lead up to ww2

• dolfuss affair 1934

  hitler's anschluss plan was threatened by austrian fascist dictator dolfuss

  they banned the NSDAP party, in jul 1934 hitler ordered austrian nazis to shoot dolfuss

  mussolini wanted austria to be a buffer and also had an agreement with them that italy would protect it so he moved his army there

  austrian army still supported the gov so hitler abandoned the coup
• saar plebiscite 1935


  tov: saar land under french control

  referendum on who will control it

  due to propaganda 90% wanted to join germany, confirming his expansionist ambitions but also fueled them further as people supported him
• german international ties

  mussolini and hitler bonded due to sending volunteers to help general franco in 1936

  solidified with anti cominterm pact and 1939 pact of steel

  japan joined anti cominterm pact in 1936, strengthening coalition against soviet bolshevism

  japan, germany italy formed tripartite pact in 1940

  1939 - germany allies with finland + USSR
• events in austria

  1934 - schuschnigg becomes austrian leader

  schuschnigg promises to cooperate with austrian nazis due to italy german friendship and not give hitler excuse for aggression

  schuschnigg also signed the german austrian agreement of 1936 to recognise austria however austria had to allow nazis to have official posts in the country (done to appease hitler)

  foreign policy had to be consistent with germany's

  nazi plot to remove schuschnigg discovered
• anschluss

  1938 berchtesgaden meeting

  hitler wanted nazis to have key posts in austrian gov

  seyss inquart assigned as austrian interior minister

  hitler orders austrian nazis to cause chaos in austria to justify marching into vienna to ''restore order''

  schuschnigg ordered a referendum to decide if austrian people want to be in germany

  hitler forces this to be called off as schuschnigg knew he would have little support - also resigns

  rigged referendum held by hitler, showed austrians want to join germany
• anschluss results

  7 million more people in germany, 100,000 army to reich

  steel, iron ore, austrian foreign exchange resources

  czechoslovakia surrounded by germany on 3 fronts

  power balance in south east europe shifted to germany, increasing influence over balkans
• czech crisis 1938


  konrad henlein, german leader in sudetenland claimed sudeten germans were mistreated by czechs

  hitler announces plans to destroy czechoslovakia

  czechs had robust army and france had promised to protect them yet went with appeasement

  sept 1938, chamberlain flew to bechestegaden to negotiate, concessions forced onto france and czechs

  hitller ordered czechoslovakia to be handed over by oct so chamberlain persuades mussolini to organise munich conference about sudetenland
• munich agreement sept 1938


  britain, france, italy and germany met in munich (not soviet union or czechoslovakia)

  agreed to german occupation of sudetenland between 1-10 oct due to appeasement of germany

  chamberlain flew back declaring ''peace in our time'' but rearmament plans sped up in both br and fr.

  west annexed, chaos in czechoslovakia, leader threatened to stand down to avoid bloodshed, all of czechoslovakia annexed.

  germany gained coal resources and armaments factories as well as land
• nazi-soviet pact aug 1939


  hitler and stalin formed alliance for personal gain despite being enemies

  stalin ordered molotov to negotiate non aggression pact with germans

  molotov-ribbentrop pact - both sides wont attack eachother for 10 yrs

  hitler could occupy half of poland and not worry about a second front

  stalin could expand his influence in eastern europe

  left poland isolated

  germany gained vital raw materials from soviet union, helping rearmament

  destroyed western attempts of an alliance with soviet union against germany