This essay will tell you my view on world war two and whose fault it was.

History essay

The second started in 1939 when Hitler invaded Poland to annexes with Dazig. Britain had singed a pact with Poland to help them fight if ever attacked. Britain and France give Hitler an ultimatum on 1st of September and on the 3rd of September 1939 Britain and France declare war on Germany. Britain and The League of Nations had been using the policy of appeasement with Hitler. Hitler had been trying to fulfil his aims, which were to unite German-speaking people (using NSD, which had been denied at the Treaty of Versailles, He wanted lebensraum (living space) in order to gain self-sufficiency (autarky), ant to rearm Germany and make them strong again I will give you an example of when the league use appeasement. The Rhineland in the treaty of Versailles it said that the Rhineland would be under control by the League. But in 1936 Hitler move his troops in to the Rhineland and began to rearm. He had gone against the treaty of Versailles, which was one of his aims. What did the league do nothing because the use appeasement they allowed him to take this because they did not want any more conflict. But this made the league look weak.

The League of Nations and how they dealt with Hitler was looked at to be a complete failer because they could of avoided war at an early stage by stooping Hitler. The league looked weak because of the way they settle disputes Hitler. As I’ve already mention the use the policy of appeasement to settle disputes with Hitler. The league could not uphold the treaty of Versailles because Hitler was destroyed it slowly. He was allowed too much appeasement and led to the fall of the treaty. Here are a few examples. The rearmament of Germany was a cause for war because it broke the Treaty of Versailles (28th June, 1919), The remilitarisation of the Rhineland (7th march, 1936) was a cause of war because it broke the Treaty of Versailles, and Hitler was slowly destroying the treaty by what he was doing. Having broken the Treaty of Versailles once, Hitler risked doing it a second time by marching 30,000 troops into Cologne on 7th March 1936. France, with 250,000 troops mobilised, remained passive because Britain would not support her. Britain took the view that Germany was ‘marching into her own back yard.’ To show that his remilitarisation was popular, Hitler held a plebiscite, which showed that 98.8% were in favour.

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Hitler had other plans as well his lebensraum which meant living space, e.g. Hitler’s aim to take land from bordering states to achieve self-sufficiency. But if he wanted to achieve this he would have to invade a take other countries land which could lead to war. Britain prime minister at the time was Neville Chamberlain who used the policy of appeasing with Germany in many situations. Chamberlain believed that all’s Hitler wanted to do is unite all German speaking people and by doing this that he would not cause war. Also Hitler wanted to unite with Austria (the Anschluss) this was also forbidden by the treaty of Versailles but Hitler felt to confidant that he would stop know. Because he knew the league would probably not react if. This is what happened over the Anchluss with Austria. Austrian Fascists wanted to unite with Germany but Schuschnigg, the Austrian Chancellor, wanted Austria to be independent. But Schuschnigg could gain support from foreign countries so Schuschnigg ended up resigning. So on the 13th of March 1938 Hitler sent troops in. In a plebiscite on the Anschluss a vote of 99.75% in favour. This had also broken a rule of the treaty of Versailles. But the league still did not react when Hitler united with Austria. Another thing that Hitler wanted was the Sudetenland even though that he had promised Chamberlain that Austria was the last of the land, which Austria lost in the treaty of St Germain (September 10th 1919). And Czechoslovakia gained 3 million German-speaking people. After the Anschluss the Sudeten German leader, Konrad Henlein, demanded a union with Germany because no one else would help. Fearing war, Chamberlain met Hitler on three occasions at Berchtesgaden, Godesburg and at Munich. Hitler, Mussolini, Chamberlain and Daladier singed the Munich agreement. The Agreement said Hitler could take the Sudetenland the following day without a plebiscite, Hungary and Poland could take border districts from Czechoslovakia and Britain and Germany would never go to war. After the meeting both Chamberlain and Hitler had different reactions. Hitler reactions in public Hitler seemed satisfied, but in private he exploded saying ‘that fellow Chamberlain has spoiled my entry into Prague.’

Hitler aggression could have been stopped an early stage to avoid further aggression. They only reason he wasn’t stopped is the policy of Appeasement in my point of view this policy was not a good thing to do with Hitler. The League was letting Hitler get away with things, that gave him confidence. His confidence grew and he then thought that he would do bigger and badder things like the Anchluss with Austria then to move on and take the sudaten land. Don’t forget all what he was doing was all in his aims and he seemed to be completing them because how lenient the league was with Hitler.

The growth of the alliances was another key factor that led to the out brake of war. Germany made many alliances on the leading up to the Second World War. Germany made an alliance with Italy in October 1937. when Mussolini singed a pact with Germany The Rome-Berlin axis. The league called this the axis of evil. This why they made the axis. When Britain threatened oil sanctions against Mussolini during the Abyssinian crisis. This caused the Rome-Berlin Axis in 1936. Mussolini and Hitler strengthened their alliance on two occasions. The first being one with Japan called The Anti-Commintern Pact (November 1937). The second one being with including all allies this was called The Pact of Steel (May 1939). Hitler also made a pact with Russia. Hitler had plans to invade Poland and he knew that Britain would attack him from the west. He was worried that Russia would attack him from the east. So Hitler made a pact with Russia The Nazi-Soviet pact. This pact said that if either country went to war the other would remain neutral. Hitler gained the chance to invade Poland with a war on one front, if Britain supported Poland. So German tanks invaded West Prussia and Posen on the 1st September 1939 using blitzkrieg tactics. (This is a lightning, sudden attack co-ordinating air, then land forces). Chamberlain sent an ultimatum (a warning with a threat) saying that if Hitler did not withdraw from Poland by 11am, 3rd September 1939, Britain would declare war. On 3rd September, Britain, followed by France, declared war on Germany.

My conclusion is that both Hitler and the league were to blame for the outbreak of war in 1939. This because Hitler broke the treaty of Versailles and he knew that he cause trouble by doing this. The league used the policy of appeasement with Hitler letting get away with his aim after aim. No wonder he decided to invade Poland because of the league not doing anything he grew to confident.

Craig McVeigh