In the words of Historian Norman Lowe; “During and immediately after the war, there was general agreement outside Germany that Hitler was to blame”. Because Hitler had attacked Poland in 1939 on multiple fronts and chose not to just occupy Danzig and the corridor, Hitler was obviously revealing his bitter intent to destroy and claim Poland, not “free” German people lost from the Treaty of Versailles. Additionally, the invasion of Poland was seen by many as preliminary to the invasion of Russia. Many historians such as Hugh Trevor-Roper believe Hitler despised communism and sought to firstly defeat Poland and then overtake Russia, with full intentions of war.
The non-aggression pact with Russia could be seen as an attempt to quell Russian suspicions and hold her at bay until Poland had been crushed. Evidence for this theory can be drawn from Mein Kampf (my struggle) and from the Hossbach memorandum, a summary made by Colonel Hossbach (a man close to Hitler) at a Nazi meeting in November 1937. Hitler explained his aggressive foreign policy plans to party-members at this meeting. If true, this would essentially discount appeasement as a trigger to war.
On the other hand, is it possible the USSR were responsible for triggering war by signing the non-aggression pact and remaining neutral with Germany initially? Many feel the signing of the pact was tactical and gave the Russians time to build defences and military might. If Russia had of joined with the allies and Poland, Hitler would surely be forced to keep the peace. It must be noted though, Britain were particularly reluctant to ally with the Russians. Chamberlain not only feared the spread of communism into Europe and a revolution, but saw the Russian military as weak and extremely ineffective.
The axis powers were extremely fearful of both communism and Fascism. Communism had enjoyed brief success in Hungary after the Bolsheviks seized power in Russia in November 1917. The allies feared a violent communist revolution and felt especially threatened whenever the “buffer state” of Poland was attacked (Poland was seen as one of the “buffer states” between the Soviet Union and Europe, blocking the spread of communism). Fascists were firm believers in regular war (for self improvement) and were therefore eager at the prospect of a European War. In his book “the doctrine of Fascism”, Benito Mussolini wrote “fascism does not; generally speaking, believe in perpetual peace”. Mussolini had already demonstrated his aggression and along with the PNF, he overshadowed similar Fascist movements in Romania, Hungary and other states through the world. This added to the existing tension between nations.
Many historians however, feel that appeasement was to blame and that Britain and France in particular should have stopped Hitler when the terms of Versailles were broken, before he could amass such power and launch war. An Anglo-French military response whenever Hitler seized and remilitarised the Rhineland could have changed History and stopped Hitler’s ambitious expansion. In the words of historian Alan Bullock; “the absence of resistance tempted Hitler to reach out further”. Because the allies offered such little resistance to Hitler’s expansion, Hitler felt he could gain much more. After the surrender of Munich in particular, it must have appeared likely to Hitler that the allies would likely remain neutral or passive if he were to attack Poland.
It is argued that German demands for the Sudetenland (containing nearly one million non-Germans) were far less reasonable than her demands for Danzig and surrounding routes across the corridor. Chamberlain has been publically criticised for backing the wrong issue when he made a stand against Hitler when he entered Poland in September 1939. Poland had a relatively weak military force and was geographically difficult to defend. If Chamberlain had of made his stand when Hitler seized Munich, he could have backed the Czechs who had a powerful industry and a much stronger military force than Poland. Many question Chamberlain’s motives, as intervention at Munich would appear a much more logical choice to curb Hitler’s expansion. Supporters of Chamberlain claim his actions provided Britain with more time to prepare for war.
Although opinions are divided over who started World War II, it widely believed that Hitler’s vicious foreign policy and eventual invasion of Poland in 1939 was the trigger point. In the words of German historian J Hest; “Hitler’s entire career was orientated towards war”. Before 1st September 1939, nationalistic tensions, unresolved issues, Hitler’s aggressive expansion, allied fear of communism and fascism, resentments stemming from World War I and the Great Depression played large parts in setting the stage for war.
