Reasons for the Outbreak of WWII in Europe

Hitler's Expansionist Policy
1. Reasons for the expansionist policy
  1. Establish a greater Germany
    1. By acquiring lands
    2. Uniting ethnic Germans into one country
  2. Creating Lebensraum
    1. Large areas in Eastern Europe, like Soviet Union and Poland to provide living space for growing Germans
  3. Establish a superior Aryan race
    1. By rebuilding armed forces and exterminating “inferior races”
2. How did Hitler conduct his expansionist policy?
  1. 1. Withdrawal from League of Nations and Geneva Disarmament Conference
    1. Hitler wanted France to disarm to the level of armaments allowed to Germany
      1. France objected
        Hitler withdrew from the Disarmament conference and League of Nations as he felt that Germany was not protected
        Hitler rearmed German
  2. 2. Conscription and rearmament
    1. Nazis quickened the rearmament plan to strengthen and rebuild Germany’s national pride after TOV
      1. Reintroduced conscription which was compulsory(an army of 550,000)
        Rebuilt navy, air force and army
        Conscription only announced to the world in 1935. Allies’ were concerned but they only protested verbally and did no action
        Germany’s military power was built up
    2. Remilitaristion of Rhineland
      1. Hitler used the 1935 France-Soviet alliance as an excuse to remilitarise the Rhineland so as to act as defense for Germany
  3. 3. German involvement in the Spanish Civil War
    1. Hitler sent soldiers and equipment to support the Spanish Nationalist forces during the Spanish Civil War in 1937
      1. Divert France and Britain’s attention from his plans for expansion into eastern Europe
      2. Also allowed Hitler to test the strength of his army and air force
      3. Portrayed that he was supporting anti-communist rebels
      4. League of Nations, France and Britain did not take action
        Hitler became bolder as Britain and France were seen as weak by him from the lack of action
  4. 6. Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact
    1. Germany and Soviet Union signed a pact in 1939 to avoid 2 front war
      1. The pact allowed Hitler to invade Poland as he would not have to face Britain, France and the Soviet Union at the same time. It also stated that the two countries would be on friendly terms and to split Eastern Europe into Soviet and German spheres of influence, with Poland divided into two
  5. 5. Czechoslovakia – Munich Agreement
    1. People in Sudentenland area in Czechoslovakia are largely Germans and they demanded to be part of Germany
      1. Hitler threatened to go to war for Sudentenland if needed
        In 1938, Munich agreement was signed between France, Britain, Germany and Italy
        Czechoslovakia and the Soviets were not consulted. Germany had control of Sudentenland but was told not to invade
        Leading to Czech leader resigning
        Hitler now wanted Czechoslovakia too
        Germany invaded and conquered Czechoslovakia on 1939
        France and Britain then realised Hitler could not be trusted and warned him that they would go to war with Germany if he invades Poland
  6. 4. German Unification with Austria
    1. Hitler encouraged Austrian Nazis to support the Anschluss with Germany
      1. Pressured the Austrian chancellor to agree to an Anschluss
        A plebiscite was held and 99.75% of Austrians agreed on unification with Germany
        Germany and Austria was unified on 1938
        However, France and Britain took no action although Hitler breached the Treaty of Versailles. Austria’s resources now belonged to Hitler
  7. 7. Invasion of Poland
    1. Hitler demanded Danzig to be part of Germany
    2. Hitler wanted a railroad built across Polish Corridor to reconnect Germany with East Prussia
      1. Britain and France were willing to negotiate with Germany about Danzig but their negotiations did not go according to what he hoped
        Hitler invaded Poland in 1939
        France and Britain declared war on Germany 1939
Weakness of the League Of Nations
1. Failure of disarmament
  1. Attempts at disarmament
    1. Locarno Treaties(1925)
    2. League Commission to prepare for World Disarmament Conference(1926)
    3. Washington Naval Conference(1921)
    4. Kellogg-Briand Pact(1928)
    5. World Disarmament Conference (1932-1934)
  2. Why was the league unable to enforce disarmament successfully?
    1. Lack of USA involvement
    2. Major Powers feared being vulnerable
    3. Stronger nations acted on their own interests
      1. Britain and France placed their national interests above the League's as they were severely weakened by WW1 and the Great Depression
        Led to distrust and tension among nations which would eventually lead to WW2
    4. Powerful countries still had military capacity for war and there was nothing capable of stopping them from engaging in conflicts
2. Failure to intervene in the Abyssinian crisis
  1. Reasons for Mussolini's invasion of Abyssinia
    1. Wanted to make Italy a great power
    2. Exact revenge for Italy's defeat to Abyssinia in 1896
    3. Exploit Abyssinia's mineral wealth
  2. Measures taken by League of Nations and the major powers
    1. Abyssinian Emperor Haile Selassie appealed to the League for help
      1. Measures taken by the League of Nations
        After Italy invaded Abyssinia in 1935, the League condemned Italy as they went against its covenant and imposed economic sanctions on them, but did nothing else to stop Italy
      2. Measures taken by Britain and France
        Britain and France did not intervene as they did not want to offend Italy, and they had signed the Stresa Front, a treaty between the three
  3. Implications of the Abyssinia Crisis
    1. Signaled that the League of Nations was ineffective and did not have the ability to maintain world peace and resolve conflicts
    2. Convinced Britain and France to take things into their own hands rather than rely on the League
    3. Hitler and Mussolini signed the Rome-Berlin axis Treaty in November 1936
    4. Italy conquered Abyssinia in May 1936, emboldening Mussolini and Hitler in their ambitions
The Policy of Appeasement
1. Appeasement policy
  1. Britain and France adopted the policy of appeasement in their interaction with Hitler. Both France and Britain did not stand up against him. They chose to negotiate and appease Hitler to avoid war
2. Reasons for appeasement policy
  1. 1. Fear of another war
    1. Britain and France are economically and militarily unprepared for another major war
      1. They suffered badly from World War 1
  2. 2. Weakness of the League of Nations
    1. The League of Nations was incapable of solving conflicts
    2. Britain and France who plays a big role in the League of Nations was ineffective handled things in their own ways
      1. Chose appeasement to satisfy Hitler
  3. 3. Buying time to rearm
    1. WW1 had weakened France and Britain greatly in terms of economically and militarily
      1. Both countries needed time to strengthen their military
        Appeasement was chosen as it seemed as the best way to postpone war
  4. 4. Genuine sympathy for Germany over Treaty of Versailles
    1. Many British politicians through Treaty of Versailles was too harsh on Germany
      1. The British thought that German grievances were justified and by giving in could avoid another war
  5. 5. Chamberlain's misjudgment of Hitler
    1. British Prime Minister(Neville Chamberlain) believed Hitler was reasonable and would be satisfied with the negotiation terms
      1. Chamberlain believed Hitler would keep his promises but Hitler broke them
        Hitler got Sudentenland and continued invading Czechoslovakia and Poland
  6. 6. Fear of Communism
    1. Britain and France hated communism as it contradicted their beliefs of capitalism and democracy
      1. After Hitler banned the communist party in Germany, France and Britain believed that allowing Hitler to rearm would make Germany stronger which would act as an shield against Soviet Union and communism
        Hitler was seen as a potential ally against communism

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Reasons for the Outbreak of WWII in Europe

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