1938: Austria, the Sudetenland and Appeasement

Hitler had longed hoped to merge German speaking Austria with Germany, but this ‘Anschluss’ was explicitly banned by the Treaty of Versailles. However, with Italy now friendly with the Nazis and less worried about a buffer zone, with Britain and France seemingly inactive on broken treaties, and with an Austrian Nazi party active within Austria, it looked like the Anschluss could go ahead without a pan-European war.

Hitler used the Austrian Nazis to stir up trouble, and pressurized Chancellor Schuschnigg to give one a government post. When evidence of a possible Austrian Nazi disturbance aimed at causing enough trouble for Germany to takeover was found the Chancellor of Austria met with Hitler, but was browbeaten into agreeing a merger of Austrian economic and foreign policy with Hitler, and appointed ministers who put the police and army under Nazi control. However, Schuschnigg recovered his wits on the trip home and ordered a referendum, prompting Hitler to force the chancellor’s resignation and mount a quick invasion which claimed a veneer of legality by forcing Austria to technically invite the German Nazis in. Within days Germany ruled the whole of Austria, and neither Britain, France or Italy did anything to stop it. Hitler’s standing grew yet further, and so did his confidence.

The Anschluss encircled the German speaking part of Czechoslovakia, the Sudetenland. Hitler decided he could seize it using force without starting the war early, and used the Nazi party in the region to create trouble.

There were frequent fights between border guards and rival forces, and the Czech Nazis followed Hitler’s plan of demanding concessions that could never be given to force a crisis. Czechoslovakia had a long list of allies which looked good on paper, but in practice the Soviets could not get across Poland to help, the British had no binding agreements, and the French wouldn’t attack without the British.

Nevertheless, Czechoslovakia had a strong army and after an act of Nazi staged violence sparked invasions calls they mobilized in May 1938; Hitler demurred from attacking then, but revised the plan to conquer the whole country. Warring local Nazis still caused trouble, and Hitler made it known the Germans just over his border would be supported. Things got worse, and in September 1938, with an international crisis occurring, the great powers met to mediate. With British Prime Minister Chamberlain acting as a negotiator, Hitler accepted a deal: the Munich Agreement.

The Sudetenland was transferred to Germany, and no one went into the war which seemed highly likely. Hitler was once again portrayed as a hero in Germany, but he was concerned he had missed the chance to seize the whole country: he had made demands of Chamberlain believing they wouldn’t be met and he could freely invade, but Chamberlain had forced the Czechoslovakians to agree, pulling the rug from under Hitler. Goering persuaded Hitler not to fight a war over something being given free, and the Czechoslovakians - being sidelined by Britain, France and Italy - agreed. Hitler had been ‘appeased’, and the Czechs had lost much of their industrial base and their defences. The way for an army into Czechoslovakia was open, and Hitler was seen as a hero in Germany. Leading generals had been planning a coup if he’d failed; now they had to call it off given the wave of popular acclaims for Hitler, but as most officers were now Nazi this might not have worked. Meanwhile Hitler began to cool on his liking of Goering.

Appeasement

Hitler had told Chamberlain this was his last demand, and the British leader declared ‘Peace in our Time’. It was true that at this point, and in the years before, the British and French had decided to make deals with Germany rather than go to war. This was appeasement, giving small concessions to keep the general peace. But Britain and France had reasons for this. Firstly, they were not yet ready for war and scrambling to get so, with every month and year bringing their militaries into better shape. Of course the Germans were developing too, but the situation in 1938 was different to the one in 1939, when the British felt their air force could now defend them. Even so, in 1938 had Hitler not conceded here, Chamberlain was willing to go to war anyway.

This policy of appeasement has been criticized heavily because of what happened in 1939, that war began anyway, but appeasement was not peace at any cost. It was a peace of limited aims with Hitler only wanting so much, as he told Chamberlain. When Hitler proved to have unlimited aims, the conquest of much of Europe, appeasement stopped. Up to this point Hitler had the advantage of appearing to counter Versailles, which was unpopular across Europe, of wanting self-determination for Germans denied in Versailles, and wanting equal rearmament. All these were acceptable to a new generation of leaders who feared another Great War. But Hitler wanted more. Yes, Britain and France wanted to avoid a repeat of the devastation and multimillion death toll of World War One, and they were prepared to allow Hitler to bring Germans into Germany, but no more, and the ghosts of 1914-18 did not stop them when Hitler proved to have unlimited aims.

1939: Poland and World War Two

In March 1939 Hitler’s Germany swallowed up the rest of Czechoslovakia after again causing chaos, triggering Slovakian independence, and browbeating a local leader into inviting the Nazis in to quell disorder. Still there was no war, but France and Britain created a new agreement: to defend Poland whatever happened. Hitler believed Britain’s appeasement could be extended, but British public opinion was hardening, and the government realized the balance of power in Europe was about to change to change to German domination. There were other new agreements: Germany and Italy’s Pact of Steel drew them closer, and the seeming eternal enemies of Germany and the USSR agreed the Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact, a wholly duplicitous act of pragmatism from both sides. Stalin had been suspicious of Hitler’s intentions for years, fearing invasion, and had worked on gaining other alliances, particularly with Britain. But Stalin had got nowhere, while Hitler was offering territory and a delay of war, and so decided the best way to stop the German war was to ally with Germany, and let the west and Germany fight for years amongst themselves. A deal was made, and ten years of peace was agreed. Hitler could focus on just a western front if Britain and France argued with force over his next action.

Hitler had now decided to invade Poland, which would be carved up with the USSR. He had tried to dominate the Poles and annex them like he had Austria and the Czechs, but the Poles refused. They would fight rather than become German puppets. Britain and France gave a declaration they would now fight, to stop Germany dominating Europe. The declaration was designed to deter Hitler, as neither country could militarily save Poland for years, but Britain now believed their air force could cope in a war.

Hitler was supremely confident the only war would be with the Poles, and Nazi troops poured over the border on September 1^st 1939. This time he had misjudged, and Britain and France – who had been preparing for war, knowing what Hitler threatened - declared war on September 3^rd. The war Hitler had partly hoped for had begun, and he wasn’t caught between fighting Russia and the western allies, just a conflict in Poland that was quickly won and then the west. The largest war in world history had begun it’s European theater. For their part Britain and France held back from offensive action; a period of ‘phoney war’ began, while the USSR also conquered their part of Poland.