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Hitler’s Rise to Power and Its Lessons
Two events marked the ascent of Hitler and the Nazis in the 1930s. The first was the
demise of the Weimar Republic, a troubled democratic system established in the aftermath
of Germany’s defeat in World War I. The second was the Munich Pact, in which the leaders
of Britain and France acquiesced to Hitler’s plan to annex the Sudetenland, the portion
of Czechoslovakia bordering Germany that contained many ethnic Germans. Hitler soon
conquered all of Czechoslovakia.
First head to
The
Destruction of the Weimar Republic: Bruno Heilig, "Why the German Republic Fell" (1938)
1. How did the international economy negatively impact the Weimar Republic?
2. What role did social inequality play in Weimar’s downfall, according to Heilig?
3. Which two parties gained the most votes in the election preceding Hitler’s accession
to power? Why is this a telling statistic in regards to the fragility of democracy
in the Weimar Republic?
Now go to:
Munich
Pact
4. What does the plan designate for the Sudetenland? What did the plan require of
the Czech government?
5. Look at the signatories to the agreement. Which countries are represented? What
does the fact that Czechoslovakia was not a participant in the conference indicate
about the nature of the international system in 1938?
Finally, look at:
Neville
Chamberlain’s "peace in our time" 1938
6. What lessons could leaders potentially learn from Chamberlain’s errors?
7. Think about everything you know about the interwar years in Europe and the nature
of the international system then. What would you have done if you were the leader
of Britain in 1938?
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