See the John D. Clare section on the Road to World War II.
German occupation of Czechoslovakia (March 1939)
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Read:
Walsh, p.270.
The Pact of Steel (May 1939)
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On May 22nd,1939, Germany and Italy signed a Pact of Friendship and Alliance which is more commonly known as the Pact of Steel. The Pact was based on an assumption that war would break out within the next 3 years and tied German and Italian economic, military and Foreign policies together.
- that neither nation would agree peace terms without the consent of the other nation.
- that there would be discussions about war planning and operations.
- that joint Propaganda efforts would be utilised.
- that there would be economic co-operation between Germany and Italy.
The Pact agreed the following:
- that in the event of war there would be mutual assistance between the countries.
Nazi-Soviet Pact (August 1939).
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Read:
Walsh, p. 271-2
John D. Clare on the Nazi-Soviet Pact.
This ‘We Teach History’ presentation is useful for understanding the Nazi-Soviet Pact but can’t be embedded.
Stalin claimed the pact was a defensive measure, designed to buy time. Do the secret protocols of the pact (that divided up Poland and the Baltic States) support this?
German invasion of Poland, weaknesses of appeasement.
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Read/See:
- Walsh, pp. 272-274.
- John D. Clare on the end of Appeasement and on the reasons for the outbreak of WWII.
The Causes of WWII
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There were 4 Key reasons:
- it left allies feeling guilty;
- made Hitler’s plans for self-determination look justified;
- surrounded Germany by smaller nations that it would be able to dominate;
- and made German people angry and supportive of Hitler.
- to stop aggression in Manchuria and Abyssinia
- to stop German aggression and challenging the Treaty of Versailles
- to achieve disarmament
- to keep key participants, including Germany, Japan and Italy
- to keep even Britain and France who, by the mid 30s, turned to bilateral agreements and to appeasement instead of collective security
- It made Hitler think no one would dare stop him.
- It led Soviet Russia to sign the Nazi-Soviet Pact because it couldn’t trust the west after Munich
- Hitler’s Eight Steps to war (SCRAMCUP).
1. The Treaty of Versailles solved nothing
2. The League of Nations was weak from the beginning; it failed:
3.Appeasement encouraged aggression
4. Germany was expansionist – Hitler wanted to win back all the territories lost in 1918.
See John D. Clare for a good summary.
RGS History 