Factors Leading to War in 1939 (WJEC Eduqas GCSE History): Revision Note

Summary & Timeline

Timeline

Hitler’s foreign policy aims led to the start of the Second World War in September 1939. Things began gradually as Hitler was in a weak position when he first came to power. But when Britain and France failed to act as Hitler repeatedly broke the agreements made in the Treaty of Versailles, Hitler became increasingly bold. Britain and France then missed opportunities to stop Hitler when he occupied the Rhineland, united with Austria and began rebuilding Germany’s armed forces. When Hitler started to demand land from Czechoslovakia, Britain and France gave in to his demands rather than go to war with Germany again. This policy of giving in to Hitler’s demands was known as appeasement, and Hitler became convinced that Britain and France would give in to any demand to avoid war. However, his invasion and occupation of all of Czechoslovakia convinced the leaders of Britain and France that the policy of appeasement had failed. When Hitler sent his troops into Poland, they declared war.

Hitler’s Foreign Policies

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• Hitler had clearly stated his aim to reverse the Treaty of Versailles

  • But he had other aims that he also wanted to achieve

• Hitler was born in the Austro-Hungarian Empire and wanted Germany and Austria to unite as one country

  • This was known as the Anschluss and was forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles

• Hitler had destroyed the German Communist Party (KPD) and persecuted Germany’s communists

  • He saw communism as a great evil and blamed communists for Germany’s defeat in the First World War

  • He was convinced that Stalin, the leader of the communist USSR, was planning on invading Germany

  • By invading and defeating the USSR, Hitler believed he would rid the world of the most powerful communist country

• Hitler wanted to create a Grossdeutschland or Greater Germany 

  • It was not just Austria that Hitler wanted Germany to unite with, but all German-speaking people

  • This included the German-speaking populations of Czechoslovakia and Poland

• Hitler wanted to expand Germany’s borders east by taking land from countries such as Poland and the USSR

  • Hitler called this Lebensraum, or ‘living space’, and believed it was necessary to support Germany’s growing population

  • He also thought it was essential to enable Germany to be self-sufficient

Rearmament and conscription

• When Hitler first came to power in January 1933, his position was too weak to enable him to achieve his aims

  • In January 1934, he signed a non-aggression pact with Poland, which meant Germany was safe from attack from Poland

  • It also convinced many people that Hitler had peaceful intentions and that military action against him would not be necessary

• The people of the Saarland had been governed by the League of Nations since 1920 as part of the Treaty of Versailles

  • When they voted overwhelmingly to rejoin Germany in January 1935, more people became convinced that Hitler would go about achieving his aims through legal and democratic ways

• This vote gave Hitler the confidence to announce in March 1935 that he was going to rebuild Germany’s armed forces

  • He claimed this was because both France and the USSR were building up their armed forces, and therefore rebuilding German forces was necessary for the country’s defence

• Rearmament and conscription were not only vital in enabling Hitler to achieve his foreign policy aims

  • They also helped reduce unemployment in Germany 

The Rhineland, 1936

• By rearming and introducing conscription, Hitler broke the terms of the Treaty of Versailles

  • Although alarmed by Hitler’s actions, Britain and France failed to act

• This encouraged Hitler to reoccupy the Rhineland

  • The Treaty of Versailles had designated the Rhineland as a demilitarised area - meaning that no German troops, weapons or defences were allowed in it

  • Allied troops had been stationed there, but they withdrew in 1935

  • In March 1936, Hitler sent his troops in

• This was a gamble because, even by sending nearly all of his troops, the Germans could easily have been defeated if France and Britain had sent their armies to remove them

  • Hitler knew this and gave his commanders orders to retreat if they met any opposition

• Britain and France did nothing to try and stop the German troops

  • This convinced Hitler that he was free to break the terms of the Treaty of Versailles whenever he wished, without punishment by Britain and France

Anschluss, 1938

• By 1938, Hitler was in a much stronger position

  • He had built up his military and was confident that Britain and France would not move against him

  • Hitler set about achieving one of his main foreign policy aims - unification with Austria

• Hitler ordered Austrian Nazis to create disorder by bombing public buildings and holding mass rallies

• Hitler then claimed that Austria was in chaos and demanded talks with the Austrian Chancellor, Schuschnigg

  • Schuschnigg gave in to Hitler’s demands to place two Austrian Nazis in his cabinet, but then announced a plebiscite 

    • This would enable Austrians to decide on the future direction of their country

• Hitler feared this would lead to a vote against the Nazis and immediately threatened invasion

  • Schuschnigg resigned, and the leader of the Austrian Nazis, Arthur Seyss-Inquart, replaced him as Chancellor

  • Seyss-Inquart then announced that Austria was in chaos and appealed to Hitler to send troops to restore law and order

  • In March 1938, German troops crossed into Austria, and the Anschluss was proclaimed 

• In the following month, a plebiscite was held and 99.75% of Austrians voted for the Anschluss

  • Many people have questioned how free and fair this vote was

• Britain and France protested, but again took no action

  • Many people, including British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, believed that the Treaty of Versailles had been too harsh on Germany

  • They believed that many of Hitler’s demands about reversing the Treaty of Versailles were reasonable

  • They also assumed that Hitler’s demands would stop once the worst aspects of the Treaty of Versailles had been reversed, and war would be avoided

  • This policy was known as appeasement

Sudetenland, 1938

• Within weeks of the Anschluss, Hitler was making demands over the Sudetenland 

  • This was an area of Czechoslovakia that had previously been part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire

• Hitler control of the region because it contained three million German-speaking people

  • He also wanted it because it contained most of Czechoslovakia’s industry, arms factories and defences

  • Occupying Czechoslovakia would also create more ‘lebensraum’ for Hitler

  • Removing Czechoslovakia as a threat was important to Hitler because it would mean he could attack France in the west without fear of being attacked from the east

  • In the First World War, German troops fought on two fronts

    • One of Hitler’s key aims was to avoid this happening again

• To gain control of the Sudetenland, Hitler followed the same strategy as he had with Austria

  • He ordered the Sudeten Nazis to cause trouble and then, when the Czechoslovakian authorities took action, he claimed that Sudeten Germans were being persecuted

  • Nazi newspapers published claims of atrocities against German speakers

  • Hitler threatened to invade the Sudetenland to protect the German speakers

• Britain’s Neville Chamberlain then became involved, believing he could find a solution that would satisfy Hitler’s demands and avoid another war in Europe

  • He met with Hitler three times in September 1938

15th September 1938 - Berchtesgaden

• Chamberlain met with Hitler at his mountain retreat, where Hitler demanded that Germany be given the Sudetenland

  • Chamberlain agreed to discuss the idea of handing over the areas that contained a majority of German speakers

22nd September 1938 - Godesberg

• When they met the following week, Hitler changed his demands

  • He now wanted other areas of the Sudetenland to be granted to Poland and Hungary

  • He threatened war if his demands were not met by the 1st October

  • Chamberlain and the French leader Daladier refused to meet his demands

29th September 1938 - Munich

• In a last effort to avoid war, Chamberlain flew to Munich for a summit with Hitler

  • Before he left for Munich, Chamberlain gave the following speech: 

• Chamberlain was joined in Munich by Mussolini of Italy and Daladier of France

• The leader of Czechoslovakia, Benes, was not invited and did not attend

  • The four leaders agreed that:

    • The Sudetenland was to become part of Germany 

    • Poland and Hungary were to be given other parts of Germany

• Chamberlain met with Hitler alone on the day after the Munich Conference and both signed the Anglo-German Declaration

  • This stated that both countries would settle their disputes by talks and would never again go to war with each other

• Whilst many people celebrated the Munich Agreement and the Anglo-German Declaration, others were highly critical

  • Winston Churchill described the Munich Agreement as a “total and unmitigated defeat”

The Invasion of Czechoslovakia

• In March 1939, Hitler sent his troops into Czechoslovakia to restore order, despite there being no unrest

  • He proved to Chamberlain and the world that his word could not be trusted

  • Britain and France decided to end their policy of appeasement towards Hitler

  • Both countries accelerated their rearmament programmes 

The Pact of Steel 

• In May 1939, the two fascist nations of Germany and Italy formalised their good relations into a military alliance

  • This meant they agreed to fight alongside each other if either nation went to war 

  • They also began to plan military operations together

Nazi-Soviet Pact, 1939

• The Treaty of Versailles had divided Germany into two by granting Poland access to the Baltic Sea

  • Once Hitler had gained control of Czechoslovakia, he turned his attention to gaining the “Polish Corridor”

• Invading Poland would put German troops on the border with the USSR

  • Hitler feared this might cause Stalin, the Soviet Leader, to launch an attack in the East, whilst Britain and France attacked Germany from the West

  • As a result, Hitler decided to try to improve relations with Stalin

• An agreement with the USSR seemed highly unlikely because Hitler and Stalin were sworn enemies

  • Hitler was a fascist who had openly declared his wish to destroy communism

  • Hitler held highly racist views about Slavic people, whom he considered ‘sub-human’

  • Stalin was a communist who wanted to expand the influence of the USSR 

• Despite this, Hitler and Stalin shocked the world on 23rd August 1939 when they announced the signing of the Nazi-Soviet Pact (also known as the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact)

Why did Stalin sign the pact?

Why did Hitler sign the pact?

Consequences of the Nazi-Soviet Pact 

• The pact meant both sides had agreed to peace for the next ten years

  • They had also secretly agreed to divide Poland between themselves

  • Germany would take the western half of Poland and the city of Danzig

  • The USSR would take the eastern half of Poland and the Baltic States of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia

The Outbreak of War

• German troops invaded Poland on 1st September 1939, just nine days after the Nazi-Soviet Pact was signed

  • Britain and France had promised to protect Poland

  • They gave Hitler an ultimatum to withdraw all German troops from Poland

  • When he did not meet those demands, Britain and France declared war on Germany on 3rd September 1939