Question

Trace the events of Nazi aggression between March, 1938 and September, 1939, leading to the outbreak of the Second World War.

Answer 1

From March 1938 to September 1939, Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler did several bold things that directly caused the Second World War to start:

1. In March, 1938, Hitler completed the Anschluss, which meant that Austria became a part of Germany. This action broke the Treaty of Versailles, but neither Britain nor France spoke out against it. The union achieved Hitler’s goal of uniting all German-speaking people.
2. In September, 1938, Hitler focused on Czechoslovakia and requested the Sudetenland, a region with a significant German population. To avoid war, Britain and France agreed to his requests in the Munich Pact, which they signed without hearing from Czechoslovakia. This approach to peacemaking gave Hitler more confidence.
3. Hitler broke his word in March, 1939 by taking over the rest of Czechoslovakia. This made it clear that his goals were not just to unite Germans but also to expand their territory. This scared Britain and France, who then promised Poland’s freedom.
4. In August 1939, Hitler and the Soviet Union signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, which was also known as the Nazi-Soviet Pact. It included a secret deal to split Poland in half and made sure that the USSR would not get in the way of a German attack.
5. Germany used Blitzkrieg tactics to attack Poland on 1st September, 1939. In answer, France and Britain went to war with Germany on 3rd September, 1939. The event was the official start of World War II.