HIGHER History
MODEL SOURCE ANSWERS: RHINELAND HOMEWORK
Question 1
Source A explains British opinion towards the German reoccupation of the Rhineland in March 1936 to a certain extent, the source suggests that the majority of people in Britain were ‘ignorant’ in their support of a pro-appeasement policy towards Hitler’s actions. The author, Duff Cooper was an Admiral and Secretary of State To War and is therefore well placed to comment on matters as he was an eye-witness to events. Initially a pro-appeaser, Cooper was also a member of the Cabinet. His opinion may be of the view of the military as he was a high standing member of the army. Copper later turns his back on appeasement in 1938 and as the source is from 1953 he is writing with the benefit of hindsight.
The purpose of the source was to show how Hitler had “ Torn to shreds a treaty upon which peace in Europe depended”. The source is showing how Hitler’s reoccupation of the Rhineland may have looked as though he was only going into an area he owned and he had a right to reoccupy it but in fact it not only broke The Treaty Of Versailles but also the Treaty of Locarno, which Duff Cooper argues in his source, held peace in Europe together. Cooper’s assessment of the average Englishmen’s view of the Rhineland was one of ignorance as they allowed Hitler to reoccupy the Rhineland, indeed the majority were pro-appeasement as the fear of another war was intense and Britain was in no position to take on Germany due to a lack of allies as America was isolationist and France unstable. Lord Lothian - an influential Lord at the time- echoes the majority view as he states that Hitler was, “only going into his own back garden”
This view was very common at the time since many of Britain’s citizens sympathised with Germany, as they were revisionist towards The Treaty of Versailles. Many felt the Treaty was too harsh on Germany and were willing to let them take back land that was wrongly removed. Another view that supports the revisionist attitude towards the remilitarisation of the Rhineland is from the British Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin -
“military intervention was out of proportion to what Germany had done”.
The Source doesn’t mention that during the reoccupation of the Rhineland, Britain was trying to deal with the Abyssinia Crises and may have looked at The Rhineland as not as worrying as Mussolini’s actions in Abyssinia.
Cooper comments that Hitler has acted ‘ruthlessly’ and jeopardized the peace of Europe by the reoccupation, however he does not mention previous events that allowed Hitler to justify his actions such as the Franco –Soviet Mutual Assistance Pact of 1935.
Overall Source A shows to a certain extent the British opinion towards the reoccupation of the Rhineland in March 1936. Duff Cooper expresses the view of the majority of British citizens being pro-appeasement and shows that he did not agree with this policy as the reoccupation broke two major treaties and therefore sacrificed peace in Europe.
Question 2
Sources A and B both agree about British attitudes towards German re-occupation of the Rhineland which took place on the 7th March, 1936. Both sources express British sympathy for Germany and highlight the British public’s pro-appeasement attitude. Source A states that the British public were supportive of Hitler and claims that they were ignorant as they allowed Hitler to break the Treaty of Locarno. Source B echoes this view by suggesting that the British saw no reason why Hitler should not reoccupy the territory.
Source A acknowledges British opinion is pro-appeasement but Cooper is critical of this attitude and refers to the British public as being ‘ignorant’ of the significance of Hitler’s actions. Source B goes further and states that the British were more in favour of Germany’s actions as they had become unsympathetic towards the French ‘ francophobia’. Moreover, Cooper also implies that people were too ignorant in their opinions, as they disregarded the importance of the Treaty of Versailles, plus the Locarno Pact, both of which played key roles in preserving peace throughout Europe. Source B doesn’t directly mention either treaty, however, it clearly exhibits the British revisionist attitude towards the Treaty of Versailles, an attitude Cooper believes in Source A is wrong. The majority of the British public believed the Treaty of Versailles had been too harsh and felt revisionist towards Germany. Furthermore the British Government believed that by allowing Hitler to reoccupy the Rhineland they could gain Germany as an ally and natural bulwark against the spread of Communism from Russia.
Source B justifies British public opinion by saying even the “pro-British” were agreeing that it was right for Hitler to re-occupy the Rhineland, although not in agreement with his methods that Hitler was right ‘in fact’. Source A condemns Hitler’s actions by stating that he violated the Treaty of Locarno and Hitler was a ruthless dictator. Hitler however, had justification for his actions due to the earlier Franco-Soviet Mutual Assistance Pact as he felt threatened by France’s failure to disarm and her pact with Russia
In conclusion, Source A provides a negative view about British public opinion towards Hitler and fails to mention key elements, such as the Franco-Soviet Union Pact, surrounding Hitler’s re-occupation of the Rhineland. Source B, however, gives a more general view on British public opinion, which, according to Emmerson, was pro- Hitlers’ actions in the Rhineland as people thought he was justified in what he did, but did not condone his methods.
Question 3
Source C is valuable as evidence of the British and international response to the German reoccupation of the Rhineland in March 1936 as it is a contemporary source from the 9th of March 1936, two days after Hitler invaded the Rhineland, at dawn on Saturday 7th March 1936. Therefore, the source clearly shows the initial reaction and attitudes of the British people as it was published in a national newspaper. The purpose of Source C is to show that Britain simply allowed Germany to walk all over European ‘diplomacy’ due to Hitler’s actions defying the Treaty of Versailles and Locarno Pact.
The source depicts a large German soldier stepping over a table, titled ‘Diplomacy’, into the Rhineland, the size of the German legs could be a reference to the level of rearmament in Germany and the fact that Britain believed Germany was better armed than it actually was. The discussions that these international leaders are having around the table involve the disobedience of Hitler and his disregard of The Treaty of Locarno and The League of Nations. This is an accurate interpretation of Hitler’s actions as the reoccupation of the Rhineland occurred on a Saturday, so by the time international leaders discussed events it was too late Hitler’s actions had paid off as France failed to act due to the instability of its government and Britain was preoccupied with Mussolini in. Furthermore, the majority of the British public were pro-appeasement as was demonstrated in the East Fulham by-election in 1933. The reigning attitude in Britain was one of sympathy and revision towards the Treaty of Versailles, and as Lord Lothian stated at the time, Hitler was ‘ only going into his own back garden’. Germany’s remilitarisation therefore did not cause Britain great worry. The statement at the bottom of the source says, ‘The March of Events’. This relevant in two ways: the fact that the Germans ‘marched’ into the Rhineland and that the reoccupation of the Rhineland happened in the month of ‘March’.
Overall Source C is valuable as evidence of the international and British response to Germany’s reoccupation of the Rhineland as it was drawn two days after the event and so it shows the attitudes of that time.
British Foreign Policy and Public Opinion
Britain followed a policy of appeasement towards Germany in the 1930’s; some of the reasons behind this policy are;
Ø To maintain the balance of power in Europe.
Ø British feeling that the Treaty of Versailles was too harsh so Britain adopted a revisionist policy towards Germany. (Example: Hitler’s Remilitarisation of Rhineland was viewed by the British as the Germans ‘moving into their own backyard’. (Lord Lothian)
Ø Promote disarmament
Ø Unreadiness of British armed forces to go to war, low spending on defences, rearmed in 1937.
Ø America was isolationist – offering no help in any future conflict.
Ø No electoral advantage in wanting rearmament (1935 election demonstrates this as the League of Nations was said to be the ‘cornerstone’ of the national governments policy).
Ø British feeling that future peace could be secured by settling vindictive aspects of Treaty of Versailles.
Ø SYMPATHY with Germany is an important factor as in each of the crises until Munich the problem seems to arise from the injustice of Versailles.
What was the opinion of the British public towards foreign aggression and the governments policy of appeasement?
1933- East Fulham by-election, a Conservative candidate favouring rearmament saw his 3,000 majority turn into a majority of 7,000 for his pacifist Labour opponent.
Oxford Union debate carried the motion that “This House would not fight for King and Country”.
1935 – the National Government claimed that the ‘League of Nations’ a peace promoting organisation (collective security) was the cornerstone of British foreign policy. This helped them win the election therefore demonstrating that the British public favoured peace.
1935 Peace Ballot results showed that 58% of those interviewed thought that military sanctions should be used against an aggressor. Over 90% thought that economic sanctions should be used to prevent a war.
How do we know about British public opinions?
Public opinion is difficult to judge precisely but the mood of a nation can be surmised from the newspapers of the time. The Times, Daily Express, Daily Mail and Observer (until March 1939) were all pro-appeasement and sympathetic to Nazi Germany. Newspapers that did not support appeasement include the Daily Herald and Telegraph.
Letters to the Editor display public sentiment as people have written in to express personal feelings on the matter. So too do political cartoons which are often satirical of which David Low is the most famous.