Appeasement
1936
•
Hitler’s armies invade
the Rhineland, violating
the Treaty of Versailles
•
Rhineland:
economically
prosperous area along
French-German border
•
After WWI:
demilitarized zone, due
to border disputes
1936 -Rome-Berlin Axis
•
Formal alliance
between Nazi
Germany and Fascist
Italy
•
Focused on common
goal of building
empires and seeking
revenge for the Treaty
of Versailles
1938
•
Appeasement:
Foreign policy of
France and Britain
•
This is making
concessions, or giving
in to keep peace
•
Due to economic and
social problems after
WWI, these nations
did not want another
war
1938
•
Hitler declares
Austria as rightfully
part of Germany
(Aryan)
•
Nazi troops march in,
and a puppet gov’t
approves the
German Anschluss
(annexation) of
Austria
1938
•
Hitler also wanted to control the Sudetenland, because
it was populated mostly by Germans.
•
This area was part of Czechoslovakia (formed after
WWI)
1938 - Munich Conference
•
Hitler meets with
British Prime
Minister Neville
Chamberlain
•
Also present
were Mussolini
and French
Premier Daladier
•
NOT present:
Czechoslovakia
Decision: Hitler could keep Sudetenland,
and non-Germans had to leave
• Chamberlain
returned home
to Britain and
was cheered:
he had
achieved
“peace for our
time”
1939
•
March: Hitler annexes Czechoslovakia, violating
the Munich Pact
•
August: Hitler & Stalin sign the German-Soviet
Nonaggression Pact (Nazi-Soviet Pact): Agreed
not to attack one another, and would share the
land in Eastern Europe (This is a trick by Hitler now he only has to fight a one front war!!)
•
September 1: Nazi invasion of Poland; Britain &
France declare war on Germany, and WWII begins
Blitzkrieg: Lightning War
•
Overwhelming buildup of offensive
weapons (tanks,
planes, artillery)
along a narrow front
to smash through
opponent’s defenses