Why did the Second World War break out in 1939?

Let’s watch a quick video to remind us of this topic.

In order to understand the outbreak of war in 1939 it is crucial to understand what happened in the 1930s and to remember the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. Germany had been humiliated. German resentment was often bubbling under the surface and it took an outspoken, passionate, nationalist leader to generate a culture in which war might break out. Just such a man started to speak out in the 1920s: Adolf Hitler.

What were Hitler’s political ideas?

It is probably true that Hitler always suspected he might have to take Germany in a War, he realised that one was likely if the tried to change things in Europe in the way that he wanted. In 1924 he mapped out his vision in his book, Mein Kampf.

His key points were:

1. The Treaty of Versailles must be abolished

In Hitler’s eyes it was too harsh, a constant reminder of Germany’s biggest failure. As a nationalist, this cut him deep. He referred to the German leaders who signed it as the ‘November Criminals’. He vowed to reverse it as leader. Many of the other changes and plans he had directly led from this aim.

2. Germany should increase her territory

Hitler wanted to get the land back that Germany had lost in the Treaty of Versailles. He believed Germans were a distinct race and as such, Germans living in Austria, Czechoslovakia and Poland should rejoin Germany. This is known as Lebensraum (even though it is a German word, you HAVE to learn it), also known as ‘living space’, for Germans.

When Hitler went on to take over the Sudentenland, Austria and to invade Poland, he was trying to complete this aim.

3. Communism was vile and should be abolished

Hitler believed Bolsheviks (what Hitler referred to Russian Communists as) had been partly responsible for Germany’s defeat in WW1. Hitler thought he could kill two birds with one stone by expanding the German Empire into the Soviet Union and destroying Communism while he did so.

In 1941, when Hitler broke the Nazi-Soviet pact and invaded Russia he was trying to complete this aim.

What were Hitler’s first few steps to war?

The path Germany took, particularly after 1933, reads like a blueprint for a country that wants to start a war. They gradually improved their strength and territory bit by bit, achieving their aims in stages, all the while not provoking the world’s powers (i.e. Britain and France) until they were ready to fight. However you shouldn’t assume that Hitler had a grand plan for a war. Some believe Hitler gambled on a few decisions and was was encouragd to continue by the reaction of countries who were supposed to be leading the League of Nations (GB, and France).

You need to make up your own mind, by learning the key steps to war.

Rearmament

Hitler came to power in 1933. He immediately increased Germany’s armed forces. This was popular and gave jobs to many unemployed men, heightened by the Great Depression. By 1936 conscription (where men are forced to join the armed forces) was introduced and massive rallies were held to show off Germany’s military strength. By 1939, Germany’s army had increased from 100,000 soldiers (the limit set by the Treaty of Versailles) to 950,000.

Saar plebiscite

A plebiscite is where people vote what country they want to be part of. In 1935 the League of Nations arranged a plebiscite in the Saar region between France and Germany. Hitler received 90% of the vote – a huge confidence boost for the Hitler’s new government.

Remilitarisation of the Rhineland

In 1936 Hitler moved German troops into the Rhineland. This had been forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles as the Rhineland was a buffer between Germany and France. It was his first big risk and Hitler had instructed his generals to back down if the French stood up to them. Germany was still nowhere near as strong as the French army; however, they got away with it! France was distracted by events in Abyssinia, plus had an election coming up – and no one wanted to be the politician who took France into ANOTHER war. This attitude was to prove increasingly common over the next few years.

Anschluss

Now Hitler knew no one had an appetite for war (except himself perhaps) and took encouragement to start completing his aims. Germany received a further boost by successfully trialling his new air force in the Spanish Civil War. By 1938 Hitler and Germany were ready for the next big step: Anschluss. This is the political union between Germany and Austria – again forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles.

Austria had a number of powerful ties with Germany – many Germans lived there, they spoke the same language and there was a strong Nazi Party there as well. Hitler encouraged the Austrian Nazis to stir up trouble. The Austrian President asked for help from Britain and France, who refused, and then for a plebiscite. This might not have given Hitler the result he wanted so he marched German troops into Austria to ensure a ‘fair’ plebiscite was conducted. The result was a 99.75% victory for Germany.

The picture on the right shows the ballot paper the Nazis used for the election. The big circle is for people who wanted Germany and Austrian to be bonded in political union.

The Failing League of Nations

There were other factors to consider during the 1930s. The League of Nations was crumbling through its slowness and unwillingness to act.

Alliances with Italy and Spain

Germany and Italy, led by Mussolini, were drawn together by their mutual ideology: Fascism. In 1935 the two countries formed an Axis, showing their unity. In 1937 Germany even got to try out her new weapons in the Spanish Civil War where they fought on the Fascist side. The destruction Hitler’s new air force caused can be seen in Picasso’s masterpiece, ‘Guernica’ showing a devastated and terrified Spanish town called Guernica.

These are all factors you should consider when contemplating the collapse of international peace.

Why did Britain and France follow the policy of Appeasement?

At this point the temperature was heating up across Europe. It is crucial to look at the reasons for and against Britain and France’s lack of action in preventing Hitler. The policy by which Britain and France stood aside in the late 1930s while Hitler and Germany became increasingly aggressive and militant is known as Appeasement.

This has been seen as unwise for a number of reasons.

It encouraged Hitler to take greater risks each time he got away with his aggressive actions.
It meant Germany could increase its strength
It was based on a massive misjudgement…that Hitler could be trusted
It made the USSR annoyed of Britain and France, and more likely to protect herself through other means (e.g. the Nazi-Soviet Pact)

The policy of Appeasement looks stupid and a direct casue of war if you look at it with hindsight. This is where you look at what happened (in this case WW2) and work backwards to see a pattern. You must be careful not to think that Appeasement was simply an awful idea.

So, there were several good reasons why Britain followed the policy of appeasement, and you need to balance them with the negative aspects we have just considered.

It gave Britain a chance to rearm. Britain was no more ready for war than Germany before 1939. In 1938 Neville Chamberlain started rearming Britain so that she would be ready.
The Treaty of Versailles (as you have studied) was extremely harsh.
Hitler was anti-Communism, which was a good thing in many people’s eyes.
As with everything…the shadow of WW1 – people still remembered the horrors of the previous conflict.
Plus: USA would not support them, Britain had very little money after the Great Depression and Britain’s Empire was not as steady as it had been 20 years ago – could Britain rely on its support?

It is incredibly difficult to decide whether Appeasement was a mistake…but GCSE history is about making your own mind up and justifying your ideas, so good luck! There is an interesting article on the role Winston Churchill played in the late 1930s at http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/churchill_gathering_storm_01.shtml.

What were the short term causes of the collapse of international peace?

Sudetenland

The Sudetenland is a section of Czechoslovakia which borders Germany. The area had been Germany’s before the Treaty of Versailles and now many Germans were now living in Czechoslovakia. The area was the most obvious target for Hitler now he had Austria (even though he promised Chamberlain he wouldn’t!) In similar events to Anschluss, Hitler’s supporters started causing trouble in the Sudatenland in May 1938. Hitler made it clear he would invade if necessary. The Czechs promised to fight back.

The Sudetenland was valuable for its:

Forts
Railways
Industries
it was a strong position to use as a defence against Germany

On 15 September 1938, Chamberlain flew to meet Hitler to sort out the crisis. Hitler wanted only part of the Sudatenland.

On 19 September 1938, Britain and France took this to the Czechs. Hitler now changed his mind and wanted the Sudatenland.

The Munich Conference

On 29 September 1938 Britain, France, Germany and Italy (but not Czechoslovakia!) met at the Munich Conference. They announced Czechoslovakia was to lose the Sudatenland. If the Czechs fought back, they would receive no support.

Chamberlain famously returned home a hero. He declared:

This is peace for our time!

Whoops.

Invasion of Czechoslovakia

In March 1939 Hitler invaded the rest of the Czechoslovakia. Britain and France did not do anything to stop it. However, enough was enough. They declared that were Germany to invade Poland, his next obvious target in Eastern Europe, they would declare war. It is possible that, as theyhad given in to him before, that Hitler didn’t take this threat seriously.

The Nazi-Soviet Pact

The Soviet leader was a man named Josef Stalin. Throughout the 1930s Stalin started to get more and more worried about Britain and France’s motives in allowing Germany to get stronger. He saw an openly hostile, anti-Communist power grow in Europe. In his view, Britain and France were allowing this to happen so Germany would stand up to Stalin. Stalin had then not been invited to the talks in Munich which had expanded German land further east towards the USSR. On 24 August 1939, Stalin decided once and for all Britain and France would not stand up to Hitler. He knew Hitler was a man who would probably go back on his word but decided he must take matters into his own hands and signed the Nazi-Soviet Pact.

In public this said they would not attack each other.

In private they agreed to split up Poland between themselves.

War

The Nazi-Soviet Pact was a stunning achievement for Hitler. He could now invade Poland without fear of Soviet retribution! On 1 September 1939 invaded Poland. Everything up to this point had suggested Britain and France would allow him to continue Liebensraum and overturning the Treaty of Versailles. All he had to do next was continue into the USSR and defeat Bolshevism.

HOWEVER, the next day Britain and France declared war. Hitler had provoked the greatest war of all time, against two countries he had never intended to fight. This time, Hitler had overstepped the mark. The result? Twenty years after waking up to a world ravaged by 5 years of devastating warfare, the world woke up only to find themselves at it again.

Activities

Notes

Before you move on, have a go at making notes in detail about each of the questions below. These are the questions the exam board want you to base your learning around.

What were the long-term consequences of the peace treaties of 1919–1923?
What were the consequences of the failures of the League of Nations in the 1930s?
How far was Hitler’s foreign policy to blame for the outbreak of war in 1939?
Was the policy of appeasement justified?
How important was the Nazi-Soviet Pact?
Why did Britain and France declare war on Germany in September 1939?

Past Questions

Other Sites

General Sites

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/history/mwh/ir1/ - page of videos, revision and tests on the causes of the Second World War. A really good place to start.

http://www.johndclare.net/RoadtoWWII1.htm - great site for the big picture

http://www.schoolhistory.co.uk/gcselinks/modern/hitler.html – brilliant links here to help you learn.

A* Sites – great for keeping your sights high!

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/GERsudetenland.htm

http://www.learningwithsouthglos.org/History/acrobat/KS4/HitlersForeignPolicy.pdf - detailed notes.

You can also find some detailed notes here.

http://www.tes.co.uk/teaching-resource/TES-collection-Modern-World-History-6067382/ - you could download some quiz cards to work through with a study buddy.

GCSE History Revision 2011-12