitler’s aim for German unity – the Treaty of Versailles gave self-
determination to every other country, why not Germany? They had hoped that German
had just wanted to be secure and united. But March 1939 made it clear that Hitler’s
demands for lebensraum and world domination in Mein Kampf were not just talk. The
British realised that they were faced with someone who would take over the world unless
he was stopped, by force if necessary.

However, the change in British policy did not happen suddenly, in March 1939. Pressure
had been building up for some time for Chamberlain to change his policy. The Nazi
invasion of Czechoslovakia was the trigger, rather than the whole cause, for the British
change in policy.
Even in September 1938, there had been people in Britain who said appeasement
was wrong. Duff Cooper, Lord of the Admiralty resigned over Munich, and in October
1938, at the Oxford by-election, three future Conservative Prime Ministers (Winston
Churchill, Harold Macmillan and Edward Heath) campaigned against the Conservative
candidate Quentin Hogg, saying that ‘a vote for Hogg is a vote for Hitler’. During the
months after Munich, more and more people in Britain came to agree with them.
Chamberlain could not have gone to war in September 1938 – too many people in Britain
had wanted peace – but by March 1939, most people in Britain agreed that there would
have to be a war, and he was able to promise to defend Poland.
Also, Kristallnacht in November 1939 had made people realise that, not only did
the Nazi regime want world domination, but that it was an evil regime. Many Christians
in Britain came to believe that God wanted them to fight against Hitler. Fascists were
growing in power and people realised that they had to be stopped – in February 1939,
when Franco came to power in Spain, MPs shouted ‘Heil Chamberlain’ in the House of
Commons. Britain could threaten war in March 1939, because Kristallnacht had given
them the moral justification to stand up to Hitler.
Finally, at Munich, Britain had not been strong enough to go to war – it is
arguable that Chamberlain was just buying time for Britain to rearm. In January 1939,
the navy had been strengthened and production of planes had been increased; in February,
defence spending was increased to £580 million and free air-raid shelters were given to ¼
million Londoners. Chamberlain was able to change his policy in March 1939 because
Britain had the military capacity to go to war.