World War II LEQ
An international conflict erupted in 1939 as Nazi Germany conducted aggressive
territorial expansion and international organizations proved weak against this aggression while
the practice of appeasement proved unsuccessful. Hitler attempted to expand German land by
breaking previously signed agreements as European nations worked toward war prevention
through negotiation. The diplomatic attempts to accommodate Nazi expansion gave Hitler even
stronger motivation to aggress further. The German invasion of Poland prompted Britain and
France to announce their decision to enter war against the Nazis. The inability to stop Hitler
before his rise proved that attempts at appeasement were ineffective in containing aggressive
behavior.
The world entered a war state primarily because Germany started to have aggressive
territorial ambitions. According to Document 1, Hitler explained his belief that Germany needed
to unite all its people into one country and he was willing to acquire additional territories through
forcible takeover. Hitler chose to violate international pacts including the Treaty of Versailles
which drove him to take control of Austria and Czechoslovakia. Germany violated the Rhineland
treaty when they sent military forces, yet no firm interventions were made to stop this act
according to Document 3. Hitler learned from this initial incident that agreements posed no
obstacle for him so he became more daring in his drive toward war.
At the same time, Hitler expanded his territorial ambitions without limitation because of
the policy of appeasement. The approach of giving Germany some of its demands would help
sustain peace according to the perspective of British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, who
required himself to surrender some demands to Hitler. The policies adopted during the Munich
Conference positioned Britain and France alongside Germany because they permitted German
entry into Czechoslovakia to prevent an extensive war as Document 4 explains. Hitler displayed
his dissatisfaction with these accommodations because he interpreted them as indications of
British and French faintness despite his ongoing military advances.
Some leaders maintained collective security through unity against aggressors as the
solution to avoid future wars. According to Winston Churchill in Document 7, standing firm
against Hitler was the only way to preserve peace. The emperor of Ethiopia Haile Selassie sought
League of Nations assistance during the Italian invasion but his plea resulted in ineffective
measures according to Document 2. The inability of nations to resist aggressors effectively
demonstrated that uncoordinated opposition to aggressors would allow their continuous
territorial growth leading to further escalation of conflict.
In conclusion, appeasement failed as a suitable approach for confronting aggressive
actions. The policy of appeasement provided Hitler with greater encouragement to advance
because he saw that no one would stop him. Hitler escalated his power base due to the lack of
early opposition and this enabled him to start World War 2 in 1939. We can learn from World
War 2 that peace can be maintained through early confrontations with aggressors.