Transcript Chap 12: Origins of WW2

ORIGINS OF WWII IN
EUROPE
1938-1939
What you will learn
• How Hitler took over Austria
• How Germany demanded land from
Czechoslovakia in 1938 & the reactions of
other countries
• How Hitler took over the rest of
Czechoslovakia in Mar 1939
• How Hitler’s attack on Poland in 1939 led to
the outbreak of WWII in Europe
• Why appeasement came to an end
Chronology of Events
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Austria and the Anschluss, March 1938
The Sudeten Crisis, Sep 1938
German invasion of Czechoslovakia, Mar 1939
The end of appeasement
Hitler and Poland
The Nazi-Soviet Pact, 1939
Hitler invades Poland, 1 Sep 1939
Britain and France declare war on Germany, 3 Sep 1939
Austria and the
Anschluss, March 1938
• Hitler – an Austrian
• Wanted Austria to be part of
Third Reich
• Austrian empire broke up at
the end of WWI – a small
independent Austria republic
was set up
• Treaty – no union (or
Anschluss in German)
between these two countries
Austria and the
Anschluss, March 1938
• Hitler made a number of
attempts to take over Austria
in 1930s
• The most serious, in 1934,
was stopped by Italy
• Mussolini didn’t want a
powerful Germany at its
border
• Showed support for Austrian
govt by sending his troops to
Austrian-Italian border
Austria and the
Anschluss, March 1938
• By 1938, Hitler was stronger
& more friendly with Mussolini
• Mar 1938 – Germany marched
across the border into Austria
• Austrian govt protests were
ignored
• Anschluss (union of the two
countries) completed without
any resistance
• Many Austrians welcomed the
German takeover but not the
Austrian Jews
I have only to give an
order, and in one single
night all your ridiculous
defences will be blown to
bits. You don’t seriously
believe that you can stop
me… do you? … I give
you for the last time the
chance to come to terms.
Hitler to Austrian Chancellor
Kurt Schuschnigg in 1938
Austria and the
Anschluss, March 1938
• Hitler was right when he
calculated that Britain and
France would not stop him
• They protested but took no
action
• Many Britons had felt the ban
on union of Germany and
Austria unfair
• Hitler once again took the law
into his own hands
The Sudeten Crisis
Sep 1938
• With Austria part of Germany,
Czech was surrounded by
German territory
• Czech – one of the richest
countries in eastern Europe
• Had a strong army but was no
match for the German troops
• Wanted to avoid war with
Germany
• Knew they could not stand up
against Hitler on their own
• Hope that Britain, France and
USSR would help them
The Sudeten Crisis
Sep 1938
It (Czechoslovakia) is
the last territorial
claim which I have to
make in Europe
• One Czech problem : many
different peoples lived there
• Czechs and Slovaks – 2 main
groups
• Germans, Hungarians, Poles
and Ruthenes
• Some smaller groups wanted
to join up with neighbouring
countries Germany, Hungary,
Poland
• Hitler took advantage of this
The Sudeten Crisis
Sep 1938
..villages (in
Sudetenland) are burned
down, attempts are made
to smoke out the
Germans with hand
grenades and gas…
• Encouraged different racial
groups to complain about
Czech rule
• Esp the Germans living in
Sudetenland in western Czech
• Got the Sudeten Nazi party to
make trouble for the Czech
govt
• Didn’t have much idea about
what he hoped to gain
• Only wanted to stir things up
and see what he could grab
The Sudeten Crisis
Sep 1938
• Britain and France could see a
crisis developing over the
Sudetenland
• Feared that it might lead to
war
• Tried to persuade Czech govt
to give way to Hitler
• Hoped that this would stop
him from causing more
trouble
• Exactly the appeasement that
we were talking about
previously
The Sudeten Crisis
Sep 1938
• Chamberlain was so anxious
to avoid conflict that he made
three trips to Germany in Sep
1938 to speak to Hitler
• First visit : Hitler’s mountain
home in Berchtesgaden,
Bavaria, Southern Germany
• Hitler threatened to go to war
with Czech if the Sudetenland
was not allowed to rule itself
• Chamberlain was so keen to
avoid war that he agreed to
see what concessions he
could persuade the Czech
govt to make
The Sudeten Crisis
Sep 1938
• Second visit : Godesberg in
the Rhineland
• Offered to transfer to
Germany all those parts of
Sudetenland where more than
50% of inhabitants were
German
• Hitler decided to push for
more
• Threatened to go to war again
if Sudetenland was not
transferred to Germany
immediately
The Sudeten Crisis
Sep 1938
• At the same time, he
encouraged Czech’s other
neighbours, Poland and
Hungary, to press their claims
around Czech’s borders
• Chamberlain went home
dismayed but still determined
to avoid war
• Czech govt meanwhile tried to
persuade Britain and France
to stand up to Hitler with no
success
• France and USSR had an
agreement with Czech to go
to their aid if it was attacked
The Sudeten Crisis
Sep 1938
• Third visit : 29 Sep 1938
• Conference at Munich, the
main city of Bavaria in
southern Germany
• Held at the suggestion of
Mussolini
• Reps from Britain, France,
Italy and Germany
• BUT NO CZECH REPS
PRESENT!!!!!
The Sudeten Crisis
Sep 1938
• Almost everything that Hitler
asked for was given
• Within days, Germany was in
control of the whole
Sudetenland
• At the same time, it was
agreed that border areas
would be transferred from
Czech to Hungary and Poland
• Czech lost a lot of territory
and some of its main
industries
The Sudeten Crisis
Sep 1938
• All sides were fairly happy
except one
• For Hitler – a great triumph
• He made important gains
without fighting
• Chamberlain – proof that
appeasement worked
• Britons and French happy that
war was avoided
• Czech – a great disaster and
the first step towards their
annihilation
The real triumph is that
it has shown that
representatives of four
great powers can find it
possible to agree on a
way of carrying out a
difficult and delicate
operation by discussion
instead of by force of
arms………..
Germans in Sudetenland
thanking Hitler!
GERMAN
INVASION OF
CZECHOSLOVAKIA
German invasion of
Czechoslovakia, Mar 1939
It (Czechoslovakia) is
the last territorial
claim which I have to
make in Europe
• Hitler had no intention of
keeping his promise when he
took over the Sudetenland in
Sep 1938
• Britain and France had given
way too easily over it
• He thought that they were
unlikely to oppose him if he
took over the rest of the
country
German invasion of
Czechoslovakia, Mar 1939
• Czech was much weaker than
before – unlikely to be much
resistance
• Had already sowed the seeds
of discontentment between
the Czechs and the Slovaks
• He promised the Slovaks living
in eastern Czech their own
state if they joined him
German invasion of
Czechoslovakia, Mar 1939
• German soldiers poured into
Czech in Mar 1939
• For the first time, Hitler had
taken over lands where nonGerman lived
• Unlike previously, he could not
hide his evil intentions under
the pretense of uniting the
Germans
• In the same month, he also
seized Memel, a German town
which is part of Lituania
The End of Appeasement
• Britain and France had been
rearming for some time in the
event that appeasement failed
• The German invasion of Czech
finally convinced them that
Hitler could not be trusted
• More aggressive action was
needed
• Poland looked likely to be the
next victim
• In Mar 1939, Britain and France
signed an agreement with
Poland promising to go to its aid
in the event of a German
invasion
• But still desperate to avoid war
Hitler & Poland
• Hitler was annoyed about
Britain and France’s support
for Poland
• But he didn’t take it too
seriously
• After all, France had made
similar promises to Czech but
failed to keep them
• Did not stop him from making
demands on the Polish govt to
hand over the Polish Corridor
Hitler & Poland
• This was an area on the
German-Polish border which
had been given to Poland at
the end of WWI and which
contained many Germans and
Poles
• This was to allow Poland
access to the Baltic Sea
• The city of Danzig had also
come under the control of the
League of Nations
Hitler & Poland
• He also demanded Danzig,
which had been placed under
the control of the League of
nations – mostly inhabited by
Germans
• Hitler probably expected to
get his own way without
fighting as in Czech
• Expected Britain and France
to give in at the last moment
• But he was ready to risk a war
to achieve his aim
THE NAZI-SOVIET PACT 1939
• This pact came as a great surprise to the world
• The two leaders were known to be arch enemies
• For years, Hitler had attacked communism and Stalin
had done his best to prevent growth of German power
• It was simply unthinkable for them to sign an
agreement – and they did!
• Nazi-Soviet Pact 1939
– USSR to stay neutral in any war between Germany and
Poland
– Secret clause : Both agreed to divide Poland between them
– Germany took the west; USSR eastern Poland that it lost at
the end of WWI
Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov signs the Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact while German Foreign Minister Von
Ribbentrop and Soviet leader Stalin look on under a
portrait of Lenin, August 23, 1939.
THE NAZI-SOVIET PACT 1939
• The pact allowed Hitler to risk a war with Britain and
France, knowing that he did not have to fight the
Russians as well
• Britain and France had tried to get Stalin to join them at
the last moments to support Poland
• It was too late as Stalin doubted their sincerity to
support Poland after his many overtures to them and
after Czechslovakia
• To Britain, the pact was a big blow as war with Germany
became more likely.
German troops in Warsaw, Poland in Sep 1939
HITLER
INVADES
POLAND
Map of Europe on
the eve of WWII
HITLER INVADES POLAND
• The Nazi-Soviet Pact gave Hitler confidence to force
Poland to give in to his demands
• USSR will not fight him; Britain and France unlikely to
go to war
• Even if they did, they were so far away that they
couldn’t do much
• However, the Polish govt did not behave like the Czech
govt
“The whole people will fight with determination for Polish freedom and
independence. Nothing will be given up without a fight…. The danger
from the air will not daunt Poland.”
Printed in a Polish newspaper, Aug 1939
HITLER INVADES POLAND
• The Polish government refused to grant any of
Hitler’s demands
• Hitler decided that an invasion was inevitable
• 5 am, 1 Sep 1939 : the Luftwaffe started
bombing targets all over Poland.
• 6 am, 1 Sep 1939 : German forces crossed the
Polish border
BRITAIN AND FRANCE DECLARE WAR
• Even at the last minute, Chamberlain was still
hoping to come to some agreement with Hitler
• However, the British parliament exerted great
pressure on him to declare war
• Message to Hitler condemning his action :
handed over in Berlin – 9 am 3 Sep 1939
• Gave Germany two hours to withdraw its
troops from Poland
• Otherwise Britain would declare war
on Germany
• No reply from Hitler – war was declared
• Later the same day, France followed
BLITZKRIEG
The Germans used the technique of
“blitzkrieg” which means “lightning
war”. It began with the airforce
bombing important sites behind Polish
lines. Then tanks with infantry followed
this up. It relied on strong armoured
divisions and airforce.
AFTERNOTE
Britain and France were unable to act
quickly enough to help Poland. Although
the Polish army fought hard, their men
and horses were no match for tanks and
aircraft. Within a month, Poland had
been defeated.