International Relations WW2 Causes Questions
Q1 (20)
How far were the policies pursued by the Nazi government responsible for the Second World War?
The foreign policy of Adolf Hitler to make Germany into a great power again initially through
rearmament, and then by uniting all German speakers under his rule and gaining lebensraum in the
East, was almost entirely responsible for the Second World War. Firstly, rearmament allowed for the
recovery of the German war machine, as the army grew from 100,000 men before Hitler’s
inauguration in January 1933 to 2.758 million by August 1939. This was extremely significant as it not
only strengthened the popularity of the Nazi party in Germany as conquerors of the hated Versailles
settlement, but also meant that the balance of power shifted in Europe from Paris to Berlin, putting
Hitler in a position from which he could resist pressure from the democracies and subsequently take
potentially war-causing moves. For example, it seems indisputable that Hitler would not have
remilitarised the Rhineland in March 1936 if his rearmament policies had not taken effect, as France
were deterred from reacting due to possible fears of the Nazi war machine which were exacerbated
within the next 3 years. The remilitarisation of the Rhineland was the first significant boost to Hitler’s
confidence, as Britain and France had demonstrated that they would not oppose violations of
international law (to an extent), which enabled him to achieve his next aim: uniting German
speakers under his rule, by bringing the 7 million resident in Austria into the Reich. Once again
unopposed by the Western powers, Hitler was then able to strengthen Nazi Germany further by
acquiring the economic resources (such as the Skoda munitions factory), military fortifications, and 3
million German speakers of Czechoslovakia between September 1938 and March 1939. Such
expansionist policies in eastern Europe were finally realised by Britain and France on 31 st March
1939 when both countries guaranteed Hitler’s next territorial target, Poland. Hitler’s choice to ignore
these guarantees and invade Poland regardless on 1 st September 1939 directly caused the Second
World War because Britain and France honoured their guarantees and demanded a German
withdrawal. The refusal of the Nazi government to do so led to declarations of the war on Germany
by the democracies two days later, and thus the arrogance of German foreign policy in 1939 in
assuming that Britain and France would take no action against them, borne out of previously
unopposed acts of aggression from as early as 1936, caused the Second World War.
The diplomacy of the Nazi government was also responsible for the Second World War. Up
until the very last days before the outbreak of war on 3 rd September 1939, Hitler sought to reassure
the West of his peaceful intentions by always following up a reversal of the Treaty of Versailles with
cooperative pacts. This helped contribute to the British and French policies of appeasement given
that neither country would have been prepared to make concessions to Hitler if they felt that his
intentions were not peaceful. By deceiving the British and French governments into pursuing policies
of appeasement, Hitler essentially bought time for German recovery by prolonging the years to
strengthen the nation’s war machine and by annexing neighbouring states (including Austria and
Czechoslovakia); if Hitler had been militant in his approach from the start (by not following up acts of
aggression with peaceful promises), Britain and France would have possibly taken unilateral action in
1933 when Germany was weak, so diplomacy of the Nazi government was important in putting the
economy and military in a position from which it could wage war in 1939. Above all, the pro-Soviet
policy of the Nazi government in August 1939 was crucial in causing World War 2. The product of
this policy was the signing of the Nazi-Soviet Pact on 23 rd August, which removed the threat of
intervention from the USSR to a German invasion of Poland. This helped make such an invasion
inevitable because secret clauses in the Pact gave the western half of Poland to Germany
Q1 (20)
How far were the policies pursued by the Nazi government responsible for the Second World War?
The foreign policy of Adolf Hitler to make Germany into a great power again initially through
rearmament, and then by uniting all German speakers under his rule and gaining lebensraum in the
East, was almost entirely responsible for the Second World War. Firstly, rearmament allowed for the
recovery of the German war machine, as the army grew from 100,000 men before Hitler’s
inauguration in January 1933 to 2.758 million by August 1939. This was extremely significant as it not
only strengthened the popularity of the Nazi party in Germany as conquerors of the hated Versailles
settlement, but also meant that the balance of power shifted in Europe from Paris to Berlin, putting
Hitler in a position from which he could resist pressure from the democracies and subsequently take
potentially war-causing moves. For example, it seems indisputable that Hitler would not have
remilitarised the Rhineland in March 1936 if his rearmament policies had not taken effect, as France
were deterred from reacting due to possible fears of the Nazi war machine which were exacerbated
within the next 3 years. The remilitarisation of the Rhineland was the first significant boost to Hitler’s
confidence, as Britain and France had demonstrated that they would not oppose violations of
international law (to an extent), which enabled him to achieve his next aim: uniting German
speakers under his rule, by bringing the 7 million resident in Austria into the Reich. Once again
unopposed by the Western powers, Hitler was then able to strengthen Nazi Germany further by
acquiring the economic resources (such as the Skoda munitions factory), military fortifications, and 3
million German speakers of Czechoslovakia between September 1938 and March 1939. Such
expansionist policies in eastern Europe were finally realised by Britain and France on 31 st March
1939 when both countries guaranteed Hitler’s next territorial target, Poland. Hitler’s choice to ignore
these guarantees and invade Poland regardless on 1 st September 1939 directly caused the Second
World War because Britain and France honoured their guarantees and demanded a German
withdrawal. The refusal of the Nazi government to do so led to declarations of the war on Germany
by the democracies two days later, and thus the arrogance of German foreign policy in 1939 in
assuming that Britain and France would take no action against them, borne out of previously
unopposed acts of aggression from as early as 1936, caused the Second World War.
The diplomacy of the Nazi government was also responsible for the Second World War. Up
until the very last days before the outbreak of war on 3 rd September 1939, Hitler sought to reassure
the West of his peaceful intentions by always following up a reversal of the Treaty of Versailles with
cooperative pacts. This helped contribute to the British and French policies of appeasement given
that neither country would have been prepared to make concessions to Hitler if they felt that his
intentions were not peaceful. By deceiving the British and French governments into pursuing policies
of appeasement, Hitler essentially bought time for German recovery by prolonging the years to
strengthen the nation’s war machine and by annexing neighbouring states (including Austria and
Czechoslovakia); if Hitler had been militant in his approach from the start (by not following up acts of
aggression with peaceful promises), Britain and France would have possibly taken unilateral action in
1933 when Germany was weak, so diplomacy of the Nazi government was important in putting the
economy and military in a position from which it could wage war in 1939. Above all, the pro-Soviet
policy of the Nazi government in August 1939 was crucial in causing World War 2. The product of
this policy was the signing of the Nazi-Soviet Pact on 23 rd August, which removed the threat of
intervention from the USSR to a German invasion of Poland. This helped make such an invasion
inevitable because secret clauses in the Pact gave the western half of Poland to Germany
