Churchill and Rearmament / Appeasement Flashcards
Why did Churchill object to Nazi Germany?
- Churchill saw the new regime in Germany was brutal. He disliked the racism and the violence it displayed, for example, murdering opponents.
- Feared repeat of the situation prior to 1914 when Germany had been a threat to the peace of Europe and had challenged Britain by building a new naval fleet. Talks about these fears in “The World Crisis” a book on WW1
- Churchill had been a member of the government which had agreed the Treaty of Versailles which Hitler planned on breaking.
How did Churchill spread his viewpoint?
- Benchback MP
- Journalism –> need to rearm
–> He quotes a speech he made in 1934 in his book on WW2 “The Gathering Storm” 1948
Problems with his encouragement to rearm?
- He was responsible for the disarming in 1920s and for maintaining the 10 Year Rule (defence planning should not consider a war for another 10 years –> 1919 - 1932 lasted)
- Second financial struggle and cuts had already been made. The poor were suffering.
- It was viewed as reasonable that Hitler should build up defences, as France had very large forces and there was a threat from the Soviet Union.
- People felt that the League of Nations should be used to settle international disputes via negotiations.
Rearment:
When Hitler’s policies became more aggressive, the government did rearm on a very extensive scale. After 1938, rearming was not an issue and people believed that Britain had acted at just the right time.
Churchill’s views on appeasement?
Used the term “appeasement of European hatreds” in 1920.
British state after 1933?
- It was known that Russia and Germany would want to reclaim their land.
- Set up international agreements:
- Locarno Pact 1925 (established borders agreed by Treaty of Versailles in 1919)
- League of Nations 1920
Technology?
Serious developments in military technology:
- Aircrafts
- Tanks
Pre-existing weaponry was outdated. Little money for upgrading.
Aggression in Far East?
1931:
Japanese invasion of Chinese Manchuria set tone for the decade.
USA was against helping, along with France and other Pacific powers. Priorities were domestic.
This meant that Stanley Baldwin admitted that rearming would have meant he lost the election in 1935.
How did Germany break the treaty of Versailles?
- Introduced conscription in 1935
- Remilitarised Rhineland in March 1936
When did Germany leave the League of Nations?
1933
Who was against Germany?
Italy aligned itself with Britain and France due to expansion into Austria in the Stresa Front 1935
Mussolini was no longer a possible ally as British public opinion condemned his invasion of African state Ethiopia 1935
How did Britain appease to German re-armerment?
Anglo-German Naval Treaty of 1935
- British permission as long as German Naval fleet is only 35% of the British size.
Why was the public for appeasement?
It was believed that if more negotiations had occurred in WW1, then the war wouldn’t have taken place.
Berlin Olympics
1936:
Showed that Germany was a normal European country
When was the annexation of Austria?
March 1938
Arguments against Churchill’s view?
- Britain had no allies if they went to war.
- Britain had no expeditionary force ready for war. Troops were peace-keeping in the Empire (particularly Palestine).
- Any movement of war had to take Italy and Japan into account. Churchill had little understanding of of Britain’s vulnerability in the Far East. Japan was fighting an expansionist war in China and needed raw materials of western colonies in South East Asia (rubber, ores, and oil) –> could take Sioux Canal, India, South East Asia and Australia.
- Churchill has been relentlessly hostile to the communist Soviet Union, which was undergoing massive internal change in the 1930s. It was unlikely that an alliance could be formed with Stailn. Russia was also involved in the Spanish Civil War. France distrusted communism.
Why did Churchill fear air attack from Germany?
In 1920 he ordered air attacks on Iraq rebels, so knows the damage they cause
How did Churchill try to warn?
Using his position and backbench MP and through journalism
Why do critics see Churchill’s call to rearm as strange?
He was deeply responsible for GB disarming in 1920s and for maintaining 10 year rule.
When was the league of nations created?
1920
When did Britain rearm?
1938
Locarno pact
1925:
Established the borders set up in the Treaty of Versailles
What did Baldwin admit in the 1935 election?
Rearmament would have caused the Conservative party to lose the election.
Munich agreement?
29th September 1938
Hitler would have to consult GB before making future expansions. That Czechslovakia would have to concede and give Hitler the sudenland or fight him alone.
What did Labour Party want during the appeasement?
Collective security
When did Hitler remilitarise the Rhineland?
March 1936
Annexation of Austria?
1938:
Very popular with Germans and Austrians
When did Germany leave the league of nations?
1933
When was the invasion of the Czech state?
March 1939
Why did Hitler’s request for the sudenland cause tension?
Rich in coal
Czech state border was on the land. Taking the sudenland would leave Czech state defenceless to invasion.
What did Chamberlain do in 1939?
He resorted to gesture politics. He offered many European states (poland) that Britain would lend support if they were threatened by Hitler.
When did Churchill first become Prime Minister?
10th May 1940
Who is currently blamed for Hitler’s rise to power across Europe?
Erwin (Lord Halifax), Neville Chamberlain, Stanley Baldwin
When was Hitler appointed Chancellor?
30th January 1933
When did Germany invade poland?
1st September 1939
When did the Oxford Union vote to “refuse under any circumstances to fight for King and Country”?
February 1933
What does the Labour Party say about war in October 1933?
‘take no part in war and to resist it with the whole force of the Labour movement’.
What happened just before the pacifist Labour party beat the Tories in a by-election in East Fulham?
25th October 1933:
Hitler walked out of a disarmament conference
When was Peace Pledge Union formed in Britain?
1934 –>
After the canon of St Pauls Cathedral, Richard Sheppard, wrote a letter to the Manchester Guardian.
Membership of the Peace Pledge Union in 1937?
100,000
What did Labour party do in 1934 to discourage war?
They opposed spending increases on the RAF.
1935, what opposed more spending on rearmament?
Defence White Paper
Peace Ballot outside the parliament buildings?
1935:
11.6 million people participated (30% of voting population). Heavily voted for peace.
Anti-rearmament film?
1936:
Financed by wealthy Labour MP (Stafford Cripps)
Seen by 2 million people
When did Government begin to quietly rearm?
1934
German Air Force
Luftwaffe
How many people did Military chiefs estimate an initial air raid from Germany would kill?
150,000
When did Churchill speak to the House of Commons about the threat of the Luftwaffe?
1934
What statement was met with “derisive laughter”?
Rearmament was necessary “for us to be safe in our home island”.
Said to Oxford University Conservative Association
February 1934
Night of the Long Knives
1934
What was Churchill’s response to the Night of the Long Knives?
- He called for an increase in funding to the Air Force
- Government complied with a small increase in funding. This was at the expense of army and naval funding.
In July of 1934 what was Churchill willing to do to contain the threat of Hitler?
He wanted to align with the Soviet Union and admit them to the League of Nations
What caused the formation of the Stresa Front?
Hitler announced his intension to increase the size of its army to 500,000 men and to reintroduce conscription
What was the stresa front?
April 1935:
Mussolini (Italy), France and Britain agreed to resist altering the borders of the treaty of Versailles.
What broke the Stresa Front?
The Abyssinian Crisis (1935-37)
When did Mussolini attack Abyssinia?
October 1935
Who was the leader of Abyssinia?
Haile Selassie
What did Haile Selassie do after Mussolini attacked Abyssinia?
Appealed to the League of Nations.
What did French and British ministers agree to in the face of the Abyssinia Crisis?
Hoare-Laval Pact:
Granted Italy most of Abyssinia, whilst still allowing Abyssinia to maintain some independence
What did the Abyssinia Crisis prove to Hitler?
Britain could have closed the Suez Canal and destroyed Mussolini’s attempts. This showed Hitler that Britain would not fight
March 1936
Hitler marched 3,000 troupes in the Rhineland.
Ordered to retreat at first signs of resistance. None came.
When was Mussolini no longer aligned with France and Britain?
October 1937:
Signing of the Rome-Berlin Axis.
First signs of Rearmament in Britain:
1937 = A shipbuilding programme aiming at a ‘two-ocean’ fleet (five battleships)
1938 = The first ever purpose-built aircraft carrier was begun
1938 = navy introduced ASDIC (an echo-sounding submarine location programme)
1937 = the RAF’s budget overtook that of the army with Fighter Command (e.g. Spitfires rather than bombers) given clear priority by 1938
1935 = radar was successfully trialed and then rapidly expanded
Annexation of Austria date
March 1938
How many German speakers in the Sudenland?
3.5 million
12 September 1938
Hitler encouraged Konrad Henlein, leader of the Sudeten Nazis to demand a union with Germany. Czech government declared martial law.
Chamberlains response to Czech?
He flew over to meet Hitler three times (the last in Munich), in September
1st meeting between Hitler and Chamberlain?
15th September 1938
Berchtesgaden
- He promised Hitler control over all of Sudenland (as 50% of population were German)
- He got French premier, Edouard Daladier, to agree.
- Hitler promised Czechoslovakia’s independence. Leader of Czechoslovakia wasn’t consulted
2nd meeting between Hitler and Chamberlain?
22 - 23rd September 1938
Bad Godesberg
After getting Edouard Daladier to agree to 50% plan, he flew to Bad Godesberg to tell Hitler. He then demanded all of Sudenberg. If Chamberlain disagreed then war was imminent between Czechoslovakia and Germany. France began to mobilise.
On his return to England, Chamberlain describes the crisis as ‘a quarrel in a faraway country, between people of whom we know nothing’
3rd Meeting between Hitler and Chamberlain?
30th September 1938
Munich
Brokered by Mussolini
Chamberlain made Hitler sign paper signalling “desire of our two peoples never to go to war with one another again”
Next day German troupes marched into Sudenland and were welcomed as heroes.
After munich agreement?
- In munich, people threw flowers at him and shouted “Hail Chamberlain”.
- On his return to Britain (in Heston Aerodrome) he was greeted by cheering crowds
- Stanley Baldwin said: ‘It was just as though the finger of God had drawn the rainbow once more across the sky and ratified again His Covenant with the children of men.’
- King invited Chamberlain to wave to crowds on the balcony of Buckingham palace
- One Tory MP announced that Chamberlain ‘will go down in history as the greatest European statesman of this or any other time’
Bad effects of Chamberlains success at Munich:
Duff Cooper resigned as First Lord of Admirality.
Kristallnacht date
9th November 1938
Tony the MPs opinion of Kristallnacht
“I must say Hitler never helps”
When do Nazis occupt Czech capital (Prague)?
13th March 1939
Statistics for support after Nazis occupy Prague?
55% trusted Chamberlain
But 87% favoured alliance with Russia and France
When does Chamberlain announce to House of Commons that France and Britain will support Poland if threatened?
31st March 1939
When do France and Britain seek to form an alliance with Stalin?
Early-mid August 1939
When does Stalin announce non-aggression pact with Germany?
24th August 1939
What occurs after non-aggression pact between Stalin and Hitler?
Soviet exports of food and raw materials to Germany increase by 2000%
When does Germany invade Poland?
1st September 1939
WW2 begins?
3rd September 1939
3rd Sep
Britain delivers alternatim to Germany?
9:00 am
3rd Sep
War begins
11:00 am
What job does Churchill get at the beginning of WW2?
First Lord of the Admiralty
