Second World War: causes 2 (AQA GCSE History): Revision Notes
Second World War: causes 2
Understanding the path to war
The outbreak of the Second World War wasn't caused by a single event, but rather by the actions and decisions of key individuals who shaped European politics in the late 1930s. Understanding how these leaders contributed to the crisis helps explain why war became inevitable.
Chamberlain and the policy of appeasement
The context of appeasement
By the late 1930s, Europeans were desperately trying to avoid another devastating conflict. The horrors of the First World War remained fresh in people's memories, making the policy of appeasement extremely popular among the British public. This approach involved making concessions to aggressive powers to maintain peace.
Appeasement was not just a political strategy - it reflected the genuine war-weariness of European populations who had witnessed unprecedented destruction during World War I. The policy seemed logical: give aggressive powers some of what they wanted to avoid the catastrophic costs of another major war.
Critical missed opportunities
Several key moments demonstrate how appeasement ultimately failed to prevent war:
The remilitarisation of the Rhineland represented a crucial turning point. When Hitler moved troops into this demilitarised zone, Britain and France had the opportunity to challenge him while Germany was still relatively weak. However, they chose not to act, allowing Hitler to grow stronger and more confident.
Trust and deception became major issues as some historians argue that Chamberlain should never have trusted Hitler, particularly since Hitler had been making aggressive plans since the 1920s, keeping his true intentions largely hidden from international leaders.
The fear of communism also influenced appeasement policies. Many Western leaders were so concerned about the spread of communism that they saw Hitler as a potential barrier against Stalin's Soviet Union. This fear gradually eroded trust between the Western Allies and the USSR.
The Munich Agreement of 1938 represented the final attempt at appeasement. However, this agreement ultimately pushed Stalin towards making his own deal with Hitler, fundamentally altering the balance of power in Europe.
Hitler's aggressive foreign policies
The blueprint for expansion
From the very beginning of his political career, Hitler made his intentions clear through his writings and speeches. In his book "Mein Kampf", Hitler outlined his belief that Germany could only regain its strength through violence and by overturning the Treaty of Versailles. He specifically called for uniting all German-speaking peoples and seizing Lebensraum (living space) in Eastern Europe.
Hitler's policy goals were never secret or hidden. His book "Mein Kampf," published in the 1920s, clearly outlined his plans for territorial expansion, racial dominance, and the destruction of existing international agreements. Western leaders had access to this information but failed to take it seriously enough.
The anti-communist crusade
Hitler's hatred of communism wasn't just ideological - it was strategic. He believed that to achieve his goals of expansion and racial dominance, he would eventually need to attack the Soviet Union. This anti-communist stance initially made some Western leaders view him as a potential ally against Stalin.
The inevitable conflict
Hitler's policy of Lebensraum made war practically unavoidable. His vision required invading and conquering other countries to provide space for German settlers. There was simply no peaceful way to achieve these territorial ambitions, making military conflict the only means to his ends.
Stalin and the Nazi-Soviet Pact
The strategic calculation
The Nazi-Soviet Pact, signed in August 1939, represented a dramatic shift in European politics. For Stalin, this agreement meant that Hitler would not have to fight a war on two fronts - a lesson learned from Germany's defeat in the First World War. This gave Hitler the confidence to act more aggressively.
Historical Example: Learning from the Past
Germany's defeat in World War I was largely attributed to fighting on two fronts simultaneously - against France and Britain in the west, and Russia in the east. This stretched German resources too thin. By securing the Nazi-Soviet Pact, Hitler ensured he could focus his military power on one front at a time, dramatically improving his chances of success.
The isolation of the Soviet Union
Although Stalin wasn't planning to directly support Hitler's expansion, he also had no intention of helping Britain and France. The breakdown in trust caused by appeasement policies meant that Stalin felt isolated from the Western powers and saw little benefit in supporting them.
The trigger for war
The Nazi-Soviet Pact made the invasion of Poland almost inevitable. Britain and France had promised to support Poland if it was attacked, but with the Soviet Union now neutral, Hitler felt confident enough to proceed. This invasion on 1 September 1939 finally triggered the declaration of war that had been building for years.
Understanding causation in history
The complexity of historical events
Causation refers to how historians identify and explain why events happened. It's extremely rare for any major historical event to have just one single cause. Instead, historians divide causes into three categories:
Long-term causes are factors that developed over many years before the event. These create the conditions that make conflict more likely.
Short-term causes are developments that happened more recently, often in the months or years immediately before the event.
Triggers are the final events that directly cause something else to happen - essentially "the last straw" that makes war inevitable.
Timeline of key events
- 1920s: Hitler develops his aggressive ideology, writes Mein Kampf
- 1936: Remilitarisation of the Rhineland - missed opportunity to stop Hitler
- 1938: Munich Agreement - final major appeasement attempt
- August 1939: Nazi-Soviet Pact signed
- 1 September 1939: Germany invades Poland
- 3 September 1939: Britain and France declare war on Germany
Key Points to Remember:
- Appeasement failed because it allowed Hitler to grow stronger while missing opportunities to stop him when Germany was still weak
- Hitler's intentions were clear from the 1920s - his book Mein Kampf outlined his plans for expansion and racial domination
- The Nazi-Soviet Pact was crucial - it allowed Hitler to avoid fighting on two fronts and made the invasion of Poland almost inevitable
- Multiple causes combined - the war resulted from long-term tensions, short-term political failures, and immediate triggers working together
- Fear of communism influenced Western policy - this fear partly explains why appeasement continued for so long and why Stalin felt isolated from the Western Allies