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The second is an extract from an account given by Johann Heinrich Count von Bernstorff, a founding member of the German Democratic Party and a supporter of the League of Nations. Law, a British businessman, who worked in Germany provided to the Foreign Office. The first source is an extract from a report by Mr. The purpose of this lesson is to encourage students to handle conflicting evidence on the character and personality of Hitler and assess their reliability. They wanted to find out what he was like, what he wanted to achieve for Germany, what kind of leader he was and, strangely enough, if he was sane. In particular the government was very interested in Hitler’s personality. Britain kept a close watch on developments in Germany.
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Of course to have stopped Hitler might have meant declaring war – a massive decision when most countries wanted to avoid war at all costs. Britain could not afford the financial cost of another war, nor could France, the country’s main ally. There was a strong anti-war or pacifist sentiment. It was closely linked to the Prime Minister at the time, Neville Chamberlain and was popular although is now regarded as a policy of weakness.Īppeasement found support with the British public who wanted to avoid the huge losses of the First World War. Īppeasement was the name given to Britain’s policy in the 1930s which permitted Hitler to expand German territory unchecked and did little to stop him in his early moves against the Treaty of Versailles. When war was declared with Germany in 1939 he returned to power as First Lord of the Admiralty and later became wartime Prime Minister of a national government on. Churchill continued to criticize Hitler and call for Britain to rearm. Of course at the time, Winston Churchill, no longer in Government from the early 1930s, was a significant critic of the Munich Agreement which allowed Germany to take over Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia an attempt to prevent a war. How the British government dealt with Hitler in the run up to the outbreak of the Second World War has come under close scrutiny. Germany then invaded Poland, bringing about the beginning of the Second World War. They were to be proved right by Hitler’s decision to takeover of the whole of Czechoslovakia in 1939 after annexing the Sudetenland in 1938. Others feared that this was only the beginning of a far more aggressive foreign policy. They thought he would stop once he had reversed the terms the Treaty of Versailles which limited the power and strength of Germany. When Hitler came to power in Germany in 1933 some people regarded him as a strong leader merely getting back German territory and restoring Germany’s national pride. Say whether Hitler is sane or not and provide evidence from the sources to support your answer.Explain whether or not you think your evidence is reliable.You have been provided with the sources above. You have been asked by the British government to prepare a report on Hitler’s state of mind. Was he to be regarded as a ‘passionate lunatic’ who would take over Europe? Or an odd eccentric who was rebuilding Germany?Ħ. Use the sources in this lesson to find out how he was viewed by some of these commentators. These words and deeds worried foreign observers. Throughout this time he made passionate speeches about expanding German territory. Later that year he demanded the Sudetenland, the German speaking part of Czechoslovakia. He also tried to unite Germany and Austria with the ‘Anschluss’ (1938). He also moved troops into the di-militarised Rhineland (1936). A timeline of these events in Germany can be found here.īefore the outbreak of the Second World War, in the period 1935-38, Hitler acted against the terms of the Treaty of Versailles by re-arming and re-building the German army through conscription (1935). After he became Chancellor of Germany in 1933 parliamentary democracy came to an end. Hitler is perhaps one of the most reviled historical figures of the 20th century.