As a result the failure for attempts of disarmament raised pressure in the continent, since remaining nations started to carry out rearmament themselves, for the preparation a possible war. It also exposed senses of weakness in the League of Nations, by not standing up to Japan and Italy’s crisis in Manchuria and Abyssinia; Japan, Italy and Germany went on the offensive dictatorship in the 1930s, and challenged the peace by seizing land from other countries; this showed that countries could simply get away with aggression.
The Great Depression in the 1930s from the USA greatly accelerated international tensions, thoroughly giving both economical and financial problems in most of the countries. This Depression resulted into a worldwide economic crisis in the first place, however it later applied as a disastrous impact on political relations between countries, making a world more dangerous place. It gave crucial damage to world’s economy for example, decrease in amount of jobs, bankrupt in banks and markets destroyed. Isolationism in the USA moreover focused on minimum involvement in affairs between European countries, with its reluctant behaviour to hardly give any support or sources into Europe. New regimes of dictatorship emerged in some nations as the new leaders promised a better world for them. Weaknesses of economy in some particular nations were directly led to increased aggression and invasions to other countries, to distract the sense of weaknesses in the inside. This tension of international relationships and the disastrous impact resulted from the Economic depression later rose to alternative policies, such as to the policy of appeasement.
Another key factor was the policy of Appeasement during 1936-1938. Britain and France went through the political and economical turmoil after the WW1 and later by the economic depression in 1929, therefore was more concerned about their own affairs than what was going on in the rest of Europe. Britain and France were reluctant to take a firm line against aggressive Germany. As a result, the new regimes of Hitler accelerated rapidly, with Britain and France fulfilling its momentum to expand its endless requisitions. By this Hitler was able to gain what he wanted to get; the first was the remilitarisation of Rhineland in 1936 when the rest of the world was focusing on the Abyssinian crisis in Africa. Having accomplished his first objectives in ‘Rearmament’, he then challenged to his territorial promises and focused on the eastern territories – Austria, Sudetenland and Czechoslovakia. Consequently, as Hitler was treated with the Appeasement, he overused military confrontation as his weapon, knowing that he could get away with anything. If the policy of Appeasement was not performed, the Second World War may have been avoided. The appeasement virtually encouraged him to be even more aggressive.
Although Britain and France changed their policy from March 1939 to a guarantee for Poland’s security, it did not convince Hitler it to happen in reality. Instead Germany involved in signing one major agreement in 1939: the Nazi-Soviet Pact with the USSR. The secret deal to split Poland in half between them alternatively convinced no nation would actually stop this invasion as USSR came to be its allies. This made Britain and France failed to stand up against ‘aggressive’ Hitler with the most powerful buffer, USSR, since the USA did not want to involve in any sort of afflictions. It eventually made Hitler’s invasion of Poland possible; it was the invasion of Poland that sparked off the war.
However, to Hitler’s surprise, Britain and France did keep their pledge to defend Poland if it was attacked. Britain and France responded to the attack on Poland by declaring a war in September in 1939. Daladier, a French minister had claimed: “only war would stop Hitler from dominating Europe and controlling France”. The sudden ending of Appeasement in March 1939 contributed to start the war, as Britain and France encouraged Germany to be aggressive. Hitler had claimed in October 1939 when the war had started: “Why do they fight, they have nothing to gain? They have no definite objectives. We want nothing from Great Britain or France. I have not a single aspiration in the West.” This suggests Hitler’s confusion about the motivations of Western leaders and that war could have been delayed, or even avoided if they had not declared a war on German. He suggests that it was not a right time for the declaration.
Overall after a series of factors, which were stirring up the war-tension in the European Continent, it was already eminent that a war could not be avoided no more, when the Nazi forces finally attacked Poland. Chamberlain from Britain now lost faith in Appeasement: as Hitler promised that ‘Sudetenland is the last problem… territorial claim which I (Hitler) have to make in Europe’ was betrayed, now were followed to keep the guarantee to defend Poland if attacked. As a result of a devastate world after the First World War and later the Economic depression, nationalism of rearmament and aggression threatened a war to happen and, at last, was ironically declared by Britain and France.
In my opinion, Hitler’s aggressive foreign policy had most contributed to start the Second World War although other factors was linked to each other for the outbreak. It was Britain and France who first declared a war; however it was inevitable because Hitler’s foreign policy of aggression had already provided enough reason for a war in Europe. His unlimited ambition and requisitions had betrayed Britain’s faith on the Appeasement and had gone too far. He also attempted too much on the annexation of Eastern European countries, too convinced with confidence that war would not happen. Moreover, his diplomatic alliances with the communist USSR seemed nonsense, to France and Britain’s surprise, it was hypocrisy because he was an absolute anti-communist. He did not sense the scrutiny of the Europe and at last, the Second World War had begun.
