PreviousPreviousHomeNext

  Causes of the Second World War  [Revision Cascade]

This Cascade will give you points and ideas for writing an answer about any of the topics in the list.  And, when it comes to revision, you can use it to test your memory of the points and ideas you might want to raise in the exam.

Click on the yellow arrows to reveal the paragraph points, and again to reveal ideas for developing the point.

I have given you five points for every topic but, in practical terms for the exam, you will probably get away with remembering three or four.

  •  1.   Hitler’s aims in foreign policy
    •  a. Abolish the Treaty of Versailles
      • ‘My foreign policy was to abolish the Treaty of Versailles’; Hitler speaking in 1939
    •  b. Fear of Communist Russia
      • Ribbentrop claimed: ‘Hitler wanted a strong Reich … should a military power arise in the East.’
    •  c. Lebensraum
      • ‘Living space’ in the East for an expanding Germany
    •  d. Aryan supremacy
      • A German ‘master race’ which would enslave the Slav nations .
    •  e. Gross Deutschland
      • A ‘greater Germany’ which would rule central and eastern Europe
  •  2.   The return of the Saar, 1935: facts
    •  a. League control ended
      • The Treaty of Versailles had put the Saar under League control for fifteen years
    •  b. Plebiscite planned
      • A plebiscite (referendum) was planned for 1935 to see what the Saarlanders wanted
    •  c. United Front
      • Communists and Social Democrats fought a joint campaign against reunion with Nazi Germany
    •  d. Nazi violence
      • 17,000 Saarlanders, members of the Nazi SA in Germany, threatened to invade; they backed down when Britain threatened to send in troops .
    •  e. 90.3% voted yes, 13 Jan 1935
      • In the plebiscite, 90.3% voted to return to Germany – absolutely legally, a triumph for Hitler
  •  3.   Return of the Saar: significance
    •  a. Hitler’s prestige grew
      • It was a great success for the Nazis
    •  b. Hitler grew bolder
      • It encouraged Hitler to pursue further territorial ambitions
    •  c. German nationalism was encouraged
      • It showed that Germans preferred nationalism to freedom
    •  d. Self-determination for Germans
      • It established the principle that Germans deserved self-determination too .
    •  e. Britain's threat went unnoticed
      • Nobody noticed that when Britain threatened military force the Nazis backed down
  •  4.   German rearmament: causes
    •  a. Challenge the Treaty of Versailles
      • It was part of Hitler’s aim to abolish the Treaty of Versailles
    •  b. National security
      • Germans argued that Germany was surrounded by enemies and needed an army
    •  c. Failure of the Disarmament Conference
      • Hitler wrecked the 1933 Disarmament Conference by demanding parity with France, then used its failure as a reason to rearm
    •  d. Aggressive foreign policy
      • Hitler needed a strong army if he was going to achieve his territorial ambitions .
    •  e. Public spectacle
      • Most dictatorships mount parades displaying their military might
  •  5.   German rearmament, 1933–35: facts
    •  a. Disarmament Conference, 1933
      • Hitler withdrew from the Conference, demanding parity of arms with France
    •  b. Non-aggression Pact with Poland, 1934
      • Hitler signed a ten-year non-aggression pact with Poland’s President Pilsudski
    •  c. Conscription Law, Mar 1935
      • By 1935 the army had risen secretly to 300,000; Hitler introduced conscription
    •  d. Anglo-German Naval Agreement, Jun 1935
      • Britain agreed to a German navy tonnage one-third as big as Britain's. .
    •  e. Military rally, Nov 1935
      • The 7th Party Congress at Nuremberg was called the ‘Freedom to Rearm’ Rally
  • 6.   German rearmament: significance
    •  a. Broke the Treaty of Versailles
      • Hitler had broken Article 163 of the Treaty – and nobody stopped him
    •  b. Weakened the League of Nations
      • It showed the weakness of Britain, France and the League; it also weakened the League's prestige
    •  c. Raised Hitler’s prestige
      • It was a great success for Hitler; there were celebrations in Germany
    •  d. Encouraged Hitler
      • It encouraged Hitler to pursue further territorial ambitions .
    •  e. Allowed an aggressive foreign policy
      • Gave Hitler a strong army to pursue his territorial ambitions
  •  7.   Non-aggression Pact with Poland, 1934: causes
    •  a. Poland abandoned its planned invasion
      • Poland’s President Pilsudski wanted to invade Germany, but France refused to help
    •  b. France’s Maginot Line
      • The Maginot Line meant France was concentrating on defence, and would not defend Poland
    •  c. Pilsudski feared Russia
      • Pilsudski wanted peaceful relations with surrounding countries to free him to resist Russia
    •  d. Hitler needed an ally
      • Poland was a buffer between Russia and Germany, and let Hitler focus on the West .
    •  e. Breaking Collective Security
      • Hitler wanted to undermine the League’s principle of ‘collective security’
  •  8.   Non-aggression Pact with Poland: results
    •  a. Non-aggression and trade agreement
      • Germany and Poland promised not to go to war; also there was a trade treaty
    •  b. Hitler defused Poland
      • It meant that Poland remained neutral while Germany expanded, 1934–1939
    •  c. It weakened France
      • Although Poland remained allied to France, it was a pact with France’s enemy
    •  d. It allowed Hitler to expand
      • It meant that Hitler did not have to worry about Poland, 1934–1939 .
    •  e. Breaking Collective Security
      • The Pact undermined the League’s principle of ‘collective security’
  •  9.   Stresa Front, 1935 – the facts
    •  a. Immediate Causes
      • Germany’s attempt to provoke a Nazi takeover of Austria (1934), and its announcement that it intended to create an airforce (March 1935)
    •  b. Organised by
      • the British diplomat Robert Vansittart
    •  c. The Conference, April 1935
      • Britain, France and Italy agreed to resist Germany’s attempts to overturn the Treaty of Versailles
    •  d. Damaged by
      • Britain’s appeasement of Hitler, especially the Anglo-German Naval Agreement of June 1935 (ie by Britain going behind the Front’s back to help Germany break the Treaty of Versailles) .
    •  e. Destroyed by
      • Mussolini, when he invaded Abyssinia in October 1935
  •  10.   Anglo-German Naval Agreement, 1935: causes
    •  a. Rearmament
      • Hitler sought Britain’s ‘permission’ to rebuild his navy
    •  b. Hitler wanted an alliance
      • Hitler regarded Britain as a ‘Teutonic’ nation
    •  c. Breaking Collective Security
      • Hitler wanted to undermine the League’s principle of ‘collective security’
    •  d. The Disarmament Conference failed
      • Britain hoped to limit German rearmament instead. .
    •  e. The Abyssinian Crisis, 1935–36
      • The Abyssinian Crisis made Britain realise that ‘collective security’ did not work
  •  11.   Collapse of the Stresa Front – results
    •  a. Hitler was encouraged
      • Britain’s betrayal of the Front in favour of a policy of appeasement encouraged Hitler; in March 1936 he remilitarised the Rhineland
    •  b. Abyssinia, October 1935
      • Mussolini took the Front as a sign that Britain and France supported him in Abyssinia, so he ignored the League and invaded
    •  c. The Axis, October 1937
      • Mussolini decided that it would be more advantageous to Italy to join Hitler than to try to stop him
    •  d. Anschluss, 1938
      • instead of being safe from Hitler, Austria was now sandwiched between Italy and Germany, and would be overtaken in March 1938 .
    •  e. ‘Perfidious Albion’
      • (= ’lying Britain’) Britain’s reputation was damaged
  •  12.   Hitler builds a Bloc – The Axis’
    •  a. Rome-Berlin Axis, 1 Nov 1936
      • The ‘Axis’ alliance between Germany and Mussolini’s Italy
    •  b. Anti-Comintern Pact, 24 Nov 1936
      • The ‘Anti-Comintern Pact’ between Germany and Japan against communism
    •  c. Italy joined the Anti-Comintern Pact, 1937
      • Italy 'decided to align herself with Germany and Japan to defend themselves against the Communist International'
    •  d. Pact of Steel, May 1939
      • Hitler and Mussolini signed an alliance promising to cooperate on the economy, foreign policy and military planning, with a secret protocol promised to coordinate newspapers and propaganda .
    •  e. Tripartite Pact, 1940
      • Germany, Italy and Japan agreed to coordinate their military campaigns
  •  13.   Anglo-German Naval Agreement: results
    •  a. One-third of British tonnage, Jun 1935
      • Britain agreed to a German navy tonnage one-third as big as Britain's
    •  b. Raised Hitler’s prestige and encouraged him
      • It was a great success for Hitler; he called it ‘the happiest day of my life’; it made Hitler think Britain was weak and encouraged him to make more demands
    •  c. Allowed an aggressive foreign policy
      • Gave Hitler a strong navy to pursue his territorial ambitions
    •  d. Britain had betrayed the League
      • The agreement (said Mussolini) wrecked the principle of ‘collective security’ .
    •  e. Damaged the Stresa Front
      • Britain {'perfidious Albion') and betrayed her allies to appease Hitler
  •  14.   Remilitarisation of the Rhineland, 1936: causes
    •  a. To challenge the Treaty of Versailles
      • It was part of Hitler’s aim to destroy the Treaty of Versailles
    •  b. German nationalism
      • Germans hated the fact that Germany’s army was excluded from part of Germany
    •  c. Economic crisis in Germany
      • Hitler needed a foreign policy success to take people’s minds off problems at home
    •  d. Franco-Soviet Treaty, Mar 1936
      • Hitler argued that this threatened Germany’s security .
    •  e. The Abyssinian Crisis, 1935–36
      • In 1936, Britain and France were distracted by Italy and Abyssinia
  •  15.   Remilitarisation of the Rhineland: events
    •  a. Operation Winter Exercise, 12 Feb 1936
      • Hitler authorised the ‘Operation Winter Exercise’ to remilitarise the Rhineland
    •  b. Britain offered a ‘General Settlement’, 13 Feb, 1936
      • Britain offered Germany remilitarisation in return for a promise not to bomb Britain
    •  c. Remilitarisation, 7 Mar 1936
      • 19 Germany battalions crossed the Rhine; they had orders to retreat if opposed
    •  d. Britain rejected France, 11 Mar 1936
      • Britain rejected a French suggestion of a joint attack .
    •  e. The League condemned Hitler, 19 Mar 1936
      • The League condemned Germany, but only the USSR supported sanctions
  •  16.   Remilitarisation of the Rhineland: results
    •  a. Remilitarisation, 7 Mar 1936
      • Germany occupied the Rhineland and its military fortifications
    •  b. It broke the Treaty of Versailles
      • Hitler had broken Article 180 of the Treaty – and nobody stopped him
    •  c. It raised Hitler’s prestige
      • German troops were welcomed into Strasbourg as conquering heroes
    •  d. It encouraged Hitler
      • Hitler decided Britain and France were weak, so he made more demands .
    •  e. Failure [of the] League
      • Everybody realised that the League was powerless to stop Hitler
  • 17.   The Dollfuss Affair – the facts
    •  a. Fatherland Front, 1933
      • an ‘austrofascist’ movement, based on Italian fascism, and centred on the Christian-Social Party of Engelbert Dollfuss, who became Austrian Chancellor in 1932
    •  b. Schutzbund uprising, 1933
      • when a dispute arose with the Social Democrats, an Austrian Nazi tried to kill Dollfuss. Dollfuss used the attempt as an excuse to repress the Schutzbund, the paramilitary wing of the Social Democrats, who rebelled (unsuccessfully)
    •  c. First Austrian Republic
      • Dollfuss then used the Schutzbund uprising as the excuse to set up a one-party government
    •  d. July Putsch, 25 July 1934
      • Dollfuss was assassinated by the Nazis, who set up a new government led by exiled Nazi Anton Rintelen .
    •  e. Italian mobilisation
      • – fearing a German takeover of Austria, Mussolini promised to defend Austrian independence, mobilised the Italian army on the border, and helped the Austrian forces fighting the Nazis. Hitler backed down and the coup collapsed
  •  18.   Anschluss with Austria, 1938: causes
    •  a. To challenge the Treaty of Versailles
      • It was part of Hitler’s aim to destroy the Treaty of Versailles
    •  b. Greater Germany
      • In Mein Kampf, Hitler had demanded that Austria be part of 'Greater Germany'
    •  c. Chancellor Dollfuss assassinated, 1934
      • The Austrian Nazis rebelled, but Mussolini had forced Hitler to back down
    •  d. Axis Alliance, 1936
      • Hitler’s Axis alliance with Mussolini freed Hitler to try to conquer Austria again. .
    •  e. Chancellor Schuschnigg, 1938
      • Austrian Chancellor Schuschnigg banned the Nazi Party and arrested its leaders
  •  19.   Anschluss with Austria: events
    •  a. Austrian Nazis rioted, Feb 1938
      • They were demanding Anschluss; Hitler supported them
    •  b. Schuschnigg announced a plebiscite, 9 Mar 1938
      • Schuschnigg agreed to Hitler's demand to make the Austrian Nazi Seyss-Inquart his Minister of Security, but when Hitler made further threats, Schuschnigg called a plebiscite to seek public support
    •  c. Hitler invaded, 11 Mar 1938
      • Hitler invaded to prevent the plebiscite (fearing that he would lose)
    •  d. 20,000 Austrians were arrested, Mar 1938
      • All political opponents of the Nazis were arrested, intimidated, or fled .
    •  e. 99.75% voted yes, Apr 1938
      • In a plebiscite – controlled by the German army – 99.75% voted for Anschluss
  •  20.   Anschluss with Austria: results
    •  a. Anschluss
      • Germany and Austria were united
    •  b. It broke the Treaty of Versailles
      • Hitler had broken Article 80 of the Treaty – and nobody stopped him
    •  c. Hitler's first success outside Germany
      • It was the first time Hitler had tried aggression outside Germany – a huge victory
    •  d. It encouraged Hitler
      • Hitler decided Britain and France were weak, so he made more demands .
    •  e. Appeasement
      • Chamberlain was convinced to abandon collective security and use ‘appeasement’
  • 21.   Reasons for appeasement
    •  a. The Treaty of Versailles was unfair
      • The Treaty of Versailles was unfair to Germany
    •  b. Negotiation is better than war
      • It is right to try to avoid war by negotiation, and the League had failed to keep the peace
    •  c. Peace Pledge Movement
      • Public opinion did not support a war until 1939
    •  d. One year to rearm
      • Appeasement gave Britain a year to rearm .
    •  e. A bulwark against Russia
      • Nazi Germany was a good way to stop Communist Russia growing
  •  22.   Reasons against appeasement
    •  a. ‘'Our enemies are worms’
      • Hitler despised the appeasers, which tempted him into war
    •  b. Nazi tyranny spread
      • Appeasement abandoned millions of people in central Europe to Nazi tyranny
    •  c. Humiliating for Britain
      • Appeasement was a humiliation for Britain and Chamberlain
    •  d. One year for Hitler to prepare
      • Instead of stopping Hitler early it waited until he was strong enough to fight for 6 years 1939-45 .
    •  e. Second World War
      • Appeasement failed to prevent war
  •  23.   The Sudetenland Crisis, 1938: causes
    •  a. To challenge the Treaty of Versailles
      • It was part of Hitler’s aim to destroy the Treaty of Versailles
    •  b. Greater Germany
      • In Mein Kampf, Hitler had demanded that all Germans be part of 'Greater Germany'
    •  c. The Sudeten Germans
      • On the border with Germany, the Sudeten people were German AND Nazi
    •  d. Danger from Czechoslovakia
      • Was a democracy with a strong army and economy; it could be a threat to Hitler .
    •  e. Sudeten Nazis rioted, 7 Sep 1938
      • This was the trigger; led by Henlein, they demanded union with Germany.
  •  24.   The Sudetenland and Munich, 1938: events
    •  a. Sudeten Nazis rioted, 7 Sep 1938
      • Led by Henlein, they demanded union with Germany; Hitler supported them
    •  b. Berchtesgaden, 15 Sep 1938
      • Chamberlain met Hitler; agreed on a plebiscite
    •  c. Bad Godesberg, 22 Sep 1938
      • Hitler demanded more; Chamberlain refused, although it was ‘a faraway country’
    •  d. Munich, 29 Sep 1938
      • Chamberlain and Daladier met Hitler and gave him the Sudetenland .
    •  e. ‘'A piece of paper’, 30 Sep 1938
      • Chamberlain returned to England with a ‘piece of paper’ apparently agreeing peace
  •  25.   The Sudetenland and Munich: results
    •  a. Hitler occupied the Sudetenland, 1 Oct 1938
      • Hitler said it was the start of a thousand-year Reich
    •  b. ‘'Our enemies are worms’
      • Hitler despised Chamberlain and Daladier, which tempted him to go further
    •  c. Nazi–Soviet Pact
      • Stalin decided that Britain and France would never stand up to Hitler
    •  d. Britain prepared for war
      • e.g. increased RAF; air raid shelters; evacuation plans; conscription May 1939 .
    •  e. British morale
      • Britons knew they had done all possible to avoid war and decided Hitler was evil
  •  26.   Fall of Czechoslovakia, 1939: causes
    •  a. Lebensraum
      • Czechoslovakia was not German; its acquisition was Nazi imperialism
    •  b. Aryanism
      • The Czechs and Slovaks were despised ‘Slav’ nations the Nazis wanted as slaves
    •  c. Czechoslovakia was weak and divided
      • Czechoslovakia had a strong army, but there were internal racial tensions, especially between the Germans of the Sudetenland and the Czechs of Bohemia.
    •  d. Czechoslovakia was open to attack
      • All Czechoslovakia’s defences had been in the Sudetenland .
    •  e. Hacha and Tiso were right-wing
      • Both the Czech leader Hacha and the Slovak leader Tiso were right-wing
  •  27.   Fall of Czechoslovakia: results
    •  a. Slovak independence, 14 Mar 1939
      • Hitler bullied Tiso into declaring Slovak independence under German ‘protection’
    •  b. Invasion of Czechoslovakia, 15 Mar 1939
      • Hitler forced Hacha to invite German occupation; the Nazis marched into Prague
    •  c. Britain realised appeasement had failed, 16 Mar 1939
      • British newspapers declared that only war would stop Hitler
    •  d. Chamberlain acknowledged Munich was broken, 17 Mar 1939
      • Chamberlain acknowledged that Hitler was trying to dominate the world by force .
    •  e. Chamberlain guaranteed Poland, 31 Mar 1939
      • Chamberlain promised to support Poland if Poland was invaded
  •  28.   Britain prepares for War
    •  a. 1 December 1938
      • Britain sets up a ‘National Register’ of who would do what if there was a war.
    •  b. 3 January 1939
      • The British navy is made stronger. The RAF increases production of planes to 400 a month. In March the Territorial Army is doubled in numbers.
    •  c. 15 February 1939
      • Parliament increases defence spending to £580 million a year (and again to £1,322m in April). ¼ million free air raid shelters are given to Londoners.
    •  d. 1 May 1939
      • The Military Training Act introduces conscription in Britain .
    •  e. 31 August 1939
      • The first children are evacuated from London
  •  29.   Nazi–Soviet Pact, 1939: causes
    •  a. Hitler wanted to conquer Poland
      • Hitler wanted to conquer Poland; but only Russia could stop him
    •  b. Stalin distrusted Britain and France
      • After Munich, Stalin decided Britain and France would never stand up to Hitler
    •  c. An Anglo-Soviet Alliance failed
      • Chamberlain did not trust Stalin, and sent Reginald Drax on a slow boat
    •  d. Stalin wanted time to rearm
      • Stalin did not want to end up fighting a war for Britain against Germany .
    •  e. Hitler moved decisively
      • Hitler sent Ribbentrop, and offered Stalin part of Poland, and the Baltic states
  • 30.   Nazi–Soviet Pact: results
    •  a. A Nazi–Soviet Trade Treaty, 19 Aug 1939
      • Germany gave Russia 200m Reichmarks to buy German goods in return for raw materials
    •  b. Nazi–Soviet Pact, 23 Aug 1939
      • A non-aggression pact
    •  c. Secret Protocol (also 23 Aug 1939)
      • A promise to partition Poland, with the USSR to take Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia
    •  d. Invasion of Poland, 1 Sep 1939
      • Hitler was now free to invade Poland – Britain was unable to prevent it .
    •  e. Britain declared war, 3 Sep 1939
      • Increased the morale of the British people; Hitler was seen to be amoral
  •  31.   The invasion of Poland, 1939: facts
    •  a. Polish Corridor Crisis, Mar 1939
      • Hitler demanded passage through the Polish corridor
    •  b. Chamberlain guaranteed Poland, Apr 1939
      • So Hitler renounced the Polish non-aggression pact and the Anglo-German naval agreement
    •  c. Danzig customs crisis, 4 Aug 1939
      • There was a clash over custom duties between the Polish government and German Nazis in the Danzig senate; Hitler threatened war
    •  d. Nazi–Soviet Pact, 23 Aug 1939
      • Hitler was now free to invade Poland – Britain was unable to prevent it .
    •  e. Hitler invaded Poland, 1 Sep 1939
      • Britain declared war on 3 September
  •  32.   Who was to blame?
    •  a. The League – failed to stop Hitler
      • At the time, people blamed the weakness of the League of Nations – in 1945, the United Nations was set up with much greater power
    •  b. The appeasers – encouraged Hitler
      • In 1941, a group of British journalists blamed 'the Guilty Men' – Chamberlain and the appeasers – whose weakness, they said, allowed the war to break out
    •  c. Hitler – wanted war
      • Alan Bullock claimed that Hitler sought war, and followed a systematic policy of aggression
    •  d. Britain – encouraged Hitler
      • Soviet historians blamed Britain, which, they said, encouraged Hitler to attack the USSR on the hope that communism and fascism would destroy each other .
    •  e. Chamberlain – allowed Hitler to fool him
      • In 1961, AJP Taylor portrayed Hitler as a foolish opportunist, who took advantage of Chamberlain and Daladier as they allowed him
  •  33.   ‘Classical’ Causes of WWII
    •  a. Hitler was expansionist
      • Many historians still think that the Second World War was Hitler's personal war, and that he always intended to fight a war - as a re-run of a First World War he did not believe that German had lost fairly
    •  b. Appeasement failed to stop him so...
      • Appeasement encouraged war; it made Hitler think no one dare stop him. The Munich Agreement led Stalin to make the Nazi-Soviet Pact, because he believed he could not trust Britain
    •  c. ... he led the world to war in Eight Steps
      • EIGHT events – Saar, Rearmament, Rhineland, Anschluss, Munich, Czechoslovakia, Nazi-Soviet Pact, Poland – were a ‘countdown to war’
    •  d. The Treaty of Versailles solved nothing
      • Reparations left the victorious nations feeling guilty and Hitler's early aggression look justified/ Self-determination surrounded Germany with weak states/ the Treaty the Germans wanting revenge .
    •  e. The League of Nations failed to keep the peace
      • It failed to prevent Hitler & Mussolini breaking the Treaty of Versailles/ it failed to achieve disarmament/ Britain and France abandoned collective security, and turned to appeasement
  •  34.   ‘Other’ Possible Causes of WWII
    •  a. Gerhard Weinberg (1970)
      • Ideology
    •  b. ‘Functionalist’ historians (1980s onwards)
      • Hitler whipped up forces within Germany that drove him into war
    •  c. Timothy Mason (late 1980s)
      • rearmament caused economic instability which needed a ‘flight into war’ to prevent economic meltdown
    •  d. John Vasquez (1996)
      • a series of ‘steps to interstate war’ – Territorial Disputes/ Militarism/ Alliances/ Crises/ Breakdown of political order/ Economic Depression/ Polarisation into 2 hostile blocs, neither bloc preponderant .
    •  e. PMH Bell (1997)
      • underlying forces’ “shaped and constrained the calculations of statesmen”
  •  35.   Historiography of the Causes of the Second World War
    •  a. Winston Churchill (1948)
      • in The Gathering Storm he wrote that Hitler intended war all along; after he re-armed, only war could stop him
    •  b. Andreas Hillgruber (1965)
      • Hitler had a Stufenplan for war
    •  c. AJP Taylor (1961)
      • there was no plan, only opportunism as Hitler followed a continuation of Germany’s attempt to dominate Europe since the 1870s. War came by accident when Hitler misread Britain’s determination over Poland
    •  d. Counter-revisionism
      • recent studies have shifted back away to ‘intentionalism’. (e.g. RJ Overy, 1994: it is impossible to explain Hitler’s massive re-armament as anything BUT a preparation for war) .
    •  e. Ruth Henig (
      • The “vast collection of primary evidence … accumulating pile of secondary sources [and] complexity of issues” make conclusion “daunting”
  •  36.   Historiography of Appeasement
    •  a. At the time
      • Chamberlain’s attempts to prevent war by ‘appeasement’ were welcomed
    •  b. 1945-1960s
      • The Guilty Men (1941) blamed Chamberlain and the appeasers for allowing – even encouraging – Hitler to move towards war; this was the ‘orthodox’ view until the 1960s
    •  c. 1960s-present
      • AJP Taylor claimed that appeasement was common-sense politics and Munich was ‘a triumph’. The opening of the public records in the 1960s, and of Chamberlain's personal papers in 1975, led to revisionism in favour of Chamberlain's reputation and policies
    •  d. 1980s-present
      • there has been a counter-revisionism towards the orthodox position that standing up to Hitler earlier may have prevented war .
    •  e. Sidney Astor (2008)
      • found that there is no simple progression from orthodoxy, to revisionism, to counter-revisionism but that arguments for and against appeasement and Chamberlain have existed side-by-side since before the War

 

 


PreviousPreviousHomeNext