Description
Book SynopsisMore than 60 years have passed since the outbreak of the most catastrophic conflict the world has known: 30 million people dead and unbelievable devastation. In the 3rd edition of this popular volume, Keith Eubank seeks answers to the questions that have plagued us: Why, after the ghastly ordeal of World War I did Western powers undervalue the threat from Hitler? Why was there so much reluctance on the part of Britain and France to confront Germany? Why had Germany been permitted to rearm and to occupy independent nations without a struggle? What was the policy of appeasement? Why did the appeasers fail to perceive Hitler''s intentions? In addition to a re-examination of these questions and an effort to dispel the enduring myths surrounding the history of this era, Keith Eubank has enhanced this new edition by including an analysis of the motivations and actions of central figures such as Neville Chamberlain and Joseph Stalin as well as a re-assessment of Soviet policies in the light o
Table of ContentsPreface to the Third Edition ix
1. "PEACE," 1918-1933 1
November 11, 1918 1
The Treaty of Versailles 3
The League of Nations 13
French "Security" 16
German "Good Faith" 19
Economic Crisis 22
2. The Uneasy Peace, 1933-1935 25
Adolf Hitler 25
Rearmament and Disarmament 31
The Four-Power Pact 34
The Dollfuss Affair 35
Germany's Military Renaissance 36
The Franco-Soviet Pact 40
The Anglo-German Naval Agreement 43
3. Years of Crisis, 1935-1938 47
Mussolini and Ethiopia 47
Hitler in the Rhineland 56
The Popular Front and the Spanish Civil War 67
Appeasement and Appeasers 72
4. The Road to War, 1938 80
The Reichschancellery Meeting 80
The Anschluss 84
Crisis in Czechoslovakia 96
The Munich Conference 113
The End of Czechoslovakia 120
5. War, 1939 128
Danzig 128
Appeasement Fails 140
Conclusion 168
Bibliographical Essay 175
Index 191
Maps
German Territorial Losses in Central Europe, 1919 5
Nazi Aggression in Central Europe, 1933-1939 108
