Appeasement

1. Austria and Germany?

   Nota:

   • He felt that they had the right to be united and the Treaty of Versailles was wrong to seperate them.  
2. Gain power

   Nota:

   • Chamberlain wanted to regain German power howevever he knew that other large powers in europe and America may stand in his way

1. Recieved Hitler's attention

   Nota:

   • Ordered Henlein to stir up trouble in the Sudeteland German newspapers produced allegations against Czechs against Sudetan Germans Hitler threatened war if a solution was not found
2. Refusal

   Nota:

   • Meeting at Godesberg, Czech President refused to accept German demands. War seemed a real possibility

Nota:

• Hitler was secretive about his plans for Germany. In early 1924 he published his book Mein kampf describing what he would do if the Nazis gained power.
• In 1936, he reintroduced conscription. The collapse of the League of Nations Disarmement Conference in 1934 had shown that other nations were not perpared to disarm.
• Rearmement boosted nazi support. Britain had alteady helped dismantle the treaty of Versailles by signing a naval agreement that meant that Germany could increase it's Navy by 35%. The French were angry at this, but there was very little they could do.

1. Abolish the Treaty of Versailles

   Nota:

   • He believe, like many people, that it was unjust. Hitler knew that it was a constant reminder of the defeat and humilioation of Germany- signed by the 'November Crminals'- and promise to become leader of Germany and overthrow it.
2. Expand German territory

   Nota:

   • The treaty of Versailles took land away from Germany, Hitler was determined to get this land back. He wanted to create one, large German nation- Grossdeutschland. Once this was acheived, he wanted to create more living space for Germans in eastern europe- Lebensraum.
3. Defeat communism

   Nota:

   • Hitler was violently anti-communist and bolshevism and blamed them for the defeat of the German nation in WW1. He also though they wanted to take over Germany.
4. Rearmement

   Nota:

   • Hitler put thousands of those unemployed in the army. He began rearmement in secret at first. He told the people that he was only arming Germany because other countries refused to disram and then follow Japan in leaving the League of Nations.
   •  Hitler reclaimed the Sarr in 1935, after it had been taken away and run by the league of Nations. Next, he rearmed the Rhineland. The league failed to take action when german troops moved into the rhineland and during the abyssinian Crisis.

1. Hitler's aim

   Nota:

   • Hitler bullied the Austrian chancellor into Anchluss He ordered plebiscite to see if Austrian people wanted union with Germany  Feared a no vote so he moved troops into the Austrian border
   • March 1938, troops entered Vienna, Anchluss was complete Vote was positive and Austria immediately became a province of thye new German Reich

1. Maintaining peace

   Nota:

   • Chamberlain met with French Prime Minister- Hitler and Mussolinni Czech representatives were not invited. Czechs were forced to hand over Sudeteland to Germany, commision was set up to decide what land they would lose
2. The solution

   Nota:

   • Hitler and chaimberlain promised that they would not go to war and that Hitler did not want the rest of Czechslovakia Czech government was completely humiliated, Sudeteland was lost, Hungary and poland occupied other parts of sudeteland, Britian and France had once again given in to Hitler

1. Czechslovakia and Poland

   Nota:

   • March 1939, Hitler invaded what was left of Czechslovakia Bohemia and Moravia became German protectorates Slovakia was dominated be Germany Ruthenia was handed over to Hungary
   • Hitler demanded the return of danzig and the Polish corridoor in 1939 Britain and France promised the defense of poland, Greece and Romania
   1. Britain and France

      Nota:

      • Quickly began rearming, war was on the way, end of appeasment
2. Nazi- Soviet Pact

   Nota:

   • Britain and France spoke with the USSR to try and gain protection for Poland because of distance Stalin, suspicious of their aims signed the Nazi-Soviet Pact in 1939 Soviets and Germans agreed not to fight in the case of war, both powers decided to secretly divide poland in the evnt of war, Hitler allowed Stalin to occupy parts of the Baltic states of latvia, Estonia and lithuania  
3. Outbreak of war

   Nota:

   • Hitler decided to invade Poland and war was declared. within 6 weeks, poland was defeated