Britain And Germany example essay topic

January 13 Saar Plebiscite 1935 began spectacularly well for Hitler. In 1919 control of the Saar, a German district on the left bank of the River Rhine, had passed to the League of Nations with the output of its coalfield going to France. After 15 years, the future of the region was to be decided by a plebiscite. On 13th January 1935, over 90% of the people of the Saar voted top return to Germany. The Fuhrer was delighted. The significance of the Saar vote lay in the fact that it gave the Nazi leader confidence to press ahead with other contentious issues.

On March 16th he publically declared Germany's repudiation of the disarmament clauses of the Treaty of Versailles and the introduction of conscription. It was his aim to increase the size of the army to 550,000 and, to the delight of the military and big business interests, he announced his intention of rearming Germany. Rearmament went hand-in-hand with massive increases in German military expenditure. In 1935 it represented only 14.1% of the national net domestic product but, by the start of the second world war in 1939, it had risen to 38.1%. Britain, France and Italy protested Hitler's decisions but took no action. February 1st - Anglo German conference on rearmament March 16th - Germany restores conscription and repudiates the disarmament clauses of the Treat of Versailles.

April 11th-14th - Stressa Conference During April 1935 the prime ministers of Britain, France and Italy, Ramsay Macdonald, Pierre Flan din and Benito Mussolini, met at Stressa on Lake Maggiore in Italy to discuss forming a common front against Germany. The Stressa Front, as it became known, lodged a further protest which Hitler ignored. Commenting on his last joint action taken by the former war-time Allies against their former common enemy, A.J.P. Taylor wrote (The Origins of the Second World War): It was the last display of Allied solidarity, a mocking echo from the days of victory... This was an impressive display of words, though rather late in the day... Did any of the three mean what they said? ... in truth each of the three powers hoped to receive help from the others without providing anything in return: and each rejoiced to see the others in difficulty. In spite of everything, in May, Hitler restated Germany's wish for peace and willingness to abide by the Locarno Treaty but this did not prevent a further diplomatic scramble in search of security.

France and Russia signed a pact promising to support each other if attacked by an unprovoked aggressor. Russia also signed a pact with Czechoslovakia by which it promised to help defend the young republic, providing France honoured its pledge to Czechoslovakia first. He was confident that there was sufficient distrust between the countries involved to ensure the pacts were meaningless and was convinced that Britain and France wanted to maintain peace in Europe at any price. Nevertheless, he still thought an understanding with Britain important to his foreign policy. April 17th - League of Nations censures German rearmament.

June 18th - Anglo-German Naval Treaty As a result of discussions held in London, Britain and Germany signed an agreement which allowed the German navy to be 35% of the size of the navies of Britain and its Commonwealth. The negotiations ended abruptly with an ultimatum for the leading German delegate, Joachim von Ribbentrop, that the terms on offer were 'fixed and unalterable' and that a British response was required by the weekend. Acceptance came without any consultation with its Allies. Consequently France and Italy regarded the British move as high-handed and an act of bad faith. Britain also gave the impression that it approved of Germany's right to ignore the disarmament clauses of the Treaty of Versailles. From the British viewpoint, it could be claimed that the Germans had agreed to restrict the future size of their Navy but, without doubt, the episode was a diplomatic triumph for Hitler.

The unilateral British action put an end to the unity of the Stressa Front and appeared to be the first stage of an Anglo-German alliance. The limit agreed presented no real problem for Germany. It would take them ages to construct a navy even 35% the size of the British. It allowed the German Navy rebuild one third of tonnage of Royal Navy and 100% of the British submarine force. October 2nd - Italian invasion of Ethiopia (Abyssinia) On October 2nd Italian forces invaded the independent African state of Abyssinia. From the start Britain and France were highly critical of Mussolini's action and supported the League's decision to impose economic sanctions on Italy.

The Fascist leader was offended that his former allies, themselves two of the greatest colonial powers, should try to deny Italy's right to a corner of Africa. His immediate reaction was to withdraw the Italian guarantee of Austrian independence and formally leave the Stressa Front. In February 1936 he also let it be known that he would not oppose any German attempt to reoccupy and militarism the Rhineland. On the sidelines, Hitler bide d his time.

Officially, Germany remained neutral in the dispute but Hitler refused the League's instruction to impose economic sanctions and continued to trade with Italy. Whilst the Soviet Union pressed for tighter sanctions including oil, Britain and France did nothing. In an attempt to repair relations with Italy, Sir Samuel Hoare, the British Foreign Secretary, and the French Minister, Pierre Laval, put forward a compromise plan intended to placate Mussolini. Such was the opposition to the proposed Hoare-Laval Pact that both men were forced to resign. The situation was clear for all to see.

The League of Nations was unable to prevent aggression and then, when it occurred, Britain and France were not prepared to stand against the aggressor. With Fascist Italy moving closer to Nazi Germany, Hitler was aware that new opportunities were opening for him.