You will have read about most of these causes in previous units. Hopefully, they will only be a reminder and enhance your understanding rather than be new to you.
- Treaty of Versailles, 1919
- Great Depression, 1930+
- Hitler and Rearmament
- Germany Foreign Policy
- British, French Foreign Policy and Appeasement, 1936-39
- Political Polarisation
- Perspectives and Historiography
Treaty of Versailles, 1919
You can read what was decided at the Treaty of Versailles here.
It can be argued that the German defeat in the First World War, and the ensuing Treaty of Versailles, seen as an unfair punishment to many in the country, could be responsible for the outbreak of war again in 1939.
Great Depression, 1930+
Hitler and Rearmament
AJP Taylor argues that Hitler did not conduct an aggressive rearmament policy.
Germany Foreign Policy
Saar, 1935
Rhineland, 1936
Spanish Civil War, 1936-39
Sudetenland and Czechoslovakia, 1938
Nazi-Soviet Pact, 1939
Listen to the podcast from the beginning to 21 minutes and answer the following questions.
- Why was the pact called ‘Faustian’?
- What was the Nazi-Soviet Pact? This is also answered from 17 minutes onwards
- When was it signed?
- What were the reasons why Hitler signed the Pact? These are explained throughout the podcast.
- What were the reasons why Stalin signed the Pact? Why did Stalin not trust the British and French?
- Which country reached out first?
- Describe the relationship between Germany and the Soviet Union before 1939.
- What effect did the Polish Guarantee have on Hitler and Stalin?
- Where did the Soviets get their Nazi flags for von Ribbentrop’s visit?
- What else did Stalin do to improve the chances of the deal with Germany being agreed?
- How does Russia view the Nazi-Soviet Pact today? When does the Second World War in the Soviet Union begin?
AJP Taylor argued in Origins of the Second World War that Britain and France were also to blame for the war as they tried to engineer a conflict between Germany and the Soviet Union. Britain could have made an alliance or a deal with Stalin but chose not to, this only encouraged Hitler’s aggression. Listen from 21.00 to 24.00 and list the reasons why.
The following documentary is useful to learn about this infamous deal. It goes beyond the Pact to include explanations of how both countries were virtually allies before the German-led invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941.
British, French Foreign Policy and Appeasement, 1936-39
Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of Britain in 1940, criticised the British governments of the 1930s because they did not rearm sufficiently. From Andrew Robert’s Churchill, (page 393, 2018).
Political Polarisation
Perspectives and Historiography