Hitler's Road to War and Appeasement PDF

Hitler’s Road to War and the Policy of Appeasement Essential ConceptLearning: and Context: War and Violence Curriculum Outcome: In order to gain power, support and popularity, Adolf Hitler made several promises to the German people. He promised to reclaim the lands that Germany had lost...

Hitler’s Road to War and the Policy of Appeasement Essential ConceptLearning: and Context: War and Violence Curriculum Outcome: In order to gain power, support and popularity, Adolf Hitler made several promises to the German people. He promised to reclaim the lands that Germany had lost following WWI under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. He vowed to unite everyone who spoke German in Europe. Finally, the Fuehrer pledged to acquire more land in Eastern Europe to support Germany’s growing population. This plan known as Lebensraum translated to “living space” or “room to live”. Hitler’s promises would require the new Nazi government to acquire land by force and annexation in order to meet his goals. These actions would lead to open defiance of the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. Below is a list of the violations approved by the Third Reich: 1. Hitler reintroduced conscription and rapidly rearmed Germany in 1935. 2. Between 1935 and 1936, the Axis alliance was formed between Germany, Italy & Japan. 3. In 1936, the Nazis would reoccupy the Rhineland (DMZ area bordering France). 4. Germany annexed Austria in 1938. The Western Policy of Appeasement As Hitler defied the Treaty of Versailles again and again, the West did not take action. This type of diplomacy is known as appeasement. It is the attempt to avoid conflict through compromise. Often times the compromise of appeasement meant giving in to the demands of an aggressor to avoid war. The Western powers (Britain, France, and United States) were unwilling to risk war again so soon after the Great War. The United States had reverted to its isolationist policies distancing itself from European politics. The British government’s position reflected unwillingness of its citizens to become involved in another war. The French opted for a defensive mentality – defending Maginot Line, a fortified line of forts built along the French-German border.  Hitler’s Road to War and the Policy of Appeasement Munich Agreement (agreement to allow Germany to take-over the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia) Britain and France reasoned that the agreement would ensure peace by giving the Sudetenland, an area where many Czechs spoke German, to the Third Reich in exchange for the leaving the rest of Czechoslovakia independent. Few can forget the image of the (more relieved than confident) British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain emerging from his plane, holding a piece of paper bearing his signature and that of Adolf Hitler, and claiming that he can now guarantee “peace in our time”. How wrong he was! Hitler would violate the Munich Agreement in March 1939 and take over the rest of Czechoslovakia. Yet the West continued its appeasement policy. Thus, in the late 1930’s, Britain, and France, so dedicated to the prospect of peace at any cost, were willing to appease Hitler in the hopes of satisfying his appetite for German expansion. Britain and France knew that if they resisted with military power, another World War, awaited. No one was ready to face this possibility. The Invasion of Poland Hitler started to threaten Poland soon after he had taken control of Czechoslovakia. Britain and France quickly promised to help the Poles. Hitler and the Nazis had become too great of a threat to Europe. Hitler was, however, more concerned with the USSR. Large parts of Poland had once belonged to Russia. Hitler knew that the Soviets would not stand by while Germany took control of these lands. Hitler therefore offered Stalin a deal. They would divide Poland. Germany would take the western half and the USSR the eastern. Although the Third Reich’s fascist government despised communism, Hitler had learned from the mistakes of the First World and made a deal with Stalin to avoid a war on two fronts. Stalin, equally skeptical of the Nazis, signed the agreement in order to buy more time for Soviet industrialization. This agreement, known as the Non- aggression Pact or Nazi-Soviet Pact, would be signed on August 24, 1939. Hitler and the Nazis invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. Britain declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939. World War II had begun.