The Road To War

1. The Road To War WWII: War in Europe

2. Overview • According to Ruth Henig, "there is a general agreement amongst historians that the ambitions of Hitler constitute the major element in the outbreak of war in 1939. Mussolini played a subordinate but by no means unimportant role. Theirs was the primary, if not the sole, responsibility. Considerable room for argument remains about Hitler’s aims and methods, about the degree to which he cold-bloodedly planned for war in pursuit of a German empire in the east, or seized opportunities that came to him, or was a compulsive gambler who took risks for ever higher stakes. But there is no dispute that Hitler was … in a general way committed to expansion … and that he became the less hesitant ... in seeking new successes"

3. Overview Causes WW2 Effects/Impacts (1919-1939) (1939-1945) (1945-1991) • Treaty of Versailles • League of Nations • Hitler’s foreign expansionist policy • Appeasement • Nazi-Soviet Pact • The road to war Long-Term Short-Term

4. 1. Treaty of Versailles In January 1918 Wilson had proposed his Fourteen Points, which was a blueprint for a fair peace settlement at the end of the war. One of its main points was the idea of a League of Nations which would try to prevent major wars through negotiation. Wilson did not wish to punish the Germans, but at the Peace Conference he was overruled by Clemenceau and Lloyd-George. The Treaty of Versailles was the peace settlement with Germany, it was very harsh. In effect Germany had to: - accept blame for starting the war - lose all of its colonies - lose most of its army, navy and all its airforce - lose huge territories in Europe • pay reparations of £6.6 billion. The Germans hated the Treaty of Versailles and throughout the 1920s and 1930s her politicians tried to reverse the terms of the treaty. In the 1920s Hitler and the Nazis gained support as they promised to reverse the treaty. In the 1930s when the Nazis were in power, Hitler set about reversing these terms.

5. 2. League of Nations • Weakness of LON: • Failure to deal with BIG aggressors (i.e. The Abyssinian Crisis 1935; The Manchurian Crisis 1931) • Members of the League put their own interest first • League could not make countries give their weapons (i.e. failure of disarmament and collective security) • Rise of more authoritarian regimes due to post war economic problems- countries used rearmament to create job > more weapons > greater possibility of war. • League too weak to maintain peace in the 1930s. Why? • First, three important countries were not part of the League: USA, USSR and Germany. • A second fatal weakness was the fact that the League of Nations did not have an army. • A third weakness was to do with organisation.

6. 3. Hitler’s foreign policy aims Hitler aimed to make Germany into a great power again and this he hoped to achieve by: • Destroying the hated Versailles settlement; • Rearmament; • To expand German territory – recover lost land such as the Saar and the Polish Corridor; • bringing all Germans within the Reich; (i.e. Anchluss with Austria) • Fight Communism

7. 4. Appeasement 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 ask for more. This policy has been most closely identified with British and French foreign policy in the 1930s. The leading figure in Britain was Neville Chamberlain. British politicians traditionally held the view that Eastern Europe fell under Germany's sphere of influence; Chamberlain wanted to turn Germany eastwards to act as a bulwark against Communist Russia. After 1919 the British policy towards Germany was to recognise that there were a number of German speaking peoples outside Germany who would one day want to be part of the Reich. Appeasement aimed to achieve German reunification peacefully. Britain would and could not effectively defend the new countries of Eastern Europe e.g. Poland, Czechoslovakia, and therefore encouraged these states to make concessions to Germany in a peaceful way. Chamberlain's mistake was the failure to recognise that Britain was declining in power and prestige and he also failed to recognise that Fascism and Nazism were unappeasable. Appeasement was a very popular part of British foreign policy. No one wanted a repeat of the First World War. Chamberlain had total faith in the policy of appeasement and believed that eventually Hitler could be controlled. His hopes deceived him as he admitted with the outbreak of hostilities: ‘Everything that I have worked for, everything that I have hoped for, everything I have believed in during my public life, has crashed into ruins.’

8. 5. Nazi-Soviet Pact In August 1939, Hitler sent Ribbentrop, a senior Nazi, to Russia. He offered a Nazi-Soviet alliance – Russia and Germany would not go to war, but would divide Poland between them. Stalin knew Hitler was lying, but he did not trust the British either – the Munich Agreement had convinced him that Britain and France would never dare to go to war with Hitler. Stalin had two choices: • if he made an alliance with Britain, he would end up fighting a war with Hitler over Poland. • if he made an alliance with Germany, he would get half of Poland, and time to prepare for the coming war with Germany. He chose the latter. On 23 August 1939, he signed the Pact with Hitler.

9. 5. Nazi-Soviet Pact (con’t) Britain and Russia Stalin knew that Hitler’s ultimate aim was to attack Russia. In 1939, he invited Lord Halifax, the British Foreign Secretary to go to Russia to discuss an alliance against Germany. Britain refused. The British feared Russian Communism, and they believed that the Russian army was too weak to be of any use against Hitler. In August 1939, with war in Poland looming, the British eventually sent a minor official called Reginald Ranfurly Plunckett-Ernle-Erle-Drax. He travelled by slow boat, not by plane. He did not have authority to make any decisions, and had to refer every question back to London. The talks dragged on. The Russians asked if they could send troops into Poland if Hitler invaded. The British refused. The talks broke down.

10. 5. Nazi-Soviet Pact (con’t) Why did Anglo-Soviet Talks Fail? [SCAB] Suspicion a. Chamberlain did not trust Stalin, who was a Communist and a dictator. In particular, he would not ever have allowed Russia to control Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. b. The Russians thought Britain wanted to trick them into war against Germany. c. Poland did not trust that the Russians (who wanted to send troops into Poland), once in, would ever leave. Choice a. Britain could not send troops to fight in Poland, so if Stalin supported Britain, he would end up fighting a war in Poland on Britain’s behalf. b. On the other hand, Hitler was promising him peace, half of Poland and a 'sphere of influence' over eastern Europe. Appeasement After Munich, Stalin was convinced that Britain would break its promise to Poland. He was convinced that Britain would leave Russia fighting Hitler alone. Britain delayed a. At first, Lord Halifax refused Stalin’s offer of a meeting. b. When the British sent an official, he could not make any decisions. Stalin got fed up with British delay.

11. 5. Course to War (SCRAMCUP) 1. SAAR PLEBSICITE 2. CONSCRIPTION & RE-ARMAMENT 3. RHINELAND 4. AUSTRIA 5. MUNICH 6. CZECHOSLOVAKIA 7. USSR/NAZI PACT 8. POLAND

12. 5. Course to War (SCRAMCUP) 1. SAAR PLEBSICITE The Treaty if Versailles had put the Saar under the control of the League of Nations for 15 years. In 1935 the inhabitants of the Saar voted to return to Germany. The Saar plebiscite is cited by many historians as the first step to war. 2. CONSCRIPTION & RE-ARMAMENT Hitler began to build up his armed forces. In 1935 he introduced conscription (calling up men to the army). This broke the Treaty of Versailles, but Britain and France let him get away with it. 3. RHINELAND Hitler invaded the Rhineland on 7 March 1936. This broke the Treaty of Versailles. It was a bluff – the German army had only 22,000 soldiers and had orders to retreat if they met any resistance. But once again, Britain and France did nothing

13. 5. Course to War (SCRAMCUP) 4. AUSTRIA In 1938, Hitler took over Austria. First, Hitler encouraged the Austrian Nazis to demand union with Germany. Then Hitler invaded Austria (11 March 1938). This broke the Treaty of Versailles, but Britain and France did nothing. 5. MUNICH In 1938, Hitler tried to take over the Sudetenland. First, Hitler encouraged the Sudeten Nazis to demand union with Germany. Then, Hitler made plans to invade Czechoslovakia. Neville Chamberlain appeased Hitler. At Munich, on 29 September 1938, Britain and France gave Hitler the Sudetenland. 6. CZECHOSLOVAKIA On 15 March 1939, Hitler’s troops marched into the rest of Czechoslovakia. This, for most British people, was the time when they realised that the only thing that would stop Hitler was a war.

14. 5. Course to War (SCRAMCUP) 7. USSR/NAZI PACT In summer 1939, Hitler began to unfold his plan to take over Poland. First, the Germans in Danzig demanded union with Germany. Then, Hitler threatened war. Chamberlain promised the Poles that Britain would support them if Germany attacked Poland. In August 1939, Hitler made a secret treaty with Russia. He thought this would stop Britain & France helping Poland. 8. POLAND On 1 September 1939, Hitler invaded Poland. On 3 September 1939, Chamberlain declared war on Germany.