Eliana Morris

TREATY OF VERSAILLLES

The Big 3

 Georges Clemceau – France

o Revenge on Germany
o Money from Germany because most of the fighting took place in France so he needed
money to rebuild
o Wanted to reduce Germanys arm forces and move its borders back so that they could no
longer be vulnerable for attack
o Totally cripple Germany so that they could no longer rise and be a threat to them

 David Lloyd Georges – Britain

o Revenge but not totally because it would lead to another war
o Needed Germany to be strong so that he could trade with it
o Wanted to stop other countries in Europe becoming big
o Wanted German colonies
o Reduce German Navy

 Woodrow Wilson – USA

o No need for Revenge – lead to another war
o Was an idealist
o Wanted to set up the League of Nations
o All countries should have self determination
o 14 points including, SELF DETERMINATION, DISARMAMENT, AVOID ANOTHER WAR,
LEAGUE OF NATIONS

Terms of the Treaty

 Guilt -
o Germany had to accept the blame for starting the war
 Armed Forces –
o Germanys navy limited to 1,500 men, 1,500 officers and 6 battleships
o Not allowed tanks, submarines or an air force
o Army limited to 100,000 men and conscription not allowed
 Reparations –
o Germany had to pay 6,600 million to the winners (would take until 1988 to pay back)
 German Territory –
o The Rhineland – border between Germany and France was demilitarised
o Anschluss (union) between Germany and Austria was forbidden
o Polish corridor, spilling Germany into 2, was given to Poland to allow then access to
the sea
o Danzig taken from Germany and put under control of the League of Nations
o the Saar – important industrial for Germany was put under the control of the League
of Nations for 15 years
o lost 10% of their land – Alsace Lorraine to France – North Schleswig – Denmark
o German colonies in Africa given to the League of Nations
 League of Nations
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o Was created but Germany was not allowed to Join

Reaction to the Treaty

 France – Georges Clemenceau

o Rhineland should have been totally taken away
o Angry that they should have totally no army
o Should have the Saar totally taken away
o 6,600 million is too small
 France – General Public
o Wanted Germany to be punished even worse and the treaty to be tougher
o Some happy would happy that they would not be threatened and that they would
get reparations

 Britain – David Lloyd George

o Loss of land that would cause problems in the future
o Reparations too harsh
o Happy to gain extra colonies
o Happy that they could rule the waves without competition
 Britain – General Public
o Was fair but it could have been harsher
o Treated Lloyd George as a hero

 USA – Woodrow Wilson

o Thought that they would be dragged into another war
o Happy that the League was created
o Happy about self-determination
o Other 14 points ignored
o Wanted to be part of the League
 USA – General Public
o Britain and France had become more powerful and rich at Germanys expense
o Favoured isolationism
o Wanted it to be based on the 14 points

German Reaction to the Treaty

 Guilt –
o angry, as it wasn’t only them who started the war
 Armed forces –
o Military reduced so much that they now felt vulnerable from attack
o Humiliated for being so weak
o Demilitarised Rhineland made them feel vulnerable from attack from France
o Also felt vulnerable from attack from Russia, because they were communists
 Reparations –
o Felt that considering that they lost the war because of economical problems the
figure 6,600 was way too high
 German Territory –
o Deeply humiliating and caused financial loss
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o Germans found themselves living under foreign rule and were very bitter
 League of Nations –
o Felt humiliated that they weren’t invited
 General issues –
o Shocked that it wasn’t based on the 14 points
o Because of propaganda during the war they didn’t fully understand the extent to
their loss
o Kaiser was forced to abdicate, and they thought this was enough of a punishment
o The morale was very low, because of the harsh treaty and they felt it was forced on
them (called Diktat)

Other Treaties

 The treaty of St Germain (Affected Austria 10 September 1919)

o Land
 Austria lost land to Italy and Romania
 Land was taken to create the new state of Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia;
Poland which was also a new country, was given land, too.
o Reparations
 The amount was never fixed, but Austria was told to pay reparations
o Military restrictions
 30,000 men in the army; no conscription
 No navy
o Other terms
 Austria was forbidden from uniting with Germany

o Impact
 Italy had joined the war in 1915. They promised to support the Allies, and in
return would be given land when the war was won. But the Italians didn’t
feel that they were given enough land.
 Much of Austria’s industry was in land given to Czechoslovakia, so Austria
lost a huge source of income. Their economy collapsed in 1921.
 The new states that were formed were a mix of different nationalities that
often clashed.
 Eastern Europe now consisted of lots of new, small states instead of one
powerful empire
 The treaty of Neuilly (Affected Bulgaria 27 November 1919)
o Land
 Bulgaria lost land to Yugoslavia, Greece and Romania. But Bulgaria did gain
some land from Turkey.
o Reparations
 £100 million.
o Military restrictions
 Bulgarian army limited to 20,000. No conscriptions.
 No air force and only allowed 4 battleships.
 The treaty of Trianon (Affected Hungary 4 June 1920)
o Land
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 Hungarian land was lost to Romania. Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and Austria

o Reparations
 Agreed that reparations should be set up, but the amount was not fixed. The
Hungarian economy collapsed so nothing was ever actually paid.
o Military restrictions
 30,000 men in the Hungarian army
 No conscription
 Only allowed three patrol boats
 The treaty of Sevres (Affected Turkey 10 August 1920)
o Land
 Turkey lost land to Greece
 In Europe Turkey lost all its land, except a small area around the capital of
Constantinople.
 The Turkish (Ottoman) Empire was split up.
o Military restrictions
 Turkish army restricted to 50,000 men.
 The navy was restricted to seven sail boats and six torpedo boats

o Other terms
 Turkish had controlled the Dardanelles and the Bosporus straits, important
waterways that connected the Black sea to the Mediterranean, but the
Treaty said they must open these to other countries.
 The allies were about to keep troops in Turkey.
o Impact
 The people of Turkey were so furious about the treaty that they revolted
and overthrew the government.
 The new president threatened to fight the allies over the treaty. The British
were not prepared to fight another war so they agreed to overwrite the
Treaty with the Treaty of Lausanne.
 The treaty of Lausanne (July 1923)
o Turkey regained:
 Some of the land Greece had taken
 Control of the Dardanelles and Bosporus straits
 The right to decide how big their armed forces were
 Reparations were also cancelled, and Allied troops were withdrawn.

Georges Clemenceau, France

Aim Evidence aim was achieved Evidence aim was not achieved

Punishment  Germany and its allies had to  Most wanted Germany destroyed not just
and revenge accept responsibility for starting weakened.
the war. Damaged German pride  People felt that Clemenceau had not
and made them an international given them the revenge they wanted.
 Eliana Morris

laughing stock. They voted him out of office in the next

election.
Protection –  The German army and navy were  Clemenceau felt that Germany shouldn’t
reduction of reduced. be allowed an army at all
Germany’s  Germany not allowed tanks,  People in France wanted an independent
armed submarines or aeroplanes. Rhineland, demilitarising it wasn’t
forces and  Rhineland demilitarised. enough.
power  Germany couldn’t unite with
Austria
Recover  In 1921 the amount for  Estimated that the war had cost France
losses and reparations was set at £6,600 200 billion, reparations were less than
reparations million. this
 France gained the coal from the  France lost more soldiers during war than
Saar for 15 years in any other country. Money couldn’t
make up for this.
 Many French people felt they should have
been given Saar for good

Woodrow Wilson, USA

Aim Evidence aim was achieved Evidence aim was not achieved

Self-  Many small nations  Parts of German Empire were given to League of
determination that had been part of Nations as mandates, but really Britain and
Austro-Hungarian France ran them.
Empire were given
independence.
Start of League  League created  The American Senate refused to join the League
of Nations  42 countries joined of Nations
when it was  During 1920s USA was governed by a political
established in 1920 party that pushed for isolationism – far from idea
of collective security
Stop further Countries in League  Wilson felt that Treaty was too harsh and
wars agreed to work Germany would seek revenge and another war
together to keep would follow
 peace

David Lloyd George, Britain

Aim Evidence aim was achieved Evidence aim was not achieved

Revenge and  War guilt clause pleased the  Lloyd George worried that the treaty
reparations for British was too harsh and they would seek
people of  Britain received reparations to revenge
Britain help them rebuild even though
little damage had been done to
Britain
Retain naval  The German army was heavily
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supremacy reduced. Britain was confident

that they ruled the seas.
Retain a trade  German economy was crippled.
relationship Germany not in strong position to
with Germany trade with anyone.
 People said the reparations would
destroy the economies of Europe.

Reduce the  At end of WW1 British Empire

German was bigger than it had been
Empire, before.
preserve the  Britain gained territory from
British Empire German Empire.
Reduce risk of  Lloyd George felt that the Treaty was
another war too harsh that Britain would have to
fight another war in 25 years’ time and
cost would be double of first one.
Eliana Morris

The League of Nations

what was the League of Nations?

 a vision for bringing the world together in peace

 work together to solve problems
 Like a world parliament

Why was it formed?

 Countries would work together to achieve 4 aims:

o To stop war from breaking out again
o to encourage disarmament
o To improve working conditions
o To tackle deadly diseases

Who did/didn’t join?

 at the start (1919) there were 42 members

 by 1934 this rose to 58
 there were 4 major powers- Britain, France, Italy and Japan
 Russia, Germany and USA didn’t join at the start
 Germany joined in 1929

How did the League Plan to keep peace?

 Collective security
 1920 they set up the Permanent Court of International Justice
 This would make decisions on peace keeping issues

Where was the League based?

 Geneva, Switzerland because they weren’t part of the war so they were seen as neutral
territory
 Red cross was based there so seemed sensible

What did Britain and France think about the League?

 At the Paris Peace conference, Lloyd George was critical.

 But in 1919 he changed his mind and supported the league by issuing the Fontainebleau
Memorandum
 Britain liked that through the League they were able to control Germanys former colonies
 France liked anything that might protect them from Germany

What if the League couldn’t prevent disputes?

 Mitigation- talking to them

 Moral condemnation- telling them off
 Economic Sanctions- league would refuse to trade with them
 the League didn’t have an army, if necessary the could send their own personal troops
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Aims of the League of Nations

Aim Explanation Problem

To stop war To prevent aggression from Germany and USSR (Russia)
spreading into a physical war not part of the League and
they are the main 2 risks so no
point making this treaty
To improve the life and jobs of Improve health and social People around the world have
people around the world welfare around the world to want it and there are
countries that might find this
difficult
Disarmament 1. to stop producing It is possible that not all
arms countries will want to do this
2. To get rid of arms
To uphold and enforce the To ensure that Germany The league is supposed to
Treaty of Versailles upheld the terms of the treaty bring peace, a harsh treaty is
not going to help this

The structure of the League

 The council
o Had 4 temporary members
o Supervised former German colonies -now looked after by Britain and France
o A smaller group which met more frequently
o Had 4 permanent members
 The assembly
o admitted new members
o Discussed issues raised by members
o Had a range of powers, moral condemnation, economic and financial sanctions,
military forces
o Like a parliament
o Everyone had to agree
o All members sent delegates to annual meetings at the HQ in Geneva
o Agreed on finances
 The Secretariat
o Kept records, prepared reports etc.
o Like a civil service
 The special commissions
o Aimed to improve conditions of working people throughout the world
o Helped return refugees to their original home after ww1
o Attempted to deal with problems of dangerous disease
o Educated people about health and sanctions
 The court of internal justice
o Settled border disputes
o Gave legal advice to assembly/council
o Made decisions about peace-keeping
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o Made sure Britain and France acted on behalf of the interests of the people of the
colony

Special commissions

 Internal Labour Organisation

o Aims –
 to bring workers, employers and governments together to improve the
conditions that people worked in.
o Successes –
 Recommended banning the use of white lead in paint as it was poisonous
 Helped Greece set up social insurance (helped people who were
unemployed because of illness)
 77 countries agreed to set a minimum wage
 In Africa slave labour was being used to build a new railway, was so bad that
50% of workers dies, the League challenged to reduce this to 4%
o Failures –
 Tried to stop children under the age of 14 from working, this was not
adopted by most members as it cost too much money
 Suggested that the working day should be limited to 8 hours a day, when
they voted only 4 voted in favour, because it would cost industries too
much, the suggestion that workers should be paid for their holidays was
unpopular
 The Commission for Refugees
o Aims –
 To return prisoners of war home and support refugees by improving camp
conditions, finding new homes or returning them to their own countries
once the threat of conflict had passed
o Successes –
 The league helped free around 472,000 out of 500,000 prisoners of war still
imprisoned from ww1 and returned to their homelands
 1.5 million people had fled to Russia to refugee camps and the League
helped them to find new homes
 Turkey clashed with Greece and the violence forced people to flee to
refugee camps. The League set up refugee camps and sent doctors to help
treat disease such as cholera and smallpox in these camps, homes were
found for around 600,000 Greeks fleeing from Turkey.
 Created the Nansen Passport, a document that could be used as
identification by refugees
o Failures –
 The League tried to appoint a High Commissioner for refugees, who were
mainly Jewish, fleeing from Germany. Germany rejected this proposal.
 The Slavery Commission
o Successes –
 Organised raids on the camps of slave trades in sierra Leone, setting 200,000
people free. In 1927 Sierra Leone announced that slavery was to be
abolished altogether.
 The Economic and Financial Committee
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o Successes –
 Austria and Hungry had lost the war and were trying to rebuild their
economies, the League sent financial experts to help so that the 2 countries
would not go bankrupt
 Developed codes for importing and exporting so that all members were
following the same rules
o Failures -
 When global depression hit, this commission was unable to cope
 The organisation for Communications and Transport
o Aims –
 Regulated transport developed during the war in order to keep people safe
o Successes –
 Introduced shipping lanes, which meant that fewer collisions occurred
 Produced an international highway code so that car drivers followed the
same traffic rules wherever they travelled
 The Health Committee –
o Successes-
 Started an international campaign to kill mosquitos, which spread diseases
such as malaria and yellow fever
 Worked with the government in Russia to organise an education programme
to teach people about how the disease typhus was spread
 Sent doctors to look after refugees in Turkey and helped improve living
conditions in refugee camps
 This was later renamed the World Health Organisation (WHO) which still
exists today
 The Permanent central Opium Board
o Aims –
 To stop the cultivation and distribution of opium, this was legally used as a
painkiller, but some drug companies also sold it illegally
 Later they also dealt with other drugs
o Successes –
 Introduced a system where companies had to have a certificate to say that
they were allowed to import opium for medicinal purposes
 Blacklisted four large companies that were involved in trading illegal drugs
o Failures –
 Some historians claim that key members of the League were not really
dedicated to stopping the sale of opium, as they made large amounts of
money from it
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How Successful was the League?

Date and What happened? Action taken by the League Success /

Event Failure
1920 Vilna The polish army invaded Vilna Nothing because the French and Failure
and refused to leave because British refused to send troops.
they wanted the land when the
League told them to.
1921-25 Germany and Poland both They divided the land and gave Success
Upper claimed Upper Silesia very Germany discount rate coil. First,
Silesia important industrial they made a vote. Some polish
people found themselves living
under German territory.
1921 The Both Sweden and Finland Gave it to Finland but were not Success
Aland claimed Aland Island and allowed to build forts to protect
Islands threatened was on each other from war
1923 Corfu Italian general Telleni and his League made Greece pay but would Failure
team, were murdered. Dictator look after money until they found
of Italy is angry and wants the killers
compensation. He invaded Corfu
1925 Greek soldiers killed on Bulgaria Made them withdraw their troops Success
Bulgaria border- Greece invaded Bulgaria and pay
1929 the American economy crashed, Nothing, they were powerless Failure
Wall Street world faced a depression some
Crash people joined extreme parties
such as Nazis and Germanys

Other Treaties

Name of Who signed the Details of the Treaty Why wasn’t the
Treaty Treaty? League involved
The France, Germany, Germany accepted borders of the Germany suggested
Locarno Britain, Italy, Treaty. Agreed to settle disputes these treaties and
Treaties- Belgium and together. If one of them was in they were not a
1925 Czechoslovakia war they would come and support member of the
the country League. It didn’t loom
good on the League
The Kellogg 65 countries led by: Signed that if they had disputes USA and Germany not
Briand Germany, France with each other they wouldn’t use part of the League yet
Pact- 1928 and USA war to solve it
Washingto Britain, France, Decide how big each country navy USA was the Leader
n Arms Japan, USA and lots should be, also discussed general and they are not part
Conference of other countries amounts of arms each country of the League
1921-22 should have
The Rapallo Germany and Russia Germany giving back Russia all the USA and Russia not
Treaty 1922 things they took in the treaty of part of League
Brest- Litovsky. Germany and
Russia agreed to cooperate with
each other in the future
Eliana Morris

The Impact of the Great Depression on the League of Nations

 Global Economic Crisis

o This refers to economic depression caused by the wall street crash
 Unemployment
o High unemployment figures caused people in Germany, Italy and Japan to support
extremist parties such as the Nazis
 Rise of Extremism
o As a result extremist parties gained votes and were able to take power in both Italy
and Germany
 Rise of Militarism
o In Japan the military took control. In Italy and Germany the Leaders saw the idea of
making their countries military powerful as a way of both distracting their publics
from problems at home and as a means of potentially making money through future
invasions
 Less international Co-operation
o All countries including Britain and France suffered from the depression. This caused
them to act out of self interest when it came to making decisions with regards to the
League

The Manchurian Crisis

Why did Japan want Manchuria?

 Manchuria is geographically close to Japan

 Japan already had large industries, the South Manchuria Railway, and an army known as the
Kwantung Army in the area. This foothold would make an invasion easier.
 History of confusion about who owned the area.
 Japan was scared that China might kick out Japanese industry
 Japan had fought a war against Russia in 1905. Taking over this land would upset their old
enemies as well as distract Japanese people from domestic problems
 Japanese army was getting stronger. They thought the governments’ policy of friendship
with Manchuria was wrong and that they should invade the area and take full control.
 The government became more dominated by the army and took more aggressive actions;
politicians feared the army.

The Mukden Incident

 On 18th Sept, 1931 there was an explosion on the Japanese owned railway in Manchuria and
Japanese claimed it was Chinese soldiers.
 Chinese denied this and said all soldiers were sleeping at the time.
 The Japanese used this as an excuse to invade Manchuria
 People of Japan were delighted but government wasn’t happy but had to go along with the
invasion

Why did the League not want to act against Japan?

 They didn’t want to make a big fight

 China and Japan too far away
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 Japan a big member of the League, and there was much confusion about the episode and it
wouldn’t be easy for them to stick in Japans side
 Chinas politics disorganised so its a good thing that Japan is trying to put order
 Members of the League couldn’t afford to send troops, they also suffered depression
 League could offer economic sanctions so people could stop trading with Japan, but Japans
main source was USA and they not part of the League
 USSA was the nearest to Manchuria but they were not part of the League so the League
couldn’t appeal to them for help

What did the League do?

 Put together a commission of inquiry called Lytton report, Japan was wrong and
overreacted

What was Japans reaction?

 They ignored and left the league and invaded Jehol.

Why did Italy invade Abyssinia?

 Mussolini promised the people that he would rebuild the ancient Roman Empire. Abyssinia
didn’t have anyone occupying. Britain and France couldn’t morally object as they already
owned most of the colonies in tis region themselves
 He thought that the invasion would be easy because Italy already owned small colonies
bordering Abyssinia, he could build bases here and launch his attacks from there.
 In 1896 Italy had tried to invade and failed, it had expected an easy victory and faced
humiliation. He wanted revenge.
 Abyssinia could be good for the Italian economy, it was rich in natural recourses and had
good land for grazing animals
 He was sure that he could invade without the League taking action because in the Corfu
crisis the League failed to stop him. He was also made more confident because of the
Leagues fail in Manchuria
 Italy, Britain and France had an agreement to form the Stessa Front agreeing that they
would unite against Hitler. Italy thought that they would do anything to keep them as an
ally.

Mussolini’s invasion of Abyssinia

 December 1934 – Mussolini ordered Italian soldiers clashed with Abyssinians at Wal Wal.
League found it hard to stop Mussolini, as he was intent on war
 January 1935 - The French foreign minister Pierre Laval met with Mussolini and made secret
agreements. France promised Italy not to interfere and he allowed him to deal with it
however he wants
 October 1935 – Mussolini troops enter Abyssinia, the Italians bombed the tribal villages of
Abyssinia, Abyssinia doesn’t have a strong army.
 June 1935 – Haile Selassie (Abyssinian Emperor) addressed the League, they did nothing
 May 1936 – Italian troops took the Abyssinian capital. The League failed again and people
lost faith and didn’t see it as a peacekeeping organisation.
Eliana Morris

Why did the League fail to respond to Abyssinia?

 The British owned the Suez Canal and could have closed it to stop Italy from getting to
Abyssinia, but they didn’t to avoid upsetting Mussolini because they wanted him on their
side again Hitler
 Hoare and Laval went behind the Leagues back to make an agreement with Mussolini
allowing him to keep a part of Abyssinia in return to leave the rest alone. The pact was
released to the press and they were forced to resin. But the league was undermined
 Trade sanctions was the leagues main sanction with he country who did wrong, in this case
because the USA and USSR and Britain were not keen on setting these, League undermined
again
Eliana Morris

Causes of WW2

Hitler’s Aims

Lebensraum Hitler wanted land in the east. he would have to invade countries in
Eastern Europe. this would be considered war.

Rearmament Because of the treaty of Versailles Germanys military power was

restricted, the Rhineland had been demilitarised. He wanted to
introduce conscription and build a Luftwaffe (air force) to make
Germany strong again. This broke the treaty and other countries
would be suspicious.

Reuniting German to reclaim the land be lost in Treaty. Hitler wanted these regions but
speaking people it was unlikely that they would do this without a fight.
and create a
greater Germany

Destroy the USSR had a massive army and were strong and they were
Communism communists so this would've created war

Other Countries reactions

 Britain
o Follow a policy of appeasement, in the hope that they would avoid war if he got his
way. Many in Britain felt that the treaty had been too harsh and therefore
supported the policy of appeasement
 France
o France had so many of their own domestic problems that they had no time or
inclination to fight Hitler. They therefore supported the policy of appeasement.
 USSR
o USSR didn’t like or trust Hitler, but they wanted to keep the western countries on
side so went along with their policies
 USA
o followed a policy of isolationism this meant that they refused to get involved in
European issues, they were dealing with their own problems because of wall street
crash. However, they were quietly watching him and preparing for war.

German Rearmament and the road to war

 1933. Hitler leaves the League of Nations Disarmament conference

o Hitler refused to disarm unless all countries did so, when this didn’t happen he
stormed out of the disarmament conference, left the league and bean rearming.
o This broke the treaty by him rearming
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 1934. The Dollfuss Affair

o Hitler tried to make an Anschluss with Austria it failed because Mussolini moved his
troops onto the Austrian border scaring Hitler from uniting with them
o This broke the treaty because Anschluss with Austria was banned
 1935- March. Rearmament
o Hitler showed off weapons and troops that he had secretly been building. He
announced that he would reintroduce conscription, expanding his army.
o This broke the treaty because he wasn’t allowed to increase his military.
 1935- January. The Saar Plebiscite
o The Saar, a big industrial part of Germany had been given to the League to look
after, in 1935 there was a vote where the people of the Saar got to decide who
should rule. 90% voted Germany, big victory for Hitler
 1935- June. Anglo- German naval agreement
o Britain allowed Germany to rebuild its navy 35% of the size of British one and to
have 45% of the number of submarines. They did this because they felt that the
treaty was too harsh.
o This broke the treaty because it went against military restrictions
 1935- April. The Stresa front
o Britain, France and Italy signed an agreement to uphold Locarno treaty, protect
Austria and work together to stop Hitler from breaking more terms of the treaty.

The reoccupation of the Rhineland

 Why was the Rhineland important for Hitler and what happened when he invaded?
o Hitler wanted to gain Lebensraum and would have to invade other countries and so
needed a defence in the west borders in case Britain and France would respond.
o When he invaded the Germans greeted the soldiers with flowers and welcomed
them with open arms. It was a success.
 How did Britain and France react and why?
o Britain didn’t react. Britons felt that Germany had the right to protect their own
borders, so shouldn’t intervene.
o British troops were already busy dealing with Italian invasion of Abyssinia
o The depression hit Britain hard so they felt that Hitler was just reclaiming what was
rightfully his.
o France was caught up in their own domestic problems
o French generals believed the German army going into the Rhineland was much
larger and better than it was and were not prepared to risk their men.
 Could he have been stopped?
o Army generals warned Hitler that if France decided to uphold the treaty the army
wasn’t ready to fight. Financial ministers advised if he failed Germany would pay
fines Hitler wasn’t in the position of fight, so sending his men into the Rhineland was
a huge gamble.
 Why was the remilitarisation a big step towards another war?
o Hitler grew confident that he could do as he pleased
o He turned his attention to breaking the Treaty
o Britain and France started rearming
o France had treaties saying they would protect them from Nazi invasion, but now,
France turned its attention to its own defences.
o Britain and France had a sticky relationship
 Eliana Morris

o Hitler was now ready to defend his western borders, which meant he could
concentrate on Lebensraum in the east.

Which countries supported Hitler?

Potential ally Why? Response

Britain Hitler admired the British monarchy and many Some British politicians wanted to
of Britain’s traditions and values. He was keen cooperate to avoid war; they needed
to become allies, in 1936 he suggested a non- time to rearm etc. they had no plan to
aggression pact for 25 years. Hitler wanted the sign up to an official alliance.
2 countries to agree not to fight if war broke In Locarno treaty, Britain promised to
out. support Germany if France attacked,
but this also said they would support
France if Germany invaded. After
remilitarisation Britain strengthened
agreement with France and Belgium.

Spain In 1936 civil war broke out in Spain led by Franco delighted to have 2 new strong
General Franco and the democratic allies. By 1939 he defeated Republicans
Republicans. and became the dictator of Spain. Much
Hitler and Mussolini set troops and weapons to of this victory was thanks to the Nazis.
help Franco. Hitler did this because:
He could test out new weapons and his troops
would get experience.
If Franco won Hitler would have gained an ally.
Hitler hated Communists and if the Republicans
won, it would become a strong communist
state and he would not let this happen.
 Eliana Morris

Italy Hitler saw that he had a lot in common with By 1936 Hitler and Mussolini had made
Fascist Italy, Mussolini had prevented him from Rome-Berlin Axis. This was not formal,
invading Austria after the Dollfuss Affair in but they said they would work closer
1934. together.
Mussolini relationships with Britain and
France were not good so no longer
isolating Europe and could continue to
rebuild a ‘new roman empire’ safe in
the knowledge that he had an ally.

Japan In 1905 Japan had fought against USSR and still By 1936, Japan had invaded much of
hatred between them. In 1936 Germany and China. Japanese military was aware that
Japan signed the Anti-Comintern Pact, would Russia mat support China at any time.
work together against communism. (later By agreeing, Japan thought China might
Mussolini joined? feel threatened and surrender to Japan.
Italy & Japan Italy, Japan and Germany entered talks to Was called Pact of Friendship and
agree a triple alliance between them. But they Alliance between Germany and Italy
couldn’t agree the focus. Because of this Japan and their armies would work together if
was not involved. war broke out. Japan joined in 1940.

Anschluss with Austria, 1938

 Why did Hitler want to unite with Austria?

o Austria had similarities to Germany – same language, Hitler felt that they did not
belong together until they had achieved Anschluss
 1. In 1934 Dollfuss had been replaced by Schuschnigg and he made a deal with the Nazis.
They would support him and in return he would give them key positions In the Austrian
government.
 2. In January 1938 police raided the Nazi party and found plans to overthrow Schuschnigg.
There were also huge demonstrations against the government; in large towns like Vienna.
 3. Schuschnigg met with Hitler and he had little to say. Hitler told him to sign the agreement
and to make the changes within 3 days or he would invade.
 4. Schuschnigg held a plebiscite to allow the Austrian people to vote on the matter.
 5. In March Hitler demanded that the plebiscite be postponed. Schuschnigg agreed in fear.
Hitler forced him to resign and by 8pm that night Seyss-Inquart became chancellor and
requested German help to restore peace in Austria.
 6. The next day, Nazi troops invaded Austria. The invasion was badly planned and not a
single drop of blood was shed. The people cheered for the troops as they entered. Mussolini
did not oppose the Anschluss.
 7. In April there was a plebiscite. 99 percent of Austrians voted in favour of the Anschluss.

Reaction to Anschluss

Country Reaction Consequence

Austria Many were delighted. 99% voted in Jews came under attack and tried to
favour. However, 180,000 Jews leave. Nazi’s took over the country.
feared the Anschluss
Eliana Morris

Germany They loved it and saw Hitler as a Germany became stronger. Fulfilled
hero for saving Austria Hitler’s aim to go against the Treaty
of Versailles.
Britain Still following appeasement, saw They continued to follow
no problem for them to be appeasement so did nothing.
together but Churchill didn’t like it.
France They had lots of problems at home This made Hitler grow in confidence
so were not willing to get involved, that they allowed him to get away
so they did nothing with it.
Czechoslovakia They went running to Britain and When Hitler did invade Czech.
France and they both agreed to Chamberlin attempts to deal with this
protect Czechoslovakia. through diplomacy to avoid war.

The Sudeten Crisis

 Where was the Sudetenland?

o It was a part of Czechoslovakia that was given to Germany at the Munich agreement.
 Explain why Hitler targeted the Sudetenland?
o it was home to forts, railways and industries which could all be used as part of the
war effort of Hitler.
o It was also home to 3 million German speaking people. They claimed that they had
been persecuted by the Czechs and used this as an excuse to start riots. Hitler used
this as an Excuse to step in and ‘save’ German speakers in Sudetenland.
o It was also a good place to launch attack.
 Outline Hitler’s initial demands.
o He wanted the Sudetenland. He also wanted that Hungary and Poland should
receive a bit of Czech land.
 How did Britain and France respond and why?
o Politicians in Britain and France racked their brains to find a way to stop Hitler
invading the Sudetenland, knowing that if he did, Britain and France could be
obligated to protect Czech and declare war.
 Explain what happened on 15th September 1938 in Berchtesgaden?
o Neville Chamberlin flew to meet Hitler. He told him that the crisis could only be
resolved if he was allowed the Sudetenland. Chamberlain was so desperate to avoid
war and agreed, so long as the actions were peaceful.
 What did Hitler announce on 22nd September 1938 and what problems did this cause?
o He now wanted the Sudetenland to be handed over by 1 st October and insisted that
Hungry and Poland receive Czech land.
 Who was invited to the Munich conference in 1938?
o Germany, Britain, France and Italy
o USSR was not invited
 What were Hitler’s demands?
o The Czech army to leave the Sudetenland and the area was to be handed over to
Hitler
o Hungary and Poland wanted to claim land on their borders with Czech. Hitler
demanded that these claims be met.
o Hitler promised peace in Europe in return for the Sudetenland.
 How did the other 3 countries react?
o Chamberlin and Daladier (French president), was only too happy to attend the
conference and accept Hitler’s demands. Britain and France claimed that they
Eliana Morris

upheld their promise to the Czechs to protect it from Hitler, but in actual fact, Hitler
got what he wanted.
o The Czech government had not been consulted. The Czechs were fearful and as the
troops marched across their border. To them this was a real invasion.
o The USSR was also not consulted. Stalin started questioning what he could do to
prevent invasion by Hitler’s forces.
 What was the outcome of the Munich Conference?
o The day after the agreement Chamberlin met with Hitler alone and they signed the
Anglo-German declaration that they would never go to war against each other. It
was a great victory and Hitler declared that Europe could look forward to a peaceful
Christmas.
 Why was the invasion of the rest of Czech significant?
o This was the first time Hitler invaded a country where he had no claim
o Czech was a strong country with support it could have fought the Nazi’s, but this
opportunity was lost.
o Britain and France had alienated the USSR and lost a valuable ally against Hitler.
o Hitler broke the promises he had made in the Anglo-German agreement and the
Munich Conference. Chamberlin had to admit that his policy of appeasement had
failed.
o Chamberlin promised Poland, which looked like Hitler’s next target, that Britain
would guarantee its independence.

Timeline
1933 1935 1936 1938 1939
Hitler leaves the 13th January – 7 March – 12th March – 15th March –
League of People in the Remilitarisation Anschluss with After
Nations Saar vote to re- of the Rhineland Austria
Disarmament join Germany
Conference
March – The July – Hitler and September – An
Rearmament Mussolini agreement is
Rally supported Franco reached in
in the Spanish Munich which
Civil War allows Hitler to
have the
Sudetenland
region of
Czechoslovakia
18 June – Anglo- October – the
German Naval Rome-Berlin Axis
Agreement
25th November –
the Anti-
Comintern pact
Eliana Morris

Why didn’t Britain or France do anything to stop Hitler?

 Britain knew Hitler was building up his navy, so felt that if it made an agreement with him
about how many ships he could have, then at least it could have some kind of control over
the growth in order to retain its naval supreme.
 The allies weren’t happy, but there wasn’t much they could do. No one was prepared to do
anything about the uniting of the two countries.
 The French refused to disarm, so there was nothing anyone could do to force Hitler to
disarm.
 The allies were desperate not to get dragged into war, so Britain and France didn’t get
involved. Hitler and Mussolini hadn’t declared the war, they were just supporting Franco, so
it wasn’t their fault.
 Many people thought that they were German people anyway, so why bother to stop it. Plus
99% of people voted in favour of Hitler.
 Many people felt that Hitler could be a strong ally and a buffer against Communist USSR and
he would need weapons to do this. In addition, the Treaty of Versailles had been unrealistic
in its military restrictions, so Germany should be allowed to ignore it.
 Chamberlain tried to stop Hitler and even met with him. However, he was convinced that
Hitler was a reasonable politician and Chamberlain was determined to use the policy of
appeasement to stop innocent people dying. He allowed Hitler to take this area because his
only alternative was to fight. At least Hitler promised all action would be peaceful.
 The final straw! Britain and France now realised that appeasement was not working and
promised that they would protect Polish independence.
 No law was broken, and it was what the people of the region voted for, so people felt there
was no need to do anything.
 Britain and France felt that Hitler was just ‘marching in his own back garden’ and he should
be allowed to defend his own borders.
 Britain and France felt that any alliance that was against USSR had to be a good thing.

Appeasement

Arguments for Appeasement Arguments against Appeasement

To keep people safe, and families whole and People misjudged Hitler, they ignored all the
complete violent talk and thought he was a reasonable
politician
15 years later, people felt that the Treaty of People missed opportunities to stop Hitler. E.g.
Versailles was too harsh and it’s time to let if France would have stopped Hitler
Germany get strong again demilitarising the Rhineland, Hitler would have
backed down, war may have been avoided
Horror of war was still fresh in people’s mind, The more Hitler was given (e.g. the
people were still injured Sudetenland) the more he would have wanted
They believed Hitler when he said that he didn’t Appeasement was morally wrong; some
want war but peace countries were left occupied by the Nazis who
were cruel
Many of Hitler’s actions gave people what they Appeasers forced Czech. To back down to
wanted. All he is doing is pleasing people Hitler, they were a string country. With a little
around him. E.g. Anschluss got 99% votes support Hitler could have been stopped
People of Britain were very anti-war so no Hitler should have been stopped from
politician is going to war when all is against it. remilitarising the Rhineland, Britain stayed
Eliana Morris

quiet and missed their chance, so instead, its

war!
They needed time to prepare themselves for
war, they weren’t ready to fight
USA had made it clear they wouldn’t get
involved in another war, they were nervous to
go to war without their support

The Nazi-Soviet Pact

 Why did Hitler want to invade Poland?

o He wanted it because it was his next step for Lebensraum
o Destroy the Treaty of Versailles
o Easy to attack, and Britain and France had not acted in the past so he thought he
could get away with it
 Why did Stalin want to invade Poland?
o To reclaim this land
o Because if Hitler invaded, USSR would become Polish territory
 What was the Nazi-Soviet pact?
o Non-aggression pact on 23rd August 1939
 Why didn’t Stalin trust Britain or France?
o when he joined the League of Nations he realised how weak it is, so lost faith in the
League’s ability to protect Russia from Hitler.
o In 1934 USSR and France had signed an agreement saying that France would protect
Russia from German invasion. But when Hitler demilitarised the Rhineland, France
did nothing. USSR could not be sure that France would do anything to protect
anyone else
o Britain and France did not trust him, so how could he turn to them
o He wasn’t invited to the Munich agreement so loft faith in these nations
o They didn’t respect him
 Why did Russia agree to the Nazi-Soviet pact?
o They agreed to split Poland, so he would get land without doing any work
o He suspected that Hitler would turn against him at some point so he could buy time
to build up its army ready for war
o He felt isolated so wanted an ally
o He could create a buffer zone which would be useful if Hitler would invade Russia

 Why did Hitler agree to the Nazi-Soviet pact?

o he had a weak army, and this took the Russians – with a big army, out of the
equation
 What was the significance of the pact?
o some historians say it made war inevitable
o when war would break out, Hitler would have Russia on his side which would help a
lot
Causes of the Second World War?

 Hitler was to blame

o Hitler’s foreign policy aims were to overturn the Treaty of Versailles, create a greater
Germany to unite German-speaking people and to acquire Lebensraum.
o Meant Hitler would have to invade countries, which would start a war
Eliana Morris

o Some historians say that Hitler hated communism and wanted to stop it by
controlling Russia. To do this he would have to invade, starting a war.
o In Mein Kampf Hitler said that the only way to make Germany strong again was to
fight to overturn the Treaty of Versailles and take Lebensraum.
 The failure of the League of Nations
o Failure in Manchuria
 showed that the League was weak
o The Abyssinian crisis
 Showed Britain and France would undermine the League
 Showed actions of aggression would not be dealt with effectively
 No army - no actions
 The depression
o Desperate people turned to dictators like Hitler and Mussolini
 The League could not afford to put effective economic sanctions on
aggressors
o Desperate countries were too preoccupied with the own problems to support the
League, so there was less international cooperation
 Appeasement
o Opportunities to stop Hitler were missed, such as when he remilitarised the
Rhineland
o People all over Europe were desperate to avoid repeating the horrors of the First
World War
o Chamberlain made a mistake trusting Hitler
o The Munich agreement alienated Stalin who turned to Hitler and signed the Nazi-
Soviet Pact.
o Politicians like Chamberlain were to blame
 The Nazi-Soviet Pact
o Meant Hitler did not have to face a war on two fronts
o Meant Hitler was backed up by USSR
o Allowed Hitler to invade Poland, which Britain and France had promised to protect
 The Treaty of Versailles
o Hitler promised to ‘right the wrong of the Treaty’.
o Too harsh on Germany
o Britain felt Hitler should be allowed to overturn the Treaty, so didn’t intervene to
prevent events such as Anschluss at first
o Created new states such as Czechoslovakia and Poland, where many Germans were
living. Hitler was determined to reunite these people in a Greater Germany
o Territory was taken from Russia to create Poland. Russia wanted this land back and
so signed the Nazi-Soviet Pact.