Appeasement

• Many conservatives feared communism, therefore fascism offered less challenge
• British journalist John Langdon-Davies, 1936: '"Our government is much more afraid of Communism, than it is of Fascism"'
• Britain had not recovered yet, had no resources, therefore needed to delay war
• Many saw Hitler's Germany as a barrier between communist Russia and West
• Chamberlain was not dictator, people did not want to go to another war, were sick of war
• Britain couldn't defend extensive empire
• France was unwilling to fight, and Britain said they could not go to war without France
• Germany claimed 'her people' in Sudetenland and Poland were being mistreated, movements in area supported oppressed people
• British government wanted to spend more money on the issues within Britain: housing, re-establishing country and did not was to spend on re-armament
• League of Nations countries wanted to avoid war at all costs (morality)
• Chamberlain, prime minister of UK, misjudged Hitler - believed Hitler was reliable
• Saar Plebiscite – 1935

  Conscription and Rearmament – 1935

  Remilitarisation of the Rhineland – 1936

  Anschluss with Austria – 1938

  Munich Agreement – 1938

  Czechoslovakia – 1938

  Nazi-Soviet Pact – 1939

  Invasion of Poland – 1 September 1939

  +3 September 1939 – Britain declared war on Germany

   
• The Saar plebiscite took place in January 1935 when the population of the region voted whether or not it wished to remain part of France or return to German control.
• On 7th March 1936, Hitler ordered his troops to march back into the demilitarised zone along the Rhine river.
• In March 1935, Hitler announced that he would be introducing conscription into the army as well as increasing the size of the navy and air force.
• In March 1935, Hitler announced that he would be introducing conscription into the Wehrmacht. This meant that young men could now be forced to join the army rather than volunteering as they had been doing since 1933.
• On 7th March 1936, Hitler ordered his troops to march back into the demilitarised zone along the Rhine. The French and British governments chose not to intervene because they didn’t want to risk another war so soon after WW1.
• In February 1938, Hitler demanded that Austria be allowed to join Germany as he felt that this would strengthen his position against Czechoslovakia.
• Hitler annexed Austria by force in March 1938. He used propaganda to persuade Austrians that this was what they really wanted. Many Austrian Nazis agreed but many others opposed him. However, there was little resistance from the rest of Europe.
• Hitler’s demands were met by Chamberlain who agreed to allow Austria to become part of Germany if they could do so peacefully.
• At Munich, Chamberlain, Daladier, Mussolini and Hitler met to discuss how best to deal with the situation in Czechoslovakia.