The Escalation of Tension, 1936-38 and the Role of Appeasement

Question 1

What did Hitler order his men to do if opposed?

Answer 1

Retreat (“run away with their tails between their legs”)

Hitler was faced with no opposition as Britain saw it as Hitler walking into his own backyard

The French government were in a general election at the time, no one wanted to be the one responsible for pulling France into a potential war and risking the election

Question 2

When was the reoccupation of the Rhineland?

Answer 2

7th March 1936

Question 3

What crisis were Britain and France busy dealing with in 1936?

Answer 3

Abyssinian crisis

Question 4

How many troops did Hitler send to the Rhineland in March 1936?

Answer 4

22,000

Question 5

What percentage of Rhinelanders voted to return to Germany?

Answer 5

98%

Question 6

What was the Rhineland?

Answer 6

The Rhineland (it contained 15 million German people) had been a demilitarised zone since the Treaty of Versailles, and Germany was forbidden to keep any of its army there. This was also reinforced through the 1925 Locarno Treaty.

Question 7

What was Hitler’s first course of action to do with the Rhineland?

Answer 7

In the 7th March 1936, Hitler ordered nineteen German battalions, containing 22,000 soldiers and armed police to march, many even also rode bicycles, publicly into the Rhineland. The generals were ordered to “run away with their tails between their legs” (retreat) if opposed. However, neither Britain nor France responded. The Rhinelanders greeted the troops with flowers.

Question 8

How many battalions did Hitler order to enter the Rhineland? How did they enter?

Answer 8

Hitler ordered nineteen German battalions, containing 22,000 soldiers and armed police to march, many even also rode bicycles, publicly into the Rhineland.

Question 9

How did the Rhinelanders react?

Answer 9

The Rhinelanders greeted the troops with flowers. They wanted to be a part of the glory of Hitler’s third Reich.

Question 10

How did Britain react to the remilitarisation of the Rhineland?

Answer 10

• The British leadership was preoccupied with the Abyssinian crisis.
• After successfully remilitarising and reoccupying the Rhineland, Hitler suggested a 25-year non-aggression pact with the great powers. He did this to appear less aggressive.
• The depression causing problems at home meant that Britain was reluctant to do anything.

Question 11

How did France react to the remilitarisation of the Rhineland?

Answer 11

• France was suffering a financial crisis and the politicians were distracted as they were fighting a general election at the time, no one wanted to be the one responsible for pulling France into a potential war and risking the election
• Much of the French military was located in Tunisia in case they needed to intervene in the Abyssinian crisis
• The French overestimated the size of the German military entering the Rhineland. They believed that the German army entering the Rhineland bigger than it was- they thought this was a battle that would cause a lot casualties and they would not win.
• After successfully remilitarising and reoccupying the Rhineland, Hitler suggested a 25-year non-aggression pact with the great powers. He did this to appear less aggressive.

Question 12

What was the German reaction to the remilitarisation of the Rhineland?

Answer 12

There were several consequences of the German remilitarisation and reoccupation of the Rhineland:

❖Hitler popularity skyrocketed in Germany. The Rhinelander welcomed the Germans with Flowers

❖Hitler quickly gained confidence that there would be no reaction from France and Britain to his aggressive foreign policy.

❖Hitler was soon able to build up his defences along the French border, known as the Siegfried Line.

❖Many historians think Britain and France missed their last opportunity to stop Hitler without a full-scale war.

Question 13

What was the plebiscite score for the reunification between the Rhinelanders and the Germans?

Answer 13

The Rhinelanders voted in favour of reoccupation by 98%

Question 14

Hitler supported Franco in the Spanish Civil War so he could test what?

Answer 14

Luftwaffe

Question 15

What 3 countries formed the Anti-Comintern Pact in 1937?

Answer 15

Germany, Italy and Japan (to stop the spread of communism)

Question 16

What did Hitler offer Britain in order to build an alliance with them, how did Britain reach?

Answer 16

• Proposed a non-aggression pact between the 2 countries that would last for 25 years.
• Britain did not want to sign up to an official alliance but did want to coordinate with Hitler to avoid war (for example, through appeasement) - or least to hold this off for long enough to rearm, raise the money for war, and convince the British public this was the right path to follow.

Question 17

What was Hitler’s relationship like with Spain? How did Spain respond?

Answer 17

• Hitler wanted to support the nationalist fascists in the Spanish Civil War. He had sent German troops to assist the war efforts and was even permitted to test his Luftwaffe in Spanish territory.
• The leader of the nationalist fascists, General Franco, was thrilled to have Hitler’s support. By 1939 he had won the war in Spain and became the dictator. This was largely due to the help he received from the Nazis.

Question 18

What was Hitler’s relationship like with Italy? How did Italy respond?

Answer 18

• Through the Spanish Civil War and their joint assistance of the nationalist fascists, Hitler saw many similarities between himself and Italian dictator Mussolini, and wanted to build a strong alliance.
• Although Italy had blocked Hitler from invading Austria in 1934, by 1936 Mussolini wanted to create an alliance with Hitler, and they signed the Rome-Berlin Axis. Mussolini had also lost faith and was annoyed with the allies, due to the League, Britain and France not supporting him in the Abyssinian crisis.

Question 19

What did Hitler and Mussolini sign in 1936?

Answer 19

Rome-Berlin Axis 1936

Question 20

What was Hitler’s relationship like with Japan? How did Japan respond?

Answer 20

• Hitler was keen to build an alliance with Japan due to mutual shared hatred and rivalry against the Communist USSR.
• Japan was happy to align itself with Germany and signed the Anti-Comintern Pact in 1936.

Question 21

What pact was signed in November 1936 between Japan and Germany?

Answer 21

Anti-Comintern Pact

Question 22

Who signed the Anti-Comintern pact a year later?

Answer 22

Italy

Question 23

What were the aims of the Anti-Comintern pact?

Answer 23

This pact mean a pact of anti-communism, where the aim was to limit communist influence around the world- particularly aimed towards the USSR.

Question 24

How many opponents were not allowed to vote in the 1938 plebiscite?

Answer 24

80,000

Question 25

What was the plebiscite score for the 1938 Anschluss?

Answer 25

99.75%

Question 26

In March 1938 Austria united with Germany. What was the name of the Austrian chancellor who
resigned? Who took over?

Answer 26

Schuschnigg (Austrian Nazi Seyss-Inquart then took over)

Question 27

What was Anschluss with Austria?

Answer 27

Anschluss is the word given to the union of Germany and Austria. This took place in March 1938, despite being forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles.

Question 28

When was Anschluss?

Answer 28

12th March 1938

Question 29

How many German speakers were in Austria 1938?

Answer 29

8 million German speakers. This would be a method to further his dream of Volksdeutsche and reversing the wretched Treaty of Versailles.

Question 30

How would Anschluss allow Hitler to continue his plan of destroying communism?

Answer 30

It would also be a perfect opportunity to enact Lebensraum and expand Eastwards.

Question 31

What happened in Anschluss 1938?

Answer 31

1. In 1938, Austrian Nazis planned an assassination on the new chancellor, Schuschnigg, but the Police discovered the perpetrator and stopped this scheme. The Austrian Nazis were imprisoned but Schuschnigg still felt vulnerable therefore attempted to co-operate with Hitler as much as possible so he had no excuse for aggression.
2. In 1936, Schuschnigg signed the German-Austrian Agreement, recognising Austrian independence. However, this allowed Hitler to have official posts in Austria as Austria’s foreign policy had to be consistent with Germany’s. When Schuschnigg visited Hitler in 1938 at Berchtesgaden, Hitler demanded that Nazis got key government posts in Austria so Schuschnigg made Nazi Seyss Inquart Minister of Interior. The Nazis now had full control of the Austrian police force, who turned a blind eye to Nazi terrorist attacks on the Austrian government. Schuschnigg had agreed due to discovering that the Austrian Nazis had been planing a revolution months earlier, in January 1938.
3. Schuschnigg feared the Nazis unlawfully taking over so arranged a plebiscite on Austria and Germany uniting in Anschluss to discover what the people desired. Hitler thought the votes would be against him, so placed German troops on the border in a intimidation tactic, threatening invasion. Similar to Italy in 1934 Anschluss attempt, however this time due to the Rome-Berlin, Schuschnigg was undermined as chancellor as Italy were now allies of Germany so Austria had lost its protection from German invasion.
4. Schuschnigg resigned after Nazis rioted across Austria and Seyss-Inquart invited the Germans to restore order in Austria, where they imprisoned more than 80,000 opponents of Hitlers.
5. 10th April 1938- Union with Germany after 99.75% of Austria voted yes for Anschluss. However, the polling stations were heavily rigged due to them being policed by Nazi Stormtroopers and the yes box on the ballot form was much larger than the no box.

Question 32

How did the Austrian citizens react to the Anschluss?

Answer 32

Even thought the plebiscite had been rigged, a significant proportion of Austrians supported the idea of Anschluss:

❖ Germany and Austria had been in Anschluss for 600 years before the Treaty of Versailles

❖96% of Austrians spoke German and considered themselves German.

❖Many Austrians supported the idea of reunification because they felt Austria was a small and economically weak nation.

❖There was already a strong Nazi Party in Austria and they wanted to be involved in the glory and success of Hitler’s third Reich.

❖However, Austria was home to around 180,000 Jews. As soon as Anschluss happened they faced persecution. Thousands of Austrian Jews fled Austria fearing for their future.

Question 33

What was Germany’s reaction to Anschluss?

Answer 33

Hitler is said to have cried when Anschluss happened. In Germany it was seen as a massive victory and another step towards righting the wrongs of the Treaty of Versailles and making Germany great again. Hitler was able to use Anschluss as a great propaganda victory. Hitler was becoming closer in achieving his dream of Volksdeutsche and creating a greater Germany

Question 34

What was Britain’s reaction to Anschluss?

Answer 34

The majority of British people were indifferent to Anschluss they saw Austria and Germany as the same country. Many people believed the Versailles settlement had been too hard on Germany and they did not want to get involved in another war.

Question 35

What was France’s reaction to Anschluss?

Answer 35

France was preoccupied with domestic problems. Two days prior to Anschluss the French government had resigned due to mounting problems of the economic crisis.

Question 36

What was Czechoslovakia’s reaction to Anschluss?

Answer 36

Czechoslovakia was incredibly concerned about Anschluss. Hitler had not hidden his aim of Lebensraum (gaining land in the east), and they knew they would be next. They asked for the support of Britain and France who had agreed to protect them under a previous treaty.

Question 37

How many times did Chamberlain meet with Hitler in 1938?

Answer 37

3 (Berchtesgaden, Bad Godesburg, Munich)

Question 38

What policy did Britain and France use with Adolf Hitler?

Answer 38

Appeasement

Question 39

What was Hitler given in September 1938 at the Munich Conference in return for promising to make
no more territorial demands?

Answer 39

The Sudetenland (it contained Skoda the biggest armament factory in Europe, 3 million
German speakers, and lots of natural resources)

Question 40

What was the leader of Czechoslovakia called in 1938? Who replaced him?

Answer 40

Benes (he was replaced with Emil Hacha)

Question 41

Which two people were not invited to the Munich Conference?

Answer 41

Stalin and Benes

Question 42

What was the name of the leader of Nazis in the Sudetenland?

Answer 42

Konrad Heinlein

Question 43

Name the 4 attendees at the Munich Conference

Answer 43

Chamberlain, Mussolini, Daladier, Hitler

Question 44

In March 1939 Hitler invaded the rest of which country, after threatening to bomb its
capital so was ’invited in’ by Hacha, ignoring the Munich Agreement?

Answer 44

Czechoslovakia

Question 45

Who declared war on Germany on the 3rd September 1939 after Poland was invaded?

Answer 45

Britain

Question 46

Give 2 reasons why appeasement was used as a policy

Answer 46

It gave Britain time to prepare for war/ Chamberlain believed Hitler trusted him and he
could control him/ people were wanting to avoid another war at all costs

Question 47

Give 2 reasons why appeasement was a bad policy?

Answer 47

It increased Hitler’s confidence/ made smaller countries stop believing in Britain, France
and the League/ WW2 still broke out

Question 48

What was the Sudetenland?

Answer 48

An area around the border of Germany and Czechoslovakia, containing famous Skoda armament factory.

Question 49

Why did Hitler want the Sudetenland?

Answer 49

❖It contained 3.5 million German-speakers.

❖It would also assist Hitler in his plan of Lebensraum, he could also get to the USSR through Czechoslovaki

❖ He also despised the Czechs because of their democratic political system

❖It was on the border between Germany and Czechoslovakia and was surrounded by German territory on three sides.

❖The Sudeten Germans, led by Konrad Henlein, complained they were discriminated against by the Czech government.

❖Czechoslovakia contained a number of other national groups, such as Poles and Hungarians, so those countries felt that they had claims to it as well.

❖To Hitler, Czechoslovakia was a symbol of the despised Versailles settlement.

❖The Sudetenland was a prosperous part of Czechoslovakia. It had deposits of coal and lignite, the Skoda armaments factory and a significant proportion of the Czech army stationed there.

Question 50

How many people in the Sudetenland spoke German?

Answer 50

It contained 3.5 million German-speakers.

20% of the population.

Question 51

When and where did Chamberlain first meet Hitler?

Answer 51

Berchtesgaden, a town in the Alps of Germany, on September 15th 1938

Question 52

What occured in Berchtesgaden?

Answer 52

Chamberlain wanted to appease Hitler to prevent war, so had agreed to provide Hitler areas in the Sudetenland which had more than half German population . He persuaded the French and the Czechs to accept this compromise by promising that Hitler would not use force and war would be prevented.

Question 53

When and where did Chamberlain secondly meet Hitler?

Answer 53

On 22nd September 1938, Bad Godesberg.

Question 54

What occurred in Bad Godesberg?

Answer 54

Hitler increased his demands at Bad Godesberg on 22nd September 1938. Hitler demanded the entire Sudetenland by the 1st October and Hungary and Poland must also be given Czech land. Chamberlain rejected.

Question 55

What occurred consequently after Bad Godesberg?

Answer 55

Europe was in the brink of collapsing into war. Chamberlain requested Mussolini to persuade Hitler to postpone his invasion and attend an International Conference. He agreed.

Question 56

When and where did Chamberlain finally meet Hitler?

Answer 56

Munich, Germany on 29th September, 1938.

Question 57

What occurred in the Munich Conference?

Answer 57

The Munich Conference was an international meeting that began on 29th September, 1938, to settle the dispute between Germany and Czechoslovakia over the Sudetenland. Chamberlain, Hitler, Mussolini and Daladier met to agree to Hitler’s demands in Bad Godesberg that the Sudetenland would immediately become part of Germany. Their new frontiers would be guaranteed by the four powers. Britain and France had forced Czechoslovakia to accept the agreement and on the 1st October, German armies occupied the Sudetenland as Czech President Benes went into exile. He was subsequently replaced by Emil Hacha

Question 58

Who attended the Munich Conference?

Answer 58

The Munich Conference was organised by Mussolini of Italy and Chamberlain of Britain. However, there was controversy over the attendees.

❖The Conference was attended by Hitler from Germany, Chamberlain from Britain, Daladier from France and Mussolini from Italy.

❖Czechoslovakia was not invited, despite the Sudetenland being part of its territory.

❖The USSR was not invited, even though it had an alliance with Czechoslovakia. This caused distrust between Stalin and the western powers.

Question 59

What did Germany gain from the Sudetenland?

Answer 59

• 11,000 square miles of land (or 29,000 square kilometres)
• 2.8 million German speakers
• Population of 3.6 million
• 800 thousand Czechs
• All fortifications
• Famous Skoda Armaments factory
• A significant percentage of their entire economic output

Question 60

What agreement did Hitler and Chamberlain sign subsequently?

Answer 60

The Anglo-German declaration, Hitler and Chamberlain promised to consult each when faced with any problems and never to go to war against each other

Question 61

How did the British respond to Chamberlain’s actions?

Answer 61

Chamberlain was seen as a hero as he had prevented a war, achieving “peace for our time”

Question 62

How did Churchill respond to Chamberlain?

Answer 62

Churchill critiqued Chamberlain and his policy: “you were given the choice between war and dishonour, you chose dishonour and you will have war”. He thought Britain and France had compromised their independence and safety.

Question 63

What was appeasement?

Answer 63

Appeasement is the deliberate policy of giving concessions to an aggressive country in order that it will be satisfied and avoid conflict. Britain, followed by France, increasingly took this approach with Germany, Italy and Japan from 1935 onwards.

Question 64

What were the reasons that people agreed to the policy of appeasement?

Answer 64

❖People felt that some of Hitler’s actions were fair, given how harsh the Treaty of Versailles was for example he should have been allowed to rearm in order to protect Germany.

❖The horrors of the First World War were still raw in people’s memories. Millions of people were killed, including Neville Chamberlain’s son, and they were desperate to avoid another war. Britain held a peace ballot in 1934 the vast majority of people believed Britain should not take military action.

❖People believed Hitler when he said he was only looking to overturn the Treaty of Versailles and that he was a man of peace.

❖Hitler was clever and made his actions look democratic. 99 percent of people in Austria voted for Anschluss. People did not see Hitler as doing something wrong.

❖People trusted Chamberlain when he said he had “secured peace in our time” after the Munich Conference and did not think they had anything to be worried about.

❖The Great Depression meant that countries like Britain and France not only did not want another war they could not afford another war. People felt that their governments needed to focus on the problems at home like mass unemployment and poverty rather than the affairs of other countries.

❖Since the Russian Revolution in 1917 many capitalist countries like Britain saw communism as a real threat and thought a strong Germany could stop the spread of communism.

❖Britain lacked the military capabilities to fight a war. Rearmament did not start until 1936 and it would take 4 years to build an army ready for war. Appeasement was seen as a policy that could buy time.

❖During the 1930s America was still committed to its policy of isolationism. Britain and France could not fight the war without the support of such a powerful nation as they did not have the money or resources to fight.

Question 65

Who was responsible for the policy of appeasement?

Answer 65

Neville Chamberlain was most proactive in addressing German grievances and is seen as the figurehead of the policy.

Question 66

What were Churchill’s views on the policy of appeasement?

Answer 66

Winston Churchill was a British politician at the time, who later became prime minister as an opponent of appeasement. He said ‘an appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last’. Churchill was confident Hitler would not stop.

Question 67

What were the arguments against the policy of appeasement?

Answer 67

❖Hitler made no secret of his plans. His speeches since the 1920s made it very clear that he would use violence to make Germany strong again. People were foolish to trust him.

❖Opportunities were missed to stop Hitler including: failures at the World Disarmament Conference. Not agreeing to the naval agreement in 1935. And forcing him to stand down when re entered the Rhineland.

❖Appeasement empowered Hitler, the more countries gave into him the stronger he grew. When he gained the Sudetenland this gave him the confidence to invade the rest of Czechoslovakia.

❖Appeasement pushed the USSR towards Hitler and Nazi Germany. Stalin was well aware Hitler might invade the USSR and he felt Britain and France would not support him due to the policy of appeasement. He signed the Nazi-Soviet Pact as a result and this was a key trigger to the Second World War.

❖Appeasement was immoral. Whilst a large majority of Austrians voted for Anschluss there was not protection offered for Austrian Jews, and the policy left nations like Czechoslovakia with no defence against Hitler.

Question 68

When was Czechoslovakia invaded by Hitler?

Answer 68

March 1939

Question 69

What happened when Germany invaded Czechoslovakia?

Answer 69

1. Following the Munich Conference, Hitler’s actions undermined Czechoslovakia’s independence further.
2. Hitler, first, encouraged the other nationalities (such as the Slovaks) present in Czechoslovakia to demand autonomy for themselves and cause riots and havoc. He encouraged Poland and Hungary to seize land, and the Slovakian government to declare independence.
3. Next, Hitler forced the Czech president, Emil Hacha, to surrender Czechoslovakia by threatening to order the Luftwaffe to conduct an aerial bombardment of Prague, the capital of Czechoslovakia.
4. Finally, Hitler marched into Prague on 15th March. He was able to claim that his troops had been invited to occupy Czechoslovakia by Hacha himself, so Britain and France couldn’t oppose him.
5. Hitler, next, went to invade more of Czechoslovakia namely Bohemia and Moravia. Two parts of the country protected previously by the Munich Agreement, leading to Slovakia becoming a puppet state under German dominion.
6. Appeasement was clearly dead and in an effort to deter any more aggression, Britain promised Poland protection if attacked by Germany.
7. Britain and Germany looked to improve relations with Stalin and Britain also introduced conscription for the first time during peace-time.

Question 70

What did Britain introduce for the first time ever during peace-time?

Answer 70

Conscription

Question 71

How many German people did the Rhineland contain?

Answer 71

15 million

Question 72

Why was the Sudetenland beneficial for Hitler?

Answer 72

It contained Skoda the biggest armament factory in Europe, 3 million German speakers, and lots of natural resources