Question

Give an account of the main events of Hitler’s foreign policy from the Czechoslovakia crisis of 1938 to the invasion of Poland in 1939.

Answer 1

From the Czechoslovakia crisis of 1938 to the invasion of Poland in 1939, Hitler’s foreign policy followed a path of increasingly bold and aggressive expansion:

1. In September 1938, Hitler sought the German-speaking Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia. To maintain peace, Britain and France agreed to the Munich Pact, which allowed Germany to take over Sudetenland without Czechoslovakia’s consent. This weakened Czechoslovakia’s defences.
2. Hitler breached the Munich Agreement by annexing Czechoslovakia in March 1939, despite promising not to grab more territory. This changed his aims from uniting German speakers to conquering the world.
3. Britain and France prepared for war after diplomacy failed. They pledged Poland’s freedom and warned Germany not to attack.
4. Hitler and the Soviet Union signed the Nazi-Soviet Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact in August 1939. Its secret provision separated Poland between the two forces and prevented the USSR from fighting a German invasion.
5. Hitler last employed a rapid military plan when he invaded Poland on 1st September 1939. Due to this invasion, Britain and France declared war on Germany on 3rd September 1941. The Second World War began.