CAUSES OF WW II IN EUROPE: HITLER’S WAR

A Nazi election poster from the 1930s. “Break free now! Vote Hitler”

-Winston Churchill asserted that Hitler had a master plan for the domination of Europe (Mein Kampf ). -He suggested that Hitler wanted to reunite Germans in a Great German Empire and conquer Eastern Europe by force which would lead to war. -In Churchill’s analysis, the turning point was 1935 when Germany rearmed.

-Hitler had been temporarily blinded in a gas attack during WWI and, while in the hospital, he Heard of Germany’s surrender and was upset about it. -At that point he decided to go into politics. -German's commitment to make the reparation payments was limited. -In 1919 Hitler became the 55th member of the Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (DAP; German Worker’s Party.) In 1920 it was renamed the NSDAP (National Socialist German Worker’s Party)

-By 1921 Hitler had become the leader of the party (Nazi Party) and set down a 25-point program. -The aims of the program were: 1.The union of all Germans. 2.Put an end to the Treaty of Versailles. 3.Creating a strong nation. 4.Creating a national army. 5.The exclusion of Jews from German society. oints.htm ds/data/records/25-point-program.xml

-November 1923, Hitler and his Nazis attempted a coup d’état in Munich. -It failed and Hitler was in prison for 9 months. -Mein Kampf (My Struggle) is a mix of autobiography and political philosophy with racist and authoritarian theories. -There Hitler asserted the need for German racial purity and the absolute need to acquire “lebensraum”. -Andreas Hillgruber suggested the book was a “stage-by-stage plan”. -The first stage would be the termination of the Treaty of Versailles and the formation of an Alliance with Britain and Italy. -The second stage would be a war against France and her Eastern European allies. -The last stage would be a war with the USSR.

-The Nazi party didn’t do well in the elections of Hitler retreated to Berlin where he dictated the book known as the “Secret Book”, which historians see as further evidence of Hitler’s long-term ambitions. -In the book he suggests that in the 1930s a final struggle would take place for world hegemony between the USA and the combined forces of a Greater Germany and the British Empire. -He also wrote about his admiration for Mussolini and his anger towards the German Chancellor Gustav Stresemann. -Lebensraum, Hitler thought, was to be taken from the USSR.

-The 1920s was a period of optimism in international relations. -Yet, the stability was fragile, and the weakness of the LoN had been tested and found wanting before Hitler came to power in Germany. -The mass unemployment and despair caused by the depression assisted Hitler’s rise to power. -Higher unemployment = higher popularity of the Nazi Party = Hitler came to power legally. -Even the president, General Von Hindenburg thought Hitler would be useful and that he could control him. -Criticism to Versailles made the public think Hitler would restore Germany’s international prestige.

: Hitler gained cooperation of the army and the industrialists. -His regime was totalitarian – the Nazis could gear domestic policy to meet the needs for its expansionist foreign policy. -Military conscription and rearmament would relieve mass unemployment. SHORT-TERM CAUSES OF WWII ( ) -Hitler wanted to control “race and space” and his writing and speeches were consisting with this. -To achieve his goals, he took several actions: 1.Revising the Treaty of Versailles. 2.Militarizing the Rhineland. 3.Spanish Civil War 4.Anti-Comintern Pact 5.Hossbach Memorandum 6.Anschluss 7.Takeover of Czechoslovakia

-In 1933, Hitler announced the Nazis wouldn’t resume the payments which was good propaganda and it didn’t cause major international frictions. -Hitler announced Germany was rearming. -Between Germany’s military expenditure increased 5 times compared to Germany was preparing its economy for war while the other countries were still fighting the Great Depression. -In 1934, Germany and Poland signed the 10 Year Non-aggression Pact to secure the Eastern border. -Hitler was now seen as ultimately peaceful. -Germany-Austria’s unification (Anschluss) was forbidden. -Pro-Nazis in Austria (1934) murdered Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss and attempted a coup. Austria crushed it and Mussolini sent troops to warn Germany off.

-In 1935, there was a plebiscite in Saar. 90% of the Saar people voted to be annexed again to Germany. -Hitler announced compulsory military service in Germany and the increase of his armament program. -Germany had an army of more tan 500,000 men and an air force. -The rest of the powers hoped that a revision of Versailles would satisfy the more moderate elements of German society.

IMMEDIATE CAUSES OF WWII -Poland was Hitler’s next target. -Britain and France warned Germany that an attack on Poland would mean war. -The Nazi-Soviet Pact was signed.