Anschluss with Austria

• The Allies signed separate peace treaties with Germany and Austria after World War I.
  • In the Treaty of Versailles with Germany, unification between the two countries was forbidden.
  • In the Treaty of St Germain with Austria, the Austrian-Hungarian Empire was broken up, and Austria became a republic. It was forbidden to unite with Germany.
• Hitler wanted to unite with Austria (called Anschluss) because it would fulfil all three of his aims.
• He believed Austria was a part of Germany.
• He made two attempts at Anschluss:
  • 1934: The Nazi Party in Austria launched a propaganda campaign demanding unification. It staged an uprising, and murdered Dr Dolfuss. Mussolini threatened to invade Austria if the Nazis took over government by force. The Nazis backed off and Austria remained independent (now under Dr Schuschnigg).
  • 1938: The Austrian Nazi Party (led by Seyss-Inquart) continued to demand unification - despite a 1936 promise that Germany would not interfere in Austrian politics, and the Austrian Nazis would stop campaigning for Anschluss. In 1938 the Nazi campaign resulted in violence and unrest in Austria. Hitler issued an ultimatum: agree to unification or be forced into it. Schuschnigg called a referendum. Hitler sent the German troops into Austria. Schuschnigg was imprisoned, Seyss-Inquart became chancellor of Austria, and Austria was united with the German Reich.

The reaction of the West

• Britain: Chamberlain believed in appeasement.
• France: The French were sorting out internal problems, so did not react.
• Italy: Germany's ally, Mussolini, had promised Hitler beforehand not to oppose the invasion.
• USA continued its policy of isolation.
• The inaction of the Western powers gave Hitler more confidence to continue.

The invasion of Czechoslovakia

• Czechoslovakia was an independent country created from the Hapsburg Empire after World War I.
• It consisted of four areas: Sudetenland, Bohemia, Moravia, Slovakia.
• Czechoslovakia had agreements with France and Russia. In the agreement with France they promised to protect each other from foreign aggression.
• The Czechoslovakian president was Dr Benes.
• Hitler established a Nazi Party in the Sudetenland, under Konrad Henlein
• A propaganda campaign was launched, in which the Sudeten Nazis demanded unification of the Sudetenland with Germany. The campaign became violent. Benes declared martial law and threatened action against Germany should it interfere.
• Hitler and Chamberlain met in Berchtesgaden on September 15, 1938. Hitler demanded the incorporation of the Sudetenland into the German Reich.
• Chamberlain aimed to appease Hitler by suggesting
• 1. Czechoslovakia would cede to Germany all Sudeten territories that were majority German-speaking.
• 2. Britain and France would guarantee Czechoslovakia's new borders · Hitler rejected this, demanding incorporation of the whole of the Sudetenland into Germany on October 1, 1938.
• The Czech government refused.
• The Munich Agreement was signed on September 30, 1938, giving.Germany control of the Sudetenland
• Consequences:
  • Czechoslovakia was weakened through this agreement.
  • The Russians were upset about being left out of the Munich Conference
  • Chamberlain's supporters said he had saved the nation from war. His opponents believed Czechoslovakia had been stabbed in the back and that the policy of appeasement had merely given Hitler everything he wanted.