In 1936, Hitler took his first major risk when he decided to demilitarise the Rhineland. This was strictly forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles and Britain and France had previously stated they would take no hesitation in affronting Germany, should it try anything. Hitler was faced with a huge decision, if he invaded the Rhineland he could have to cope with huge humiliation and he would lose all support from the army, however, should he succeed he would increase his popularity and prove that Britain and France were full of empty threats.
The failure of the Abyssinian and Manchurian crisis severely weakened Britain and France’s position against Hitler. He was left with no doubt that Britain and France were completely powerless and had been exposed to their weaknesses. Hitler knew he was in control and had more power than any other nation. Although France and Britain made many promises of changes that Germany would be forced to make, they were in such a position that they could not possibly go to war again, therefore they would not stand up to Hitler. Their lack of money and equipment made and type of conflict impossible, Hitler was allowed to reverse the Treaty of Versailles without any opposition.
Britain knew that Hitler intended to reverse the Treaty of Versailles and believed in some ways it should be permitted. Germany had suffered greatly and was not only forced to decrease their land mass but pay harsh reparations also. Chamberlain believed that allowing Germany to regain their land of restore a sense of national pride might be sufficient to end Hitler’s quest for power. This led to the policy of appeasement.
Hitler’s first act under the policy was to reunite with Austria, although both France and Britain were wary of this, they were in no means ready for another war and allowed Germany to continue with his plans, hoping that this would be his last act of defiance. This was merely the beginning of Hitler’s plan.
His next violation of the treaty came when he took control of the Sudetenland. Chamberlain decided this was acceptable as many people who resided there spoke German however he made it clear that Hitler was not to invade the remaining land of Czechoslovakia. Hitler made an agreement with Chamberlain who soon returned to Britain as a hero.
This popularity was short lived as in March 1939 Hitler took control of the rest of Czechoslovakia. Even though Britain made no sign of resistance against the situation, they announced that if Germany made any attempt at invading Poland, France and Britain would declare war on Germany.
This had little impact on Hitler’s plan; he had seen the power of France and Britain and believed they would avoid war by all means. Although their threat had scarcely altered Hitler’s decisions, he knew he would be unable to fight a war on two fronts and consequently must ensure Russia would make no attempt to attack Germany.
As a result of the war threat, Hitler came up with the Nazi-soviet pact. Both he and Stalin agreed that neither country would declare war on each other. After Russia’s downfall following the First World War, they had no intention on entering another and were quick to agree to Hitler’s offer. They decided to half Poland and take control. This was Hitler’s final act of defiance before the end of appeasement and the start of World War Two.
Although it was Hitler’s actions which led to war, many other factors were important in making the war happen. Firstly, the weaknesses of France and Britain lead Hitler to believe he was invincible, they took no action against his violations of the Treaty of Versailles and instead chose to believe that once Germany regained all they had lost, and Hitler would be satisfied. They showed poor judgement in situations such as the Abyssinian crisis and exposed their weaknesses to Hitler. They allowed Hitler to see that they were in no position for war and as a consequence he was able to invade countries without opposition.
Another factor which lead to the collapse of international peace was the actions of Russia. Hitler would not have invaded Poland if he would be forced to fight a war on two fronts, nevertheless Russia felt anxious about the increasing threat of war and were quick to sign a peace agreement with Germany.
Therefore it can be seen that many factors contributed to the collapse of international peace by 1939. A combination of long term and short term factors forced the situation in Europe to break out into war.