A very significant action was when Hitler sent troops into the Rhineland, with this action Hitler broke international agreements to maintain that area un-militarised. This action was specials threaten to France. As Britain refused to send troops against Germany, war did not start.
Hitler tried his new weapons in the Spanish Civil War bombing for the first time in history civilians.
In 1938 Hitler took Austria and later in the same year the Sudentland of Czechoslovakia. Britain and France warned Germany that if they took Poland war was going to brake.
Britain and France followed a policy of appeasement, which let Hitler achieve his plans without problems. As Hitler saw the perfect opportunity of taking Austria because in this country were many Germans, he said it was his right take over Austria, after this Britain and France remained quiet following the appeasement policy.
The same happened when Hitler wanted to rearm. Other example of this policy is when Hitler invaded the Sudentland, which included a large nazi party. Britain and France kept the same with every Hitler action until e invaded Poland.
This policy was followed by many reasons, Britain and France did not care, they saw Germany an ally against communism, they did not have enough power to stop Hitler and also they wanted to avoid war.
Stalin had been worried about the German threaten to the USSR ever since Hitler came to power. Hitler had interest in conquering Russian Land.
Hitler denounced communists and he announced openly that he would kill all communists in Germany. As Stalin could not make an agreement with Britain and France to stop Hitler in 1934 he joined the League of Nations hoping that the League would bring security from the Germans but he saw the powerlessness of this Institution when Mussolini and Hitler intervened in the Spanish Civil War.
Stalin saw that communists were a bigger threat for Britain than the Nazis.
Stalin signed a treaty with France that stated that France would help the USSR if Hitler invaded Russia or if Hitler attacked France. Stalin decided that the Soviet interests would be saved by an agreement with Germany, so in 1938 Ribbentrop flew to Moscw for talks with Stalin. On August 1939 the two powers signed the “Nazi-Soviet Pact” in which they agreed not to attack each other and also agreed to divide Poland between them.
The Treaty of Versailles had a great impact in World War II, this treaty made Germany pay for all the damages caused in World War I to the winning countries. After this unfair trail German citizens had a feeling of revenge, unfairness and economic deprivation. As Hitler offered the supposed solution to their rage by attacking the Jews, enlarging German territory and destroying communism as well as revenge form the Nations that had defeated them in WWI.
Pablo Hernández Chacón
