World War II: Preceding Years
The Impact of the Depression
After Locarno in 1925 it seemed that the world
was entering a new period of peace. The years of optimism ended with the Wall
Street Crash in October 1929. Many American investors were ruined when millions
of dollars were wiped off the value of shares. This led to a great economic
crisis that swept the whole world. Most governments made matters worse by
'protectionism': putting up taxes on imports.
The Depression had serious political
consequences that made war more likely:
• The USA became more isolationist. Roosevelt
was elected as US President in 1932. He was more concerned with rebuilding the
American economy than foreign affairs.
• The Depression encouraged extreme politics
in Germany. The fanatical nationalist, Hitler, became Chancellor in 1933.
• In Italy and Japan, leaders were keen to win
new territory to offset the effect of the economic crisis.
• Both Britain and France went through
political turmoil and felt less able to take a firm line against aggressive
nationalism.
A Catalogue of Aggression
Japan, Italy and Germany went on the offensive
in the 1930s. In each country the leaders believed in aggressive nationalism.
They challenged the peace by seizing land from other countries. At first, other
powerful countries did virtually nothing to stop them.
1931: Japan seized the Chinese province of
Manchuria.
Japan was criticized by the League of Nations
but no action was taken to stop Japanese aggression.
1932-3: A major disarmament conference ended
in failure.
The new leader of Germany, Adolf Hitler, took
Germany out of the conference. Germany also left the League of Nations.
1935-6: Italy conquered the African state of
Abyssinia (modern Ethiopia).
The League of Nations imposed a ban on trade
with Italy but this did not include restrictions on the sale of petrol. The
trade ban did not stop Italy from conquering Abyssinia.
1936: Hitler marched German troops into the
Rhineland.
The positioning of German forces in this
border area was forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles. The government of France
considered sending troops to stop the Germans but they decided to take no
action.
1938: In March Germany annexed Austria.
The unification of Germany and Austria was
called the 'Anschluss'. In September Germany annexed the Sudetenland area of
Czechoslovakia. Britain and France agreed to the takeover of the Sudetenland.
1939: Germany invaded the remaining part of
Czechoslovakia in March. Hitler then threatened Poland and demanded control of
the city of Danzig.
The Collapse of the Locarno Settlement
• In 1925 Britain, France, Italy and Germany
accepted the borders in Western Europe established in the Treaty of Versailles.
Agreement between these powerful countries ended in the 1930s.
• Germany left the League of Nations in 1933.
• In 1935 an anti-German grouping of Britain,
France and Italy was established called the Stresa Front.
• In 1936, after Abyssinia, the Stresa Front
fell apart.
• Italy, Germany and Japan signed the
Anti-Comintern Pact in 1936; they pledged to fight against communism.
Appeasement
In every international crisis between 1931 and
1938 Britain and France refused to use force to stop aggression. Often they
tried to negotiate a deal and to give way to the aggressor states. This was
called 'appeasement'. It was the policy of the British Prime Minister, Neville
Chamberlain. The climax of appeasement came at the Munich Conference in
September 1938. Here Britain and France agreed to the carving-up of
Czechoslovakia: the Sudetenland area was handed over to Hitler.
Appeasement has been widely criticized as a
weak response to aggression. Some critics say that appeasement encouraged more
aggression. Recently historians have been more sympathetic and have tried to
understand why Chamberlain believed in appeasement.
• Appeasement was based on the idea that
Mussolini and Hitler were reasonable men who had just grievances.
• The richest country in the world was the
USA. Its policy was 'isolationist' - Americans wanted nothing to do with
foreign problems. Without American support it was hard for Britain and France
to take action against aggression.
• British leaders were very worried about the
defense of the British Empire. They avoided conflict in Europe in order to
protect the Empire.
• Under Chamberlain, appeasement went hand in
hand with rearmament. He wanted to make sure that Britain was properly armed
before risking war in Europe.
The End of Appeasement
Having been successful in the Rhineland,
Austria and the Sudetenland, Hitler continued his aggressive foreign policy. In
March 1939 he seized the remaining parts of Czechoslovakia.
In the early summer of 1939 Hitler prepared
for a war against Poland. He created a crisis over the city of Danzig. He did
not believe that Britain or France would help Poland. The complete take-over of
Czechoslovakia led to an abandonment of appeasement in Britain and France. They
got ready for war with Germany. Hitler thought they were bluffing.
Both sides tried to win the support of Stalin,
the Soviet leader. Hitler was successful. A German-Soviet Pact was signed in
August 1939. Hitler felt that without Soviet support Britain and France would
not risk war.
On 1 September 1939 Hitler invaded Poland. To his surprise Britain and France responded by declaring war on 3 September 1939. The Second World War had begun.