The Origins of World War II

by Eubank, Keith

• ISBN13: 9780882952284
• ISBN10: 0882952285
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-01-19
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

More 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 of recent research that reveals their leaders as far less altruistic than some have imagined. With an expanded conclusion, a new photo section, and an updated bibliographic essay, this book remains an excellent brief overview of the period between 1918 and 1939.

Author Biography

Keith Eubank is Professor of History Emeritus, Queens College, City University of New York

Table of Contents

Preface to the Third Edition	ix
1. "PEACE," 1918-1933	1	(24)
November 11, 1918	1	(2)
The Treaty of Versailles	3	(10)
The League of Nations	13	(3)
French "Security"	16	(3)
German "Good Faith"	19	(3)
Economic Crisis	22	(3)
2. THE UNEASY PEACE, 1933-1935	25	(22)
Adolf Hitler	25	(6)
Rearmament and Disarmament	31	(3)
The Four-Power Pact	34	(1)
The Dollfuss Affair	35	(1)
Germany s Military Renaissance	36	(4)
The Franco-Soviet Pact	40	(3)
The Anglo-German Naval Agreement	43	(4)
3. YEARS OF CRISIS, 1935-1938	47	(33)
Mussolini and Ethiopia	47	(9)
Hitler in the Rhineland	56	(11)
The Popular Front and the Spanish Civil War	67	(5)
Appeasement and Appeasers	72	(8)
4. THE ROAD TO WAR, 1938	80	(48)
The Reichschancellery Meeting	80	(4)
The Anschluss	84	(12)
Crisis in Czechoslovakia	96	(17)
The Munich Conference	113	(7)
The End of Czechoslovakia	120	(8)
5. WAR, 1939	128	(40)
Danzig	128	(12)
Appeasement Fails	140	(28)
Conclusion	168	(7)
Bibliographical Essay	175	(16)
Index	191