The coming of War

• Adolf Hitler


  Became Chancellor of Germany in January 1933
• Following the rise to power of the Nazi party, German foreign policy changed dramatically. Germany was now seen as a threat to world peace.
• Hitler's aims

  • Reverse the terms of the Treaty of Versailles
  • Build up the strength of the German forces (only 100,000 German soldiers allowed)
  • Return any German land that had been lost
• Many actions of the Nazis were aggressive and ignored the Treaty of Versailles which could result in war.
• Hitler started the re-armament programme. The army was increased to 550,000 by the introduction of conscription.


  1935
• Hitler re-militarised the Rhineland (put the military back into the Rhineland). This was against the Treaty of Versailles


  7th March 1936
• The German army entered Austria. Hitler gained control of the Austrian government and the Anschluss was proclaimed.


  12th March 1938
• Czechoslovakia Crisis

  Tensions between Britain and Germany rose. Hitler demanded that the Czech government give independence to the Sudetenland, an area of Czechoslovakia where 3.5 million Germans lived.
• Neville Chamberlain


  British PM who attempted to appease Hitler by forcing the French and Czechs to accept Hitler's demands, but Hitler kept demanding more.
• It looked like war was inevitable.
• The four powers (Germany, Britain, Italy and France) signed the Munich Agreement, which made the Sudetenland part of Germany. Hitler promised not to take any more of Czechoslovakia
• By March 1939, the rest of Czechoslovakia had been split between Poland, Hungary and Germany. This seemed to confirm that appeasement had failed.
• Appeasement


  Neville Chamberlain's policy of negotiation and agreements to avoid war, usually by giving in to Hitler's territorial demands
• Appeasement was initially popular because people wished to avoid conflict - memories of the Great War and its suffering were still present. However, it allowed Hitler to grow in strength and made Britain look weak.
• Fearing that they could not rely on Britain and France, the USSR decided to sign the Nazi-Soviet Pact in 1939. It stated: Germany and the USSR would not interfere against the other power in the event of a war. Poland was to be divided between them with the USSR regaining land it had lost in WW1.
• German troops entered Poland. Britain issued an ultimatum: withdraw the troops or go to war. Hitler ignored this. On 3rd September 1939, Britain declared war on Germany.


  1st September 1939
• Air Raid Wardens Service


  1. Register all people in their sector

  2. Enforce the 'blackout'

  3. Sound sirens during air attacks
• Air raid shelters


  • Anderson (garden) or Morrison (inside) shelters provided by government
  • Some people had no shelters, particularly those in city centres or flats
  • Some moved in with friends or relatives during raids
  • People began to force their way into underground stations in London during raids
• Radar


  • Defence system against enemy bombing developed in the mid-1930s
  • Made it possible to track German planes so defence could be arranged where needed
• Barrage balloons


  • Large balloons filled with gas attached to a steel cable
  • Designed to float in the air at altitudes that would deny low level airspace to enemy aircraft
  • Forced enemy aircraft to fly higher which made them less accurate
• Anti-aircraft guns


  • Capable of rapid high-rate fire and could fire at high angles
  • Could fire 120 rounds per minute, and fire a round to a height of 2 miles about the ground
• Conscription


  1. Military Training Act - compulsory for single men between 20 and 22 to join armed forces

  2. National Services Act - compulsory for men aged between 18 and 41 to join armed forces
• Reserved occupations


  • 1938 - 'Schedule of Reserved Occupation' introduced which gave exemption to skilled workers in key areas of work
  • Included railway workers, teachers, and farmers
  • The government frequently reviewed the schedule in response to the war effort