1
Topic 3: Why had international peace collapsed by 1939?
3.1 Hitler’s actions 1933-1939
3.1.1 Long term consequences of Treaties
● had left many countries wanting to look at again at the treaties
● Japan and Italy had expected to receive greater shares of spoils
● most Germans wanted to reject Treaty since did not agree with territory changes,
disarmament, war guilt and reparations
● stemmed from “stabbed in the back” myth (a group of unpatriotic German politicians had lost
the war for Germany so then the peace settlement was unnecessary)
● although treaty was harsh it failed to completely disable country militarily and economically
(Germany was then able to rebuild itself when the time was right)
● Hitler promised to destroy treaty
● Britain also thought the treaty had been too harsh and were prepared to alter it but France
wanted a weak Germany
3.1.2 What were consequences of failures of League of Nations
● Manchuria:
○ showed the League was weak when it came to fighting big powers (encouraged further
acts of aggression)
○ also demonstrated Eurocentric nature of League
○ Japan withdrew from League and moved to closer to Hitler then to Mussolini through
Anti-comintern pact
○ showed Germany and Italy that their territorial ambitions were achievable
● Abyssinia:
○ the League only imposed sanctions on Italy (failed to include important things such as
oil and coal and failed to close Suez-Canal (self-interest)
○ Hoare-Laval pact showed self-interest of members of League
○ Hitler saw that there would be no opposition to him destroying treaty of Versailles
● Disarmament:
○ showed that no country wanted to disarm
○ people in Germany were angry that they were the only country disarming
○ gave Hitler excuse he needed to re-arm Germany
1
, 2
● Appeasement:
○ failure of League led to intensive rearmament programmes for Britain and France (eg
France Maginot line)
○ countries adopted appeasement to buy time to rearm
1933 Left League of Nations & started rearming Germany & stopped paying reparations
1934 on aggression with Poland
Tried to take over Austria (Anschluss) but was prevented by Mussolini, n
1935 Held massive rearmament rally in Germany
Reintroduced conscription against (TofV), demilitarized Rhineland, anti-Communist alliance with Japan and
1936
Rome-Berlin Axis
1937 Tested Germany’s weapon’s in Spanish Civil War, anti-Communist alliance with Italy
Anschluss with Austria (took over Austria) and took over Sudetenland (part of Czechoslovakia with many
1938
Germans in it)
1939 Invaded rest of Czechoslovakia and invaded Poland
● it seems as though Hitler planned it step by step
● in the 1960’s the British historian AJP Taylor came up with a new interpretation
● his view is that Hitler was a gambler rather than a planner, who simply took the logical next
step to see what he could get away with
● as other countries gave in to him and allowed him to get away with each gamble so he
became bolder and risked more
● therefore Taylor’s interpretation is that Britain, the Allies and the League of Nations are to
blame for letting Hitler get away with it
3.1.3 Hitler’s foreign policy aims
● Hitler was never secretive about his plans for Germany
● as early as 1924 he had laid out in his book Mein kampf what he would do if the Nazis ever
achieved power in Germany
● his 5 foreign policy aims were:
○ abolish/overturn Treaty of Versailles
○ unite all German speaking people (create a “greater German Reich”)
○ Lebensraum- living/ invading in the east to expand Germany’s boundaries
○ defeat communism
○ Create central European Empire
2
Topic 3: Why had international peace collapsed by 1939?
3.1 Hitler’s actions 1933-1939
3.1.1 Long term consequences of Treaties
● had left many countries wanting to look at again at the treaties
● Japan and Italy had expected to receive greater shares of spoils
● most Germans wanted to reject Treaty since did not agree with territory changes,
disarmament, war guilt and reparations
● stemmed from “stabbed in the back” myth (a group of unpatriotic German politicians had lost
the war for Germany so then the peace settlement was unnecessary)
● although treaty was harsh it failed to completely disable country militarily and economically
(Germany was then able to rebuild itself when the time was right)
● Hitler promised to destroy treaty
● Britain also thought the treaty had been too harsh and were prepared to alter it but France
wanted a weak Germany
3.1.2 What were consequences of failures of League of Nations
● Manchuria:
○ showed the League was weak when it came to fighting big powers (encouraged further
acts of aggression)
○ also demonstrated Eurocentric nature of League
○ Japan withdrew from League and moved to closer to Hitler then to Mussolini through
Anti-comintern pact
○ showed Germany and Italy that their territorial ambitions were achievable
● Abyssinia:
○ the League only imposed sanctions on Italy (failed to include important things such as
oil and coal and failed to close Suez-Canal (self-interest)
○ Hoare-Laval pact showed self-interest of members of League
○ Hitler saw that there would be no opposition to him destroying treaty of Versailles
● Disarmament:
○ showed that no country wanted to disarm
○ people in Germany were angry that they were the only country disarming
○ gave Hitler excuse he needed to re-arm Germany
1
, 2
● Appeasement:
○ failure of League led to intensive rearmament programmes for Britain and France (eg
France Maginot line)
○ countries adopted appeasement to buy time to rearm
1933 Left League of Nations & started rearming Germany & stopped paying reparations
1934 on aggression with Poland
Tried to take over Austria (Anschluss) but was prevented by Mussolini, n
1935 Held massive rearmament rally in Germany
Reintroduced conscription against (TofV), demilitarized Rhineland, anti-Communist alliance with Japan and
1936
Rome-Berlin Axis
1937 Tested Germany’s weapon’s in Spanish Civil War, anti-Communist alliance with Italy
Anschluss with Austria (took over Austria) and took over Sudetenland (part of Czechoslovakia with many
1938
Germans in it)
1939 Invaded rest of Czechoslovakia and invaded Poland
● it seems as though Hitler planned it step by step
● in the 1960’s the British historian AJP Taylor came up with a new interpretation
● his view is that Hitler was a gambler rather than a planner, who simply took the logical next
step to see what he could get away with
● as other countries gave in to him and allowed him to get away with each gamble so he
became bolder and risked more
● therefore Taylor’s interpretation is that Britain, the Allies and the League of Nations are to
blame for letting Hitler get away with it
3.1.3 Hitler’s foreign policy aims
● Hitler was never secretive about his plans for Germany
● as early as 1924 he had laid out in his book Mein kampf what he would do if the Nazis ever
achieved power in Germany
● his 5 foreign policy aims were:
○ abolish/overturn Treaty of Versailles
○ unite all German speaking people (create a “greater German Reich”)
○ Lebensraum- living/ invading in the east to expand Germany’s boundaries
○ defeat communism
○ Create central European Empire
2
