background to second world war

 Discuss the background to the second World War.

    In the 1930s, Germany, Italy, and Japan pursued fascist imperialist policies, leading to a catastrophe in the world.  In 1935, Italy occupied Abyssinia.  In 1936, Italy and Germany intervened in the Spanish Civil War.  In 1937, Japan invaded northern and central China. In 1938, Germany occupied Austria.  In the same year, Czechoslovakia occupied the Sudeten Territory under the Treaty of Munich.  Finally, in March 1939, Hitler occupied the whole of Czechoslovakia.  So far, England and France have been pursuing a policy of appeasement against the fascist powers to avoid an overall war.  They hoped that the anti-communist forces would become uncompromising in their uncompromising struggle against Russia.  And from a safe distance from this struggle, England and France will have the opportunity to consolidate their power.

 Failure of appeasement policy: Germany's aggressive policy -

      But when Hitler swallowed the rest of Czechoslovakia in mid-March 1939, England realized the failure of the appeasement policy.  In a speech in Birmingham, British Prime Minister Chamberlain, a spokesman for the appeasement policy, said that Hitler had broken his promise in Munich by annexing Czechoslovakia and his declared policy to include the non-German nation in the Reich.  Hitler then snatched the meme from Lithuania (March 20).  Intimidated by the German-Romanian trade agreement (March 23), Hitler established control over Romania's agricultural and mineral resources.  This time he proceeded cautiously to devour Poland.  Earlier, German Foreign Minister Ribbentrop demanded Poland build a road through the Polish corridor to return to the independent city of Danzig and establish East Prussia's connection with Germany.  Poland, however, did not comply.  Ribbentrop reiterated that demand. On March 21, the Polish government took a hard line.

 Roosevelt's Failure to Prevent Fascist Aggression: -

       England and France abandoned the policy of appeasement and took the initiative to resist the aggression of punishment.  Poland pledges independence from Greece and Romania.  Meanwhile, Italy suddenly invaded Albania and occupied it on 12 April.  On April 14, US President Roosevelt called on Hitler and Mussolini to pledge that 29 small states, from Finland to Iran, would not be affected for at least ten years.  Mussolini did not respond to this call.

       Hitler signed non-aggression pacts with Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania.  He then tried to intimidate the Western powers and make them inactive about Poland.  He sought to turn the anti-Comintern-Rome-Berlin agreement into a full-fledged military power. The alliance was further strengthened by the signing of the Steel Treaty in May 1939.  It stated that the two countries, Germany and Italy, would work together to maintain a place of peace and security for the people.

       Increasing military power became urgent for England and France.  They undertook programs of military education and army augmentation.  After England and Turkey, France and Turkey became allies on a mutual basis.  The invasion of Poland by Germany became imminent.

 Efforts for Anglo-French Agreement with Soviet Russia: -

      Communist Soviet Russia was viewed with suspicion and disbelief by the democratic states of England and France in the West.  Yet alliances were sometimes seen between the two in post-war Europe although the closeness did not grow.  Nazi communists will attack Russia and engage in a life-and-death struggle.   Czechoslovakia was annexed by Germany and subsequent events showed that Germany was the common enemy of England, France and Russia.

      

 Russian proposal-

     Russia, therefore, proposed to convene a conference of the Sixth Powers (England, Poland, Romania, Turkey and Russia) to prevent Nazi German aggression (March 18).  The proposal did not work because Poland feared Russia as much as Germany.  But in England, the need for a Russian alliance aroused the interest of politicians such as Lloyd George.

       

 Anglo-French proposal--

        Talks with Russia continued in mid-April.  England and France assured Greece and Romania of security against German aggression;  Russia alone is requested to give them this assurance.  But Russia did not agree.

 Russia's counter-proposal--

       Soviet Russia offers countermeasures.  It is said that England, France and Russia together will ensure security to the countries from the Baltic to the Black Sea.  After almost three weeks of silence, England requested Russia to reassure Poland and Romania against aggression (May 9).  This was not to the liking of Soviet Russia at all.  So he sticks to his old demands. In this way, stagnation occurs.

 Lack of sincerity of British government: -

       Eventually, the Soviet foreign minister was recognized by the Anglo-French government at a power conference.  The British government attended the conference in Russia on 15 June in the guise of exhausting entertainment.  Strang, a low-ranking official in the British Foreign Office, was sent as a representative of the British government, but he did not have enough authority.

     Russia urges England and France to send a military mission to expedite the settlement talks.  The mission arrived in Russia on 11 August, 18 days after the 23 July proposal.  This procrastination in England demonstrates his lack of sincerity.  That mission was not given full authority.  In any case, Russia claims the right to take its troops through Poland to deal with German troops on the German border.  The claim was not unreasonable, as Russia had no common border with Germany.  But Poland's fears and hatred did not go away.  So Poland was not prepared to accept the incursion of Russian troops into its territory.  The idea of ​​Soviet Russia was that this procrastination put pressure on Hitler to build an alliance with it.  Bargaining with him is just a ploy to gain an advantage. Therefore, in this situation, the Anglo-French alliance breaks down.

 German-Soviet non-aggression pact: -

        Hitler understood that to carry out his plan to invade Poland, he had to fight against the Anglo-French alliance.  But if he can ally himself with Soviet Russia, then England and France will show indifference in keeping their promise to protect Poland like Czechoslovakia.  So without a war, at least without a major war, he would occupy Poland.  In addition, if the German-Soviet treaty is signed, there will be no difficulty in fighting two separate battlefields at the same time towards Russia in the east and France in the west.  But the obstacles to German understanding were vast.  So far, Hitler has spoken out against communism like an ardent religious warrior.  In terms of political ideology, fascism and communism are at opposite poles.

 Interest in German-Soviet understanding: -

       However, in a short period, there was an interest in Russia for a German-Soviet understanding.  During the Anglo-French-Russian alliance talks, the German ambassador indicated that ideological differences would not hinder the development of humanitarian relations.  During the negotiations for the signing of the Anglo-French Treaty, Stalin, the Russian leader, realized from the British procrastination and hesitant action that there was no point in their sceptical support.  Rather, it is better to ally with Germany in the need of real politics.  Because this could bring in several parts of Poland and other states, that part would be used as a buffer or intermediate country during future German invasions.  On the other hand, the Anglo-French strategy of waging war with Germany to weaken Russia will fail.  On the one hand, the Anglo-French alliance and on the other hand, the Fascist alliance will weaken themselves by engaging in war.  But Russia will be able to keep its security intact.  Even neutral Russia will dominate Europe.

 Early failure of Russian-German alliance: -

  In June 1939, Germany attempted to conclude a trade agreement with Russia.  But Russia did not show interest in the Anglo-French alliance, which was under discussion at the time.  So the issue of this trade agreement did not progress.

    Preparing to invade Poland: -

         Hitler became a tiger to occupy Poland.  In early June, German newspapers became abuzz with stories of persecution of the German minority in Poland.  They demanded that not only Danzig but the entire Polish corridor should be included in the German Reich.  Hitler demanded the return of Danzi c to Poland on 7 August 1939.  Shortly before that, Hitler resumed negotiations on a trade agreement with Soviet Russia on July 22, and four days later, he began negotiating a political agreement.

 Russian-German understanding: -

         On August 14, Hitler called on Russia to reach an immediate agreement.  The Soviet foreign minister still wanted time, so he proposed a trade deal first.  With extraordinary speed, Germany signed a trade agreement with Russia.  Hitler then requested Stalin to welcome his representative, Foreign Minister Ribbentrop, to Moscow to sign a political agreement, which Stalin agreed to.  The day after Ribbentrop arrives in Moscow, an agreement on German non-aggression and neutrality was signed.

      The Russian-German non-aggression pact had seven articles.  It is decided that this agreement will be valid for 10 years.  Both sides will not attack each other and the other side will not ally with the third force attacking either side.  They will resolve their disputes peacefully through dialogue. A secret draft attached to it provided for the division of Eastern Europe into spheres of influence.  Finland, Asthenia and Latvia are recognized as Soviet spheres of influence, while Lithuania and Latvia are recognized as German spheres of influence.  The partition of Poland is recognized - its borders will be fixed later.  Germany also unequivocally declared that it had no interest in the Romanian province of Bessarabia.

       Both sides rejoiced at the Russian-German non-aggression pact.  Hitler was determined to keep his eastern frontiers neutral and carry out his conquest plan, at least for the time being.

 Subsequent events of the German-Soviet Treaty: -

      After the signing of the German-Soviet pact, the situation in the diplomatic arena began to change rapidly.  On August 23, the day before the treaty was signed, the British Prime Minister, Chamberlain, wrote to Hitler in a letter through the British Ambassador Holderson, saying that even if the German-Soviet pact was signed, Britain would resist the invasion of Poland with all its might.  An angry Hitler said that this was making Britain a deadly war inevitable.  He kept the military assembly on the Polish border intact.  On August 25, Hitler called on Henderson and said that he would maintain the unity of the British Empire if Germany did not disrupt the policy held by Germany in Poland.  If necessary, sign a mutual aid agreement. Even adopt a policy of reducing armaments.

 Hitler delays invasion of Poland: -

        Hitler's invasion of Poland was delayed by two incidents on the same day.  First, the Anglo-Polish Mutual Assistance Treaty was ratified by England.  Second, Mussolini wrote to Hitler that Italy would provide financial and political assistance to Germany if the German-Polish war was confined to them, but otherwise, it would be unable to do so.

 British efforts to prevent war: -

        On 28 August England offered to resolve the issue through direct talks between Germany and Poland.  But Hitler asked Germany to send a full-fledged Polish ambassador to refuse the offer.  Poland did not respond to this insulting offer.  The British government made a counter-proposal to the normal procedure on 30 August.  When the British ambassador presented the proposal to the German foreign minister, Ribbentrop, he did not listen.  Instead, read Ribbentrop Germany's proposed terms.  The British ambassador refused to give him a copy.  Thus all avenues of the settlement are blocked.

 Mussolini's failed attempt to uphold the sentence: -

       Mussolini tried to keep the punishment intact.  He was not interested in getting involved in the European war.  Because the Mediterranean needed time to consolidate its power in North Africa and Albania.  On 31 August he proposed that the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, which was uncomfortable for Europe, should be changed, with England and France supporting it.

 Beginning of the war: -

     But on September 1, Hitler invaded Poland without declaring war.  On the same day, through Henderson, the British government informed Hitler that if he did not withdraw German troops from Poland, the British government would fulfil its promise to Poland.  Hitler did not answer. Finally, on September 3, England and France declared war on Germany and World War II began.