Go to the lesson for this slide deck: h1ps://edrolo.com.au/hsc/subjects/modern-­‐history/conflict-­‐europe/ interna=onal-­‐conflict-­‐europe/causes-­‐conflict/causes-­‐of-­‐the-­‐conflict/ -­‐ causes of the conflict Dictatorships in Germany and Italy Britain, France and the policy of appeasement: an assessment The League of Na<ons and collapse of collec<ve security: Abyssinia, the Spanish
Civil War Significance of the Nazi–Soviet Non-­‐
Aggression Pact The Origins of World War 2 and the Controversy aroused by A. J. P. Taylor Who do you trust? •  Before Taylor -­‐ in the 1950s, Germany had been content to see Hitler and the Nazis blamed. They were now gone and Germany could return to the community of na=ons, cleansed. • Britain, France and the USA were content. The war was seen as a just fight against Totalitarianism. • The lesson drawn was, of the need to be vigilant during the Cold War, when the democracies were faced with Soviet Totalitarianism. Time to self assess and to teach Reg
Assess what were, in your view the
primary causes of the outbreak of War in
Europe in 1939
In your answer, take into account the
notes from the Marking Centre and go
beyond a narrative of events leading
up to September 1939.
The question asks for an assessment.
That means you are expected to make a
judgement of value, quality, outcomes,
results or size
The question also asks for the ‘primary
causes’, in other words what were the most
important, dominate or indispensible
causes of the War.
Review your answer
Consider Mawdsley’s point about the two sides and the fact that Germany &
Italy were interested in undoing the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles.
You might also point to the particular social and economic conditions of the
1920s & 30s. These factors encouraged the rise of Hitler & Mussolini and
distracted the Allies with internal economic problems.
You might therefore have begun with a sentence that read. – “The primary
causes of the outbreak of war in Europe in 1939, were according to Evan
Mawdsley the conflict arising from the Axis Powers (Germany and Italy)
attempting to redraw the map of Europe and the desire of Britain and France to
maintain the provisions of Versailles. This was directly linked to what John
Keegan, Martin Gilbert and others have referred to as the particular social and
economic conditions that encouraged the rise of the dictators and the Allied
policy of appeasement”.
Note that in this way you will have answered the question immediately and
used academic historians to argue from authority and establish a criteria for
your assessment.
You should then have moved through the key events and linked other causes to the primary causes The primary causes are the dominant features of the
pattern of history that led to the outbreak of war.
You needed to explain rather than just describe the part played by the Dictator’s
desire to undo the Versailles settlement. You should have considered the facts
that Hitler was allowed to re-arm and then, re-occupy the Rhineland and unite
with Austria.
This should have led you to consider both the short-comings of the League of
Nations, the idea of collective security and the policy of appeasement. The
League had proved to be ineffectual in protecting the interests of League
members. League sanctions did not deter Italian aggression against Abyssinia
in 1935-36
An assessment should have then led you to explain the economic and social
environment of the Great Depression. The democracies were focusing more
and more on domestic unemployment.
This should have, in turn, led to an explanation of how the
policy of Appeasement encouraged the dictators BUT that
Appeasement was, in no small part, the result of:
1. The nature of the Versailles Se1lement – which included some provisions that the Bri=sh Government of Neville Chamberlain thought were harsh and therefore accepted that Hitler’s ini=al demands were reasonable. Hence they appeased rather than opposed Hitler. Versailles and the legacy of WW1 was also a factor. Poli=cians had a horror of another war. 2. Appeasement was also a result of the Depression and Britain’s financial
inability to defend Imperial interests in Asia and maintain a powerful military
presence in Europe.
Each of these points should have then been clearly linked back to the claims
made at the beginning of your response about the desire of the Dictators to
undo the Versailles Settlement and the unwillingness or inability of the
Democracies to defend it.