IB History International Response to German and Italian Aggression Notes

The International Response to German and Italian Aggression (1940)

1. This textbook chapter covers the escalating German and Italian aggression from 1936 to 1941, and the international responses (or lack thereof) at each stage.
2. The key theme is the repeated failure of collective security and the policy of appeasement, which emboldened Hitler and Mussolini to push further each time.
3. By 1939, when Britain and France finally drew a line over Poland, it was too late to prevent war.

Remilitarisation of the Rhineland (March 1936)

1. The Rhineland had been a demilitarised buffer zone between Germany and France since the Treaty of Versailles (1919).
2. Germany viewed the demilitarised zone as both a military vulnerability and a national humiliation, since it meant German territory was left undefended.
3. The Abyssinian Crisis gave Hitler the opportunity to act; he had originally planned remilitarisation for 1937 but moved the timetable forward.
4. On 7 March 1936, German troops entered the Rhineland, but they were few in number and lightly equipped.
5. Hitler later admitted he would have withdrawn at the first sign of French military action, but he was confident that France would not act.
6. Mussolini, now isolated from Britain and France over Abyssinia, would not cooperate against Germany.

International Response to the Rhineland

1. France did not move against Germany: the French border had not been violated, the French army was planned only for defence, and France refused to fight alone.
2. Britain: public opinion saw the remilitarisation as Hitler walking into "his own back garden"; the government was actually pleased it removed a legitimate German grievance.
3. Many in Britain viewed Germany as a useful bulwark against communism and were unwilling to confront Hitler over an action they saw as reasonable.
4. A French foreign ministry memo (12 March 1936) warned that countries across Europe now "look towards Berlin" rather than Paris or London.
5. Result: Germany was now the centre of European power, and the Treaty of Versailles was no longer being followed or enforced.

Germany Ends Diplomatic Isolation (1936)

1. In October 1936, Germany and Italy signed the Rome-Berlin Axis, formalising their shared interests and establishing a new power bloc in Europe.
2. In November 1936, Germany signed the Anti-Comintern Pact with Japan, directed against the Communist International; Italy joined in November 1937.
3. The Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) became a testing ground: Germany and Italy supported the Nationalists under Franco, while the USSR backed the Republicans.
4. Britain and France insisted on an arms embargo, which in practice helped Franco since Germany and Italy ignored it while the Republic was starved of weapons.

Anschluss with Austria (March 1938)

1. Hitler's first attempt to annex Austria had failed in 1934: Austrian Chancellor Dollfuss was assassinated by Austrian Nazis, but Mussolini mobilised troops on the Austrian border and Hitler backed down.
2. By 1936, Italy indicated it would raise no future objections to Anschluss, removing the main obstacle.
3. In February 1938, Hitler summoned Austrian Chancellor Schuschnigg and demanded he appoint the Nazi Seyss-Inquart as minister of public security.
4. Schuschnigg called a plebiscite for 13 March on Austrian independence; Hitler announced there were riots and demanded a transfer of power.
5. On 11 March, Schuschnigg resigned; Seyss-Inquart became chancellor and immediately invited German troops into Austria.
6. On 12-13 March, German forces entered Austria and the country was formally annexed; an April plebiscite returned 99% approval.

International Response to Anschluss

1. The international response was "muted"; France was more concerned with the situation in Spain than with Austria.
2. Chamberlain stated there was "next to nothing Britain or any other country could have done" to prevent the Anschluss.
3. Many in Britain believed Germans should live in Germany; few saw the point of preventing a union that appeared to reflect the popular will.
4. Britain and France could have done little militarily; neither had sufficient military capability to intervene in central Europe.
5. Lord Halifax had signalled to Hitler in November 1937 that Britain accepted "peaceful evolution" on Danzig, Austria, and Czechoslovakia.

The Sudeten Crisis (1938)

1. Over 3 million Germans lived in Czechoslovakia, mainly in the border region known as the Sudetenland.
2. The Sudeten German Party, led by Konrad Henlein, demanded autonomy for the German-speaking population.
3. Henlein met Hitler in March 1938 and presented the Karlsbad Programme, demanding full self-government for the Sudetenland.
4. The Sudetenland was critically important to Czechoslovakia: it contained the country's main sources of metals and the location of its primary defences against invasion.
5. At the end of May, Czechoslovakia partially mobilised its military when Germany appeared about to attack.