Origins of WW2

• The 1930s saw the failure of disarmament with countries like Germany using rearmament to help deal with the impact of the Great Depression.
• During the 1930s the Spanish Civil war was also taking place where fascist groups were trying to seize control and were being supported by Germany. The German airforce was bombing and effectively destroying Spanish cities. Hundreds of people were killed. This bombing highlighted the military strength of Germany.
• Hitler started to openly go against the terms of the Treaty of Versailles from rearming from 1933-35 or remilitarising the Rhineland in 1936 to uniting with Austria (Anschluss) in 1938 Hitler remained unchallenged. Nothing was done to stop him.
• In 1938 Hitler started a campaign to try to annex (take control of) the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia. Three million German speakers lived in this region and Hitler believed, like with Austria, that he should unite them and create lebensraum (living space) for Germany.
• Czechoslovakia had promises from Britain and France that they would protect them against a German invasion.
• In September 1938 Neville Chamberlain, the British Prime Minister, organised a conference (meeting) in Munich in Germany between Britain, France, Italy and Germany. Czechoslovakia was not invited.
• Hitler initially demanded just some of the Sudetenland but soon upped his demand to the whole of this region. The British and French gave in and the Munich Agreement was signed which appeased Hitler in order to try and prevent war.
• Despite the agreement, in March 1939, Hitler invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia. There were major protests from Britain and France who promised to declare war on Germany if it invaded Poland.
• In August 1939 Germany and the USSR signed the Nazi-Soviet Pact. The leader of the USSR, Josef Stalin, had grown impatient with the ineffective response of Britain, France and the League in the face of the German threat. Both countries decided to become allies promising to split Poland between them and not to go to war with each other.
• Despite last minute warnings from Britain and France Hitler invaded Poland on 1st September 1939. Britain and France declared war the next day and WWII began.