How the crisis became war in 1939

G3 Elective History - syllabus K336, 2027

What this lesson teaches

  • I can judge which reasons mattered most for the outbreak of World War II in Europe and in the Asia-Pacific.

    Syllabus K336, War in Europe and the Asia-Pacific, Learning Outcomes. Evaluate the reasons for the outbreak of World War II in Europe and the Asia-Pacific.

  • I can judge how far leaders, governments and the League were responsible for the steps that led to World War II.

    Syllabus K336, War in Europe and the Asia-Pacific, Learning Outcomes. Evaluate the roles played by individuals and groups in developments leading to the outbreak of World War II.

Make a guess

In August 1939 Nazi Germany and the communist Soviet Union were bitter enemies. What do you think they did that month?

  1. Joined Britain and France in an alliance to protect Poland.
  2. Signed a pact promising not to attack each other.
  3. Went to war over who would control Poland.
Show the answer

Signed a pact promising not to attack each other.

On 23 August 1939 they signed a non-aggression pact. It made attacking Poland less risky for Hitler and gave Stalin time and land.

The Nazi-Soviet Pact made invading Poland less risky for Hitler; he invaded on 1 September, and Britain and France declared war on 3 September.

The Soviet Union was a communist state led by Joseph Stalin. It and Nazi Germany were political enemies. Yet on 23 August 1939, they signed a non-aggression pact, promising not to attack each other.

Each side gained. For Hitler, the pact removed the risk of Soviet opposition if attacking Poland also brought war with Britain and France. Stalin gained time, security and a chance to take land, after his talks with Britain and France had failed.

The pact had a secret protocol, an extra hidden section. It divided eastern Europe into spheres of influence, areas each power claimed the right to dominate, and planned changes to Poland's borders. So the public promise of peace hid a private deal at their neighbours' expense. It did not mean their beliefs had become the same, or that either promised to leave Poland alone.

Germany invaded Poland on 1 September 1939. Britain and France had promised to protect Poland. When Germany refused their demand to withdraw, they declared war on 3 September. Soviet troops invaded eastern Poland on 17 September.

Keep each step's role clear. The pact made an attack less risky for Hitler. The invasion started the fighting. British and French decisions brought them into the war. The pact did not itself start the war.

Put these in order

Put these steps from the Rhineland to war in order.

  • Germany and the Soviet Union sign the Nazi-Soviet Pact.
  • German forces occupy the Czech lands and Prague.
  • German troops reoccupy the Rhineland unopposed.
  • The Munich Agreement hands the Sudetenland to Germany.
  • Germany invades Poland and Britain and France declare war.
  • Germany takes over Austria in the Anschluss.
Show the answer
  1. German troops reoccupy the Rhineland unopposed. 7 March 1936: Meeting no resistance made Hitler bolder, and new western defences made it harder for France to help countries to Germany's east.
  2. Germany takes over Austria in the Anschluss. 12 to 13 March 1938: With Austria absorbed, Germany surrounded western Czechoslovakia on three sides, so Hitler could press his Sudetenland demand.
  3. The Munich Agreement hands the Sudetenland to Germany. 29 to 30 September 1938: Losing its border defences and resources left the rest of Czechoslovakia unable to defend itself.
  4. German forces occupy the Czech lands and Prague. 15 March 1939: Taking non-German land ended appeasement, and Britain promised to support Poland, so Hitler now wanted the Soviet Union kept out.
  5. Germany and the Soviet Union sign the Nazi-Soviet Pact. 23 August 1939: With no Soviet opposition to fear, Hitler felt safe to attack Poland despite the British and French promises. Germany invaded Poland on 1 September 1939.
  6. Germany invades Poland and Britain and France declare war.
23 August 1939
Nazi-Soviet Pact signed.
1 September 1939
Germany invades Poland.
3 September 1939
Britain and France declare war.

Real examples to use

Nazi-Soviet Pact, 23 August 1939

Germany and the USSR promised not to attack each other, and a secret protocol split eastern Europe, including Poland, between them.

Invasions, September 1939

Germany invaded Poland on 1 September. Britain and France declared war on 3 September, and Soviet troops entered eastern Poland on 17 September.

Worked example: Link the pact, the attack and the declarations

Why did a pact signed in August matter to the war that began in September?

  1. The pact removes the risk of Soviet opposition for Hitler.
  2. Hitler then chooses to invade Poland on 1 September.
  3. Britain and France declare war on 3 September. Each step did a different job.

Watch out for this

Signing the Nazi-Soviet Pact started the war in Europe.

The pact made war more likely. The German invasion of Poland started it.

Check your understanding

Why was the Nazi-Soviet Pact useful to Hitler?

  1. It meant he would not face the USSR if he attacked Poland.
  2. It forced Britain and France to promise to stay neutral.
  3. It made the USSR and Germany share the same political beliefs and aims.
Show the answer

It meant he would not face the USSR if he attacked Poland.

Yes. It removed a major risk.

Check your understanding

Why did the Nazi-Soviet Pact of 23 August 1939 make war more likely?

  1. It made Britain and France abandon their promise to defend Poland.
  2. It removed the risk of a two-front war, so Hitler could invade Poland.
  3. It united Germany and the USSR against Japan in the Far East and China.
Show the answer

It removed the risk of a two-front war, so Hitler could invade Poland.

Germany invaded Poland on 1 September.

Sources and context

Background reading for this chapter.

  • A public commitment to consultation

    Anglo-German declaration signed by Hitler and Chamberlain, 30 September 1938, as read in Chamberlain's House of Commons statement on 3 October. Paraphrase of the declaration, not the whole speech.

  • Chamberlain defends Munich

    Neville Chamberlain, British prime minister, addressing the House of Commons, 3 October 1938, after returning from Munich. Paraphrase of passages on the agreement, Czechoslovakia, future peace and rearmament.

  • Churchill challenges the settlement

    Winston Churchill, Conservative MP and critic of the government's appeasement policy, speaking in the House of Commons, 5 October 1938. Paraphrase of passages on deterrence and Czechoslovakia.

  • A record of Hitler's private discussion

    Colonel Friedrich Hossbach's memorandum, dated 10 November 1937, recording Hitler's meeting with senior military and foreign-policy officials on 5 November. Paraphrase of the recorded discussion; the memorandum is not a word-for-word transcript.

  • Munich Pact, 29 September 1938, clauses 1-4

    Munich Pact, dated 29 September 1938 and signed by Germany, Britain, France and Italy in the early hours of 30 September. Paraphrase of clauses 1-4; Czechoslovakia was later represented on the implementation commission.

  • a cartoon about Munich, October 1938

    An original cartoon drawn for these notes in the style of a British newspaper cartoon by a critic of appeasement, published in early October 1938, days after the Munich Agreement. It is not a copy of a real cartoon.

  • Munich Pact, 29 September 1938, clauses 1-4

    Extract from the agreement signed at Munich by Germany, the United Kingdom, France and Italy, dated 29 September 1938 and signed in the early hours of 30 September. Czechoslovakia was not represented at the conference. Text from the Avalon Project (English text as published by the British government).

  • Chamberlain in the House of Commons

    Extract from Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's statement in the House of Commons, 3 October 1938, opening the debate on the Munich Agreement. Hansard, House of Commons, 3 October 1938. Parliamentary copyright, reproduced under the Open Parliament Licence.

  • Churchill in the House of Commons

    Extract from Winston Churchill's speech in the House of Commons debate on the Munich Agreement, 5 October 1938. Churchill was a Conservative MP and the best-known critic of the government's policy. Hansard, House of Commons, 5 October 1938. Parliamentary copyright, reproduced under the Open Parliament Licence.

  • a record of Hitler's secret meeting

    Extract from the memorandum by Colonel Friedrich Hossbach, Hitler's military adjutant, of a secret meeting between Hitler and his foreign minister and military chiefs on 5 November 1937, dated 10 November 1937. It was written from memory, not as a word-for-word record, and was used as evidence at the Nuremberg trials. English translation from Documents on German Foreign Policy, published by the US State Department; text from the Avalon Project.

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