An example of this was the remilitarization of the Rhineland in 1936. Britain and France allowed him to do this and the British released a statement saying Hitler was simply, ‘marching into his back yard.’ This policy taught Hitler that aggression paid off. More importantly, Appeasement scared Stalin. Stalin was the dictator in the U.S.S.R. His army were not advanced enough to stand a chance against even a small German army and he feared Britain and France would not help the Soviets if the Germans invaded them. This therefore led to him signing the Nazi-Soviet pact.
The feeling swept especially throughout Britain that the Treaty of Versailles had been too harsh, and Germany should be able to make some amendments to its more extreme elements. The British were not willing to go to war, nor prepared. However Appeasement regardless of the reason failed as it only encouraged Hitler. The result of the appeasement policy was that Britain and France did nothing more than diplomatically protest when Hitler violated the peace treaty. Hitler then announced to the world he was following a policy of re armnent in March 1935 by largely increased military manpower though conscription and announcing the creation of the Luftwaffe of 2500 planes.
How far was Hitler’s Foreign Policy the cause of World War II? Many feel that World War II broke out because of Hitler’s Foreign Policy. This included: destruction of the Treaty of Versailles, destruction of communism, creating a greater Germany, and to be independent (lebensraum) in the East and West of Europe. Hitler started by rearming Germany, as it was vital to “succeed”. The Treaty of Versailles had left them with nothing; the armed forces were reduced to 100,000 soldiers, six warships, 0 submarines and 0 air force.
How did the ideology of the NSDAP develop between 1920 and 1926? In February 1920, the NSDAP published its first programme which became known as the "Twenty-Five Points". In the programme the party refused to accept the terms of the Treaty of Versailles and called for the reunification of all German people. The people of Germany were very politically confused and thus the programme was a complete dichotomy; consisting of two conflicting ideologies it meant that it wouldn’t ‘shut the door’ on anyone, and would appeal to the greatest number of people. To reinforce their ideas on nationalism, equal rights were only to be given to German citizens.
Germany also lost all overseas colonies, and their boundaries within Europe were reduced, losing in total 13.5% of their territory, which included losing 7 million people to neighbouring countries. This left Germany humiliated, having been allowed no say in the matter, and not even being invited to the peace treaty conference at which the clauses were discussed. This humiliation angered Hitler, and he vowed to make Germany strong once more as it had been before the First World War. This was a long-term cause of Hitler becoming chancellor, as it is what first motivated Hitler to become a leader and change the way in which Germany was left
In 1919 Germany was handed a diktat by the ‘Big Four’, a treaty that they had no option but to sign. Germany originally signed the Treaty of Versailles with the belief that it would be based around President Wilson’s fourteen points, however it soon became clear to them that this was not in fact the case. Germany felt that the Treaty had cheated them and there was much outrage across Germany. The principle complaint Germany had was that they felt the War Guilt Clause, referring to article 231 of the Treaty, was totally unjust. Germany was forced to take all the blame for damages received by the allies.
Causes of WW 11 Who, or what was to blame in causing WW 11? The Versailles Treaties have been blamed for fillnig the Germans with bitterness and the desire for revenge. The League of Nations has been for failing to secure general disarmament and collective security. The Great Depression has been mentioned because without it Hitler would never have come to power. While these factors created tension, something more was needed to create the war.
After Germany’s defeat in World War One Germany were made to sign the demoralizing and humiliating Treaty of Versailles where they would have to; accept responsibility for the war, pay reparations of $33 Billion, reduce their armed forces and they also lost much of their once great German Empire. And so one of his aims was to abolish the Treaty and in doing so he remilitarized the Rhineland, Unite German-speaking countries and other territories that were lost and also increase the size and power of the army. Hitler was successful at achieving these aims because in March 1936 he remilitarized the Rhineland then in 1938 he declared that Austria and Germany would unify together in the Anschluss before turning his attention to the German influenced Sudetenland and the rest of Czechoslovakia and then also during the 1930s Germany would continue to re arm under Hitler and would use the Spanish civil war as a testing ground for their new army and also any future tactics for example the Blitzkrieg. Under
They put restrictions on the German military, to make Germany weak and a second-rate power. Germany had huge financial losses, which brought the rise of the ultra-nationalist Nazis. They had to take acceptance of responsibility for the damage in the war even though they weren’t the only ones in the war. Germany had absolutely no say in the requirements and matters of the treaty. The Treaty of Versailles would prove to be one of the most disastrous mistakes in history.
Nazism was a revolution, and revolutions tend to devour their own.” The words of Robert Smith Thompson (2003, 141) have just described the crisis that was facing the Weimar Republic in the years 1933-1939. Adolf Hitler had risen to power and the 14 year old democratic republic was about to be eradicated in favour of something more sinister. Totalitarianism can be described as relating to a form of government that permits no rival loyalties or parties, demanding entire subservience of the individual to the state (the Concise Oxford dictionary). A totalitarian state’s ideologies reject existing societies as corrupt, immoral and beyond reform. They demand total conformity of all the people and their ideas and information is displayed through effective use of propaganda (TV, radio, press and education.)