The British Government knew what capability their enemies had. Hitler was looked upon as a very un-predictable and dangerous man. In July 1936, Hitler joined the Italian leader Mussolini in helping the Nationalists in the Spanish Civil War. This allowed him to give experience to his new armed forces and test out new weapons. This event made the Italians grow closer to the Germans. Many in Britain and France at this time assumed a future war would be fought between communism and fascism. Britain, and allied countries were watching Germany rapidly grow more and more powerful. Hitler was gaining more support, as the country itself was becoming greater than ever.
In 1936 Hitler contradicted the Treaty of Versailles, by re-entering the Rhineland. As Germany as a country felt that they were treated unfairly in the Treaty, they grew respect for Hitler – the leader that put the ‘November Criminals’ to shame. Then in March 1938, Hitler used his power to force Austria to unite with him and his country. This achieved a greater Germany. The British and French had reduced their armed forces during the depression. Although they had begun to rearm, they felt they were still too weak to oppose Germany, especially with their recent unite with Austria.
In September, at the Munich conference, Hitler demanded and was given the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia. This brought more German speakers to Germany. The British Prime Minister – Neville Chamberlain, was unwilling to fight to keep Czechoslovakia and he accepted some of Hitler’s claims. He assumed that Germany would honour the deal set at Munich; however, there was a slight lack of trust between the two nations. Hitler then occupied the rest of Czechoslovakia in a step towards ‘Lebensraum’ (and war in the east), showing the world how powerful and untrustworthy he was. He was also unpredictable, meaning in a war he could be very dangerous – hence the British Government’s decision to evacuate British children from major cities.
Britain and France promised Poland they would support them in an attack form Germany, hoping this would prevent Hitler from invading. However, they were proved wrong when in September 1939 Hitler invaded Poland. This was to regain territories lost in the Treaty of Versailles, but also to win Lebensraum. He assumed that the British and French would back down again or that they would be unable to do anything to help the Polish. He was also proved wrong, when Britain and France declared war on Germany.
All the events leading up to the Second World War involve the growing of a greater Germany. Hitler was becoming more loved throughout Germany, which resulted in more hated in Britain and France. He was not a trusted man, this lead to the governments decision of evacuating children from Britain’s major cities. Precautions had to be taken to protect the future generation of Britain.
