2. Western democracies had declared non-intervention
in the Spanish Civil War
Hitler is confident that his aggressions will go
unchallenged
3. Appeasement
Satisfying reasonable demands of dissatisfied powers in
an effort to maintain peace and stability
Great Britain leads this trend
4. Hitler now moves his
attention to Austria
Versailles Treaty
prohibited any union
between Austria and
Germany
Hitler wants Anschluss
(union) with Austria
Insists that Austrians are
a Germanic people who
should be incorporated
into the Third Reich
5. Hitler threatens invasion if Austrian Chancellor does
not resign
Great Britain and France inform the Austrian
Chancellor that they will not help in the event of a
German invasion
Chancellor resigns, and Austrian Nazis take control of
the government
Hitler orders troops to march into Austria to prevent
violence
Austrian leaders declare Austria a province of the
German Reich
6. The Sudetenland, inhabited by Germans, had been
taken from Austro-Hungarian Empire and made part
of the new Czechoslovakia as part of the Versailles
settlement
7. British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, French Prime
Minister Edouard Daladier, German Chancellor Adolf Hitler,
Italian leader Benito Mussolini, Italian Foreign Minister
8. European leaders meet in Munich in September 1938
Czechoslovakian representative is not invited
Hitler is allowed to annex Sudetenland in exchange for a
promise that he intends no further expansion
In March 1939, Nazi troops seize the rest of Czechoslovakia
Violation of the Munich Agreement had two effects:
Britain and France are convinced that Hitler will not stop and
that they must stand up to him next time
Stalin is convinced that Britain and France will do nothing to
stop any further German aggression in Eastern Europe
9. Signed on August 23, 1939
Russia and Germany agree to remain neutral if the
other is involved in war
This means that Germany can invade Poland and face no
interference from the Soviet Union, even if other nations
become involved.
Secret Protocol: in exchange for non-aggression,
Germany promises to give USSR the Baltic states
(Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania) and part of Poland
USSR denied the existence of this part of the pact until
1989
10. Hitler believes that Britain
and France will not challenge
him and knows that USSR will
not act
German forces invade Poland
on September 1, 1939
Two days later, Britain and
France declare war on
Germany
The Second World War has
begun
