conflict and tension - chapter 8 (only some of it though) Flashcards
why did hitler decide he wanted to invade the sudetenland
- by march 1938 he had broken the TofV on several occasions + nothing had been done by major powers
- he decided to take things one step further and invade a country that has nothing to do with germany
-> his quest for lebensraum meant he turned his gaze to czechoslovakia
why did hitler target the sudetenland
- czechoslovakia had been set up under the TofV which hitler promised to overturn
-> he saw invading the sudetenland as the first step in destroying czechoslovakia and ‘righting’ another ‘wrong’ of the treaty - czechoslovakia had a big army and strong fortifications
-> the sudetenland was home to forts, railways and industries, which could all be used as part of hitlers war effort in years to come
-> the area had many factories producing glass and lignite (a type of coal) as well as the Skoda factory, which could be used to build tanks and other weapons - the sudetenland was home to around 3 million german-speaking people
-> as a minority group (around 20% of the population), the german-speaking sudetens claimed that they had been persecuted by the czechs and used this as an excuse to start riots
-> hitler used this as an excuse, he needed to step in to ‘save’ the german speakers - the sudetenland was a good base from which to launch an attack on czechoslovakia
-> the area jutted into germany, which surrounded it on three sides
-> hitler thought that owning the sudetenland would be a good strategic move, making his eventual invasion on the rest of czechoslovakia easier
what tactics did nazis in the sudetenland use
similar ones as used in austria - demonstrations to weaken the gov
what did hitler do in may 1938 and what result did it have on the rest of europe
- he made it clear he would fight for the sudetenland, claiming that german-speaking people were being treated badly by czechs and needed protection
- as tensions rose, europe help its breath -> having seen the devastating bombing campaigns of the spanish civil war, people were petrified that war could break out on the continent and that civilians would become the target of the luftwaffe
- politicians in britain and france racked their brains to find a way to stop hitler invading the sudetenland, knowing if he did, britain and france could be obliged to protect czechoslovakia and declare war
what happened on the 15th september 1938 as a result of hitler saying he would invaded the sudetenland
- the british prime minister, neville chamberlain, flew to Berchtesgaden, hitlers holiday home in the german mountains, to meet with the führer
- hitler told chamberlain the crisis would only be resolved if he was allowed the sudetenland
- chamberlain was desperate to avoid war and agreed, so long as all actions were peaceful
- chamberlain’s actions are known as appeasement - the desire to avoid war by making concessions (giving things up) to others
- chamberlain then met the czechs and forced them to agree to hitlers terms
what happened on the 22nd September 1938 after appeasement
- chamberlain returned to german and met hitler and Bad Godsberg, a town in western germany
- hitler changed his demands - he now wanted the sudetenland to be handed over by 1st october and insisted that hungary and poland should also receive czech land
- this was not what chamberlain had agreed too, hitler was demanding more and more and war seemed more likely
what did hitler demand when he met chamberlain at Bad Godesburg
- the czechoslovakian army must leave the sudetenland and the area was to be handed over to hitler
- hungary and poland also wanted to claim land on their borders with czechoslovakia. hitler demanded that these claims be met
- hitler promised peace in europe in return for the sudetenland
how did britain and france react to germanys demands at the munich conference
- chamberlain and daladier, the french president, were only too happy to attend the conference in munich and to accept hitlers demands
-> they felt they were able to say that they had prevented war and that czechoslovakia’s borders were safe as hitler promised that he would respect them
what did the munich conference allow france and britain to say to czechoslovakia, and what really happened
- britain and france claimed that they had upheld their promise to czechoslovakia to protect it from hitler
- in reality, hitler had got everything he wanted
when did hitler march his troops into the sudetenland and what happened to the czechs living there
10th october 1938
he marched his troops into an area that wasn’t his, with no international opposition
without the sudetenlands fortifications the czechs were defenceless and fell to nazi occupation
how did the czechs react to the german invasion of the sudetenland
- the czech gov had not been consulted and now the people of the sudetenland found themselves as the newest members of greater germany
- the czechs were fearful as the german troops marched across the border - to them this was a real invasion
how did the german sudetens reacts to the invasion
they greeted the nazis soldiers with flowers
how did the USSR react the the sudetenland invasion
- the USSR was not consulted
-> britain and france had been trying to guarantee soviet support in case of war, but now stalin felt betrayed - hitler was getting closer to countries the USSR had close relationships with in eastern europe
-> stalin started questioning what he could do to prevent invasion and was convinced the answer did not lie in diplomacy with britain and france, who were losing a very powerful ally in the USSR
what did chamberlain claim about the munich conference
he claimed it was a great victory for britain
what happened the day after the munich agreement
chamberlain and hitler met and signed an anglo-german declaration
they agreed they would never go to war against each other
why was the invasion of the REST OF czechoslovakia significant
- the was the first time hitler invaded a country where he had no claim
-> there were no german speakers (outside the sudetenland) and the country had not been german prior to the TofV
-> britain and france could no longer hide behind the claim that hitler was taking what was rightfully his - czechoslovakia was a strong country -> with support it could have fought the nazis, preventing a full-scale world war, but this opportunity was lost
- britain and france had alienated the USSR and lost a valuable ally against hitler
- hitler completed his invasion of czechoslovakia in 1939 -> he broke promises that he had made at the munich conference and the anglo-german declaration -> chamberlain had to admits appeasement failed
- chamberlain promised poland, who looked to be hitlers next target, that britain would guarantee its independence’\
why didn’t britain or france do anything to stop hitler (navy related)
britain knew germany was building up its navy, so felt that if it made an agreement with hitler about how many ships he could have, then it could have some control over the growth in order to retain its naval supremacy
why didn’t britain or france do anything to stop hitler (anschluss related)
- the allies werent very happy but there wasn’t much they could do about it
- no one was prepared to do anything about the uniting of two countries
why didn’t britain or france do anything to stop hitler (war related)
- allies were desperate not to get dragged into a war, so didn’t get involved
- hitler and mussolini hadn’t declared war, they were only supporting franco, so it wasn’t their fault
why didn’t britain or france do anything to stop hitler (disarmament related)
the french refused to disarm, so no one could force hitler to disarm
why didn’t britain or france do anything to stop hitler (opinions of people related)
- many people thought they were german people anyways, so why bother stopping it
- 99% of people voted in favour of hitler
why didn’t britain or france do anything to stop hitler (military related)
- many people felt that hitler could be a good buffer against the communist USSR and he would need weapons to do this
- the TofV had been unreasonable in its military restrictions, so germany should be allowed to ignore it
why didn’t britain or france do anything to stop hitler (appeasement related)
- chamberlain tried to stop hitler when he met him
- however, he was convinced hitler was a reasonable politician + chamberlain was determined to use appeasement to stop innocent people dying
- he allowed hitler to take the sudetenland because his only alternative was to fight
why didn’t britain or france do anything to stop hitler (poland related)
- britain and france were on their final straw with germany
- they realised appeasement wasn’t working so promised they would protect polish independence
why didn’t britain or france do anything to stop hitler (lebensraum related)
- hitler was taking previously german-owned land
- britain and france felt that he was just ‘marching into his own back garden’ and should be allowed to defend his borders
arguments FOR appeasement
- avoided war
- many people felt the TofV had been to harsh and that it was only fair for hitler to overturn parts of it
- ww1 was still fresh in the minds of europeans -> around 17 million had been killed, including chamberlains son -> chamberlain would do anything to avoid others having to feel the same pain
- hitler kept telling the british he was a man of peace and they believed him
- many of hitlers actions gave people what they wanted -> the anschluss pleased 99% of austrian people, so it wasn’t democratically right
- when chamberlain returned to britain after the munich agreement, he was greeted as a hero -> they didn’t want war and he had represented the desires of the people
- the depression meant britain and france could not afford to fight
- threat of communism was more worrying than hitler -> a strong germany would stop the spread of communism from the USSR, so hitler needed to be able to build up his army
- britain wasn’t ready to fight -> rearmament didn’t start until 1936 and it would take atleast 4 years for britain to be ready for a full-scale war
- the usa said they would not get involved if europe went to war -> without support from them, and no league, britain and france had to fend for themselves
arguments AGAINST appeasement
- people misjudged hitler -> they thought he was a reasonable politician but he had been saying all through the 1920s that the only way to make germany great again was to use violence -> they should have known better than to trust him
- people missed opportunities to stop hitler -> for example, his own generals said his army was not strong enough to fight france if they wanted to stop him remilitarising the rhineland -> if france acted then he would have back out and war may have been avoided
- the more hitler was given, the more his confidence grew and the more he took -> eg. he was ‘given’ the sudetenland so felt confident enough to take the rest of czechoslovakia
- it was morally wrong -> it left countries like czechoslovakia and austria occupied by the nazis who treated people brutally and with no mercy
- the appeasers forced czechoslovakia to back down to hitler because they didn’t want to fight, but it was a strong country so with a little support they may have stopped hitler
- appeasement alienated the USSR -> stalin was worried that hitler may invade them but didn’t feel he could rely on britain and france if he did -> britain and france would need the USSR is war broke out but their relationship was strained by appeasement
