 Hitler’s Foreign Policy
 British Appeasement Policy
 Failure of League of Nations in the 1930s
 Authoritarian regimes – Nazi Germany,
Communist Russia and Fascist Italian & Japan
Adapted from Crisis and Conflict:
War in Europe
1
Could war in Europe have been
avoided?
Why was peace threatened
in the 1930s?
Events in the 1930s that made
Europe a less peaceful place
and war a greater possibility
“TREND” – Long Term
What were the immediate
causes of World War II in
Europe?
Events in 1939 that triggered the
war
“TRIGGER” – Short Term
2
Background
After World War I, peace in Europe was built on the Treaty of
Versailles and the League of Nations.
• Rise of the Nazi regime challenged the Treaty and caused
peace to break down.
• To create a Greater Germany, Adolf Hitler invaded countries
such as Austria and Czechoslovakia.
• Britain and Allied Powers had the policy of appeasement
towards an expansionist Germany.
• League of Nations which was set up to preserve world peace
was too weak to stop the outbreak of World War II.
Adapted from Crisis and Conflict: War in Europe
3
Why was peace
threatened in the 1930s?
Hitler’s foreign policy aims
Failure of the League of Nations
to deal with aggressors
The policy of appeasement
More authoritarian governments
came to power in Europe
because of the economic
problems of the 1930s
The League of Nations could
not make countries give up their
weapons
The members of the League
of Nations put their own
interests first
The League of Nations was too
weak to maintain peace in
the 1930s
4
In Mein Kampf, Hitler laid out 4 key foreign-policy aims, which
were later carried out when he came to power:
1) overthrowing Versailles treaty in terms of re-arming and
recovering lost territory,
2) gaining lebensraum for Germany in Eastern Europe, which
would involve a future war with Communist Russia,
3) uniting all German-speaking people in his ‘new Germany’,
including those in Austria, Sudeten and Danzig, and
4) creating a racially ‘pure’ German state that would the
dominant power in Europe.
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5
Hitler aims to make Germany strong again
by breaking the terms of
the Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty was considered unfair because it was designed to
keep Germany weak.
• Restriction on size of Germany army.
• Territorial losses on the side of Germany.
Hitler wanted to make the military strong and regain the land
that was lost by breaking the terms of the Treaty of Versailles
(ie rearm and claim back lost territories).
6
To get more land for Germany
• Hitler wanted to create a Greater Germany uniting all
lands containing German-speaking people.
• Hitler also felt that Germany needed lebensraum or
living space. So he had to get the land by conquering
other countries.
These included lands such as:
Parts of Russia
Poland
Czechoslovakia
Austria
7
Nazi Foreign Policy of Aggression
and Appeasement
• https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/hi
story/euro-hist/hitler-nazis/v/nazi-aggressionand-appeasement
• http://www.johndclare.net/RoadtoWWII4.ht
m
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8
Hitler wanted to fight Communism
• Hitler’s expansionist policy which targetted the living space in
Russia increased the chances of a war with Communist Russia
• Hitler wanted to destroy Communism because he believed that
if he did not destroy Communism first, it would annihilate
Germany.
• Hitler also aware that by gaining control of East Europe, he
would be able to exterminate the Jews living there.
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Rearmament
• One of the first steps Hitler undertook was to rearm Germany, through
acquiring more weapons and increasing the size of his army.
• In October 1933, Hitler pulled Germany out of the Geneva
Disarmament Conference.
• Shortly after this incident, Germany withdrew from the League of
Nations.
• Spending on the army and navy was doubled.
• Production of arms increased sharply.
• In March 1935, conscription was brought back by Hitler.
10
Remilitarisation of the Rhineland
•
•
•
•
The Rhineland was demilitarised by the Treaty.
Most Germans felt this to be most unfair to them.
Hitler was determined to reclaim the Rhineland.
On 7 March 1936, German troops marched into the
Rhineland unopposed.
• It was a gamble by Hitler as he was not sure if the
League of Nations would stop him by using military
action.
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Remilitarisation of the Rhineland
• No action was taken against Germany.
• The French were horrified but did not do anything without the
support of the British.
• The lack of response from Britain and France gave Hitler the
confidence that Britain and France would give in to his demands.
• Hitler was able to start building a defensive force to protect
Germany from any attack by France.
• This made him even more ambitious.
12
The force that Hitler had sent into the Rhineland was small
but he had gambled and won.
He said
“The forty-eight hours after the march into the
Rhineland were the most nerve-racking in my life….If
the French had then marched into the Rhineland, we
would have had to withdraw with our tails between our
legs, for the military resources at our disposal would
have been wholly inadequate for even moderate
resistance.”
He drew the conclusion that Britain and France were weak
and that he could get away with more aggressive actions.
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13
Anschluss
• Hitler was an Austrian, and wanted Austria to be part of the
Third Reich.
• The Austrian empire broke up at the end of World War I.
Subsequently, a small and independent Austrian republic was
set up.
• The Treaty of Versailles however stated that there should be no
union (or Anschluss in German) between these two countries.
• A number of attempts were made by Germany to take over
Austria in the 1930s. The most serious attempt, in 1934, was
stopped by Italy.
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Anschluss
• Austria led by Chancellor Schuschnigg protested but the protests
were ignored. A secret plebiscite was arranged.
• In March 1938, Germany marched across the border into Austria.
• Schuschnigg was pressured to resign and the plebiscite was
abandoned.
• A vote was held and the majority voted for Anschluss. Anschluss
(union of the two countries) was completed without any
resistance.
• Many Austrians welcomed the German takeover.
15
Anschluss
• It was another gamble taken by Hitler that paid off.
• The League of Nations protested but took no action.
• It gave Hitler the confidence to take on further “gambles.”
16
Hitler returned in triumph to Vienna where he was greeted by
euphoric crowds. This was the city where he had lived before
World War One.
Hitler incorporated Austria into the Reich and this event
became known as the Anschluss (political union).
Again the British and French did nothing.
The new Prime Minister in Britain was Neville Chamberlain.
He wanted to prevent another European war breaking out.
He decided to follow a policy called Appeasement.
Appeasement was a policy of giving into Hitler’s reasonable
demands in order to prevent war. It was a very popular policy
in Britain at the time.
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17
Italian aggression in Abyssinia
• In 1934, Italian dictator Mussolini planned to invade Abyssinia (Ethopia).
• Following an appeal to the League of Nations by the Emperor of Abyssinia,
war was averted.
• By 1935 however, Mussolini began full-scale invasion into Abyssinia.
• The League only managed to sanction an embargo of rubber and metal on
Italy to stop the invasion.
• The League did not resort to drastic measures for fear of triggering a war.
• In fact, the League was willing to give Italy two-thirds of Abyssinia if
Mussolini withdrew his troops. This was called the Hoare-Laval Plan.
• As a result, Italy sought Hitler’s help and managed to gain control over
Abyssinia in May 1936.
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The members of the League
of Nations put their own
interests first
• The British and French needed Italy to counter the Nazi
menace.
• They tried to shirk their responsibility to the League but public
opinion in Britain would not allow them.
• This shows how the League was not strong enough to protect
the interests of its members.
• As a result the Hoare-Laval Plan (with Italian Mussolini) was
abandoned which angered Mussolini.
• Mussolini then became closer to Hitler & on 25 October 1936,
the Rome-Berlin Axis was formed ( "an axis around which can
revolve all those European states with a will to collaboration
and peace." )
19
The League of Nations could not make
countries give up their weapons
Failure of LON Disarmament efforts
• The 1932 Disarmament Conference was bogged down by
disagreements over how disarmament should be carried out.
• Countries like France refused to disarm for fear of Germany.
• Due to the fact that most countries did not want to disarm to
Germany’s level, Hitler pulled out of the Conference in Oct 1933.
• The Anglo-German Naval Treaty also demonstrated how Britain had
violated the Treaty of Versailles by allowing Germany to increase its
naval size.
• Following this, other members followed Britain’s example.
20
More authoritarian governments came
to power in Europe because of the
economic problems of the 1930s
Due to serious economic problems resulting from the Great
Depression, many government were blamed for failing to solve
unemployment.
• This had the effect of drawing support towards authoritarian
regimes.
• Economic problems had encouraged many countries to resort to
protectionism triggering off a trade war.
• Despite efforts by the League to stop the trade war, few countries
cooperated.
• Trade war also increased worldwide unemployment.
• Many countries used rearmament to create jobs. But this had the
effect making war more likely.
21
Illustration showing rearmament in Germany during the 1930s. What
does it tell you about the changes in Germany at that time?
Aggressive rearmament:
In 1933, Hitler announced that he
was increasing the size of the
army from 100 000 to 300 000
men. In 1935, he increased the
size of the army to 550 000 men.
22
Conscription:
Hitler reintroduced
compulsory military service
for all male citizens in 1935.
23
The League of Nations was too weak to
maintain peace in the 1930s
• By the mid 1930s, the members of the League of Nations no
longer believed that it could protect countries that were being
attacked.
• Efforts at collective security had failed.
• The League officially ended in 1946.
24
The League of Nations was too weak to
maintain peace in the 1930s
Which one of these reasons do you think illustrates the
League’s greatest weakness?
25
The policy of appeasement
• One of the main reasons for the
failure of collective security was the
policy of appeasement.
• Appeasement means the practice of
avoiding war by giving in to the
aggressive demands made by a
country.
“Appeasement was the policy of giving
in to some of the demands of dictators
like Hitler and Mussolini in the hope
that they would be satisfied and not Neville Chamberlain, the British
PM most closely associated
ask for more.”
with appeasement.
26
Appeasement
England footballers give the Nazi salute before a match in
Germany in 1938 - a picture from German photograph archives
27
Reasons for adopting policy of appeasement
To buy time
Britain hoped appeasement
would give it some time to
modernise its armies. The
German army on the other hand
had been growing steadily.
Economic problems
The British economy had been
damaged by World War I and
Great Depression. Its efforts at
rebuilding its economy would
be destroyed by another war.
Britain’s other problems
Britain was having problems
with its colonies that were fighting
for independence. Its troops were
too stretched to deal with a
possible war.
Lack of US support
US policy of isolation meant that Britain
and France were left to face the threat of
Germany alone.
Memories of World War I
Britain was keen to avoid another war that
would cause millions of lives.
Fear of Communism
Most Britons felt that a strong Germany
would prevent the spread of Communism,
which to them was a greater threat.
Attitudes towards the Treaty of Versailles
Most Britons felt that the Treaty had
been too harsh on Germany.
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How appeasement worked
Background
• Czechoslovakia was one of the richest countries in Eastern Europe.
• The main problem was that Czechoslovakia was made up many
different ethnic groups.
• Some smaller groups wanted to merge with neighbouring countries
like Germany, Hungary, Poland.
• Hitler took advantage of this.
29
Policy of Appeasement
Hitler actions:
• encouraged different racial groups to complain about the
Czech rule.
• targeted mainly the Germans living in Sudetenland in western
Czechoslovakia.
• got the Sudeten Nazi party to create problems for the Czech
government.
Britain and France could see a crisis developing over the
Sudetenland.
• They feared that it might lead to war.
• Chamberlain tried to persuade the Czech government to give
way to Hitler.
• He hoped that this would stop Hitler from causing more
trouble.
30
• http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/public_o
pinion_and_appeasement_i.htm
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31
The Munich Agreement (1938)
Three visits were made by Neville Chamberlain to Germany
to resolve this issue.
First visit:
• Chamberlain was so anxious to avoid conflict that he made
three trips to speak to Hitler.
• Hitler threatened to go to war with Czechoslovakia if the
Sudetenland was not given to Germany.
• Chamberlain was so keen to avoid war that he agreed to see
what concessions he could persuade the Czech government to
make.
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Second visit:
• This meeting was held at Godesborg in the Rhineland.
• Chamberlain offered to transfer to Germany all those parts of
Sudetenland where more than fifty per cent of the inhabitants
were German.
• Hitler however threatened to go to war again if Sudetenland was
not transferred to Germany immediately.
Third visit:
• This meeting was held at Munich, the main city of Bavaria in
southern Germany.
• There were representatives from Britain, France, Italy and
Germany but no representatives from Czechoslovakia.
• Outcome: Almost everything that Hitler asked for was given.
• Within days, Germany was in control of the whole of Sudetenland.
33
The Munich Agreement (1938)
• For Hitler, this was a great triumph as he made important gains
without fighting.
• In fact it only served to encourage him further.
• For Chamberlain, this seemed like proof that appeasement
worked.
• For the Czechs, it was a great disaster and the first step towards
their annihilation.
34
What were the immediate
causes of World War II in
Europe?
Britain ended
the policy of
appeasement
The Nazi-Soviet
Non-Aggression
Pact
Hitler’s
invasion of
Poland
35
Britain ended the policy of
appeasement
• Britain and France had been rearming for some time in
the event that appeasement fails.
• The German invasion of Czechoslovakia finally convinced
them that Hitler could not be trusted.
• More aggressive action was needed to deal with Hitler.
• Poland looked likely to be the next victim.
• In March 1939, Britain and France signed an agreement
with Poland promising to go to its aid if Germany was to
invade.
36
The Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact
• Hitler’s next target was Poland, particularly
the Polish corridor and Danzig.
• However he was wary of the possible interference from the
USSR.
• Stalin on the other hand was wary of German aggression.
• Stalin’s attempts to reach a deal with Britain and
France failed.
37
The Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression
Pact
• This pact came as a great surprise to the world as Hitler and
Stalin were known to be arch enemies.
• For years, Hitler had attacked Communism and Stalin had
done his best to prevent growth of German power.
Terms of the Pact
• The USSR was to stay neutral in any war between Germany and
Poland.
• Secret clause: Both agreed to divide Poland between them.
• Germany took the west. The USSR took eastern Poland that it had
lost at the end of World War I.
38
The Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression
Pact
• The pact allowed Hitler to risk a war with Britain and France,
knowing that he did not have to fight the Russians as well.
• In doing so, he avoided the possibility of war on two fronts.
• To Britain, the pact was a big blow as war with Germany
became more likely.
• To many, this pact was seen as the trigger to full-scale war in
Europe.
39
Hitler’s invasion of Poland
 The pact secured Germany its
Eastern Front.
 On 1 September 1939, Hitler
invaded Poland.
 This time Britain and France was
determined to keep their promise to
Poland and declared war on
Germany.
40
Hitler wanted to destroy Poland in order to gain living space
(Lebensraum).
Hitler demanded the German speaking town of Danzig from
Poland and the building of a motorway to link East Prussia with
the rest of the Reich.
However the demand for Danzig was not the real issue for
Hitler.
Hitler said
Further successes can no longer be attained without the
shedding of blood…Danzig is not the subject of the dispute at
all. It is a question of expanding our living space in the
east…there is no question of sparing Poland.
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Summary
Causes of World War II in Europe
Hitler’s foreign
policy
Economic
problems
Ways World War II could have
been avoided (?)
A fairer Treaty
of Versailles?
Join forces with
the USSR?
Appeasement
to stop
aggression
by other countries
Fight Hitler while
he was still
weak?
Failure of the
League of
Nations
to stop
rearmament
Support collective
security in
the League?
42