Why had Internatioanl Peace Collapsed by 1939?

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Why Had International Peace Collapsed by 1939?

When Hitler took power in Germany in 1933 he was pledged to reverse the Treaty of Versailles and to increase German territory, which he had already laid out in his book, Mein Kampf in 1924. Hitler was pledged to reverse the Treaty of Versailles because he had promised to do so if he became leader of Germany, as to him and to all Germans, it was a constant reminder of their defeat in World War One and of their humiliation by the Allies. By the time Hitler came to power, some terms had already been changed; Germany had stopped paying reparations, as an example. The Treaty of Versailles had also taken territory from Germany, that Hitler now wanted back. Mostly, he said that he wanted Self-determination, allowing German ‘minorities’, such as in the Sudetenland, in Czechoslovakia, to join Germany. Self-determination had been one of Woodrow Wilsons 14 point included in the Treaty of Versailles, which had been denied to Germany. Hitler also wanted to unite with Austria, known as the Anschluss, which was also forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles and he wanted to carve out Lebensraum or ‘living space’ in the east of Europe. These aims would eventually lead to another war.

In the 1930s there were two incidents, Manchuria and Abyssinia, which really tested the League of Nations and that, made it easier for Hitler to achieve his objectives. If Japan had been able to invade Manchuria, and get away with it, and if Mussolini had been able to take Abyssinia and its capital, Addis Ababa without getting punished, why should Germany not be able to have self-determination. If Italians were ‘allowed’ to invade Abyssinia, one of the last free countries in Africa, why couldn’t Germans living outside of the German boarders belong to Germany. No one could argue that the rough three million Germans living in Czechoslovakia, could not be allowed to move to Germany, or that the Sudetenland, were they were mostly living, could not be given to Germany as it was an act of self-determination. Britain and France could not argue against this, as both believed in self- determination, and as according to the Treaty of Versailles all countries had a right to self- determination. Hitler could now say that Germans and Austrians were similar, that the Austrian people were mainly German; they belonged together in one country. Also many Austrians supported this idea of a union with Germany, as their country was economically weak, while Germany was strong.

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In 1936 Hitler began his policy of reclaiming lost German territory, this policy became known as Appeasement. Hitler tried convincing the Austrian Chancellor Schuschnigg to agree to Anschluss, he however did not and went to Britain and France for help, who refused. So Schuschnigg called a plebiscite, so that the Austrians could vote. In March 1938 Hitler marched into Austria, to ‘guarantee’ a trouble-free plebiscite. There, under the watchful eyes of Nazi troops, 99.75 per cent of Austrians voted to join Hitler, thus Anchluss was declared. In May 1938 Hitler made it clear that he now wanted the Sudetenland to become ...

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