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History Chapter 6: War In Europe Chapter 6.1: Why was peace threatened in the 1930s? Chapter 6.1.1: Hitler’s Foreign Policy Aims To make Germany strong again by breaking the terms of the TOV The TOV made Germany very weak to attack other countries as it took away land and placed restrictions on Germany’s armies. Hitler wanted to make the military strong again and take back all the land that Germany lost. By challenging the TOV, Hitler brought Europe closer to war as it showed that Hitler had a clear intention to expand Germany into a powerful country, thus war was eminent as actions had to be taken to stop further aggression. Examples: Rearmament, Remilitarisation of the Rhineland, Anschluss with Austria. To get more land for Germany Hitler wanted more land so that all German people could live together in “Greater Germany” Hitler also felt that Germany’s growing population required more lebensraum (living space). Therefore, Hitler’s actions of wanting to take away land that belonged to other countries made the outbreak of war in Europe more likely as it showed that Hitler had the clear intention to expand Germany into a powerful country through colonization of countries, thus war was eminent as actions had to be taken to stop further aggression. To fight communism Hitler made a war with Communist Russia to fight Communism and get lebensraum for the Germans. Russia had plenty of land and lots of food Hitler was also aware that there are many Jews and he will be able to exterminate them by gaining control of East Europe. Therefore, Hitler’s actions of wanting to fight communism made the outbreak of war in Europe more likely as it showed that Hitler had the clear intention to expand Germany into a powerful country, thus war was eminent as actions had to be taken to stop further aggression. Chapter 6.1.2: Hitler’s Actions These are examples of how Hitler expand Germany into a powerful country (from 6.1.1) Rearmament Hitler showed that he wanted to go to war by getting more weapons and soldiers. In Feburary 1932, the LON met for a Disarmament Conference but there were many disagreements. Germany announced to disarm only if there was international disarmament. 23/2/2010 Hitler pulled Germany out of the Conference in 1933 and the LON. Hitler increased the size of the army from 100 000 to 300 000 men, and then to 550 000 men in 1935 and reintroduced conscription. Remilitarisation of the Rhineland Hitler’s actions of putting German troops in the demilitarized zone of the Rhineland brought Europe closer to war. Hitler remilitarized the Rhineland to test the world’s reaction to this violation of the TOV. The France wanted British support to drive Germany out. However Britain felt that Germany was only “marching into its own backyard”, thus no action was taken. Rhineland originally belonged to Germany Britain/France felt that Hitler was justified in regaining the Rhineland Policy of Appeasement By remilitarizing the Rhineland, Hitler became bolder as it gave him confidence that Britain/France would not stop him (Policy of Appeasement). By remilitarizing the Rhienland, it was evident that Hitler had the clear intention to expand Germany into a powerful country, thus war was eminent as actions had to be taken to stop further aggression. Anschluss with Austria The TOV stated that there should be no Anschluss between Germany and Austria, however Hitler wanted to make Austria part of “Greater Germany” as he was born there. On 12 Feburary 1938, Hitler tried to take control of Austria when he met with Schuschnigg (Austria Chancellor) and threatened to send his army to Austria if he didn’t agree. Schuschnigg prepared a secret plebiscite for the people to vote, thus Hitler prepared for an invasion, Schuschnigg then resigned and his plebiscite was abandoned. On 12 March 1938, German troops marched into Austria and a vote was held. Majority of Austrians voted and Schuschnigg was jailed for opposing Hitler. Chapter 6.1.3: Failure of the LON to deal with Aggressors The failure of the LON was another reason that led to WWII. The LON failed in many areas in the 1930s to deal with powerful countries like Germany, Italy and Japan. The League members were not willing to work together in the policy of collective security to deal with aggressors. Members of the LON put their own interest first Failed to exercise collective security No military army to enforce security C:\Users\Chiamdj\Documents\Secondary 3 Documents\Elective History\Elective History Chapter 6 - War In Europe\Chapter 6 - War In Europe (Textbook notes).docx History Chapter 6: War In Europe Absence of USA: No effective force to deal with aggression in the 1930s. The LON also failed to make all countries disarm. By failing to convince countries to disarm and repeating the errors that led to WWI and authoritarian regimes to flourish, the shift to WWII began. Example: Japan’s Invasion of Manchuria (1931) Example 2: Italian Aggression in Abyssinia (1935) Example 3: Spanish Civil War (1936) Chapter 6.1.4: Policy of Appeasement The policy of appeasement led to the outbreak of WWII as it failed to curb the rising ambitions and expansion of aggressive countries such as Japan, Germany and Italy. The “Inaction” on the part of the LON embolden Hitler who went over to take over the rest of Czechoslovakia. Example: Munich Agreement. Over 3 million Germans were living in Sudetenland and Hitler wanted it to be part of his Greater Germany. Hitler encouraged members of the Sudetenland Nazi Party to make trouble for the government to make it give up Sudetenland. The Czech government refused as Sudetenland had weapons/barriers that protected Czechoslovakia and heavy industries, losing it would make it vulnerable to Germany. Britain and France saw that a war could break out due to Sudetenland, thus they wanted to avoid war. Chamberlain (Britain PM) went to Germany thrice in September 1938 to prevent WWII. First meeting: Hitler only wanted the parts of Sudetenland where there are many Germans and voted to join Germany. On 19 September, his request was approved. Second meeting: Hitler wanted all of Sudetenland as the Czech government was ill – treating the Germans living there. It looked that they were ready for war however Chamberlain still wanted to avoid war. Third meeting: Britain and France said that they would give Hitler Sudetenland, provided that he does not take any more land from Europe. 23/2/2010 allowed Hitler to focus on fighting the Western Powers without having to fight a 2 – front war. Prior to signing of the pact on 23 August, no one expected Hitler and Stalin to ally with each other as both of them used to be enemies. As Hitler was fearful that an invasion of Poland might trigger war with USSR, with the signing of the Pact the fate of Poland was sealed between the 2 allies. Germany and Poland agreed to split Poland among themselves. Chapter 6.2.2: Invasion of Poland The Nazi Soviet Pact allowed Hitler to attack Poland with confidence knowing very well that he would not need to face a 2 front war against Soviet Union. Hitler would have been able to handle a counter attack without the assistance of the Soviet Union The attack also meant that there were no more excuses the west could give in to appease Hitler. As Hitler broke his promise, Britain and France should declare war against Germany. Chapter 6.2: What were the immediate causes of war in Europe? Chapter 6.2.1: Nazi Soviet Non – Aggression Pact The pact brought the inevitability of WWII forward. It accelerated the coming of war as it C:\Users\Chiamdj\Documents\Secondary 3 Documents\Elective History\Elective History Chapter 6 - War In Europe\Chapter 6 - War In Europe (Textbook notes).docx