1. CAUSES OF WW II IN EUROPE: HITLER’S WAR

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

3. -Winston Churchill asserted that Hitler had a master plan for the domination of Europe (Mein Kampf 1925-26). -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.

4. -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)

5. -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. http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/riseofhitler/25p oints.htm http://www.ushmm.org/propaganda/exhibit.html#/recor ds/data/records/25-point-program.xml

6. -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.

7. -The Nazi party didn’t do well in the elections of 1928. -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.

9. -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.

10. -1933-1934: 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 (1933-1938) -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

11. -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 1934-35 Germany’s military expenditure increased 5 times compared to 1933-34. -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.

12. -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.

14. 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.