Core topic 3: Why had international peace collapsed by 1939
Hitler’s war
Hitler’s plans
1. Abolish Treaty of Versailles
a. Unjust
b. Constant reminder of defeat in WW1 and humiliation
c. Promised to reverse it if he became leader
d. By the time he came to power, some terms already changed, e.g. no more
reparations
2. Expand German territory
a. Hitler wanted to retake previous German territory
b. Wanted Anschluss, and Sudetenland (areas with German people to unite)
c. Empire in Eastern Europe- Lebensraum (living space for Germans)
3. Defeat Communism
a. Empire carved from USSR helped Hitler to also defeat Communism
b. Hitler was anti-Communist, thought Bolsheviks helped defeat Germany in WW1, and
believed they wanted to take over Germany
Hitler’s actions
- 1933: took Germany out of League of Nations; began rearming
- 1934: tried to take over Austria, prevented by Mussolini
- 1935: held big rearmament rally in Germany
- 1936: reintroduced conscription; sent troops to Rhineland; anti-Communist alliance with
Japan
- 1937: tried German weapons in Spanish Civil War; anti-Communist alliance with Italy
- 1938: Anschluss; took Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia
- 1939: invaded rest of Czechoslovakia; invaded Poland; war
Other factors leading to war
- Britain, Allies and League allowed Hitler to get away with his actions
- Worldwide economic depression
- Weakness of post-war treaties
- Action of leading powers: Britain, France, USA, USSR
Rearmament
- Hitler came to power in 1933, and immediately increased German military
o Helped reduce unemployment, and deliver on promise to reverse Treaty
- He knew Germans supported rearmament, and other countries would be alarmed
o It began in secret, and Hitler made a great public display not to rearm, but he had to
as other countries did not disarm
o Followed Japan and withdrew from League
- Hitler staged a massive military rally in 1935 to celebrate German armed forces
- Reintroduced conscription in 1936
- He broke terms of the Treaty, but got away with it since other countries were using
rearmament to fight unemployment
, - Failure of League of Nations Disarmament Conference showed countries were not ready to
disarm
- Rearmament was popular in Germany – boosted Nazi support
o Britain had some sympathy- it thought military restriction were too tight
o Britain thought strong Germany would be protection from Communism
- Britain helped dismantle Treaty- allowed German navy to be 35% of its own
o French was angry, but couldn’t do anything
The Saar plebiscite
Saar had been run by League since 1919
Plebiscite held in 1935, Hitler was scared as many of his opponents fled to Saar
Propaganda minister, Goebbels, mounted huge campaign to persuade people
90% of people voted to go to Germany
Huge morale boost, Hitler said he had no further territorial demands of France
Remilitarisation of the Rhineland
- Hitler moved troops into Rhineland in March 1936- first big risk
- Demilitarisation of Rhineland was one term in Treaty- designed to protect France from
German invasion
- Accepted by Germany in the Locarno Treaties of 1925
- If he had been forced to withdraw = humiliation + lost support of army
- Timed well:
o France + USSR signed treaty to protect each other from Germany
Hitler used this to claim Germany was under threat
o Hitler knew Britain would allow him to place troops there, since they felt he had a
right to do that- gamble was over France
- French army was more powerful than German army- but France didn’t act against Hitler
- Attention of League was on Abyssinia
- League condemned Hitler’s action, had no other powers
- France was about to elect a new leader- no one wanted to be responsible for war
o They didn’t know how weak German army was
Spanish Civil War
1936-39
Nationalist forces and republican government (right vs left)
Support from Germany + Italy, and Russia
Hitler and Mussolini supported Franco, Stalin supported the Republicans, as well as
thousands of civilians, international brigades
It was excellent training for Hitler's troops and strengthened his relationship with Mussolini
Britain didn't help, which convinced Hitler that Britain could be persuaded to join an alliance
It also weakened the relationship between Britain, France, and the USSR
Militarism and the Axis
- Japan under control of hardliner General Tojo, with support of business leaders
- Wanted to extent Japanese empire across Asia to compete with USA
- In 1937 Japan invaded China
- Hitler and Mussolini had much in common with military dictatorship in Japan
- 1936: Anti-Comintern Pact between Japan and Germany
Hitler’s war
Hitler’s plans
1. Abolish Treaty of Versailles
a. Unjust
b. Constant reminder of defeat in WW1 and humiliation
c. Promised to reverse it if he became leader
d. By the time he came to power, some terms already changed, e.g. no more
reparations
2. Expand German territory
a. Hitler wanted to retake previous German territory
b. Wanted Anschluss, and Sudetenland (areas with German people to unite)
c. Empire in Eastern Europe- Lebensraum (living space for Germans)
3. Defeat Communism
a. Empire carved from USSR helped Hitler to also defeat Communism
b. Hitler was anti-Communist, thought Bolsheviks helped defeat Germany in WW1, and
believed they wanted to take over Germany
Hitler’s actions
- 1933: took Germany out of League of Nations; began rearming
- 1934: tried to take over Austria, prevented by Mussolini
- 1935: held big rearmament rally in Germany
- 1936: reintroduced conscription; sent troops to Rhineland; anti-Communist alliance with
Japan
- 1937: tried German weapons in Spanish Civil War; anti-Communist alliance with Italy
- 1938: Anschluss; took Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia
- 1939: invaded rest of Czechoslovakia; invaded Poland; war
Other factors leading to war
- Britain, Allies and League allowed Hitler to get away with his actions
- Worldwide economic depression
- Weakness of post-war treaties
- Action of leading powers: Britain, France, USA, USSR
Rearmament
- Hitler came to power in 1933, and immediately increased German military
o Helped reduce unemployment, and deliver on promise to reverse Treaty
- He knew Germans supported rearmament, and other countries would be alarmed
o It began in secret, and Hitler made a great public display not to rearm, but he had to
as other countries did not disarm
o Followed Japan and withdrew from League
- Hitler staged a massive military rally in 1935 to celebrate German armed forces
- Reintroduced conscription in 1936
- He broke terms of the Treaty, but got away with it since other countries were using
rearmament to fight unemployment
, - Failure of League of Nations Disarmament Conference showed countries were not ready to
disarm
- Rearmament was popular in Germany – boosted Nazi support
o Britain had some sympathy- it thought military restriction were too tight
o Britain thought strong Germany would be protection from Communism
- Britain helped dismantle Treaty- allowed German navy to be 35% of its own
o French was angry, but couldn’t do anything
The Saar plebiscite
Saar had been run by League since 1919
Plebiscite held in 1935, Hitler was scared as many of his opponents fled to Saar
Propaganda minister, Goebbels, mounted huge campaign to persuade people
90% of people voted to go to Germany
Huge morale boost, Hitler said he had no further territorial demands of France
Remilitarisation of the Rhineland
- Hitler moved troops into Rhineland in March 1936- first big risk
- Demilitarisation of Rhineland was one term in Treaty- designed to protect France from
German invasion
- Accepted by Germany in the Locarno Treaties of 1925
- If he had been forced to withdraw = humiliation + lost support of army
- Timed well:
o France + USSR signed treaty to protect each other from Germany
Hitler used this to claim Germany was under threat
o Hitler knew Britain would allow him to place troops there, since they felt he had a
right to do that- gamble was over France
- French army was more powerful than German army- but France didn’t act against Hitler
- Attention of League was on Abyssinia
- League condemned Hitler’s action, had no other powers
- France was about to elect a new leader- no one wanted to be responsible for war
o They didn’t know how weak German army was
Spanish Civil War
1936-39
Nationalist forces and republican government (right vs left)
Support from Germany + Italy, and Russia
Hitler and Mussolini supported Franco, Stalin supported the Republicans, as well as
thousands of civilians, international brigades
It was excellent training for Hitler's troops and strengthened his relationship with Mussolini
Britain didn't help, which convinced Hitler that Britain could be persuaded to join an alliance
It also weakened the relationship between Britain, France, and the USSR
Militarism and the Axis
- Japan under control of hardliner General Tojo, with support of business leaders
- Wanted to extent Japanese empire across Asia to compete with USA
- In 1937 Japan invaded China
- Hitler and Mussolini had much in common with military dictatorship in Japan
- 1936: Anti-Comintern Pact between Japan and Germany
