2K International Relations and Global Conflict, c1890–1941 (A-level only) – The coming of war, 1935–1941 — AQA A-Level History
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2K International Relations and Global Conflict, c1890–1941 (A-level only) – The coming of war, 1935–1941 explained
Hitler’s foreign policy was driven by his aim to dismantle the Treaty of Versailles, which he viewed as a national humiliation.
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His primary objectives included rearmament, recovering lost territories, and uniting all German-speaking peoples (Grossdeutschland) to pave the way for Lebensraum. To achieve these aims, Hitler took decisive actions challenging the Treaty. He withdrew from the League of Nations in 1933, announced rearmament and conscription in 1935, and remilitarised the Rhineland in 1936. These calculated actions exploited British and French reluctance to enforce the Treaty, successfully dismantling its military and territorial restrictions step-by-step without triggering immediate war.
The international response to German, Italian and Japanese aggression: the Rhineland Crisis; the Anschluss; the Spanish Civil War; Italy and Albania; war in China; alliances amongst the aggressors
The international response to Axis aggression was characterised by appeasement and the failure of collective security. During the Rhineland Crisis (1936) and the Anschluss (1938), Britain and France offered only diplomatic protests, emboldening German expansion. In the Spanish Civil War, Western democracies pursued non-intervention, while Germany and Italy actively supported Franco. The League of Nations similarly failed to counter the Japanese war in China or Italy's 1939 invasion of Albania. This weak international response facilitated alliances amongst the aggressors, notably the Anti-Comintern Pact and the Pact of Steel, consolidating a formidable Axis bloc against the divided democracies.
The outbreak of war in Europe: appeasement; the Czech Crisis; the crisis over Poland and the Nazi-Soviet Pact; the outbreak of war; the reaction of Italy to the outbreak of war
The outbreak of war in Europe stemmed from the failure of appeasement, highlighted by the 1938 Czech Crisis where Britain and France conceded the Sudetenland at Munich. Hitler's 1939 occupation of the rest of Czechoslovakia shifted British policy to deterrence, guaranteeing Poland's borders. The crisis over Poland escalated when Hitler secured his eastern flank via the August 1939 Nazi-Soviet Pact, dividing Eastern Europe. This enabled Germany to invade Poland, prompting Britain and France to declare war. Despite the Pact of Steel, Italy reacted to the outbreak by declaring non-belligerence, as Mussolini knew his military was unprepared for a major conflict.
From Western European to World War: the reasons for the escalation to world war; the entry of the Soviet Union; Japan, Pearl Harbor and the entry of the USA
The escalation from a Western European conflict to a global world war was driven by ideological ambitions and imperial expansion. The entry of the Soviet Union occurred in June 1941 when Hitler launched Operation Barbarossa, breaking the Nazi-Soviet Pact to pursue Lebensraum. This forced the USSR into an alliance with Britain. Concurrently, Japan sought to dominate the Asia-Pacific, leading to tensions with the USA over oil embargoes. Japan's surprise attack on the US fleet at Pearl Harbor in December 1941 triggered the entry of the USA. Hitler's subsequent declaration of war on the USA inextricably linked the European and Pacific theatres, transforming the hostilities into a truly global world war.
Your focus
- Identify the specific clauses of the Treaty of Versailles that Hitler aimed to overturn.
- Describe the chronological sequence of Hitler's actions challenging the Treaty between 1933 and 1936.
- Analyse the relationship between Hitler's ideological aims and his practical foreign policy actions.
Show all 12 objectives
- Evaluate the effectiveness of the international response to the Rhineland Crisis and the Anschluss.
- Explain the role of the Spanish Civil War in strengthening relations between Germany and Italy.
- Assess the impact of the Japanese war in China and the Italian invasion of Albania on global stability.
- Analyse the causes and consequences of the 1938 Czech Crisis.
- Evaluate the strategic impact of the Nazi-Soviet Pact on the crisis over Poland.
- Explain the reasons for Italy's declaration of non-belligerence at the outbreak of war.
- Explain the ideological and strategic reasons for the entry of the Soviet Union into the war.
- Analyse the causes of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the subsequent entry of the USA.
- Evaluate the factors that transformed a European conflict into a global world war by the end of 1941.
2K International Relations and Global Conflict, c1890–1941 (A-level only) – The coming of war, 1935–1941 exam tips
Marking Points
- Identify Hitler's core aims: overturning Versailles, uniting ethnic Germans, and securing Lebensraum in the East.
- Explain the significance of the 1935 announcement of rearmament and conscription as a direct violation of Versailles military clauses.
- Analyse the 1936 remilitarisation of the Rhineland as a critical test of Anglo-French resolve to uphold the Treaty.
- Evaluate how Hitler used bilateral agreements, such as the 1935 Anglo-German Naval Agreement, to undermine the multilateral Versailles settlement.
- Assess the reasons for British and French inaction during the Rhineland Crisis and the Anschluss, focusing on appeasement and military unpreparedness.
- Evaluate the impact of the Non-Intervention Committee during the Spanish Civil War on the balance of power in Europe.
- Analyse the failure of the League of Nations to provide a robust international response to the Japanese war in China and the Italian invasion of Albania.
- Explain how the lack of unified opposition encouraged the formation of alliances amongst the aggressors, such as the Rome-Berlin Axis and the Pact of Steel.
- Evaluate the motivations behind British and French appeasement during the Czech Crisis, including military unpreparedness and public anti-war sentiment.
- Analyse the strategic significance of the Nazi-Soviet Pact in removing the threat of a two-front war for Germany and sealing Poland's fate.
- Assess the shift in British foreign policy from appeasement to deterrence following the dismantling of Czechoslovakia in March 1939.
- Explain Mussolini's decision to declare Italy a 'non-belligerent' in September 1939, contrasting this with his earlier commitments in the Pact of Steel.
- Analyse the ideological and strategic reasons for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union, including the pursuit of Lebensraum and resources.
- Evaluate the impact of US economic sanctions and oil embargoes on Japan's decision to attack Pearl Harbor.
- Assess how Hitler's declaration of war on the USA in December 1941 served as the crucial link merging the European and Pacific conflicts.
- Explain the significance of the Soviet Union's entry into the war in shifting the balance of power and creating a two-front war for Germany.
Examiner Tips
- 💡Link specific actions, such as the reintroduction of conscription, directly to the specific clauses of the Treaty of Versailles they violated.
- 💡Assess the extent to which Hitler's actions were pre-planned steps towards war versus opportunistic gambles exploiting Allied weakness.
- 💡Use the Anglo-German Naval Agreement as evidence of how Hitler successfully divided the Stresa Front and weakened the Versailles consensus.
- 💡Compare the international responses to different crises to evaluate whether appeasement was a consistent policy or a reaction to specific circumstances.
- 💡Discuss how the Spanish Civil War served as a testing ground for German and Italian military tactics, highlighting the failure of the non-intervention policy.
- 💡Link the formation of alliances amongst the aggressors directly to the perceived weakness of the League of Nations and Western democracies.
- 💡When evaluating appeasement, avoid hindsight; analyse the policy based on the economic and military realities facing Chamberlain in 1938.
- 💡Link the Nazi-Soviet Pact directly to the outbreak of war by explaining how it gave Hitler the confidence to invade Poland without fearing Soviet intervention.
- 💡Use Italy's reaction to the outbreak of war to demonstrate the limitations of the Rome-Berlin Axis and the Pact of Steel.
- 💡When discussing the escalation to world war, explicitly connect events in Europe (like the fall of France) to Japanese opportunism in French Indochina.
- 💡Analyse Operation Barbarossa not just as a military campaign, but as the ultimate expression of Nazi ideological goals.
- 💡Consider the entry of the USA and the USSR as the definitive turning points that altered the industrial and demographic balance of the war.
Common Mistakes
- Error: Claiming Hitler's only foreign policy aim was to start a world war. Correction: Recognise that his initial aims focused on revising Versailles and expanding German territory, often hoping to achieve this without a general European war.
- Error: Confusing the remilitarisation of the Rhineland with the annexation of the Sudetenland. Correction: Ensure the Rhineland (1936) is identified as a challenge to Versailles demilitarisation, whereas the Sudetenland (1938) relates to territorial expansion.
- Error: Stating that the Allies took military action against Hitler's early breaches of Versailles. Correction: Note that the Allies relied on diplomatic protests and appeasement rather than military enforcement during this period.
- Error: Assuming the international community took no action at all in response to aggression. Correction: Specify that responses existed, such as diplomatic protests or the Non-Intervention Committee, but they lacked military or economic enforcement.
- Error: Treating the aggressor nations as a fully unified alliance from the early 1930s. Correction: Trace the gradual development of alliances amongst the aggressors, noting that the Pact of Steel was not signed until 1939.
- Error: Confusing Italy's invasion of Abyssinia with the invasion of Albania. Correction: Ensure Albania is placed in its correct 1939 context as a precursor to wider European conflict, distinct from the earlier Abyssinian crisis.
- Error: Assuming the Nazi-Soviet Pact was a formal military alliance. Correction: Describe it as a non-aggression pact with secret protocols for dividing Eastern Europe, not a mutual defence treaty.
- Error: Stating Italy entered the war in September 1939 alongside Germany. Correction: Note that Italy declared 'non-belligerence' in 1939 and did not enter the war until June 1940.
- Error: Confusing the Sudetenland crisis with the invasion of the rest of Czechoslovakia. Correction: Distinguish between the September 1938 Munich Agreement (Sudetenland) and the March 1939 occupation of Prague, which ended appeasement.
- Error: Claiming the USA declared war on Germany immediately after Pearl Harbor. Correction: Clarify that the USA initially only declared war on Japan; it was Germany that declared war on the USA days later.
- Error: Viewing the European and Pacific wars as completely separate conflicts before 1941. Correction: Highlight the Tripartite Pact (1940) and how European colonial weaknesses in Asia encouraged Japanese expansion, linking the theatres.
- Error: Stating the Soviet Union joined the Allies voluntarily. Correction: Emphasise that the USSR entered the war because it was invaded by Germany during Operation Barbarossa, forcing an alliance of convenience.