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forced to, not just because there was the mere existence of the alliances.
7. Explain what is meant by
the term "appeasement". Illustrate your answer with reference to Hitler's foreign policy in the years. 1936 to 1939 and the reactions to that policy of the British and French governments.
"Appeasement" is a derogatory term in present- day historical vocabulary. As far as the origins of the Second World War are concerned, the term "appeasement" refers to the cowardly, passive and pleasing policy and attitude that Britain and France adopted towards Hitler's aggressions in Europe in the latter half of the 1930's. When Hitler invaded."
Czechoslovakia, all that the British (as represented by Chamberlain) and French (as represented by Daladier) did was to meet him at Munich and agreed to German conquest of Czech
territories. There was both a sacrifice of principle and a lack of resolution and determinat- ion on the West's part to effectively deal with German expansionism. the end Hitler was encouraged to commit more: aggression, which brought about the Second World War,
In
The reasons why such. an appeasing policy was used were many, The first was the memory of the horror and destructiveness of the First World War, the first. total war in- history. Western statemen were eager to do anything that would save Europe. from another world war. The second reason was the general feeling in Western European countries that the Versailles Settlement in 1919 had many defects and were thus unworthy of keeping. Wilson, the US President at the end of World War I, wished that
the League of Nations would correct any such imperfections. Yet the
impotence of the League was a recognized fact by the mid-1930's. The third. reason was the opinion that at least some of Hitler's aims were reasonable and morally! justified, such as union with Austria (German- apeaking). The fourth reason was the apprehension that if Western Europe. engaged in a war with Hitler, Soviet Russia would be given a golden opportunity to fish in troubled waters and to spread communism in Europe. Some historians even argue that it was the policy of the West to make use Nazi Germany to counter the growth of Soviet power in Eastern Europe. Statesmen like Chamberlian calculated that peace would be maintained, no matter how uneasily, when Hitler's demands were satisfied.
But Hitler's demands far exceeded what the "appeasers" would tolerate Superficially, he aimed at the révision of the humiliating Versailles Treaty terms that the victorious Allies imposed on Germany in 1919. In reality, Hitler wanted more.
Not only would Germany seek for a political union with Austria, the German Reich (Empire) would expand territorially into Southeastern and Eastern Europe. In short, Hitler was intent on conquering Czechoslovakia, Poland and lastly European Russia. Such imperialist ambition was kept in secret but
What
had long been formulated. in Hitler's book "Mein Kampf" (My Struggle). he had in mind was the creation of the Third Reich (the first Reich was the Holy Roman Empire; the second the German Empire from (1871-1918) that would last for a thousand years..
Thus in 1936, Nazi si Germany announced her unwillingness to be bound. by the peace treaty of Locarno and then dispatch- ed 40,000 troops to: reoccupy the Rhineland.. This was an act in defiance of the Versailles treaty terns which demilitarized the region so as to prevent. the revival of German expansionian. Reactions of the British and French governments were weak as regards this open breach of international agreement. Afterall, the British and French felt that tlie: Germans were morally. justified in militarily reestablish themselves in the Rhineland, their home- land.
With
Soon afterwards, Hitler reached an alliance and an Anti-Comintern Pact with Fascist Italy. the Anti-Comintern Pact (agreement against the international communist organization), Hitler calculated that capitalist powers like Britain would be pleased and would relax suspicion harboured towards German aggressive On the other
Italy as agna
Germany
would be freer to annex Austria, for it had previously been Italy's policy to support Austria's independence for the sake of national security.
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With the guarantee of the Berlin-Rome Axis, Hitler moved against Austria in 1938 As preliminary steps. assurances were made o Austria's neighbours like Czechoslovakia about. Germany's peaceful" intention. The purpose. was to isolate Austria diplomatically. Then. Hitler threatened the Austrian Chancellor, to surrender important government rights to a group of German-controlled Austrian Nazis, who thereupon invited German troops to enter, the country country. The Anschluss, German annexation of Austria, was thus complete.
The next victim was the Czechoslovak Republic, which had 3 million ethuic Germans living in the Sudetenland area that bordered on Germany. Playing up patriotic feel- ing by accusing the Czechs of oppressing the Germans, Hitler succeeded in cowing the czech government. A demand for the cession the cession to Germany of the Sudetenland was made..
One wonders how the Western Powers responded
to such open acts of aggression. Still with
an appeasing attitude, no more and no less.
France,
at the moment, was troubled by political instability created by the collapse of her Popular Front Govern- ment. Besides, there were little concerted efforts between Britain and France against German aggression. The League of Nations had. fallen into utter disrepute, witnessed, for example, the lack of any mention of League action concerning the German reoccupation of the Rhineland in 1936. Hitler had since 1936 been giving secret support to the fascist group in the Spanish Civil War.
Spain proved to be an excellent training-ground for German military tactics and experimentation with militery technology.
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Still, however, the "
"appeasers" refused to stand against Germany in September 1938, Chamberlain and Paludier met Hitler at Munich, outcome was: the famous Munich Pact, which gave Hitler all he wanted, the Sudetenland.
The
Had Hitler stopped here and consoldiated his rich territorial gains, World War. II would have been.
avoided in 1939. He did not. In early 1939, he summoned the Czech President, threatened him, and forced him to authorize German troops to enter Czechoslovakia. Prague, the Czech capital. was occupied, and the Czech Republic was declared a German protectorate. Since Czechoslovakia was Slavic, not German, territory, Hitler's. pretence that he wanted nothing more than the protection of national Germans abroad (a pretence that in part explained why Britain and France adopted the appeasement policy) could not be maintained. Britain and France knew that appeasement had evidently failed to satisfy (and check) Hitler, And when Hitler picked on the next victim, Poland, the West was on full alert, all the more so as a non- aggression pact was at that time entered into between Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia. In late August 1939, Germany invaded Poland, calculating that because flussian neutrality had been
en secured, Britain and France could do. nothing but watch usual. Yet this time Britain and France reacted differently. They had earlier promised support. for and guarantee of Polish independence, Now that Hitler went on committing aggression, they declared war on Nazi Germany. It was in such circumstances that the Second World War broke out.
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8. Give an account of both
of the following:
(a) The Atlantic Charter
(1941);
(b) The Yalta Conference
(1945).
Comment on their importance in World War II and their influence upon the peace settlement after 1945.
(a)The Atlantic Charter (1941);
By August 1941, Britain... was already in the Second World War. The US was not. Yet German aggression on the European continent was no less a problem to the US than to Britain, Willing to support the British one way or another but unwilling to be directly or militarily involved in an anti- German war, this was America's policy. As for Britain, the Far Eastern situation was critical. Imperial Japan, Britain, anticipated and feared, would sooner or later turn south to attack Singapore, the British stronghold in Southeast Asia. If such to happen, American aid would be of importance in the place's defence. This was the purpose for which Churchill met President Roosevelt of the US on a warship at Placentia Bay, Newfoundland, in mid-August 1941.
Churchill's purpose was not achieved, however. Roosevelt refused to discuss the possibility of American help in defending Singapore against Japanese invasi n. What Roosevelt had in rind was a declaration of general. general principles that would influence American opinion at home to a policy of more active support
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for the Allies
日三月六年八七九一瑟公年七十六國民華中
Britain: and France etc.) against
The outcome was Germany. the Atlantic Charter, an unsigned press release
by Roosevelt and Churchill which set forth "certain common principles on which (the two countries) base their hopes for a better furture of the world" a First, both countries renounced any desire for territorial expansionism. Secondly, peoples of the world, it was agreed, had the right to choose their own form of government, while sovereign rights and self-government would be⠀ restored to those who had been deprived of them. Thirdly, countries of the world should enjoy equality
in securing raw materials and doing trade. Fourthly, states should cooperate to promote social and economic progress. by which poverty and injustice would be eliminated and freedom from fear would be achieved. Fifthly, the future peace must be made. with guarantees of international security and with bases for the general reduction of armaments. Lastly, all nations would give up the use of force :- in international relations. This declaration Was formally adopted at a meeting of the allied nations in London one month later.
It
The significance of the Atlantic Charter laid not only in the contents of the declaration but also in the meeting itself. It was a concrete manifestation of deepening American involvement in the Second World War. is true that direct American participation in the war was not yet a reality, but the foundation had already been laid for the formation of. the Grand Alliance (the US, Britain, Russia, France and China etc.) that succeeded in the end in defeating Nazist Germany and Imperial Japan. The
US, in short, was committed
to the aims of the Allied Powers (like Britain and France). As early ag
April 1941, the US had already assumed the
defence of Greenland. month before the Atlantic Charter, American forces had already landed in Iceland. A further step was thus taken, after the Atlantic Charter in August, towards the end of American isolationism. In terms of Anglo-American relations, theatlantic Charter proved to be, on historical hindsight, the first of the nine meetings. that Churchill had with President Roosevelt. The beginning of the close personal relationship between the two statesmen was marked. As regards the contents of the declaration itself, both Roosevelt and Churchill realised the impossibility of devising more precise and specific plans of action at a time when victory over Nazi Germany Yet was not yet assured. the Charter's principle of international cooperation in armament reduction, political peace and social andeconomic progress clearly paved the way for the establishment of the future United Nations. Bearing in mind the failure of the League of Nations, both Roosevelt and Churchill medė no specific reference to the future international body. But the principle had already been decided
In so doing, the upon. US was drawn into greater participation in international (or world) affairs' after 1945.
(b)The Yalta Conference (1945):
From 1941 to 1945.
heads of the Allied powere
often met to discuss, the conduct of their war-ekfort efforts against Nazi- Germany and Imperial Jupan. Towards the end of the War in 1945, Allied. victory seemed almoet certain. In such circumstances, Stalin, Noosevelt and Churchill came together at Yalta in the Crimea from February: 4 to 11, 1945, for the primary purpose of planning Europe's post-war settle- ment. This was the Yalta Conference.
The Yalta meeting was historically significant in that it demonstrated inter-allied differences iu opinion andat tempts at reconciling them. Each
of the powers (the US, Britain and Soviet Russia) struggled for control of the post-war situation. It was a tine when the most immediate concern was not so much the defeat of Nazi Germany, which was somehow inevitable, but what to do afterwards.
Churchill was auspicioùa of Russian intention. Hé feared, correctly as later avente showed that Soviet Russia would dominate Eastern Europe when the German Nazia crumbled. Thus he proposed a firm Anglo-American alliance- and closer political ties in Western Europe as means
to counter the Soviet threat. This met with Roosevelt's disapproval however. In fact, Roosevelt was suspicious of British intention instead, thinking that the British proposals vere just an excuse for British expansionist designs. When Churchill Approached Roosevelt för a common Anglo-American policy against Russia, Roosevelt declined the offer and assumed the role of an honest. middle- man between Britain and.
Soviet Russið.. This gave Stalin, who wanted to establish for Russia s predominant position-in Eastern Europe through the Yalta settlement, the opportunity.
The terms of the Yalta settlement indeed laid the ground · for Soviet influence in Central and Eastern Europe. It was, for example, decided that the countries liberated from the Nazi terror in the = region should enjoy
"démocratïe" rule. But whereas to the US and Britain the word "democratic" meant Western parliamentary. democracy, the same word referred to Communíam ás far as Soviet Russia was concerned, With Eastern Europe already under Soviet control, Russia could then proceed to building up Eastern European communist govern“ ments after 1945. For Poland, the three powers at Yalta disagreed on the frontier problem. Soviet Russia, for example, insisted on the Curzon Line as the future Russo- Polish frontier. In the end, she had her way: some of Polandṛe former territory went to Russia, while considerable territory which was formerly part of Germany became Polish, On the troublesome issue of the riväl governments of Poland, an Anglo-Busao-American commision was appointed to deal with the matter,
In the Far East, Russia promised to declare war on Japan in the near future. In return, she was rewarded with the Kurile Islande, a lease of Port Arthar from China, the right to. occupy the north of Korea. (which eventually hindered Korean Independence), and certain rights over. Manchurian railways and Outer Mongolia.
As for post-war Germany it was agreed that the country would be divided into four zones, each of, which was occupted by one of the four povèrs, namely. the US, Britain, Soviet Russia and France. It was due to British urgings that France was given an equal voice and a share in the occupation of Germany. On the other hand, A new international
organization would be, as the Yalta atatesmen announced, net up to replace the League of Nationa. This was the United Nations, Por the purpose, a United Nations conference was to meet in San Francisco two months later.
Such was the Yalta settlement, The fate of Eastern Europe was decided upon, on the ground for Soviet domination was laid. At the same time, however, there emerged an international body to safeguard international peace and security,
Yalta,
in short, was both praised THE END and condeaned.