The road to war

Why had international peace collapsed by 1939?: 

Why had international peace collapsed by 1939? Was Hitler a gambler who could have been stopped?

What is appeasement?: 

What is appeasement? This means to avoid a war by giving the enemy what they want. This was the policy used by Britain and France in the 1930’s Some historians argue that appeasement was a bad idea. They say that Hitler behaved like a gambler, that he kept taking risks. Each time that he got what he wanted he took a greater risk. If Britain and France had stood up to him earlier then he would have stopped. The aim of this powerpoint is to decide if appeasement was a bad policy and if the leaders of Britain and France can be blamed for World War Two.

Hitler’s Rise to power: 

Hitler’s Rise to power Use the video clip. Summarise the reasons Hitler came to power. How had Germany been affected by the depression?

What were Hitler’s aims?: 

What were Hitler’s aims? In 1924 Hitler wrote Mein Kampf (My Struggle). In this book he set out his three main aims Abolish the treaty of Versailles, Expand German Territory Leibensraum United all German speaking people Defeat communism.

Was Hitler a Gambler?: 

Was Hitler a Gambler?

Why had international peace collapsed by 1939?: 

Why had international peace collapsed by 1939? Steps to war

Gamble One: Hitler builds up his army.: 

Gamble One: Hitler builds up his army. Hitler ignored the Treaty of Versailles. He increased the size of his army and built weapons although this had been forbidden by the treaty of Versailles. Although Britain and France did not like this, they did not want to have another war. Hitler’s first gamble had paid off, the British and French did nothing.

Hitler builds up his army: How he did it: 

Hitler builds up his army: How he did it March 1935 Hitler announced that Germany had a military air force (the Luftwaffe ) and that he was introducing conscription (compulsory military service).

Hitler builds up his army: The reasons he gave: 

Hitler builds up his army: The reasons he gave H. Built up the army to deal with unemployment. He had promised to make Germany strong again.

Hitler builds up his army: The response from Britain and France : 

Hitler builds up his army: The response from Britain and France Britain, France and Italy condemned German re-armament but did nothing. Anglo-German naval agreement signed which allowed Germany to have a navy 35% size of Britain's.

Gamble Two: German troops enter the Rhineland: 

Gamble Two: German troops enter the Rhineland The Rhineland was an area of Germany bordering France. The Treaty of Versailles had ruled that Germany was not allowed to have an army there. Hitler ignored the Treaty and sent his soldiers into the Rhineland. However it was a gamble... If you meet any resistance retreat.

The Rhineland : What Hitler did and when: 

The Rhineland : What Hitler did and when March 1936 – Hitler marched his troops into the Rhineland. The Rhineland had been demilitarised as part of the Versailles treaty.

The Rhineland: The reasons he gave: 

The Rhineland: The reasons he gave France and USSR had just signed a treaty to protect each other against attack from Germany. H. used this agreement to claim that he was under threat from France, saying that it could lead to being attacked from both east and west.

German troops enter the Rhineland: The Response from Britain and France: 

German troops enter the Rhineland: The Response from Britain and France The British refused to do anything. The French although worried could not act alone. The league condemned Hitler’s actions but did nothing.

Gamble Three: The Anschluss: 

Gamble Three: The Anschluss Hitler believed that all German speaking people should be united. This led to the Anschluss where German soldiers marched into Austria and united the country. *Image via Bing

Gamble Three: The Anschluss: 

Gamble Three: The Anschluss Once again the gamble paid off. Many in Britain and France said that Austria was German anyway. *Image via Bing

The Anschluss: What Hitler did and when: 

The Anschluss: What Hitler did and when There was a strong Nazi party in Austria. Hitler encouraged the Nazis to hold demonstrations calling for union with Germany. There were riots. Hitler told Austrian chancellor Schuschnigg that only Anschluss with Germany could sort out the problems . Schuschnigg called a plebiscite (where the people were to vote on whether to join Germany) Hitler sent his troops in.

The Anschluss: The Reasons Hitler gave: 

The Anschluss: The Reasons Hitler gave H. Sent his troops in to stop riots and to make sure that the plebiscite was trouble free. With the Nazi troops in Austria 99.75% Austrians voted in favour of Anschluss.

The Anschluss: The Response from Britain and France: 

The Anschluss: The Response from Britain and France No military confrontation from Britain and France. Chamberlain the British prime minister felt that Austrians and Germany had a right to be united.

Gamble 4: The Sudetenland: 

Gamble 4: The Sudetenland Hitler now wanted to unite Germans in Czechoslovakia with Germany. The French had promised to help Czechoslovakia and prepared for war. Chamberlain, the British Prime Minister wanted to avoid war. In September 1938 he met Hitler in Munich.

Gamble 4: The Sudetenland: 

Gamble 4: The Sudetenland As a result of the Munich conference Hitler was given the Sudetenland. He was warned that he was bringing Europe closer to war. Chamberlain returned to Britain as a hero.

Gamble 5: The rest of Czechoslovakia : 

Gamble 5: The rest of Czechoslovakia Hitler gambles again. He breaks his word and invades the rest of the country. Britain and France do nothing, however they promise Poland that they will protect them from Hitler.

The Sudetenland and Czechoslovakia: What Hitler did: 

The Sudetenland and Czechoslovakia: What Hitler did The Sudetenland Germans who lived in Czech. Demanded to be part of Germany. May 1938 H. made it clear that he intended to fight Czech. If necessary. The Czech’s were determined to keep Sudetenland it was important for their defences. March 1939 H took rest of Czech.

The Sudetenland and Czechoslovakia: The reasons he gave: 

The Sudetenland and Czechoslovakia: The reasons he gave H. Claimed that Czechoslovakia Was mistreating the Sudeten Germans and he intended to rescue them by 1 st Oct 1938 .

The Sudetenland and Czechoslovakia: The reaction from Britain and France: 

The Sudetenland and Czechoslovakia : The reaction from Britain and France Chamberlain flew to meet Hitler on 15 th September Hitler said only interested in parts of Sudetenland 19 th September Hitler changed his mind wanted all the Sudetenland Meeting held at Munich, they decided to give Hitler what he wanted. Promised to protect rest of Czech. Britain and France did nothing

Gamble 6: The invasion of Poland: 

Gamble 6: The invasion of Poland Hitler and Stalin make a deal and divide Poland between them. Hitler claimed that he was reclaiming land lost in the Treaty of Versailles he also expected Britain and France to do nothing.

The invasion of Poland: What Hitler did and when: 

The invasion of Poland: What Hitler did and when 24 th August 1939: Germany and USSR signed the Nazi – Soviet pact They agreed not to attack each other. 1 st September 1939 Poland was invaded

The Invasion of Poland: Hitler’s reasons: 

The Invasion of Poland: Hitler’s reasons Lebensraum – living space for Germans

The Invasion of Poland: The Response from Britain and France: 

The Invasion of Poland: The Response from Britain and France 2 nd September Britain and France declared war on Germany

The outbreak of war: 

The outbreak of war September 1939 – Chamberlain declares war on Germany. Hitler was suprised that Britain would go to war over Poland.

Was Hitler a gambler or did he want war from the start?: 

Was Hitler a gambler or did he want war from the start? *Image via Bing

PowerPoint Presentation: 

The Guilty Men? Was appeasement a mistake?

Arguments for appeasement: 

Arguments for appeasement Germany deserved a fair deal Fear of another world war Fear of Communism Britain needed time The British people had to want war

Arguments against appeasement: 

Arguments against appeasement It encouraged Hitler to be agressive Germany was growing stronger The Munich agreement was a disaster Appeasement scared the USSR Hitler was determined to conquer Eastern Europe