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 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.

- 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.

http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/riseofhitler/25points.htm

http://www.ushmm.org/propaganda/exhibit.html#/records/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 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.

- 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.

- 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 War4. Anti-Comintern Pact5. Hossbach Memorandum6. Anschluss7. 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 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.

- 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.