1. The Road to World War Two
Appeasement

2. Appeasement What is appeasement?
The policy of settling international disputes by satisfying grievances through negotiation and compromise, thereby avoiding an armed conflict
Can you identify any cases of appeasement in recent international politics?

3. Why did appeasement occur?
Western European nations such as Britain and France did not want another costly war after World War One
Western nations were focused on solving internal problems caused by the Great Depression, so they did not want to spend money on war preparations
Internal divisions between the left and right prevented assertive action by the democracies
The Britain and France were unwilling to act where they did not see a direct threat to national interests

4. Japanese Invasion of Manchuria
While China was mired in a civil war between Chiang Kai-Shek’s nationalists and Mao Zedong’s communists, Japan saw an opportunity to expand their empire
In 1931, they moved into the northern province of Manchuria
The League of Nations was unwilling to act, showing its weakness

5. Italian Invasion of Ethiopia
In 1935, Mussolini ordered the invasion of Ethiopia (called Abyssinia)
Again, the League did nothing, showing the weakness of the western democracy

6. What did Hitler want?
Hitler wanted to turn Germany into the most powerful country in Europe and recover from the embarrassment caused by the Treaty of Versailles
He wanted to unite the German population of Europe under his leadership
He wanted Lebensraum (translated as living room) for the German people in Eastern Europe
Hitler wanted Economic Self Sufficiency, termed Autarky, for Germany, so that they would not be reliant on other countries for trade

7. The Spanish Civil War
In 1936, General Francisco Franco led a military revolt against the liberal democratic government of the Spanish Republic
Franco was supported by nationalists and conservatives in Spain such as fascists, monarchists and the Roman Catholic Church
In many ways, the Civil War was a prelude to WW2
Franco’s nationalists were aided by Germany and Italy

8. Spanish Civil War
Britain and France would not aid the republicans, whose only help came from the USSR and international volunteers
Franco’s forces defeated the republicans in April 1939

9. German Rearmament
Hitler started rebuilding the German army (Wehrmacht) in 1935
He created an air force, led by Hermann Goering, called the luftwaffe
In March 1936, while the world was distracted by Italy’s war in Abyssinia, Hitler moved his army back into the Rhineland
There was very little international reaction, even though with both these actions, Hitler broke the Treaty of Versailles

10. Anschluss Hitler dreamed of annexing Austria into Germany
His previous attempt to incorporate Austria had been stopped by Italy, which had a defense pact with Austria
Hitler’s support for the Italian war in Abysinnia caused Mussolini to end his support of Austria
In 1938, Hitler pressured Austrian Chancellor Kurt von Schnuschnigg to resign and be replaced by the Austrian Nazis
The German army was invited in to complete the Anschluss

11. The Munich Pact
Next after Anschluss, Hitler announced that he needed to “protect” the Germans in the Sudetenland area of Czechoslovakia
He threatened to invade Czechoslovakia, but British PM Neville Chamberlain and French PM Edouard Daladier called for a conference with Hitler and Mussolini to solve the crisis
In Munich, in September 1938, the four leaders decided to give the Sudetenland to Germany (without the permission of Czechoslovakia)

12. Munich
At the Munich Conference, Hitler agreed that he would not demand any more territory
Chamberlain returned to England in triumph, declaring “peace for our time”
In march 1939, Germany occupied the rest of Czechoslovakia

13. Nazi-Soviet Pact
Frustrated by the failure of collective security, Stalin started negotiating with Germany for a non-aggression pact
In late August 1939, such a pact was signed between German foreign minister Ribbentrop and Soviet foreign minister Molotov
They agreed not to attack each other and to divide Poland and Eastern Europe into spheres of influence

14. The Invasion of Poland
With an agreement with the Soviet Union secured, Germany invaded Poland on September 1st 1939

15. Canada’s role in appeasement
PM Mackenzie King did not want another war
He thought Hitler had good intentions and was not warlike
He did not want to accept Jewish refugees, even though he was aware of their persecution in Germany
Even though M.P. Thomas Crerar recommended that Canada accept 10,000 Jewish refugees, Immigration director Fred Blair refused, saying “none is too many”
When a boat of 900 Jewish refugees from Germany called the SS St. Louis arrived off the east coast of Canada, they were sent back to Europe to their deaths