reasons that led to the outbreak of WWII in Europe (1938-1939) Flashcards
policy of appeasement in the 1930s
reasons
- Anschluss with Austria
- Sudetenland and the Munich Agreement
- Invasion of Czechoslovakia
- the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact
- Invasion of Poland
Anschluss with Austria/Annexation of Austria (13 March 1938)
- Hitler’s motivating factors for Anschluss
1. access to Austria’s natural resources and reserves of gold —> in line with foreign policy aims of Lebensraum, boosting Germany’s industrial/military production
2. unite ethnic Germans of Austria with Germany - Hitler encouraged a strong Nazi party in Austria to instigate Anschluss, resulting in disorder in the nation
- he convinced the Austrian Chancellor, Kurt Schuschnigg, that order could only be restored if German troops moved into Austria
- Schuschnigg appealed to Britain and France to put pressure on Hitler to withdraw but they did nothing
- Hitler marched troops into Austria in Mar 1938, a clear violation of TOV
- in Apr 1938, Hitler held a plebiscite on Anschluss on Austria —> with voter intimidation and fraud, 99.75% of Austrian voters approved of the Anschluss
explanation (feelings + outcome)
this led to the outbreak of WWII in Europe because :
- Anschluss also saw Hitler’s power and standing increase. he was breaking TOV, but Britain and France did nothing
- Britain and France also misjudged Hitler’s actions and ambitions and did nothing to check Hitler’s annexation. once again, their inaction encouraged Hitler to become even bolder in pursuing his expansionist policy to conquer the rest of Europe
- furthermore, the union with Austria allowed Germany to gain valuable Austrian resources, such as gold and iron, which further strengthed Germany’s military capabilites by controlling the army. this placed Germany in good stead for pursuing further expansion and waging war
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thus, the ease that Germany was able to unify with Austria and the belief that Britain and France would not stop his expansion caused Hitler to proceed to conquer Europe which would lead to war
Control over Sudetenland through the Munich Agreement (29 Sept 1938)
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Issue of Sudetenland
- Czechoslovakia’s leader, Edvard Benes, was horrified by the Anschluss
- Benes asked for, and received promises from Britain and France that they would protect his country against Hitler
- Hitler’s motivating factors :
- Sudetenland region was largely populated by Germans
- wanted to to achieve Lebensraum
- similar to what he had done in Austria, Hitler encouraged the Nazis to stir up trouble in the Sudetenland and demand to join Germany
- in May 1938, Hitler claimed to protect the Sudeten Germans and threatened to invade if Czechoslovakia did not hand over Sudetenland
Crisis Talks : Munich Agreement (1938)
- Benes was prepared to fight because he had a modern army and the support of Britain and France —> Many believed the likelihood of war was high
- attempts at preparation for war :
- the British prepared for war by digging air raid shelters ;
- magazines carreid advertisments for air raid protection and gas masks ; and
- cards carried instructions about how people could protect themselves from air raids
- by mid-Sept, situation had reached crisis point —> Chamberlain made one last effort to avoid war in Czechoslovakia
15 September
- Chamberlain met Hitler in Bavaria, Germany : hitler claimed that he would claim parts of Sudetenland with a German majority
- Chamberlain was convinced that Hitler was satisfied with his demands
19 September
- Britain and France convinced Czechoslovakia to surrender parts of Sudetenland Hitler wanted
22 Septemeber
- Hitler increased demands —> he wanted all of Sudetenland
- claims : rescue the Sudeten Germans poorly treated by teh Czechoslovakian government
- Chamberlain told Hitler his demands were unreasonable and requested a conference with him
29 Septemeber
- leaders of Britain, France, Italy and Germany met in Munich for a four-power summit —> decided to give in to Hitler’s demands of the whole of Czechoslovakia without consulting Czechoslovakia or USSR
- this was done in exchange for a pledge of peace from Hitler
- This was the Munich Agreement
explanation (feelings + outcome)
this led to the outbreak of WWII in Europe because :
- the Munich Agreement was a clear weakness of the major powers as Hitler knew that they would give in to his demands
- it also revealed/exposed the weaknesses of Britain and France in checking Hitler’s aggression —> Hitler knew they were not going to be a threat to him
- this boosted his confidence to further his expansionist plans and emboldened him to go on and take over the whole of Czechoslovakia the following year, threatening the peace in Europe
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thus, Germany’s takeover of Sudetenland and the Munich Agreement made Hitler bolder, and his aggressive expansion into more parts of Europe, brought it even closer to war
Invasion of Czechoslovakia (15 March 1939)
- in Oct 1938, Hitler moved his forces into Sudetenland —> claimed that this was the end of his demands (a lie)
- on 15 March 1939, German troops took over the rest of Czechoslovakia
- unlike the Sudeten Germans, the Czechs were not separated from their homeland by TOV
explanation (feelings + outcome)
this led the outbreak of WWII in Europe because :
- Chamberlain thought this was a step too far
- Britain and France threatened to declare war on Germany if Hitler invaded Poland
- this exacerbated tensions between Germany and Britain and also convinced Chamberlain that appeasement policy had completely failed to stop Hitler’s aggression
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thus, the invasion of Czechoslovakia rendered war in Europe inevitable when Germany invaded Poland subsequently
the Nazi-Soviet Pact (23 August 1939)
- negotiations between Stalin, Chamberlain and France’s PM, Edouard Daladier, continued through the first half of 1939 —> intent was to form an alliance against Hitler
- however, at the same time, Stalin was also meeting Germany’s Foreign Minister —> on 23 August 1939, the opposing forces, USSR and Germany, signed the Nazi-Soviet Pact
- through the Nazi-Soviet Pact, both countries agreed to not attack each other (set to last for 10 years)
- they also agreed to divide Poland between them
explanation (feelings + outcome)
this led to the outbreak of WWII in Europe because :
- it made it easier for Hitler to carry out his invasion of Poland
- the pact ensured Hitler that Stalin would not intervene in his invasion of Poland, removing his fear of having to fight a war on two fronts, which could jeopardise his chance of victory
- thus, it gave Hitler the green light to invade Poland without Soviet intervention
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thus, the signing og the pact assured Hitler about his invasion of Poland, which would set the stage for the start of WWII in Europe
Invasion of Poland (1 September 1939)
TRIGGER OF WWII
- Germany’s interest in the Polish Corridor and Danzig was due to the large population of Germans and the desire for a transportation line across the Polish Corridor that separated Germany from the province of East Prussia
- since Apr 1939, Germany had taken action to demand the Polish Corridor and Danzig
- however, these Polish leaders rejected demands as they did not trust Hitler and were concerned about a German invasion
- tensions between Poland and Germany escalated as talks and negotiations between them broke down
- on 1 Sept 1939, Germany invaded Poland
