Imagine you're hanging out with a group of people at a park in your neighborhood.
While folks are talking, you overhear a couple of people saying some not-so-nice things about
someone else in the group. The target of these comments isn't someone you know very well,
but just hearing it makes you uncomfortable, maybe even a little angry. You might ask yourself,
should I say something? You decide to hold off since you don't know these people too well and
confrontation makes you uncomfortable. Eventually, they get tired of bad-mouthing that person so they
choose another target - your best friend. If you weren't angry before, you definitely are now.
Do I intervene and defend my friend? Is now the best time? What if these folks
don't take too kindly to my feedback and want to hurt me? So many tough questions.
Throughout this Unit, we've studied how dictators like Adolf Hitler and
Benito Mussolini rose to power by portraying
themselves as strong nationalist leaders and persecuting marginalized communities.
As their desire to expand their fascist regimes grew, leaders throughout the world were left just
like you, struggling to figure out if, how, and when they should intervene. Today, we'll examine
how those leaders chose to respond to this surge of fascism and answer our big-picture question,
what's the best way to hold another country accountable when it breaks an agreement?
We'll also learn about another conflict that would push Europe closer to the brink of another world
war - the Spanish Civil War. Let's take a look at our guiding questions. How were Francisco Franco
and the Nationalists able to emerge victorious from the Spanish Civil War? How did Adolf Hitler
challenge the isolationist policies of the former Allied powers? And, what were the ultimate results
of Britain and France's appeasement policy with Germany? All right, let's dive in.
The Spanish Civil War was important for many reasons. One was that it led to the rise of
another fascist dictator and the other was that many actually consider it a prelude to World War
II. But how, exactly? Let's start with World War I. Although Spain remained neutral during the war,
this didn't mean it was immune to its effects. Spain was already one of the poorest countries
in Europe so when the war led to soaring levels of inflation and food shortages,
Spaniards were so angry that widespread rioting took place all over the country.
Sprinkle this anger over a century of brutal civil wars and growing demands to abolish the
monarchy and it was clear, Spain was due for a radical change. That change came in 1931 when King
Alfonso XIII caved to overwhelming pressure and declared Spain a democratic republic. The Cortes,
or parliament, of the newly established Spanish Republic was led by a republican and socialist
majority that was eager to modernize the country. The Cortes drew up a constitution and instituted
a wave of reforms that protected rights like freedom of speech, assembly, and religion.
But its decision to separate church from state angered many conservatives. Spain had been a
deeply Catholic country for many years, so some felt the attacks on the church were attacks on
Spanish culture itself. Like many democracies in post-war Europe, the new government struggled
to control disagreements between the left-wing republican and right-wing Nationalist coalitions.
These disagreements led to violence and chaos in many parts of the country.
From this chaos emerged General Francisco Franco who launched a military coup in
1936 that would ultimately pit Republicans against Nationalists in the Spanish Civil War.
As leader of the Nationalists, he was supported by monarchists, conservatives,
and Falangists - or Spanish fascists. The Republican resistance was led by a group of
socialists, communists, anarchists, and republicans known as the Popular Font.
Eager to support a rising fascist leader, Hitler and Mussolini provided Franco with soldiers,
tanks, and air support. The Republicans managed to receive some military help from the USSR,
as well as a squadron of volunteer fighters known as the International Brigades.
Members of the League of Nations and the United States chose not to support the Republicans.
Aside from fears that intervention would ignite another world war, Western democracies also
feared that the left-leaning Republicans would establish a communist government.
The Nationalists combined the support of their fascist allies with brutal military tactics
to capture vital resources across Spain and ultimately triumph over the Republicans in 1939.
Franco's victory began a 40-year dictatorship that would be marked by widespread repression
and political violence across Spain. But as one conflict came to an end, another was on
the horizon. Hitler had his eyes on the lands east of Germany and with the former Allied
Powers reluctant to defend democracy in Spain, he felt emboldened to proceed with his ambitions.
Let's review before we go on. How were Francisco Franco and the Nationalists
able to emerge victorious from the Spanish Civil War?
Spanish Republicans saw that Western democracies were unwilling to intervene in any way that
could jeopardize their commitment to peace and neutrality after World War I. French and British
leaders were eager to avoid conflict at all costs as they dealt with the effects of the Great
Depression and people that were still traumatized by the war. The U.S. also turned to isolationism,
with many still upset about having entered the first world war. This led to policies
like the Neutrality Acts, which prohibited selling or lending weapons to nations at war.
As Nazi Germany's actions and Europe's political conditions worsened in the late 1930s,
isolationist policies became difficult to defend. Hitler openly expressed his desire to annex
Austria into the Third Reich, which would be a blatant violation of the Treaty of Versailles.
French and British leaders debated how to respond to Hitler's open declaration.
Although they had promised to protect Austrian sovereignty, they decided not to intervene,
instead allowing Hitler to annex the country in 1938.
How does the decision of British and French leaders to allow Hitler to annex
Austria compare to the situation you were faced with at the beginning of the video?
But Hitler wasn't finished. He also wanted to take the Sudetenland in western Czechoslovakia which
had over three million German speakers. Some of the Sudeten German population rallied behind the
Nazis, hoping they could follow in Austria's footsteps and be annexed next. As you might
have predicted, Hitler eventually demanded that Czechoslovakia hand the region over to Germany.
Faced with Hitler's demands, the Czech government was left with
no other option than to reach out to its former Allied friends for support.
But let's stop and review before we hear how they responded.
How did Hitler challenge the isolationist policies of the former Allied powers?
Hitler's plan to expand the Third Reich left the world grappling with how to hold him accountable
without triggering another massive war. France and Britain favored appeasement, or a policy
of giving something up to another country to prevent further conflict. Here, that meant
potentially giving up the Sudetenland to Hitler in order to avoid a potential war in Europe.
This led British leader Neville Chamberlain along with his French counterpart, Édouard Daladier,
to meet with Hitler and Mussolini in Munich to discuss Hitler's demands. Desperate to preserve
peace, Chamberlain and Daladier signed the Munich Agreement, letting Hitler take the Sudetenland on
the condition he wouldn't invade the rest of the country. Hopes were high as both leaders
returned home to cheering crowds who thought peace had been preserved. But six months later, Hitler
broke yet another promise and invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia, quickly annexing the country.
Hitler then turned to Poland and demanded they hand over the former German port city of Danzig.
Poland looked to Britain and France for support, but their pleas were rejected.
Instead, the two appealed to Joseph Stalin, hoping the USSR would help stop Hitler's expansion.
But Stalin had already been in discussions with Hitler, and in August of 1939,
they signed a non-aggression pact pledging not to attack each other if one of them ended up at war.
If you feel this is one of the last stepping stones that would lead us to
the doorstep of World War II, your instincts are correct. Chamberlain and Daladier were
stunned as they realized that their attempts at appeasement had only delayed the inevitable.
Their worst fears came true just two months later when Germany invaded Poland,
launching Europe and the rest of the world into another war to end all wars.
Let's review one last time. What were the ultimate
results of Britain and France's appeasement policy with Germany?
We'll save our journey through World War II for our next Unit. But until then,
keep this lesson in mind next time you're struggling to decide
whether or not to intervene in a difficult situation because history is everywhere.