View source for Events preceding World War II in Europe

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The events preceding [[World War II]] in Europe are closely tied to the bellicosity of [[Fascist Italy]], [[Nazi Germany]], [[Francoist Spain]], [[Imperial Japan]], and the [[Soviet Union]], as well as the [[Great Depression]]. The peace movement led to [[appeasement]] and disarmament.<ref>For highly detailed coverage see Zara Steiner, ''The Triumph of the Dark: European International History 1933–1939'' (2011) and Zara Steiner, ''The Lights that Failed: European International History 1919–1933'' (2007)</ref><ref>Richard J. Overy, ''The Origins of the Second World War'' (2014).</ref><ref>John E. Moser, ''Global Great Depression and the Coming of World War II'' (2015).</ref><ref>J.A.S. Grenville, ''A History of the World in the Twentieth Century'' (Harvard UP, 1994) pp 160–251.</ref><ref>Mark Grossman, ''Encyclopedia of the Interwar Years: From 1919 to 1939'' (2000)</ref><ref>D.C. Watt, ''A History of the World in the Twentieth Century'' (1968) pp 423–463.</ref>

== Aftermath of World War 1 ==
{{Main|Aftermath of World War I}}
[[World War II]] is generally viewed as having its roots in the [[aftermath of World War I]], in which the [[German Empire]] under [[Wilhelm II]], with its [[Central Powers]], was defeated, chiefly by the United Kingdom, [[France]], and the United States.

The victors blamed Germany entirely for the war and all resulting damages; it was Germany that effectively started the war with an attack on France through Belgium. France had, in 1871, suffered a defeat in the [[Franco-Prussian War]], and demanded compensation for financial devastation during the First World War, which ensured that the various [[peace treaties]], specifically the [[Treaty of Versailles]] would impose tough financial [[war reparations]] and restrictions on Germany in the aftermath of World War I.

The [[dissolution of Austria-Hungary]] and the [[revolutions of 1917–1923]] at the end of the First World War also resulted in the formation of numerous new [[nation-states]] such as the [[Second Polish Republic]], the [[First Czechoslovak Republic]], and the [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia]] in [[Central and Eastern Europe]]. Germany was forced to make territorial cessions to these new countries, giving part of its eastern territories of [[Poznań]], [[West Prussia]], and [[Upper Silesia]] to Poland. It was also prohibited from merging with the [[Republic of German-Austria]] formed from the former German-speaking regions of Austria-Hungary. The treaty ceded [[Alsace–Lorraine]] to the [[French Third Republic]], [[Eupen-Malmedy]] to Belgium, [[Northern Schleswig]] to Denmark, [[Hultschiner Laendchen|Hultschin District]] to Czechoslovakia, and allowed the [[Saarland]] to be occupied as a [[Territory of the Saar Basin|League of Nations territory]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Weinberg |first=Gerhard L. |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/world-at-arms/122A2C377C4528D26382982044F8E9DC |title=A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II |date=2005-03-28 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-61826-7 |edition=2 |location=Cambridge |pages=6–14 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=World War I: Treaties and Reparations |url=https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/world-war-i-treaties-and-reparations |access-date=2022-08-22 |website=encyclopedia.ushmm.org |language=en}}</ref> [[Pan-Germanism|German irredentists]] refused to recognize the legitimacy of the new Central and Eastern European nation states, and demanded the return of Germany's lost territory.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Snyder |first=Timothy |title=Bloodlands : Europe between Hitler and Stalin |publisher=Basic Books |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-465-02290-8 |edition=1 |location=New York |pages=8–10 |language=en |oclc=688506397}}</ref>

The total defeat of the Imperial German Armed Forces had been unexpected due to [[Censorship in Germany|censorship]] of German defeats. After the war [[German nationalists]] created a [[stab-in-the-back myth]] that the German Empire had not been defeated at the front and had been betrayed by "November criminals" such as socialists and Jews.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=World War I: Aftermath |url=https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/world-war-i-aftermath |access-date=2022-08-22 |website=encyclopedia.ushmm.org |language=en}}</ref>

The British naval [[Blockade of Germany (1914–1919)|blockade of Germany]] was not lifted until the treaty was signed at the end of June 1919.

== Rise of fascism ==
{{Main|Fascism in Europe}}
{{TopicTOC-World War II}}
After several liberal governments failed to deal with these threats, and the [[Italian fascism|fascists]] had increased their public profile by highly visible punishment expeditions to supposedly crush the [[socialist]] threat, King [[Victor Emmanuel III of Italy]] invited [[Benito Mussolini]] to form a government on 29 October 1922. The fascists maintained an armed paramilitary wing, which they employed to fight [[anarchists]], [[communist|communists]], and socialists.

Within a few years, Mussolini had consolidated dictatorial power and Italy became a [[police state]]. On 7 January 1935, he and French Foreign Minister [[Pierre Laval]] signed the [[Franco-Italian Agreement]], giving him a free hand in the [[Abyssinia Crisis]] with the [[Ethiopian Empire]], in return for an alliance against Hitler. There was little international protest. He then sent large forces into [[Eritrea]] and [[Italian Somaliland]], the two Italian colonies that bordered Ethiopia.

Britain attempted to broker peace but failed; Mussolini was bent on conquest. Britain declared an arms embargo on both Italy and Ethiopia, but cleared its warships from the [[Mediterranean]], further allowing Italy unhindered access. Shortly after the [[League of Nations]] exonerated both parties in the [[Walwal Incident|Walwal incident]], Italy attacked Ethiopia, resulting in the [[Second Italo-Abyssinian War]].

Shortly after Italy conquered Ethiopia, the [[Spanish Civil War]] began, seen by many as a proving ground for World War II, Germany [[Spanish Civil War and Foreign Involvement|provided troops, weapons, and other aid]] to [[Francisco Franco]]'s nationalists. Italy also provided troops. On 7 April 1939, [[Italian invasion of Albania|Italy invaded Albania]]. After a short campaign the [[Albanian Kingdom (1928–1939)|Albanian Kingdom]] was occupied and joined Italy in a [[Italian protectorate of Albania (1939–1943)|personal union]].

== Rise of Nazi Germany ==
{{Main|Adolf Hitler's rise to power|Gleichschaltung}}
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-S38324, Tag von Potsdam, Adolf Hitler, Paul v. Hindenburg.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|[[Paul von Hindenburg]] and [[Adolf Hitler]] presided over the abolition of German democracy in 1933]]
The [[Nazi Party]], led by [[Adolf Hitler]], blamed [[Economy of Germany|Germany's ruined economy]] on the harshness of the Versailles Treaty, on faults of democracy, and on the [[stab-in-the-back legend]]. In Germany, as in [[post-Austro-Hungarian Austria]], citizens recalled the pre-war years under autocratic rule as prosperous but the post-war years under weak democratic rule as chaotic and economically disastrous.

[[Nazism]] held that the world was composed of distinct races in a state of constant [[ethnic war]], and that the [[Aryan race]] inhabiting Germany needed to conquer new agricultural land in [[Central and Eastern Europe]] to survive. Hitler also believed that the [[Jews]] and the [[Slavs]], which he believed were responsible for creating [[Communism]] and the [[Soviet Union]], threatened the racial purity of Germany and would have to be exterminated.{{Sfn|Weinberg|2005|p=20–21}}

The situation was further aggravated by the worldwide economic depression that followed the [[Wall Street crash of 1929]]. Left- and right-wing anti-democratic parties in the [[Reichstag (Weimar Republic)|Reichstag]]—the German parliament—obstructed parliamentary work, while different cabinets resorted to government by [[Article 48 of the Weimar Constitution]]. This enabled the President and Cabinet to bypass the Parliament. The Nazis grew in popularity due to the impact of the [[Great Depression]], and President [[Paul von Hindenburg]] completed [[Adolf Hitler's rise to power]] by appointing him [[Chancellor of Germany]] in January 1933.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Nazi Rise to Power |url=https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/the-nazi-rise-to-power |access-date=2022-08-22 |website=encyclopedia.ushmm.org |language=en}}</ref>

While many states refused to become involved in the [[Spanish Civil War]], notably Britain and France, troops were sent by both Hitler and Mussolini to aid the [[Spanish Nationalists]], which included those with fascist leanings. It would prove to be a precursor to many of the tactics and methods employed in the Second World War, such as the [[Bombing of Guernica]], which aimed to see how effective bombing of civilian areas could be. [[Francoist Spain]] was [[Neutral powers during World War II|non-belligerent during World War II]]—although [[Blue Division|Spanish volunteers]] fought on the [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Eastern Front]]—but the civil war division of fascism versus democracy and communism was repeated.

== German expansionism ==
{{Main|German rearmament}}
[[File:Graph top7 def expd 1930-38.png|thumb|upright=1.2|Defence expenditures of major belligerents of World War II from 1930 to 1938]]
Meanwhile, in Germany, once political consolidation—''[[Gleichschaltung]]''—was in place, the Nazis turned their attention to foreign policy with several increasingly daring acts. The Nazis introduced a massive rearmament program to build up the [[Wehrmacht]] beyond the limits imposed by the Versailles Treaty. On 16 March 1935, Hitler ignored the Versailles Treaty and ordered Germany to re-arm, reintroducing [[Conscription in Germany|military conscription]]. The treaty had limited the German [[Reichswehr]] to 100,000 men with few arms.

These steps produced nothing more than official protests from the United Kingdom and France; they were more serious about enforcing the economic provisions of the treaty than its military restrictions. Many Britons felt the restrictions placed on Germany in Versailles had been too harsh, and they believed that Hitler's aim was simply to undo the extremes of the treaty, not to go beyond that. This sentiment was underscored by the signing of the [[Anglo-German Naval Agreement]], which authorized Germany to build a fleet one third the size of the [[Royal Navy]].

Hitler [[Remilitarization of the Rhineland|moved troops into the Rhineland]] on 7 March 1936. But, as before, Hitler's defiance was met with inaction, despite Poland's proposal to put the [[Franco-Polish Military Alliance]] into action. In 1936, Hitler demanded a private meeting with [[Arnold J. Toynbee]], a British historian, philosopher of history, research professor of International History at the London School of Economics and the University of London and author of numerous books. He was visiting Berlin at the time to address the Nazi Law Society. Toynbee accepted.

In the meeting, Hitler emphasized his limited expansionist aim of building a [[Greater Germanic Reich]], and his desire for British understanding and cooperation. Toynbee was convinced of Hitler's sincerity, and endorsed Hitler's message in a confidential memorandum for British prime minister [[Stanley Baldwin]] and foreign secretary [[Anthony Eden]].<ref>{{cite book|last=McNeill|first=W. H.|author-link=William Hardy McNeill|date=1989|title=Arnold J. Toynbee: A Life|url=https://archive.org/details/arnoldjtoynbeeli00will|url-access=registration|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=0-19-506335-X}}</ref>

The first non-violent German conquest was the [[Federal State of Austria]]. As early as 1934 the Nazis arranged a [[July Putsch|failed coup attempt]] which succeeded in assassinating Chancellor [[Engelbert Dollfuss]].<ref>{{Harvp|Weinberg|2005|p=23}}</ref> After Italy had joined Germany in the [[Anti-Comintern Pact]], quickly removing the main obstacle of an ''[[Anschluss]]'' of Austria, Germany announced the annexation on 12 March 1938, making it the province [[Gau (German)|Gau Ostmark]] of what was now [[Greater Germany]].

=== Czechoslovakia ===
{{Main|Munich Agreement|Occupation of Czechoslovakia (1938–1945)}}
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-R69173, Münchener Abkommen, Staatschefs.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|[[Neville Chamberlain|Chamberlain]], [[Daladier]], [[Hitler]], [[Mussolini]], and [[Galeazzo Ciano|Ciano]] pictured before signing the [[Munich Agreement]]]]
With Austria secured, Hitler turned his attention to the German-speaking population of ''[[Sudetenland]]'' border regions of [[Czechoslovakia]]. Czechoslovakia had a large and modern army backed with a sizable armament industry, and had military alliances with France and the Soviet Union. It also had informal links with the United Kingdom, largely due to the United Kingdom being militarily allied with France.

Despite this, Hitler, encouraged by reluctance of major European powers to stop his violation of post World War I treaties, was prepared to risk war. He was convinced that France would shrink back again, not fulfilling her treaty obligations to Czechoslovakia. His first order was to seize Sudetenland, based on the right of [[self-determination]] for a unification with Germany. This region formed about a third of [[Bohemia]] (western Czechoslovakia) in terms of territory, population and economy, and was claimed to be vital for Czechoslovakia's existence. With Austria in German hands, this part of Czechoslovakia—equipped with a defense system that was larger than the [[Maginot Line]]—was nearly surrounded by Germany.

Following lengthy negotiations and blatant war threats from Hitler, British Prime Minister [[Neville Chamberlain]] with French leaders tried to appease Hitler. In the [[Munich Agreement]] of 30 September 1938, the major European powers allowed German troops to occupy the ''Sudetenland'', for the sake of "[[peace for our time]]". Czechoslovakia had already mobilized over one million men and was prepared to fight for independence, but was not allowed to participate in the conference.

When the French and British negotiators informed the Czechoslovak representatives about the agreement, and that if Czechoslovakia would not accept it, France and Britain would consider Czechoslovakia to be responsible for war, President [[Edvard Beneš]] capitulated. German forces entered the Sudetenland unopposed, celebrated by the local ethnic German population. Soon after, Polish and Hungarian forces also invaded parts of Czechoslovakia.

Poland annexed the [[Trans-Olza]] area. Hitler continued to put pressure on the Czech government. On 14 March, Slovakia declared its independence under [[Jozef Tiso]], which was recognized by France, Britain and other important powers. The following day, [[Emil Hácha]] accepted a German occupation of the remaining parts of the Czech lands. From the [[Prague Castle]], the [[Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia]] was proclaimed by Hitler.

=== Baltics ===

The [[Memel Territory]], separated from Germany since 1920 and annexed by Lithuania, was returned to Germany, under a German–Lithuanian treaty concluded after the [[1939 German ultimatum to Lithuania]]. The preparations for the Second World War were also made in the economic sphere, as the German government exerted pressure on weaker governments to place their economies at the disposal of the German war machine. One such case was the [[German-Romanian Treaty for the Development of Economic Relations between the Two Countries (1939)|German–Romanian economic agreement]] of 23 March 1939.

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Cambon, Jules, ed ''The Foreign Policy of the Powers'' (1935) Essays by authorities from each nation that cover France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.130997  Online free]

== External links ==
* {{Internet Archive film clip|id=gov.fdr.19|description=''All Nations Shaken By War'' (1938)}}

{{World War II}}
{{Munich Agreement}}

[[Category:Chronology of World War II]]
[[Category:1930s in Europe]]