Versailles taken apart one slice at a time: Adolf Hitler tore up the Treaty of Versailles bit by bit, keeping each step small enough that Britain and France chose not to fight.
When Hitler came to power in 1933, the Treaty of Versailles still hung over Germany. It had shrunk the German army, banned Germany from joining with Austria, and forced German troops out of the Rhineland, the strip of German land next to France.
To most Germans the treaty felt like a national insult, and Hitler had promised for years to overturn it. So the big question of these years is simple: how did he break a treaty backed by the two strongest countries in Europe without starting a war?
His trick was patience. Instead of one bold move, he took thin slices, one at a time, so that no single act ever looked big enough to be worth fighting over.
Historians nickname this his salami tactics, or the step-by-step method.
Britain and France answered with a policy called appeasement. They believed some of Hitler's demands were partly fair, and above all they were desperate not to repeat the horror of the First World War.
By September 1938 this had let Hitler swallow Austria and part of Czechoslovakia without firing a shot.
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Watch the same pattern repeat in every step below. Hitler pushes a little further, waits to see if Britain and France react, finds that they do not, and then reaches for a slightly bigger slice.
1933 — Walking out
Hitler pulled Germany out of the Disarmament Conference and the League of Nations. He claimed the other powers would never cut their arms down to Germany's level, which gave him an excuse to start building weapons again.
1935 — Rearming openly
Germany revealed it had built an air force and announced conscription, smashing the treaty's arms limits in full public view. Britain and France sent angry notes but did nothing real to stop him.
1935 — The naval deal
Britain then signed the Anglo-German Naval Agreement, letting Germany build a navy up to 35 per cent of Britain's. By making this deal alone, Britain broke the treaty itself and split the front against Hitler.
March 1936 — Into the Rhineland
German soldiers marched back into the demilitarised Rhineland. It was Hitler's biggest gamble yet, but France stayed still, and the gamble paid off.
1936 — Finding friends
Germany teamed up with Benito Mussolini's Italy in the Rome-Berlin Axis, then signed the Anti-Comintern Pact with Japan. Germany was no longer alone in Europe.
March 1938 — Taking Austria
Hitler pressured Austria until its government collapsed, then sent in troops. This forced union of the two countries, called the Anschluss, was forbidden by Versailles, yet no country stepped in.
Sept 1938 — The Sudetenland
Hitler demanded the Sudetenland, the German-speaking edge of Czechoslovakia. At the Munich Agreement, Britain and France simply handed it over, and appeasement reached its peak.
Walk out, rearm, march in, make friends, take Austria, take the Sudetenland.
Mini-case: the Rhineland bluff: In March 1936 Hitler's own generals warned him the German army was still far too weak to fight France. The soldiers marched in carrying secret orders to turn around and retreat the moment France challenged them.
But France, unsure and unwilling to act alone, did nothing. Hitler's bluff worked, and he never forgot how easily the Allies backed down.
Why Hitler kept winning
- His salami tactics kept every step small, so none on its own ever looked worth a war.
- Many of his demands sounded fair, since he claimed only to be reuniting German-speaking people.
- Britain and France were not ready to fight and dreaded another round of mass casualties.
- Some leaders even welcomed a stronger Germany as a wall against the feared Soviet Union.
Why the Allies held back
- The terrible losses of the First World War left both nations deeply afraid of fighting again.
- The economic depression of the 1930s meant there was little money to spend on armies.
- Many Britons quietly agreed that Versailles had treated Germany too harshly in the first place.
- They kept hoping that giving Hitler what he asked for would finally satisfy him and secure peace.
| Date | Step | What it broke or changed |
|---|---|---|
| 1933 | Left Disarmament Conference and League | The spirit of collective security |
| 1935 | Rearmament and conscription announced | The army and air-force limits |
| 1935 | Anglo-German Naval Agreement | The naval limits |
| March 1936 | Rhineland remilitarised | The demilitarised zone |
| 1936 | Rome-Berlin Axis and Anti-Comintern Pact | Germany's diplomatic isolation |
| March 1938 | Anschluss with Austria | The ban on union with Austria |
| Sept 1938 | Sudetenland taken via Munich | Czechoslovakia's borders and defences |
The Stresa Front: a united stand that fell apart in months
Germany's 1935 rearmament announcement did produce one real moment of unity. In April 1935, Britain, France and Italy met at Stresa in Italy and formed the Stresa Front, jointly condemning Hitler's move and promising to defend Austrian independence together. For a few weeks it looked as if the three powers might actually contain Germany as one bloc.
A united front that lasted barely two months: The Stresa Front collapsed almost as fast as it formed, and the Allies broke it themselves.
In June 1935, Britain signed the Anglo-German Naval Agreement with Germany, without consulting France or Italy. That one-sided deal was the moment covered in the step-cards above, and it showed Italy and France that Britain would strike its own bargains with Hitler rather than hold the line.
Then, later in 1935, Benito Mussolini invaded Abyssinia. Britain and France criticised Italy for it at the League of Nations, which pushed Mussolini away from his former partners and towards Hitler instead. By early 1936, the front was dead in all but name.
- April 1935 — Stresa Front formed: Britain, France and Italy jointly protest German rearmament and pledge to protect Austria.
- June 1935 — Anglo-German Naval Agreement splits the front, as Britain deals with Germany alone.
- Late 1935 — the Abyssinia crisis turns Italy away from Britain and France, and towards Germany.
- Result — the last joint stand against Hitler dissolves within months, clearing his path for the Rhineland in 1936.
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How this is tested (Paper 1): Paper 1 gives you a set of sources plus a final longer question. You might face a shorter cross-reference question or a 9-mark judgement such as "To what extent did appeasement cause Hitler's successes?"
The classic trap is retelling the steps as a story without ever explaining WHY each one worked.
Evaluate the view that appeasement was the main reason Hitler dismantled Versailles between 1933 and 1938.
Model answer plan
See the mark-by-mark plan — for / against / judgement, with marking guidance — in study mode.
Common mistakes: Do not simply narrate the timeline. Analyse WHY each step worked.
Do not muddle the dates: the Rhineland is March 1936, while the Anschluss and Munich are both 1938.
Do not forget that appeasement was a deliberate Allied choice, not just Hitler acting alone.