3.1.4: German Expansion late 1930s

Germany & Versailles Review

• Germany’s army was reduced to 100,000 men; the army was not allowed tanks

• She was not allowed an airforce, only 6 capital naval ships and no submarines

• The west of the Rhineland and 50 kms east of the River Rhine was made into a demilitarised zone (DMZ). No German soldier or weapon was allowed into this zone. The Allies were to keep an army of occupation on the west bank of the Rhine for 15 years.

Germany & Versailles Review

• The following land was taken away from Germany :

• Alsace-Lorraine (given to France)

• Eupen and Malmedy (given to Belgium)

• Northern Schleswig (given to Denmark)

• Hultschin (given to Czechoslovakia)

• West Prussia, Posen and Upper Silesia (given to Poland)

• The Saar, Danzig and Memel were put under the control of the League of Nations and the people of these regions would be allowed to vote to stay in Germany or not in a future referendum.

Terms of the Versailles Treaty

• 1. Germany’s armed forces to be severely limited

• 2. The Rhineland to be a demilitarized zone

• 3. Germany forbidden to unite with Austria

• 4. The Sudetenland taken into the new state of Czechoslovakia

• 5. The Polish corridor given to Poland

1. Germany’s Armed forces to be severely limited

• What Hitler did and when

– -Upon taking power in 1933, unemployed men were taken into the military

– Secretly rearmed his forces

– Introduced conscription into the army in 1936

– Signed a naval agreement with the British in 1935 to increase the size of the German navy

1. Germany’s Armed forces to be severely limited

• Reasons he gave for his actions

– He wanted to make Germany strong again and challenge the Treaty of Versailles

1. Germany’s Armed forces to be severely limited

• British & French Response

– No direct action taken against Hitler

– British were sympathetic to Germany about Versailles limitations

2. Rhineland to be a DMZ

• What Hitler did and When?

– Moved troops into the Rhineland in March 1936

2. Rhineland to be a DMZ

• Reasons he gave for his actions

– France and USSR had just signed a treaty to protect themselves from Germany

– Hitler felt threatened by this and felt Germany should have troops on its own frontier to protect its self

2. Rhineland to be a DMZ

• British and French Response

– League was occupied with Abyssinian crisis so did nothing

– French were in midst of an election & non of the politicians were prepared to take responsibility for plunging France into a war

3. Germany forbidden to unite with Austria

3. Germany forbidden to unite with Austria

• What Hitler Did & When

– Move troops into Austria in March 1938

3. Germany forbidden to unite with Austria

• Reasons he gave for his actions

– Outlined in Mein Kampf that both states belonged together

– In early 1938 Austrians were having a referendum on Union with Germany or independence. Fearing he might lose, Hitler argued that his troops were needed in Austria to guarantee a trouble-free vote

3. Germany forbidden to unite with Austria

• British & French Response

– British PM Chamberlain felt that Germany/Austria had the right to be united & Treaty was wrong to separate them

– British / French were not ready to defend flawed treaty so NO military action was taken

4. The Sudetenland taken into the new state of Czechoslovakia

• Czechoslovakia was one of the new eastern European countries formed at the end of WW1 from the old Austria-Hungarian Empire

• Over 3 million Germans were included in this country & they lived in an area called the Sudetenland (yellow on map)

• It was important for Czechoslovakia because most of the countries heavy industry & defenses were there

4.The Sudetenland taken into the new state of Czechoslovakia

• What Hitler Did & When

– Hitler demanded that the Sudetenland area of Czechoslovakia be joined with Germany (September 1938)

4.The Sudetenland taken into the new state of Czechoslovakia

• The Reason he gave for his action

– Hitler claimed the Czech govt was mistreating the Sudeten Germans living there & that he intend to rescue them

The Sudetenland taken into the new state of Czechoslovakia

• British French Response

– Following a series of meeting throughout September, British & French leaders met with Hitler & agree, without consulting Czech govt, that the Sudetenland should be given to Germany in return for peace

– Known as the Munich Agreement (signed October 1, 1938)

– Appeasement (complete 3.1.5 worksheet using next slide)

Appeasement

• Horrible Histories World War 2 on the Internet

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u77orUQyy3o&safe=active

• While Hitler promised that the Sudetenland was his last territorial demand, he took over the remainder of Czechoslovakia in March 1939

• For the British & French this was the last straw. They realized Hitler could not be trusted & that his next target was likely Poland

• They would declare war on Germany if Poland was invaded

5. The Polish Corridor given to Poland

• What Hitler did and when

– Formed the Nazi-Soviet Pact on August 23, 1939 in which they agreed not to attack one another & also to divide Poland between them

- eliminated war on two fronts as in WW1

– Germany attacked Poland on September 1, 1939

5. The Polish Corridor given to Poland

• The reason he gave for his actions

– Hitler claimed the right to reclaim the Polish Corridor & spoke of the need to protect ethnic Germans from persecution

5. The Polish Corridor given to Poland

• British & French Response

– Declared was on September 3, 1939.