Discussion
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How might political agreements sometimes lead to war?
While political agreements can lead to renewed commitments among allies, they can also cause anger and resentment among opposing countries. Pacts might lead to war when one or more countries feel betrayed by another.

Racial Supremacy Theory and German Militarism
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Idea of "Aryan" superiority: Adolf Hitler believed that Germans belonged to a so-called
Aryan race that was superior to other races.
Desire to expand to the east: Hitler wanted a larger population of Germans and planned to take over lands to the east to accommodate this growth.
Violations of Treaty of Versailles: Germany violated the Treaty of Versailles by creating an air force and sending troops into the demilitarized
Rhineland.
Beginning of Britain's appeasement
policy: Britain initially avoided the use of force in addressing Nazi Germany's territorial expansion.

Discussion
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Why did Hitler believe that
Germany had the right to expand into other lands?
He believed the Germans were members of a superior race and were meant to build a great German civilization

Background
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As German troops marched into the
Rhineland, Hitler ordered his forces to retreat if France intervened. The French outnumbered the Germans, and they also might have received help from
Czechoslovakia and possibly Poland. Yet the French general overestimated German troop strength, and French politicians insisted on waiting for support from
Britain before using force. Support from
Britain never came, and German troops were allowed to remain in the Rhineland.

Discussion
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What was meant by the comment that the Germans were "going into their own back garden"?
Germany was sending troops into its own lands.

Discussion
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Why do you think the Treaty of
Versailles prohibited such an action?
It was meant to protect the nations to the west of Germany.

Discussion
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Why do you think France was given the right to use force against Germany if it violated this provision?
France shared a border with
Germany in the Rhineland.

Axis Alliance and Further Aggression
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Germany joins with Italy and Japan: In 1936,
Hitler signed alliance agreements with Italy and
Japan.
German annexation of Austria: Hitler used the threat of force to persuade Austria to unite with
Germany, thereby continuing to expand territory under his control.
Occupation of the Sudetenland: Germany's next move was to invade the Sudetenland in the northwestern part of Czechoslovakia, where many ethnic Germans lived.

Discussion
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How do you think Germany's new agreements and alliances affected
Hitler's international plans?
Hitler became convinced that neither
France nor Britain would provide much opposition, possibly because Germany was a world power with strong allies.

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Munich Conference: At the Munich Conference of 1938,
Britain agreed to allow Hitler to occupy the Sudetenland in the hope that Germany's expansion would end. It did not.
Appeasement fails: The failure of Britain's appeasement policy became clear when German troops moved beyond the Sudetenland to take over the rest of Czechoslovakia.
Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact: To prevent Western
Europe from getting help from the Soviet Union in the event of a German attack on Poland, Hitler negotiated a nonaggression pact with Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.
Invasion of Poland and outbreak of war: When Poland refused to give Germany its port of Danzig, Hitler attacked in September 1939, starting World War II.

Discussion
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How did the policy of appeasement affect Hitler's plans?
Hitler became bolder because he was convinced that Western democracies would not take action against him.

Discussion
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What did Hitler hope to achieve by invading other lands?
He hoped to build an Aryan racial state that would dominate Europe for a thousand years.