Britain and WW2 Summery

The legacy of the Great War

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Hitler’s Foreign Policy, the Path to War, Appeasement, USSR’s Role, and the Invasion of Poland

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Britain and France followed the policy of appeasement which meant that they would not stop Hitler going into the Rhineland, taking over Austria and gave in when Hitler demanded Sudetenland

Chamberlain hoped that he would be satisfied and war would be avoided

It was a popular public policy as people thought that: It was only fair that Germany got back what the Treaty

of Versailles took People didn’t realise that Hitler’s lebensraum had no

limit as they didn’t read Mein Kampf Half the British Cabinet was against the policy

Even Chamberlain didn’t trust Hitler By 1937 he saw Hitler as a possible enemy He then began to re-arm Britain

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In Munich (1938), the USSR was not represented as was the Czechs

The West didn’t trust the East The USSR would broadcast Communist propaganda

in 17different languages which frightened the West They were suspicious of the Russians They also didn’t believe that the Soviet Army could

stand up against Hitler so wouldn’t Ally with them Russia claimed to want another war because

it would help Communism spread However, they didn’t want a war because the

country was not ready and they didn’t have the weapons

The USSR was wary of Germany as the Fascists hated Communism The USSR feared they would be attacked so they

made an agreement with Hitler In 1934, the USSR joined the League of

Nations but Stalin could not get the West to stand up to Hitler

The East Didn’t trust the West Stalin feared that, with Hitler’s next target being

Poland, the West would side with him and leave the USSR to fight on its own against him

Britain and France had not stood up to Hitler before On 23rd of August 1939, the Soviet-German

Pact was made

WHY THERE WAS A PACT

It gave the Soviet Union time to strengthen its defence

It believed that the West wanted Hitler to invade the USSR

Hitler offered peace while the Allies offered war – Stalin wanted the peace to pull the USSR together

It is believed that the Soviet Union would be the only winner in WWII making it the strongest nation as it wasn’t exhausting its resources

Stalin also agreed to take over Poland with Hitler – given him a buffer zone he wanted to spread Communism

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Propaganda around War times

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Evacuation, the Home Front, Churchill’s Takeover, Dunkirk and the Dunkirk Spirit, the Blitz, Turning Points, Women’s Role During the War, War in Europe, and the British Legacy

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