2K International Relations and Global Conflict, c1890–1941 Part 6 Depth Study: History AQA A level Revision.

When did Adolf Hitler take power in Germany?

Adolf Hitler was the leader of the Nazi Party from 1919. The Weimar Republic was founded in 1919 and existed until 1933. However, the Wejamar Republic had a lot of weaknesses, and Hitler used the dissatisfaction of the German people to gain their trust by promoting the ideas of National Socialism and the ethnic superiority of the Germans.

By the end of 1920, the number of supporters of the Nazi Party increased. Hitler took power in Germany in 1933 and established a totalitarian form of government, otherwise known as Nazism.

Treaty of Versailles.

The Treaty of Versailles was a document signed by the Allies at the end of World War I on June 28, 1919, in France. This treaty seemingly resolved the conflict between the Allied Powers and Germany.

Germany was blamed for starting the war. Germany was forced to pay war reparations to the Allies, cede about 10 percent of its territory to the Allies, and form new states like Czechoslovakia and Poland from those territories. Germany is forbidden to make alliances with Austria, produce weapons, and mobilise the army.

Germany’s challenges to the Treaty of Versailles: the aims and actions of Hitler.

Hitler did not like the Treaty of Versailles, nor the other agreements that German leaders signed in the 20s of the 20th century. Here we can mention the Davis Plan, the Spirit of Locarno, the Geneva Protocol and the Kellogg-Briand Pact.

Hitler's goal was for Germany to get out of all those agreements, and for him as the leader of Germany to establish a totalitarian regime and dictatorship in Germany. His goal was for Germany to become the most powerful nation in the entire world, to restart the process of rearmament, regain its territories and restore industry and economic growth.

What did Hitler do when he took power in Germany?

Hitler violated the Treaty of Versailles and other treaties as well. He ordered his generals to gather and increase the number of soldiers in secret. He ordered the construction of more than 1,000 new warplanes and weapons.

Also, Hitler transferred more than 20 thousand soldiers to the Rhine region, which was supposed to be a demilitarised zone. At the same time, Hitler annexed Austria and the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia and thus violated the Treaty of Versailles.

Did Hitler break any more contracts?

Yes, he broke the Kellogg-Briand pact on the prohibition of war, signed in August 1928. The countries that signed it promised not to use war to punish the enemy but to solve problems differently through cooperation and communication.

He violated the "Spirit of Locarno" (1925), which was supposed to ensure peace in Europe and confirm the borders of European countries. Germany accepted that if it wanted to regain its borders, it would have to face an attack from Western countries and that the Rhine region would be demilitarised.

The international response to German, Italian and Japanese aggression: the Rhineland Crisis.

The Rhineland crisis began in March 1936 when Hitler's army was sent to the Rhine region. We already mentioned above that the Rhine region should have been demilitarised according to the Acts of the Locarno Treaties (1925) and the Treaty of Versailles (1919).

The Allies had almost no response. In fact, at this time, the Great Depression occupied almost all countries in the world, and the French response to the economic depression had to ignore Hitler's actions. On the other hand, Britain had no interests here and did not want to start new conflicts. Nevertheless, the League of Nations did condemn the actions of the Hitlers.

The international response to German, Italian and Japanese aggression: the Anschluss.

The Anschluss refers to the annexation of Austria to the German Reich in March 1938. By annexing Austria, the Nazis violated the Treaty of Versailles and the Treaty of Saint Germain, which, according to the rules of the League of Nations, should have put them in an awkward situation.

However, the League of Nations again did not react as it should have and only condemned Hitler's actions but did not introduce sanctions. Britain and France followed a policy of appeasement and avoiding new conflicts.

he international response to German, Italian and Japanese aggression: the Spanish Civil War.

The Spanish Civil War began in 1936. The dictator Francisco Franco initiated it to overthrow the democratic governments in Spain. Mussolini and Hitler supported him. The League of Nations and the American government condemned the war but decided not to intervene.

Francesco Franco, a military dictator, managed to come to power during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) and remained in power until 1975.

The international response to German, Italian and Japanese aggression: Italy and Albania.

Italy invaded Albania in 1939. The Italians managed to occupy Albania and expand their territory. Mussolini broke the agreements he signed with European leaders, including the Kellogg-Briand Pact on the prohibition of war.

The League of Nations again only condemned the actions of the Italians but proved incapable of solving the problem.

The international response to German, Italian and Japanese aggression: war in China; alliances amongst the aggressors

The Second Sino-Japanese War, which lasted from 1937 to 1945, was fought between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. Historians believe that this war marked the beginning of World War II in Asia.

The League of Nations and American officials watched the development of events in China from the sidelines. It did not react even though they did not support Japan and condemned it. Tensions between Japan and the US government increased when the Japanese military bombed the USS Panay and killed three American citizens. The US government accepted the Japanese apology and avoided conflict until 1940, when it began sending aid to the Chinese government.

The international response to German, Italian and Japanese aggression: alliances amongst the aggressors.

As for the alliance between the aggressors, they were Germany, Italy, and Spain. All of them established dictatorial regimes in their countries, followed imperialist policies, and opposed democratic values.

The outbreak of war in Europe: appeasement.

Specifically, this refers to the policy of appeasement led by Western European nations, primarily France and Britain, between the two world wars. These countries' goals were to avoid a big war like the First World War and to preserve peace in the world.

Britain and France led a policy of appeasement and enabled Hitler to annex some territories in Austria and courts in Czechoslovakia to Germany without war. The policy of appeasement allowed Adolf Hitler to become more aggressive in his foreign policy, and many historians believe that it was a mistake.

The outbreak of war in Europe: the Czech Crisis.

After the annexation of Austria, Hitler wanted to annex the Czechoslovak Sudetenland, where many Germans lived, to Germany. Fake protests started in the Sudetenland, and Hitler declared that around 300 Germans had died, which is why he announced the intervention of the Nazis. The Czech Crisis began but was resolved by signing the Munich Agreement.

British Prime Minister Chamberlain accepted the signing of an international agreement, the Munich Agreement in 1938, that Hitler should receive the Sudetenland in exchange for Germany no longer seeking land in Europe.

The outbreak of war in Europe: the crisis over Poland.

Although Hitler said there were no more territorial claims in Europe, that was untrue. The area that he wanted to recover was Poland.

Germany first wanted to recover the city of Danzig (today's Gdansk) in Poland. This was once a German city with a port and sea access. The League of Nations now used it as a major port for Polish trade. Therefore, in 1938, Germany decided to recover this city and, at the beginning of 1939, announced that it would invade.

The outbreak of war in Europe: the Nazi-Soviet Pact.

To ensure the neutrality of the Soviet Union during the attack on Poland and to avoid the opening of two fronts, because Great Britain and France, Poland's allies, threatened on the other side, Hitler concluded a non-aggression pact with Stalin in August 1939. The Non-Aggression Pact ensured the supply of Soviet raw materials to Nazi Germany, and the Soviet Union and Germany divided some states into zones of influence. Thus, Estonia, Latvia, and the eastern part of Poland belonged to the Soviet Union and the western part of Poland to Germany.

The outbreak of war in Europe: the outbreak of war.

Hitler also wanted to occupy Poland, which happened on September 1, 1939, when he invaded Poland.

Britain, France, and other allies pledged to defend Poland against foreign invasion. After the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939, and that's when the Second World War officially began.

The outbreak of war in Europe: the reaction of Italy to the outbreak of war.

Benito Mussolini, the Italian leader, emphasised to Hitler that Italy would not fight in the war.

From Western European to World War: the reasons for the escalation to world war.

After the Second World War began, it quickly spread throughout Europe. The countries mobilised their armies, and it was known exactly in advance who would take whose side. The world was not ready for another war, but they had no other option.

From Western European to World War: the entry of the Soviet Union.

Although the Soviets signed a Non-Aggression Pact with Germany, on September 17, 1939, they invaded East Germany during the war with Finland. Germany broke the agreement in June 1941 during Operation Barbarossa when it attacked the USSR, and then the USSR officially sided with the Allies.

From Western European to World War: Japan, Pearl Harbor and the entry of the USA.

Given that Japan has been at war with China since 1937, many believe that the Second Sino-Japanese War was the beginning of the Second World War. Above, we wrote about the fact that the Americans and the League of Nations condemned the Japanese but did not retaliate.

Tensions between Japan and the US government increased when the Japanese military bombed the USS Panay and killed three American citizens. The US government accepted the Japanese apology and avoided conflict until 1940, when it began sending aid to the Chinese government. This provoked the Japanese, who bombed Pearl Harbor in December 1941, after which the United States ended its neutrality and officially sided with the Allies.