How far did Hitler reveal his true intentions between 1936 and 1938? Flashcards
The remilitarisation of the Rhineland, March 1936
The Rhineland had been declared a demilitarised zone by the Treaty of Versailles which also authorised an army of occupation on the west bank for a period of 15 years. In fact, the Allied troops left five years ahead of schedule. From the German point of view, a demilitarised Rhineland was a constant reminder of Germany’s humiliation and disadvantage as, in theory, it enabled western armies to invade at will, as happened in January 1923
With two divisions of troops against a possible opposition force of 200 divisions, German forces marched into the Rhineland in March 1936
As Hitler had correctly predicted, neither the French nor the British had any desire for war over this issue. The Rhineland was widely regarded as Germany’s “backyard” and both French and British leaders realised that it was reckless to risk European peace over whether or not German troops should be allowed to occupy part of their own country. Furthermore, the French were in the middle of a financial crisis and facing elections in six weeks time
Hitler followed his Rhineland triumph with further promises of peaceful intentions, suggesting a 25-year non-aggression pact with the western powers
The Spanish Civil War, 1936-39
In July 1936, General Franco started the Spanish Civil War when he led a right-wing revolt against the democratically elected, republican government of the Popular Front - a mixture of socialists, communists, anarchists and syndicalists. Franco’s right-wing, nationalist alliance included the Falange, Spain’s fascist party founded in 1933
Hitler, along with Mussolini, decided to support his fellow fascist, Franco, while Stalin, the leader of Soviet Russia, supported the Republicans. Britain and France decided not to become involved. The Spanish Civil War became a battleground for rival ideologies and thousands of volunteers flocked to Spain in order to check the spread of fascism. After more than thirty months of bitter struggle, in which 750 000 lives were lost, the Nationalists emerged victorious and Franco established a fascist-style government. From Hitler’s point of view the war offered a series of opportunities
What Hitler hoped to achieve with Spain
- If Franco was successful, then Spain would become a German ally. This would provide a hostile presence on France’s south-western border and hopefully provide Spanish naval bases for the German navy
- Germany’s armed forces, especially the Luftwaffe, could be tested in what could be considered a dress rehearsal for a full-scale European war
- Since Mussolini was joining Hitler in assisting Franco, Hitler hoped that this joint action might provide the occasion to detach the Italian leader from his association with Britain and France and draw him into an alliance with Germany
- Hitler hoped that a long drawn-out civil war in Spain would distract western diplomats and officials from the affairs of central Europe. Spain could, therefore, act as a smokescreen for Hitler’s attentions elsewhere
What Hitler actually achieved with Spain
- Following the surrender of Madrid to the Nationalists in March 1939, Spain failed to become an ally of the fellow fascist powers and instead opted for neutrality during the Second World War, allowing Franco to concentrate on Spain’s domestic problems
- The Luftwaffe was able to practise and perfect dive-bombing techniques in the ruthless assault on Guernica in the Basque region of northern Spain
- Hitler succeeded in persuading Mussolini to abandon Britain and France. While still not a formal ally, Mussolini made it clear in a speech in November 1936, that Germany and Italy now formed an “axis”, the “Rome-Berlin Axis”. This represented an important staging post on the road to a formal alliance
- To a large extent the war distracted from Hitler’s actions in central Europe, as the Spanish Civil War lasted for the best part of three years. During this time Hitler was able to take successful action over Austria and Czechoslovakia in central Europe
The Anti-Comintern Pact, November 1936
This was a pact signed by Germany and Japan in 1936, with Italy joining in November 1937. The agreement was nominally directed against the Comintern, the Soviet agency for promoting communist revolution abroad. The real purpose of the treaty was to ensure that neither Germany nor Japan would assist Soviet Russia if it attacked either country
The Anschluss, March 1938
One of Hitler’s foreign policy aims was to include all German-speaking peoples in the Reich, so as to form a Greater Germany. The largest concentration of German speakers outside Germany was in Austria which had a population of approximately 7 million. Union between Germany and Austria was forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles but much of that treaty now lay in tatters
The main problem lay with Italy. Italy had so far regarded Austria as within its sphere of influence and had authorised military movements in 1934 to prevent such a union happening then. But Hitler’s relationship with Mussolini had improved since 1934 and Hitler was in a stronger military and diplomatic position
In February 1938, a meeting took place between Hitler and the Austrian Chancellor Schuschnigg to discuss the persecution of Austrian Nazis by Austrian government forces. During this meeting, Schuschnigg was bullied by Hitler into appointing Seyss-Inquart, a leading Austrian Nazi, as Minister of the Interior. Suspecting that Hitler wanted to destroy Austrian independence, Schuschnigg decided to hold a plebiscite on this issue on 13 March. When Hitler found out, he demanded Schuschnigg’s resignation and his replacement by Seyss-Inquart. Schuschnigg reluctantly agreed and Seyss-Inquart became Chancellor. He immediately requested the assistance of Germany in restoring order
Having first secured Mussolini’s support, Hitler ordered the German army into Austria on 12 March 1938 proclaiming the Anschluss to have taken place. Plebiscites held in early April confirmed these events in both Austria and Germany, with an overwhelming number of votes in favour of the union
The Anschluss was Hitler’s most daring action to date. For the first time the German army had been deployed across German frontiers. It would be hard to imagine a greater challenge to Britain and France, yet they did nothing apart from issue protests to Germany. In fact, there was little they could do without the support of Italy, and any action would have appeared to be contrary to the wishes of the Austrian people. Hitler had increased German territory, population, and resources, adding to Germany’s military capacity. He had also increased his confidence and contempt for the opposition of Britain and France
The Sudetenland
The Sudetenland was populated by 3.5 million Germans, former subjects of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It was conveniently located within Czechoslovakia but on the border with Germany. Hitler disliked the very existence of Czechoslovakia for several reasons:
- It was a creation of the Treaty of Saint Germain, part of the Versailles Settlement
- It had an alliance with Soviet Russia and France
- It had a democratically elected government
The Sudeten Germans, under their leader Henlein, were complaining of discrimination by the Czech-dominated government
At first Hitler encouraged protests and demonstrations by the Sudeten Germans. He thought about seizing the Sudetenland in May 1938, but was dissuaded by the prospect of war with Czechoslovakia, Soviet Russia, and France backed by Britain. This was no more than a delay, however, and by September western statesmen feared that Hitler would use force to resolve the issue unless they could come up with a plan
The Munich Agreement
Two summit meetings took place between the British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and Hitler:
- 15 September 1938: Bavaria: Areas of the Sudetenland, where the majority of the population was German, should be handed over to Germany. This was subject to approval by the British, French, and Czech governments
- 22 September 1938: Rhineland: Chamberlain reported the approval given by the British, French, and Czech governments to the matter discussed above. Hitler now claimed that he must have the Sudeten territories immediately. Hitler demanded that the Czechs withdraw from the Sudeten areas by 1 October to avoid the certainty of conflict
Run up to the Munich Conference
Chamberlain was appalled by Hitler’s change of heart at Bad Godesberg (the Rhineland) and returned to London to prepare for war. Instructions were issued for the mobilisation of the French army and the British navy. When Hitler realised that he was on the brink of a European war he agreed to Chamberlain’s suggestion, supported by Mussolini, of an international conference to settle the dispute. The Munich Conference met on 29 September 1938
Participants and Matters decided at the Munich Conference:
- Participants: Neville Chamberlain (Britain), Adolf Hitler (Germany), Benito Mussolini (Italy), Edouard Deladier (France)
- Matters decided: The Sudetenland would be transferred to Germany over a 10-day period. Plebiscites would be held in any areas where there was doubt over the dominant nationality. The four powers would guarantee the remainder of Czechoslovakia once Polish and Hungarian claims had been met
Aftermath of the Munich Agreement
When presented with the terms of the Munich Agreement, the Czech government had little option but to agree to the break-up of their country as the alternative was to face the full force of the German army on their own
A few hours after the signing of the main agreement, Chamberlain made a personal visit to Hitler armed with a document that he invited Hitler to sign. This document pledged Hitler and Chamberlain to do everything to promote the peace of Europe and to use the “method of consultation” to resolve any mutual differences. Hitler had no objection to adding his signature to a collection of vague promises while Chamberlain was able to return to London claiming that he had brought “peace for our time”
For the Munich Agreement
- Neville Chamberlain did not think that Britain was sufficiently prepared or united to fight a war in 1938
- Britain’s air defences were incomplete. Britain was vulnerable to a knock-out blow from the Luftwaffe
- The British Dominions (self-governing territories within the British Empire such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa) were not united behind the prospect of war in 1938. This had changed by September 1939
- A war in 1938 would have been seen as a war against the principle of self-determination. In 1939 it was seen as a war to prevent German domination of Europe
Against the Munich Agreement
- Britain and France had abandoned Czechoslovakia to her fate
- Munich came to be seen as the supreme example of the policy of appeasement
- If war had broken out in October 1938, Britain and France would have had the support of the 36 divisions of the Czech army fighting behind their well-prepared defences
- In the event of war, Britain and France might have had the assistance or neutrality of Soviet Russia
