3.1.4: German Expansion late
1930s
Germany & Versailles Review
• Germany’s army was reduced to 100,000 men;
the army was not allowed tanks
• She was not allowed an airforce, only 6 capital
naval ships and no submarines
• The west of the Rhineland and 50 kms east of the
River Rhine was made into a demilitarised zone
(DMZ). No German soldier or weapon was
allowed into this zone. The Allies were to keep an
army of occupation on the west bank of the
Rhine for 15 years.
Germany & Versailles Review
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The following land was taken away from Germany :
Alsace-Lorraine (given to France)
Eupen and Malmedy (given to Belgium)
Northern Schleswig (given to Denmark)
Hultschin (given to Czechoslovakia)
West Prussia, Posen and Upper Silesia (given to Poland)
The Saar, Danzig and Memel were put under the
control of the League of Nations and the people of
these regions would be allowed to vote to stay in
Germany or not in a future referendum.
Terms of the Versailles Treaty
• 1. Germany’s armed forces to be severely
limited
• 2. The Rhineland to be a demilitarized zone
• 3. Germany forbidden to unite with Austria
• 4. The Sudetenland taken into the new state
of Czechoslovakia
• 5. The Polish corridor given to Poland
1. Germany’s Armed forces to be
severely limited
• What Hitler did and when
– -Upon taking power in 1933, unemployed men
were taken into the military
– Secretly rearmed his forces
– Introduced conscription into the army in 1936
– Signed a naval agreement with the British in 1935
to increase the size of the German navy
1. Germany’s Armed forces to be
severely limited
• Reasons he gave for his actions
– He wanted to make Germany strong again and
challenge the Treaty of Versailles
1. Germany’s Armed forces to be
severely limited
• British & French Response
– No direct action taken against Hitler
– British were sympathetic to Germany about
Versailles limitations
2. Rhineland to be a DMZ
• What Hitler did and When?
– Moved troops into the Rhineland in March 1936
2. Rhineland to be a DMZ
• Reasons he gave for his actions
– France and USSR had just signed a treaty to
protect themselves from Germany
– Hitler felt threatened by this and felt Germany
should have troops on its own frontier to protect
its self
2. Rhineland to be a DMZ
• British and French Response
– League was occupied with Abyssinian crisis so did
nothing
– French were in midst of an election & non of the
politicians were prepared to take responsibility for
plunging France into a war
3. Germany forbidden to unite with
Austria
3. Germany forbidden to unite with
Austria
• What Hitler Did & When
– Move troops into Austria in March 1938
3. Germany forbidden to unite with
Austria
• Reasons he gave for his actions
– Outlined in Mein Kampf that both states belonged
together
– In early 1938 Austrians were having a referendum
on Union with Germany or independence. Fearing
he might lose, Hitler argued that his troops were
needed in Austria to guarantee a trouble-free vote
3. Germany forbidden to unite with
Austria
• British & French Response
– British PM Chamberlain felt that Germany/Austria
had the right to be united & Treaty was wrong to
separate them
– British / French were not ready to defend flawed
treaty so NO military action was taken
4. The Sudetenland taken into the
new state of Czechoslovakia
• Czechoslovakia was one of the new eastern
European countries formed at the end of WW1 from
the old Austria-Hungarian Empire
• Over 3 million Germans were included in this country
& they lived in an area called the Sudetenland
(yellow on map)
• It was important for Czechoslovakia because most of
the countries heavy industry & defenses were there
4.The Sudetenland taken into the
new state of Czechoslovakia
• What Hitler Did & When
– Hitler demanded that the Sudetenland area of
Czechoslovakia be joined with Germany
(September 1938)
4.The Sudetenland taken into the
new state of Czechoslovakia
• The Reason he gave for his action
– Hitler claimed the Czech govt was mistreating the
Sudeten Germans living there & that he intend to
rescue them
The Sudetenland taken into the
new state of Czechoslovakia
• British French Response
– Following a series of meeting throughout
September, British & French leaders met with
Hitler & agree, without consulting Czech govt, that
the Sudetenland should be given to Germany in
return for peace
– Known as the Munich Agreement (signed October
1, 1938)
– Appeasement (complete 3.1.5 worksheet using
next slide)
Appeasement
• Horrible Histories World War 2 on the Internet
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u77orU
Qyy3o&safe=active
• While Hitler promised that the Sudetenland was his
last territorial demand, he took over the remainder
of Czechoslovakia in March 1939
• For the British & French this was the last
straw. They realized Hitler could not be
trusted & that his next target was likely Poland
• They would declare war on Germany if Poland
was invaded
5. The Polish Corridor given to
Poland
• What Hitler did and when
– Formed the Nazi-Soviet Pact on August 23, 1939 in
which they agreed not to attack one another &
also to divide Poland between them
- eliminated war on two fronts as in WW1
– Germany attacked Poland on September 1, 1939
5. The Polish Corridor given to
Poland
• The reason he gave for his actions
– Hitler claimed the right to reclaim the Polish
Corridor & spoke of the need to protect ethnic
Germans from persecution
5. The Polish Corridor given to
Poland
• British & French Response
– Declared was on September 3, 1939.