During the 20s there were many problems with peacekeeping as

well as aggressive and expansionist states that were

threatening peace in the 30s, but according to most historians,

World War II was primarily caused by the ambitions and policies of

Adolf Hitler.

The Road to War

Hitler’s rise to power1924• Rebuilds the banned Nazi Party. • Begins to place members in the Reichstag.1932• Nazi Party is the largest political party in Germany. 1933• Appoint Hitler Chancellor, 2nd in command of the German

government behind Paul von Hindenburg.• Hitler immediately pushes through the Enabling Act, which

allows the German Government to suspend the civil rights of the German people.

• On March, Hindenburg dies of natural causes.• Hitler combines the offices of Chancellor and President and

declares himself the Führer (leader) and begins his “Third Reich” that would last a 1000 years.

1936• Hitler’s launches his Four Year Plan.

The Hossbach Memorandum

• By November 5th 1937 he called a meeting in Berlin and signed the Hossbach Memorandum.

• Was between Adolf Hitler and his military and foreign policy leadership where Hitler's future expansionist policies were outlined.

Hitler’s Intentions

• The primacy of force in world politics.

• Conquest of living space in the east.

• Wars of plunder to help support Germany's struggling economy.

• Secure and preserve the racial community.

Anschluss

• The union of Austria and Germany, which took place in 1938.

• It preceded the inclusion of the Sudetenland later in 1938 and the invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1939.

The takeover of Czechoslovakia

• Hitler’s first aim was to regain the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia taken after the Treaty of Versailles.

• Once Germany invaded the Sudentenland, Britain attempted to resolve the crisis by meeting with Hitler.

• On the first meeting, Hitler had moderated demands, but in the second one, Hitler increased his demands which at the end were totally accepted by Britain. This agreement was known as the Munich agreement.

• With it Germany had a massiveincrease in arms spending to led later on the total take over of Czechoslovakia.

The Invasion of Poland• It was clear that Poland would be

Hitler’s next target. • Hitler signed an agreement to avoid

the risk of a two-front war with Stalin, who got half of Poland and the opportunity to take over Finland and the Baltic States.

• Hitler was convinced that the deployment of the world's first armored corps would swiftly defeat the Polish armed forces in a blitzkrieg offensive.

• He also judged the British and French prime-ministers to be weak, indecisive leaders who would opt for a peace settlement rather than war.

• On 1 September 1939, Germany invaded Poland; France and Britain had to keep their word and declared war on Germany.

The Appeasementas a cause of World War II

• The Appeasement is achieving peace by giving concessions or by satisfying demands. It was the policy followed by the British government in the 1930s towards Nazi Germany.

• Appeasement was viewed by many as a cowardly policy that facilitated the aggression of expansionist states.

• It had encouraged Hitler to be increasingly aggressive.