Article by Emily Schooley
While the second World War officially began on September 3, 1939, a number of political events occurring prior to that date played significant roles in shaping the growing threat from Germany and the early days of war.
It can be said that the timeline of WWII traces all the way back to the end of the First World War. The strong public discontent in Germany after the end of WWI was largely blamed on the Treaty of Versailles and those that enforced it; because of France's financial devastation in WWI, Germany was made to provide steep financial compensation for damages caused. Additionally, the British enforced a naval blockade of Germany – not permitting much-needed resources to reach German shores – that was not lifted until after the Treaty was signed. These actions left a severe, negative impact on the German economy, sending most of its citizens into complete destitution and causing a number of deaths due to abject poverty. Contributing further to this, the stock market crash of 1929 created widespread economic depression, which made the situation in Germany much worse. Poverty and a higher death rate, combined with a distrust in the weak post-war democratic rule, left Germany ripe for the uprising of Adolf Hitler.
When Hitler was appointed Reichskanzler (Chancellor) on January 30, 1933, he quickly moved to transfer legislative power to his own cabinet. Political oppositions were banned - some were later violently purged – and Hitler appointed himself Furher (Leader) in August 1934. Germany's armed forces swore absolute obedience to Hitler; he then turned his attentions toward re-introducing military conscription, effectively rebuilding the German regime. He also reconstructed the German navy, producing a fleet one-third the size of the British navy. Subsequently, Hitler's fleet re-secured the Baltic Sea for Germany, putting an end to the British presence there. One crucial mistake made during this time was that while the United Kingdom and France officially protested against Hitler's actions, they did nothing to stop him. Many Britons believed that the impacts of the Treaty had been too harsh, and that Hitler was just attempting to relieve some of the pressures on his country. Instead of moving swiftly to dissuade Hitler from further action, his early conquests – such as the annexation of Austria in March 1938 – succeeded chiefly because they were met with inaction.
