Why did Britain & France Declare War on Germany? (AQA GCSE History)
Revision Note
Could Britain and France stop the Second World War by March 1939? - Summary
By March 1939, Britain and France faced significant challenges in stopping the Second World War. Throughout the 1930s, both countries followed a policy of appeasement, trying to avoid conflict by allowing Germany to expand its territory. However, appeasement only encouraged Hitler to continue his aggressive expansion.
In March 1939, Hitler broke his promises from the Munich Agreement by taking control of the rest of Czechoslovakia. This action showed that appeasement had failed. Britain and France realised that they needed to take a firmer stance to prevent further aggression. They gave guarantees to protect Poland, promising to defend it if Germany attacked. However, by this point, Germany had already built a strong military force. Stopping Hitler's ambitions would require a significant military conflict.
Even with their new determination, Britain and France faced practical difficulties in stopping the war. Their armed forces were not fully prepared for a large-scale conflict. Both countries had started to rearm much later than Hitler. Additionally, the Nazi-Soviet Pact in August 1939 further complicated the situation. If Britain and France used force against Hitler, the USSR could support Hitler militarily. This meant a wider European conflict was bound to happen.
British-French guarantee of Poland, March 1939
After Hitler invaded Czechoslovakia, Britain and France believed that Hitler’s next move was to retake land from Poland
Poland gained their independence from the Russian Empire during the First World War
The Versailles Settlement established the Polish Corridor from German land
Poland cut Germany’s territory into two separate areas
The free city of Danzig lay in Poland
It had been made free in the Versailles Settlement
It used to be a German city and contained many Germans·
Hitler had already demanded the return of Danzig
Hitler was expanding eastwards
Czechoslovakia bordered Poland
Britain and France abandoned the concept of appeasement by March 1939
They did not believe that Hitler would stop his aggressive foreign policy
Britain and France had made significant progress in rearmament
AWAITING IMAGE
A map showing how far Hitler had extended Germany’s territory by March 1939
On 31st March 1939, Britain and France made a formal agreement with Poland
The two countries promised that they would protect Poland’s borders
The Polish Crisis and the Outbreak of War
Hitler was surprised that Britain declared war because:
Britain and France had allowed Hitler to get away with similar invasions
Hitler believed he could negotiate with Britain
Hitler thought that, if he promised not to invade Britain and its colonies, Britain would allow Hitler to control Europe
Hitler believed that he had legitimate reasons to invade Poland
Germans lived in the Polish Corridor
Danzig was originally a German city
He did not think Britain was prepared for war
Hitler did not believe in Britain and France’s ultimatum
Worked Example
“The main reason why Hitler invaded Poland in September 1939 was to start a world war”
How far do you agree with this statement?
[16 marks]
Partial answer:
One reason why Hitler invaded Poland was because he believed that he could get away with it. Britain and France had many opportunities to stand up against Hitler before the Poland Crisis of September 1939. A key example is Czechoslovakia. Britain and France gave a guarantee to protect Czechoslovakia from Hitler. However, during the Sudeten Crisis in September 1938, the Munich Agreement gave Hitler the Sudetenland without the Czech government’s involvement or consent. In March 1939, Hitler took the whole of Czechoslovakia without Britain or France stopping him. Therefore, Hitler did not believe that invading Poland would start a world war. Britain and France in March 1939 gave Poland a similar agreement as they had given Czechoslovakia. As a result, Hitler did not think that Britain and France would stop him from taking Poland. He assumed that his actions like they had many times previously, would result in no consequences or conflict.
Exam Tip
The worked example above has a clear and strong judgement. The “How far do you agree” question in Paper 1B requires both a sustained and substantiated judgement.
A sustained judgement is a judgement which is the same throughout your answer. If you were to finish writing the answer for the worked example above, you would continue to argue that Hitler did not have the intention to start a world war
A substantiated judgement is a judgement that is made from complex reasoning supported by historical evidence and understanding. Your conclusion would consider the long-term consequences of Britain and France’s appeasement of Hitler and how this shows that Hitler did not believe the invasion of Poland would cause a world conflict
For further guidance on this question, you can read this revision note on how to answer the 16-mark “How far do you agree” question.
Causes of the Second World War
Cause | Why did this cause the Second World War? |
|---|---|
The Treaty of Versailles | The harsh terms of the treaty caused significant political and economic issues in Germany. David Lloyd George, the British Prime Minister during the Versailles Settlement, warned that the terms would cause a future conflict. The resentment for the treaty was one of the causes of the election of Hitler in 1933 |
The failure of the League of Nations | In the 1920s, the League of Nations had proven itself to be weak and ineffective. The League’s lack of action against the Manchurian and the Abyssinian Crises encouraged Hitler to take risks in his foreign policy. Britain and France favoured their own interests over the League’s |
Hitler’s foreign policy | Hitler’s aims were aggressive and expansionist. Ideas about Grossdeutchland and Lebensraum meant expanding eastwards into other countries. Hitler invested heavily in rearmament and the Luftwaffe. Possessing this much military power made war more likely |
Appeasement | The policy gave Hitler Austria and the Sudetenland against their governments and the Treaty of Versailles. Hitler viewed Britain and France as weak. This encouraged him to make increasingly outrageous demands that would lead to war |
The Nazi-Soviet Pact | The USSR had many reasons to avoid breaking the pact. As a result, Britain and France were weaker without the USSR. The pact gave Hitler the perfect conditions to invade Poland. He knew that, if his actions triggered a war, he would only fight this with Britain and France |
Exam Tip
There are multiple events and dates that resulted in the Second World War. For revision, you could print out this timeline and add more detail to the individual events that caused the Second World War to break out.
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