Hitler and the Road to the Second World War

Hitler and the Road to the Second World War

Period: Jan 1, 1933 to Jan 1, 1940

Hitler becomes German Chancellor

Jan 30, 1933

Hitler was made Chancellor by Hindenberg, the Weimar Republic president. He was supported by the people due to his offers on rearmament and his strong opposition towards the Treaty of Versailles.

Hitler leaves the League of Nations

Oct 14, 1933

This move brought Hitler the general admiration of the German people since they associated the League with the hated Treaty of Versailles. Britain and France didn't view this as a development towards war since they too had lost their faith in the League.

Hitler Reintroduces Conscription

Mar 16, 1935

This was a turning point in the development of Germany as a revived military power. Though it caused alarm in Britain and France, neither of them acted against this, they just increased their ties with Italy.

Anglo-German Naval Treaty

Jun 18, 1935

By giving Britain control over Germany's battleship expansion Hitler benefitted himself since he showed that he could undermine the Treaty of Versailles with British support.

Germany remilitarises the Rhineland

Mar 7, 1936

This a a major gamble on Hitler's side as it was a clear violation of Versailles, and he still won, thus increasing rearmament. Although France could have acted against this, it did nothing. Britain didn't interfere since there was little support at home for action. Both Britain and France just increased their arms production.

Rome-Berlin Axis

Nov 1, 1936

This limited treaty of friendship between Germany and Italy was in fact a major blow to France since it could no longer rely as much on Italy in the event of a German attack. It broke the Stresa Front.

Anschluss

Mar 12, 1938

Thanks to the Rome-Berlin Axis HItler could now annex Austria with no interference from Italy. This was another clear violation of Versailles, but neither France or Britain acted against it. Chamberlain hoped to revise Versailles, and simply increased British defences in response.

Munich Conference

Sep 30, 1938

Hitler gained his stated objective of taking over the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia thorugh this conference, which brought him more admiration from the German public. Munich brought relief to Britain and France since war was avoided, but there was an awareness that the long-term problem remained.

German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact signed

Aug 23, 1939

This offered the chance to amass forces against Poland, so there was no true possibility of a Munich-type settlement. It greatly alarmed Britain and France since they had hoped that Germany would be a barrier for comunism, however no action was taken by either nation once again.

Germany invades Poland

Sep 1, 1939

This marked the beginning of the racial war in the east. There was a slight delay after the German invasion, but on 3 September Britain declared war against Germany and then so did France. This took Hitler by surprise since he didn't think anyone would want to protect Poland when no one truly protected Czechoslovakia, which was much stronger.