#Saar plebiscite

[ultraozzie3000]

Legitimate Nonchalance

Above: W.C. Fields was a well-known juggler and vaudeville performer decades before he became even more famous in the movies of the 1930s. William Claude Dukenfield was a vaudeville juggler who distinguished himself from other “tramp acts” by adding sarcastic asides to his routines. Internationally known for his juggling skills, by the turn of the century the man who billed himself as “The…

[whencyclopedia]

The Invasion of Poland in 1939

The leader of Nazi Germany Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) ordered the invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939. Hitler's refusal to withdraw brought a declaration of war from Britain and France on 3 September, and so began the Second World War (1939-45). The USSR invaded eastern Poland on 17 September, and the country was divided and occupied by two totalitarian regimes.

Warsaw after the German Invasion, 1939

Imperial War Museums (CC BY-NC-SA)

Hitler's Aggressive Foreign Policy

To understand why Poland became the country Britain and France decided to go to war over, it is necessary to trace the path of Germany's expansion from 1935. Adolf Hitler gained power in 1933, and two years later, he began a series of land grabs, each time using a combination of military manoeuvres, diplomacy, and bluff to convince world leaders that each new step into neighbouring territory would be his last. Hitler had promised the German people he would regain the territories lost after the First World War (1914-18) in the humiliating Treaty of Versailles (1919). Hitler said Germany needed Lebensraum ('living space') for its people, that is, new lands where they could prosper.

In March 1935, Hitler took back the coal-rich Saar region on Germany's western border, an area that had been governed by the League of Nations (the forerunner of today's United Nations) since the end of WWI. In March 1935, voters in the Saar decided overwhelmingly to rejoin Germany. Hitler, encouraged by the lack of an effective international response to Japan's invasion of Chinese Manchuria in 1931 and Italy's invasion of Abyssinia (Ethiopia) in 1935, next occupied the Rhineland, an area between Germany and France which the Versailles Treaty had stipulated must remain demilitarised. German troops entered the Rhineland in March 1936. Hitler then formally repudiated the Treaty of Versailles and embarked on a programme of rearmament. In 1936, he made an alliance with Italy, the Rome-Berlin Axis. In March 1938, Hitler occupied Austria, the country of his birth. The Anschluss ('fusion') with Austria was later endorsed by a plebiscite.

Next, Hitler wanted the Sudetenland, a neighbouring region of Czechoslovakia that had a German-speaking majority. Even though France and the USSR had signed a treaty in 1935 promising to protect Czechoslovakia from outside aggression, neither was willing to go to war when it came to the crunch. The majority of the population of Britain, like in France, was against the idea of a war and even against the policy of rearmament. At the Munich Conference of September 1938, Britain, France, Italy, and Germany met. In the Munich Agreement, the four powers agreed the Sudetenland would be handed over to Germany. The governments of Czechoslovakia and the USSR had no say in the matter. Hitler had promised to respect what remained of Czechoslovakia, but this he did not do, instead, he promoted the separation of Slovakia and invaded Bohemia and Moravia in March 1939. In the same month, Germany seized Memelland in Lithuania. In April, the fascist dictator in Italy, Benito Mussolini (1883-1945), occupied Albania. It was now clear to even the most naive of diplomats that nothing Hitler or Mussolini signed could ever be trusted.

Europe on the Eve of WWII, 1939

Simeon Netchev (CC BY-NC-ND)

Continue reading...

[mourning-again-in-america]

i am calling for my brain to have a complete and utter shutdown of production of passive verbs for six months until we can figure out what the hell was going on when i produced this trash

It must be noted that one of the locations so spoken of is the Saar, which had only recently been occupied by Germany as the result of a plebiscite which had been announced by the Mandatory Government produced in the area after WWI, the plebiscite having willed the occupation. 

[today-in-wwi]

Terms of the Treaty of Versailles

June 28 1919, Versailles--After more than five months of negotiations, the terms of the peace treaty with Germany had been signed by Germany and (almost) all the Allies.

The first article of the Treaty was dedicated to the League of Nations, which Wilson saw as its most important feature.  Initial members of the League would be all the Allied signatories of the treaty, as well as most neutral countries.  Not initially invited were the defeated Central Powers (including Hungary), as well as Mexico, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Luxembourg, Albania, Ethiopia, or any part of the former Russian Empire (including Finland).

The League’s overall structure was largely similar to the later United Nations’; an Assembly with one vote per country, and a Council with the Big Five (the UK, the US, France, Italy, and Japan) as permanent members and four other members chosen by the Assembly (to begin with, Belgium, Brazil, Spain, and Greece).  Decisions, by default, had to be unanimous; like with the UN, this gave the permanent members veto power, but it also gave it to the temporary members as well, and to any country for matters to be considered by the Assembly; this would prove to be a problem in the decades to come. The League would be headquartered in Geneva.

The Council was charged to formulate plans for arms reductions.  League members would "undertake to respect and preserve as against external aggression the territorial integrity and existing political independence of all Members...the Council shall advise upon the means by which this obligation shall be fulfilled."  Disputes between members were to be submitted to inquiry by the Council or arbitration, rather than war.  If war should occur anyway, it would be considered an act of war against all other League members, resulting in (at least) an embargo and blockade against that country; the Council would recommend what forces countries would contribute in any military effort.

German colonies, as well as Ottoman territory in the Middle East, would officially fall under the auspices of the League.  However, the day-to-day governance would fall to one of the Allied powers, holding a mandate over them on behalf of the League.  The degree to which the local population was to have any say in their self-determination would vary; more so in the Middle East, less so in Central Africa, and very little in Southwest Africa [Namibia] (which South Africa effectively annexed) and in Germany’s former colonies in the Pacific.

Additionally, League members were to endeavor to “maintain fair and humane conditions of labour,” ensure “just treatment” of their colonial subjects, help to prevent and control the spread of disease, and “secure and maintain freedom of communications and transit and equitable treatment for the commerce of all Members.”  Furthermore, the League was to supervise agreements against drug and human trafficking, to regulate arms trading, and the Council was to draw up plans for arms reduction.

The rest of the treaty dealt with Germany more directly.  Alsace-Lorraine was to be returned to France.  A large swath of territory was to be given to Poland in the east (cutting off East Prussia except by sea), and small regions were awarded to Belgium and Czechoslovakia.  A plebiscite would be held in northern Schleswig, in areas annexed by Prussia in 1864, to decide whether the region would rejoin Denmark or stay with Germany; if it decided to rejoin Denmark, another plebiscite would be held in southern Schleswig.  Three other plebiscites (two in East Prussia and one in Upper Silesia) would be held in territories disputed between Germany and Poland.  Danzig would become a free city; while it would govern itself, Poland would have free use and service of its port, and full control of its railroads, waterways, and communications.  The territory around Memel, near Lithuania, was to be handed over to the Allies, who would determine its final disposition.

France was to receive ownership of the coal mines in the Saar basin.  The Saarland itself would be under League control, and in 1934 would hold a plebiscite on whether to join France, join Germany, or continue under League administration indefinitely.  If it chose to join Germany, Germany would have to buy the mines back from France in gold within a year. Luxembourg would exit the German customs union.

Germany was prohibited from building, mobilizing, or maintaining any military forces, fortifications, or infrastructure west of the Rhine or 50 km to the east of it.  Doing so would be considered a “hostile act...calculated to disturb the peace of the world.”  All already-existing fortifications in that area were to be dismantled.  Additionally, fortifications and harbors on Heligoland and Dune (in the North Sea) are to be destroyed, and Germany will dismantle all fortifications on her Western Baltic coast, to ensure that she cannot disrupt the free passage of trade there.  Germany is to allow all countries’ ships, civilian or military, passage through the Kiel Canal on equal terms.

Germany was to respect Austrian independence unless the League Council said otherwise.  Germany was to completely repudiate the treaties of Brest-Litovsk and Bucharest that it had signed with Russia, Ukraine, and Romania the previous year.

All German colonies would be handed over to the Allies, who would determine their final disposition as mandates under the League of Nations.  Japan would receive the German concession in Shantung (around Tsingtao); all China would receive is an end to the indemnity payments owed Germany due to the Boxer Rebellion, and a return of the German concessions in Hankow [now part of Wuhan] and Tientsin [Tianjin].  It is little surprise China refused to sign the treaty.

The German army was to be reduced to no more than 100000 men and 4000 officers, with civilian support staff no more than a tenth of pre-war levels.  There would be no conscription and no system of mobilization.  Military missions could not be sent abroad. The treaty also made attempts to prevent paramilitary organizations: “associations of every description...must not occupy themselves with any military matters.”  This proved exceedingly difficult to enforce.  Severe limits were placed on stores of munitions and ammunition; any manufacture thereof would have to be approved by the Big Five.  Import of any war materiel was prohibited.  Germany was forbidden to have any chemical weapons, and would disclose the full details of their wartime chemical weapons program to the Allies.  The manufacture or import of armored cars or tanks was prohibited.  After October 1, 1919, Germany could not have any military air force whatsoever.

German troops in the Baltic were to be returned to Germany when the Allies deemed it fit; in the meantime, they were not to interfere with the Baltic states’ defense nor seize supplies to send back to Germany.

The German Navy would be reduced to no more than 6 pre-dreadnought battleships, 6 light cruisers, 12 destroyers, and 12 torpedo boats--no submarines, no battlecruisers, and no dreadnoughts.  Any ships beyond this number were to be handed over to the Allies or scrapped. The Navy could consist of no more than 15000 men.  Any German ships outside of Germany now no longer belonged to Germany; since the scuttling of the High Seas Fleet at Scapa Flow, however, there were far fewer ships in this category than anticipated.  Germany would sweep all the mines in the North Sea east of 4° E.

All remaining prisoners of war and interned civilians (by this time, mostly German) were to be repatriated “with the greatest rapidity;” the French and British ultimately had different ideas as to what that phrase meant, and many would not be returned from France until 1920.  Some prisoners who had been kept in Siberia would not be returned until after the end of Allied intervention there in 1922.

The Allies were to hold military tribunals to try Kaiser Wilhelm II and other German war criminals.  These provisions were largely moot, however; the Netherlands refused to extradite the Kaiser, and the Allies did not really attempt to make Germany extradite other war criminals.  A few were tried in Germany; fewer were convicted; none served more than a few days of their sentence.

As justifications for war reparations, “Germany accepts the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all the loss and damage to which the Allied and Associated Governments and their nationals have been subjected as a consequence of the war imposed upon them by the aggression of Germany and her allies.”  Germany was to compensate the Allies for all the damage done to the Allied civilian population and property, for Belgium’s war loans (including interest), pensions to disabled veterans and their dependents, wartime payments to relatives of mobilized soldiers, and any expenses relating to the occupation of the Rhineland.  The amount to be paid was not specified in the treaty, but was to be determined by an Allied commission by May 1921; in the meantime, the Germans were to pay 20 billion marks. 

General Smuts signed the treaty on behalf of South Africa, but left an official note in protest of the harsh reparations terms--this despite the fact that he authored the pension-related terms.

The Germans were also to make in-kind payments of farm equipment, animals, and merchant ships, to replace wartime losses.  Additionally, Germany was to provide large amounts of coal and chemicals to France, Belgium, Italy, and Luxembourg.  Louvain’s library was to be replenished with works from Germany.  Loot seized during the Franco-Prussian war was to be returned (though many French battle flags were burned in Germany in the days before the signing of the treaty, to the consternation of the French).  The control of most German submarine cables was to be given to the Allies.

The payment terms (though not technically the overall sum) could be modified based on Germany’s ability to pay.  Germany would also receive credit for the in-kind payments, as well as property lost due to Germany’s border changes (Alsace-Lorraine excepting).  

Germany was not to impose higher customs duties on the Allies than they would on any other country.  Germany was to take action against counterfeit goods, and recognize “regional appellation” of wine and spirits.  In other words, the Treaty of Versailles codified that Champagne refers only to sparkling wine from Champagne.  The Elbe, Oder, Niemen, and Danube were made international rivers; Czechoslovakia was to be given 99-year leases for free zones in Hamburg and Stettin to give that country some form of access to the sea.

The occupation of the Rhineland and three bridgeheads across the Rhine would continue to ensure German cooperation with the terms of the treaty.  The northern region would be evacuated after five years, the central after ten, and the southern after fifteen; these could be extended if “the guarantees against unprovoked aggression by Germany are not considered sufficient.”

Sources include: Margaret MacMillan, Paris 1919.

[mostly-history]

In 1938, Hitler was demanding that Czechoslovakia cede the Sudetenland, where 3 million ethnic Germans were living, to Germany.  He threatened war if he didn’t get his way.  The Munich Conference was held from 29th-30th September, and Neville Chamberlain, Édouard Daladier, Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler signed the Munich Agreement early in the morning of the 30th.  The Czechs were not allowed to attend the conference; their delegation was forced to wait outside.  When they objected to the agreement, they were told that if a war resulted, they would be held responsible.

Text of the Munich Agreement

Germany, the United Kingdom, France and Italy, taking into consideration the agreement, which has been already reached in principle for the cession to Germany of the Sudeten German territory, have agreed on the following terms and conditions governing the said cession and the measures consequent thereon, and by this agreement they each hold themselves responsible for the steps necessary to secure its fulfillment:

1.  The evacuation will begin on October 1st.

2.  The United Kingdom, France and Italy agree that the evacuation of the territory shall be completed by October 10th, without any existing installations having been destroyed, and that the Czechoslovak Government will be held responsible for carrying out the evacuation without damage to the said installations.

3.  The conditions governing the evacuation will be laid down in detail by an international commission composed of representatives of Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Czechoslovakia.

4.  The occupation by stages of the predominantly German territory by German troops will begin on October 1st.  The four territories marked on the attached map will be occupied by German troops in the following order: the territory marked number I on the 1st and 2nd of October, the territory marked number II on the 2nd and 3rd of October, the territory marked number III on the 3rd, 4th and 5th of October, the territory marked number IV on the 6th and 7th of October.   The remaining territory of preponderantly German character will be ascertained by the aforesaid international commission forthwith and be occupied by German troops by the 10th of October.

5.  The international commission referred to in paragraph 3 will determine the territories in which a plebiscite is to be held.  These territories will be occupied by international bodies until the plebiscite has been completed.  The same commission will fix the conditions in which the plebiscite is to be held, taking as a basis the conditions of the Saar plebiscite.  The commission will also fix a date, not later than the end of November, on which the plebiscite will be held.

6.  The final determination of the frontiers will be carried out by the international commission.  The commission will also be entitled to recommend to the four Powers, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy, in certain exceptional cases, minor modifications in the strictly ethnographical determination of the zones which are to be transferred without plebiscite.

7.  There will be a right of option into and out of the transferred territories, the option to be exercised within six months from the date of this agreement.  A German-Czechoslovak commission shall determine the details of the option, consider ways of facilitating the transfer of population and settle questions of principle arising out of the said transfer.

8.  The Czechoslovak Government will, within a period of four weeks from the date of this agreement, release from their military and police forces any Sudeten Germans who may wish to be released, and the Czechoslovak Government will within the same period release Sudeten German prisoners who are serving terms of imprisonment for political offences.

[anygoodmoneyinfo-blog]

플레비사이트

New Post has been published on http://anygoodmoney.info/%ed%94%8c%eb%a0%88%eb%b9%84%ec%82%ac%ec%9d%b4%ed%8a%b8/

플레비사이트

레퍼렌덤은 중요정책이나 법안에 대하여 국민들이 직접 찬성 또는 반대의사를 표현하는 것이고

  플레비사이트는 국가기관의 신임을 묻는 국민투표.

  새민련 문재인 대표는 플레비사이트를 제안했다. 안철수 의원은 이를 지적했고 취소를 요청했다.

같이 시작 한 당인데, 화합하지 못하고 대화하지 못하는 모습이 상당히 안타깝고 거슬리게 보여진다.

이유가 있어서 같이 시작 했을 텐데 이렇게 빨리? 분열적인 모습을?? 소통이 안되니까 공개서한 날렷겟지? 존재감 확인? 정치적인 의도?

  공천혁신안이 ��과되길 바라는건 문재인 대표. 혁신안 보다 그의 재신임에 대한 문제로 본질을 가리고 현상을 띄우는 느낌이 상당하긴 하다. 안���원이 이를 지적하고 있다.

한편으로 당내의 목소리(안의원) 처럼 당 내에서 해결할 문제를 왜 국민에게 묻는 지? 당내에서 지지를 얻기가 힘든 상황인가? 법을 아는 사람들은 플레비사이트가 독재자들의 18번 무기라는 것을 잘 알 텐데? 왜 굳이? 나는 독재자요 하는 모냥새?

  디지틀조선에 투자할 때 여당의 대선 후보가 누구인지 살짝 살펴보았는데 김무성이라는 의원이었다. 최근 불거진 사위의 마약 건. 둘째 딸을 믿고 준 사위가 마약범이라니.. 게다가 영화 베테랑이랑도 뭔가 겹쳐 보인다는 말.말.말.들이 존재.

  후아. 캐내고 캐내는 것도 무섭긴 한데. 잘 산다고 마약을. 서민으로서 이해하기가 쉽지는 않네. 뒤숭숭하냐 뭔가 흐름이.

  팟캐스트를 들어보니 독립투사들이 어쩔수 없이 북으로 많이 넘어갔다고 하던데.. 우리네 남은 건 무엇이오.

  모르면 마음 편한 것을 알려고 굳이 노력하는 것인가 싶기도 하고, 복잡 구리 하 오.

    참조

  플레비사이트

  직접민주제의 한 형태로서 레퍼렌덤(referendum:國民投票)과 유사하지만, 레퍼렌덤이 법안에 대한 승인 혹은 거부를 국민의 투표로써 결정하는 데 대하여, 플레비사이트는 특정의 정치적 중요사건(영토의 변경 ·병합, 또는 새로운 지배자가 그 권력의 정통성을 획득하기 위하여 실시하는 경우)을 국민의 투표에 의해서 결정하는 제도로서, 주로 항구적인 일종의 정치상태를 창출하는 데 쓰이는 용어이다.

고대에는 로마 공화정의 민회(民會)에서 시행하였고, 근세에는 나폴레옹 1세 및 나폴레옹 3세가 정권을 잡기 위하여 몇 차례 시행하였으며, 1933년 독일의 국제연맹 탈퇴, 1934년 히틀러의 총통 취임, 1955년 자르(Saar) 문제 등이 플레비사이트에 의하여 결정되었다.

[네이버 지식백과] 플레비사이트 [plebiscite] (두산백과)

  독재자의 자질

이종걸이 유신 운운했다가 깨시스트들의 집중포화에 당하고 있네요. 플레비사이트(도이치어로 플레비지트)라는 게 있습니다. 선거 외에 특정 사안…

oceanrose.tistory.com

[philatelicdatabase]

Stamps of Saar: Marian Year (1954)

This attractive set of three stamps was issued in August, 1954 to mark the Marian Year.

Many stamps issued by the Saar in both plebiscite periods had a strong religious theme.

This large-sized series reproduced famous works: the Sistine ‘Madonna’ by Raphael (5f.) Holbein’s ‘Madonna and Child’ (10f.) and Dürer’s ‘Madonna and Child’ (15f.)

Stamps of Saar: Marian Year (1954) was originally published on Philatelic Database

[whencyclopedia]

Anschluss

The Anschluss ('fusion') of 12 March 1938 was the annexation and formal union of Austria with Germany. Adolf Hitler (1889-1945), the Nazi leader of Germany, dreamed of an empire which enclosed all German speakers, his 'Greater Germany'. Hitler's military invasion met no resistance or meaningful response from foreign powers, and so Austria was absorbed into the Third Reich.

Many in Austria were sympathetic to the idea of joining Germany, but there were also those who knew their sovereignty would be lost for as long as Hitler was in power. Hitler was additionally attracted to occupying Austria since the Anschluss would give him access to new resources such as manpower for the military, raw materials, and a large quantity of cash and gold. The Austrian government was dissolved, and the very name Österreich (Austria's name in German) was banished from public use. The Nazis were not slow to begin imposing their ideology on Austrians and imprisoning those they identified as enemies. The union very swiftly became an occupation by a totalitarian regime.

A Weak League of Nations

Hitler had harboured ambitions to build a German empire or 'Greater Germany' ever since his book Mein Kampf (published in 1925), in which he described the need for Lebensraum (living space) for the German people – new lands where they could prosper. The Nazi party rose in popularity through the early 1930s, and Hitler was eventually invited to become chancellor in 1933. Quickly establishing a dictatorship through such measures as the Enabling Act, Hitler soon turned to an aggressive foreign policy that aimed to recover Germany's territorial losses following the Treaty of Versailles that had formally concluded the First World War (1914-18). Hitler had noted the lack of power of the League of Nations in the early 1930s. The League, formed after WWI with the goal of keeping world peace, had failed to act meaningfully to Japan's invasion of Chinese Manchuria in 1931.

Hitler gave world leaders mixed messages, insisting Germany should be allowed to rearm and break the restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles on its military capabilities but, at the same time, promising his commitment to world peace. The treaty specifically forbade the union of Germany and Austria. Hitler stated in 1934 that he had no intention of merging Austria into the Third Reich as his new German state was now called. Domestically, Hitler's policies were clearer. He had consistently promised the German people that he would reverse the points of the Treaty of Versailles – points which he felt were holding Germany back from achieving its full potential. The first practical step came with a plebiscite in the coal-rich Saar region, once part of western Germany but governed by the League of Nations since the end of WWI. In March 1935, the voters decided overwhelmingly to rejoin Germany. Hitler announced conscription in Germany in 1935 and began rearmament in earnest. The League of Nations was again shown to be impotent to acts of aggression when Italy invaded Abyssinia (Ethiopia) in 1935. No doubt, Hitler once again took note.

In March 1936, German armed forces occupied the Rhineland, an industrialised area between Germany and France which the Treaty of Versailles had stipulated should not have any military presence. The League offered no response to the reoccupation, which was, after all, only Germany 'taking control of its own back garden', a phrase coined by the British Times newspaper. Hitler had been prepared to withdraw his troops at the first sign of resistance, but the bluff had worked. In October 1936, the Spanish Civil War broke out, with both Italy and Germany directly involved and glad to test out their new military hardware. From July 1937, China was at war with Japan. In this background of international turmoil, Hitler felt the time was right to further expand the Third Reich by absorbing Austria, the country of his birth, into the growing state of Greater Germany.

Continue reading...

[whencyclopedia]

Anschluss

The Anschluss ('fusion') of 12 March 1938 was the annexation and formal union of Austria with Germany. Adolf Hitler (1889-1945), the Nazi leader of Germany, dreamed of an empire which enclosed all German speakers, his 'Greater Germany'. Hitler's military invasion met no resistance or meaningful response from foreign powers, and so Austria was absorbed into the Third Reich.

Many in Austria were sympathetic to the idea of joining Germany, but there were also those who knew their sovereignty would be lost for as long as Hitler was in power. Hitler was additionally attracted to occupying Austria since the Anschluss would give him access to new resources such as manpower for the military, raw materials, and a large quantity of cash and gold. The Austrian government was dissolved, and the very name Österreich (Austria's name in German) was banished from public use. The Nazis were not slow to begin imposing their ideology on Austrians and imprisoning those they identified as enemies. The union very swiftly became an occupation by a totalitarian regime.

A Weak League of Nations

Hitler had harboured ambitions to build a German empire or 'Greater Germany' ever since his book Mein Kampf (published in 1925), in which he described the need for Lebensraum (living space) for the German people – new lands where they could prosper. The Nazi party rose in popularity through the early 1930s, and Hitler was eventually invited to become chancellor in 1933. Quickly establishing a dictatorship through such measures as the Enabling Act, Hitler soon turned to an aggressive foreign policy that aimed to recover Germany's territorial losses following the Treaty of Versailles that had formally concluded the First World War (1914-18). Hitler had noted the lack of power of the League of Nations in the early 1930s. The League, formed after WWI with the goal of keeping world peace, had failed to act meaningfully to Japan's invasion of Chinese Manchuria in 1931.

Hitler gave world leaders mixed messages, insisting Germany should be allowed to rearm and break the restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles on its military capabilities but, at the same time, promising his commitment to world peace. The treaty specifically forbade the union of Germany and Austria. Hitler stated in 1934 that he had no intention of merging Austria into the Third Reich as his new German state was now called. Domestically, Hitler's policies were clearer. He had consistently promised the German people that he would reverse the points of the Treaty of Versailles – points which he felt were holding Germany back from achieving its full potential. The first practical step came with a plebiscite in the coal-rich Saar region, once part of western Germany but governed by the League of Nations since the end of WWI. In March 1935, the voters decided overwhelmingly to rejoin Germany. Hitler announced conscription in Germany in 1935 and began rearmament in earnest. The League of Nations was again shown to be impotent to acts of aggression when Italy invaded Abyssinia (Ethiopia) in 1935. No doubt, Hitler once again took note.

Europe after The Treaty of Versailles

Simeon Netchev (CC BY-NC-ND)

In March 1936, German armed forces occupied the Rhineland, an industrialised area between Germany and France which the Treaty of Versailles had stipulated should not have any military presence. The League offered no response to the reoccupation, which was, after all, only Germany 'taking control of its own back garden', a phrase coined by the British Times newspaper. Hitler had been prepared to withdraw his troops at the first sign of resistance, but the bluff had worked. In October 1936, the Spanish Civil War broke out, with both Italy and Germany directly involved and glad to test out their new military hardware. From July 1937, China was at war with Japan. In this background of international turmoil, Hitler felt the time was right to further expand the Third Reich by absorbing Austria, the country of his birth, into the growing state of Greater Germany.

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Munich Agreement

The Munich Agreement, signed on 30 September 1938 at the Munich Conference attended by the leaders of Britain, France, Italy, and Germany, handed over the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia to Germany in the hope that this act of appeasement would prevent a world war and end the territorial expansion pursued by the leader of Nazi Germany Adolf Hitler (1889-1945).

Greater Germany

To understand why world leaders acted as they did at Munich, it is necessary to go back to 1935 and follow the trail of Hitler's land grabs. Hitler, ever since gaining power in 1933, had promised the German people that he would retake those territories the country had lost after the First World War (1914-18) and the humiliating Treaty of Versailles (1919). Further, Hitler wanted Lebensraum ('living space') for the German people, that is, new lands where they could prosper. Hitler's aggressive foreign policy saw a run of territorial 'recoveries'. First, Germany took back the coal-rich Saar region on Germany's western border, an area that had been governed by the League of Nations (the forerunner of today's United Nations) since the end of WWI. In March 1935, voters in the Saar decided overwhelmingly to rejoin Germany. Hitler, encouraged by the lack of an effective international response to Japan's invasion of Chinese Manchuria in 1931 and Italy's invasion of Abyssinia (Ethiopia) in 1935, next occupied the Rhineland, an area between Germany and France which the Versailles Treaty had stipulated must remain demilitarised. German troops entered the Rhineland in March 1936.

Hitler formally repudiated the Treaty of Versailles and embarked on a programme of rearmament. In 1936, he made alliances with Italy: the Rome-Berlin Axis and the Anti-Comintern Pact. In 1938, Hitler turned to neighbouring Austria, the country of his birth. Anschluss ('fusion') with Austria would tie in another 6.7 million German speakers into what Hitler called his 'Greater Germany'. Austria had significant natural resources and foreign currency reserves. Possession of Austria would also give Hitler an excellent strategic platform for further expansion. Hitler mobilised his army, which crossed the border on 12 March. Crucially, Hitler had three factors in his favour: the support of half of the Austrian population, the Austrian army was incapable of effective resistance, and the fascist dictator of Italy Benito Mussolini (1883-1945) had promised he would not interfere. The Austrian government capitulated, radio messages urged people not to resist, and Austria became a province of the Third Reich.

Britain and France, now whole-heartedly pursuing a policy of appeasement towards Hitler in the hope he would settle for the gains he had made already, did not feel this expansion could justify a world war. After all, the lands taken so far contained primarily German speakers, and the majority (as a plebiscite in Austria showed) were happy enough with the move. The problem was Hitler was not satisfied. Now the dictator turned to Czechoslovakia, in particular the Sudetenland region, although in May 1938, Hitler told his generals he intended to occupy the whole of Czechoslovakia.

Europe on the Eve of WWII, 1939

Simeon Netchev (CC BY-NC-ND)

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Hitler's Occupation of Czechoslovakia

Throughout 1938, Adolf Hitler (1889-1945), the leader of Nazi Germany, threatened to occupy the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia. The excuse presented was that Sudeten Germans were being repressed but Hitler was intent on creating a 'Greater Germany', which included all German speakers in Europe. In the Munich Agreement of September 1938, Britain, France, and Italy agreed to recognize Germany's claim over the Sudetenland. This act of appeasement was meant to avoid a world war.

In March 1939, Hitler occupied the Bohemian and Moravian regions of Czechoslovakia, Slovakia became a German client state, and Hungary and Poland grabbed what was left of the old Czechoslovakia. When Hitler invaded Poland in September 1939, Britain and France finally declared war. Czechoslovakia had been betrayed and bargained away for nothing.

German Troops Enter the Sudetenland

Imperial War Museums (CC BY-NC-SA)

Hitler's Greater Germany

Hitler had harboured ambitions to build a German empire or 'Greater Germany' ever since his book Mein Kampf (published in 1925), in which he described the need for Lebensraum (living space) for the German people – new lands where they could prosper. Once in power from 1933, Hitler pursued an aggressive foreign policy that aimed to recover Germany's territorial losses following the Treaty of Versailles that had formally concluded the First World War (1914-18).

The first practical step towards a Greater Germany came with a plebiscite in the coal-rich Saar region, once part of western Germany but governed by the League of Nations (the forerunner of today's United Nations) since the end of WWI. In March 1935, voters decided overwhelmingly to rejoin Germany. One year later, in March 1936, German armed forces occupied the Rhineland, an industrialised area between Germany and France, which the Versailles treaty had stipulated should not have any military presence. As was the case with Japan's invasion of Chinese Manchuria in 1931 and Italy's invasion of Abyssinia (Ethiopia) in 1935, the League of Nations offered no meaningful response. Encouraged, Hitler repudiated the Treaty of Versailles and set about solidifying his alliances. In October 1936, Germany and Italy became allies with the Rome-Berlin Axis. In November 1936, Italy and Germany (and later Japan) signed the Anti-Comintern Pact, a treaty of mutual cooperation in empire-building and a united front against communism. Hitler could now concentrate on his next victim: Austria.

Hitler not only wanted more German speakers under his power but also Austria's raw materials and currency reserves; both were badly needed for the costly rearmament programme Germany was undertaking. In 1938, Hitler pressured the Austrian chancellor Kurt von Schuschnigg (1897-1977) to appoint Nazi ministers in his government, but when Schuschnigg planned a plebiscite on independence for 13 March, Hitler mobilised his army, which crossed the border on 12 March. Crucially, Hitler had three factors in his favour: the support of half of the Austrian population, the Austrian army was incapable of effective resistance, and the fascist dictator of Italy Benito Mussolini (1883-1945) had promised he would not interfere. The Austrian government duly capitulated, and radio messages urged people not to resist. The Anschluss was accomplished.

The Rise of Nazi Germany, 1919 - 1939

Simeon Netchev (CC BY-NC-ND)

The major powers, all eager to avoid another world war, reacted tamely to the Anschluss and took solace from the popularity of the takeover indicated by the plebiscites in Germany and Austria, which showed (an improbable) 99% approval for the Anschluss. Austria was absorbed into the Third Reich and became a German province. Possession of Austria gave Hitler a strong strategic position in Central Europe, a base from which he could launch further invasions, particularly in the Balkans and to his next target, Czechoslovakia. In May 1938, Hitler declared to his generals: “it is my unalterable will to smash Czechoslovakia by military action in the near future" (Dear, 597). What Hitler wanted first, though, was an excuse to take Czechoslovakia. As it turned out, he did not need it since the Western powers conspired to give Hitler the country on a plate.

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Allies Issue Final Peace Terms, Ultimatum

June 16 1919, Paris--The last-minute British doubts about the treaty ultimately led to few changes--mainly a plebiscite in Silesia and a promise of an eventual plebiscite in the Saar.  On June 16, the final text (though at some points corrected in red ink) was delivered to the German delegation, which was informed that they had five days to accept the terms in full: “They must sign or the armistice is at an end,” in Bonar Law’s words.  It was by no means clear that the Germans would sign the treaty; German popular opinion was staunchly against it, though there was no appetite for a resumption of the war, either.  Regardless, the Allies were ready to drive east from their Rhine bridgeheads, if necessary.

Sources include: Margaret MacMillan, Paris 1919; Gregor Dallas, 1918: War and Peace; The New York Times.

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Saar Basin to be Made League of Nations Mandate

The Saar basin.  Another French claim to the area was from the founding of Saarlouis by Louis XIV in the 17th century.

April 13 1919, Paris--The French, who had seen much of their country occupied by the Germans for four years, wanted compensation for their losses and assurance that Germany could not threaten them again.  One of their demands was for the coal-rich Saar basin, just north of Alsace-Lorraine.  The area had been French before Napoleon’s Hundred Days, but was now entirely populated by Germans.  Wilson told Clemenceau: “You base your claim on what took place 104 years ago.  We cannot readjust Europe on the basis of conditions that existed in such a remote period.”  He was, however, more receptive to the argument that France needed compensation for the German destruction of its coalfields in Flanders.

Ultimately, Lloyd George suggested a compromise: the French would get ownership of the coal mines, and the League of Nations would technically administer the area.  France would get their coal without annexing any German-populated land.  Eventually, after Wilson threatened to returned to America, the French agreed and the details were finalized on April 13.  In fifteen years, a plebiscite would be held to determine the area’s future; ultimately, over 90% voted to join Nazi Germany in 1935.

Sources include: Margaret MacMillan, Paris 1919.  Image Credit: By Original uploader was User:Splee at en.wikipedia - Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons., CC BY-SA 3.0