Why did war break out?

Hitler’s actions

Failure of the league of nations

* allowing events such as Manchuria to occur, giving Hitler the idea that he could get away with invading Poland and taking the Sudetenland

Appeasement

* Stalin believed that appeasement let Hitler get away with

The peace treaties 1919

German invasion of Poland

Nazi - Soviet Pact

* enabled Hitler to attack Poland in a ‘safer’ situation
* without it he would have invaded Poland and Russia would have also attacked
* along with the ultimatum from Britain and France he would have been fighting a war on both fronts - what he didn’t want
* buys Stalin time as he knows if Germany invades, he will be ready