September 30 - The Munich Pact is Signed

This Day in History: 30 September 2020

 

30 September 1938

 

82 years ago, today, the Munich Pact was signed between the British and French Prime Ministers, Neville Chamberlain and Edouard Daladier, and Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. This agreement averted the outbreak of war but allowed Czechoslovakia to be given away to German conquest. Daladier despised the Pact's peace making with the Nazis, but Chamberlain was happy and even stayed behind in Munich to sign a single-page document with Hitler that he believed assured the future of Anglo-German peace. Chamberlain later flew home to Britain, where he addressed a joyful crowd in London, praising the Munich Pact for bringing 'peace in our time'.

 

The day after the Pact was signed, Hitler annexed the Czech Sudetenland, where he had wanted to evacuate its population of Czechoslovakians prior to the agreement. The Czechoslovak government subsequently chose submission over destruction by the German 'Wehrmacht', the armed forces of the Nazis. In March 1939, Hitler annexed the rest of Czechoslovakia, and the country ceased to exist. In September, 53 German army divisions invaded Poland despite British and French threats to intervene. Two days later, Chamberlain called for a British declaration of war against Germany, initiating World War Two. Chamberlain would later be replaced as Prime Minister by Winston Churchill after eight months of ineffective wartime leadership.

 

Want to find out more about the Munich Pact? Click here for more information, or here for more about Chamberlain as Prime Minister.

September 27 - The Tripartite Pact

This Day in History: 27 September 2020

 

27 September 1940

 

80 years ago, today, the Tripartite Pact was signed in Berlin between Germany, Italy, and Japan, officially forming the Axis powers. The Pact would provide for mutual assistance should any of the signatories suffer attack by any nation not already involved in the Second World War. This formalising of an alliance was aimed directly at the 'neutral' America, as it was designed to force them to think twice before drifting towards the side of the Allies. Additionally, the Pact recognised the two spheres of influence. Japan officially acknowledged 'the leadership of Germany and Italy in the establishment of a new order in Europe' while Japan was granted lordship over 'Greater East Asia'.

 

The pact was later joined by Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, and Croatia, as well as some countries under Japanese control. Yugoslavia's accession initiated a coup d'état in Belgrade two days later, which Germany, Italy and Hungary responded with by invading. Those countries that signed the pact agreed to give ten years of political, economic and military help to each other. However, in 1943, the pact began to fall apart. Many countries had ended their role in the war or joined the Allies. Although the Pact remained in effect until Japan's surrender in August 1945, Germany's surrender three months prior rendered the pact meaningless.

 

Want to find out more about the Tripartite Pact? Click here for more information, or here to view the text of the Pact.

Strange Historical Facts

Okay, I have a confession to make. Instead of revising for my mocks, I somehow managed to end up eating chocolate and reading through weird history facts. Do not ask me how. But, anyway, some are truly shocking (well to me anyway, if you’re a history teacher, you may not be surprised).

I think that the most bizarre fact that I have come across is about Adolf Hitler. Now, we all know who Adolf Hitler is and what he has done (if you don’t, where have you been?!), so I’m not going to go into that. No, I’m going to highlight the fact that he got voted ‘Man of the Year’ in the Time Magazine in 1938. The same year in which he: expelled 12,000 Jews from Germany; said that he wanted to crush Czechoslovakia; and threatened to invade Austria. I kid you not! So unless I’m missing something, I think it’s safe to say the world went mad in 1938 (or at least the Time Magazine).

There are many more facts that I came across while procrastinating. But if I listed them all out, as well as every site I have been to this evening, I would fail my mocks... and my GCSEs and to be honest I think I would have my computer confiscated which would mean that I wouldn’t be able to write to all of you lovely people! Try not to miss me too much!

JG

'My Winston'

Well. Here we are. The post that you have all been waiting for with baited breath... the final article in what I like to call the Winston Churchill 'saga'. It doesn't matter to me that its been a very short 'saga', of only 3 articles, it has been a saga. And, sadly, it is coming to an end. I have known that an article on my Winston was on the cards, but I always fell victim to something that I call the 'gym complex'. I sit down at my computer and tell myself that this is it, this is the article, but somewhere along the line I decide that 'I'll do it tomorrow'. take off my figurative trainers and eat a figurative ice cream. Well not today. Today, but some miracle of nature, I have galvanised myself to put on the trainers, walk out of the door, and actually go to the gym. Let's not go mad here, I'm still speaking metaphorically. Okay, so actually doing anything has been delayed be some waffle and absolutely crazy metaphor that has left many people questioning my sanity (you're right to question), but here I am. The metaphorical Winston Churchill gym. I'll try to contain my emotions.

I think it's probably a good idea to start with all the 'David Copperfield' stuff; when, where he was born, that kind of 'piffle', as Boris Johnson would undoubtedly call it. My wonderful Winston (the emotions are slipping out) was born at Blenheim Palace on the 30th November 1874, to Lord Randolph Churchill and the american heiress Jennie Jerome. Winston idolised his father who was an eminent politician when Winston was born (although that soon went to pot), and adored his mother, although his childhood was marked by an emotional neglect typical of the higher classed of the time, his parents rarely visiting him at school. As you may have guessed from his mannerisms, Churchill didn't quite go to your average state comprehensive, instead opting for the slightly more prestigious Harrow school. Now, similar to the majority of the worlds 'greats', Winston's time at Harrow was not marked with academic achievement and rather 'adventuring', as my book wonderfully words it, meaning, I assume, that he got all to all sorts. Due to this, his father pressed young Winston towards a military career, which was (in true Winston style) pursued with considerable vigour and commitment, his family ties serving useful in achieving him posting to active conflicts, which Winston much preferred to languishing in less troubled parts of India. In order to boost his income, Churchill took to writing as well as fighting, capitalising on each campaign in which he fought, especially during his escape from captivity in the Boer War (which is a whole other article entirely), his hero's welcome from this event propelling him to a seat in Parliament as the Conservative bloke from Oldham in 1900.

Churchill came to politics like a quintessentially British duck to water, gaining his first ministerial post in 1905 through the liberal party, until he jumped ship and 1924 and he returned to the conservatives. But Churchill wasn't just noteworthy during his time as a war politician, oh no! His years within the Liberals were full of a series of reforms that formed the basis of the welfare state, and he was the subject of an incredible amount of controversy, never more so than at his appearance at the 'Siege of Sydney Street'. But, like all great men, Winston's career wasn't just a rapid ascent to glory. and in 1915 he was hounded from his post as First Lord of the Admiralty when his ambitious plan to capture the Dardanelles failed, as well as incurring many casualties. Churchil was a little bit miffed about this, and so returned to service in the army, reinforcing a reputation for bravery that formed a lot of how we see him today. However, just as the lure of History sometimes proves too much for me, the lure of politics proved too much for my Winston, and he returned to a ministerial career, becoming Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1924 to 1929, returning Britain to the Gold Standard, and working tirelessly for the rights of striking and poorly paid miners. However, the peaks and troughs of Churchill's life suffered another fall as in 1929 the Conservatives were beaten in the election, and subsequent Prime Ministers rejected Churchill for the next ten years.

For those ten years, however, my Winston did not stay silent. Much like me, he could not resist having his voice heard, and quite publicly supported King Edward in the 1936 abdication crisis, as well as vehemently opposing Indian Independence. Unfortunately, these were not the popular opinions, and so Winston became sidelined when it came to peoples opinion, and held the same respect today as many people have for Wayne Rooney's intelligence. As a result of this, his disagreement with the policy of appeasement concerning Hitler was seen as just the ramblings of a man past his political prime by many, who probably kicked themselves after the second world war. The policy of appeasement was soon shown to be a bit dodgy as the hopes of the Munich agreement soon faded into shameful recognition of a rubbish policy, Churchill slowly began to rise, so much so that when war broke out in 1939, Neville Chamberlain has little choice but to invite Churchill to return to his old post of First Lord of the Admiralty. On the 9th of May, in an event that changed history, Churchill was appointed as Prime Minster for England, although that was not a popular decision (imagine the country's reaction if Wayne Rooney became the prime minister)
I won't bang on about Churchill as a war leader, simply because my emotions may bubble out of me and leave me as a sticky, bawly mess in front of my computer screen, for this is when Winston really came into his own. I pride myself on being open for the few teenagers who can instantly recognise the voice of Winston Churchill, and this is because his voice is simply so recognisable. Apart from changing the ways that war was fought, Winston was incredible for British morale, and he became wildly popular, as well as giving the British public a sense of hope.

Despite this, a great wartime Prime Minister is rarely a good peacetime one, and Churchill was defeated in the July 1945 election. Despite this, Churchill was still a prominent political figure, and also wrote a great deal of Historical novels. During the Cold War, Churchill sounded the alarm bells that shook the world in his 'Iron Curtain', alerting the world to the dangers of communism. When Churchill was re-instated into power in 1951 at the ripe old age of 76, he continued to emphasise the threat of a nuclear war between the West and the Soviet Union. He was a strong advocate of 'jaw jaw' instead of 'war war', and also pushed for summit meetings to be held, although no such meetings were agreed to in his time as Prime Minister.

My Winston continued to serve as a member of parliament until six months before his death at the age of 90, and Queen Elizabeth II gave him a state funeral after his death on the 24th January 1965.

So there we are. the promised Winston article. It wasn't too crazed, was it?  Love him or hate him, Winston Churchill really was an iconic worldwide figure, and redefined what it means to be British. So although you may not be quite like me, and cry 'Winston' every time he is mentioned, or do some weird kind of salute every time his voice is heard, I hope you appreciate a little more just what a great man My Winston truly was.

Once again, thanks for sticking with this for this long!
E.C

The Reichstag Fire: Who dun nit?

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a match must be in want of something to set fire to. But was it really a single handed man who set the Reichstag building on fire? Could it really have been that a young, innocent Dutch Communist, Marinus van der Lubbe, set it ablaze on the 27th February 1933? Let’s break it down. Nazis hate Communists. Communists are easy targets. The Reichstag building is alight. A Communist happens to walk by. The Communist is culpable. Communists are vice: Nazis are virtue. My opinion on the Reichstag fire: a fool proof premeditated Nazi conspiracy. It is easy to dismiss Van der Lubbe as a culprit as he himself ‘was charged with the crime and later confessed’. He was found guilty at his trial and then ‘executed’. Of course, this is what the ‘textbook’ says, but you’re more educated than that. We know that Van der Lubbe was known to be limited in his intelligence, and the Nazis had found their scapegoat in him and placed him right where they wanted to. To be honest, anyone would have confessed to any crime under a Nazi interrogation, and this is what many historians firmly believe till this day.

The Nazis had their plan under control. Hitler’s private army, The Storm troopers (SA) had offices that granted an underground route into the Reichstag building. So access to the Reichstag was in the bag for the Nazis. Days before the fire the SA said that they overheard Van der Lubbe boasting about planning to set fire to the Reichstag. Thus Van der Lubbe was an easy target to pin the blame on. All this was stuff of fantasies for Hitler, because if it transpired that the Reichstag fire was a Communist plot, he could easily brainwash everyone by claiming that it was a conspiracy to seize control of the government. And that was exactly what he did. Hitler was the type of person that could sell ice to an Eskimo, so once he had spoken everyone was convinced and he was in gear to take control of the government himself. Soon enough, President Hindenburg signed the Law for the Protection of the People and the State, under the persuasion of Hitler. This gave police their desired prerogative: total control. The police alongside the SA could arrest Communist leaders, and also broke up their meetings and closed down their newspapers. Furthermore, the Nazi propaganda meant that they were gaining increasing momentum at the expense of their political opponents - and the rest is history.

As for our Van der Lubbe, he was beheaded on the 10th January 1934, and on that note: Hitler was home and dry. The responsibility for the Reichstag Fire is highly debatable and, very clearly, remains an on going topic of debate. Van der Lubbe was known for admitting to deeds he didn’t know of, and many believed that he was going through a mental illness at the time. Nevertheless, Van der Lubbe is, on paper, the arsonist behind the Reichstag fire. But whether he genuinely was guilty is a fact that lies with him at this moment. It is a historian’s duty to clear the clouds of the past, but I believe; only time will pass the decree of history on this particular Communist man. By MD

Some useful links (Please let us know if you find any others)

The Reichstag Fire (Spartacus)
Reichstag Fire (United States Holocaust Museum)
Eyewitness to History

Hitler's Rise to Power

Today is the 80th Anniversary of Hitler's appointment of Chancellor of Germany in 1933. President Hindenburg finally agreed to do so to resolve Germany's political and economic deadlock. It of course marked the beginning of the process which led to Hitler becoming absolute dictator and dismantling the democratic Weimar Republic. The photos above show Hitler acknowledging the crowd on that day and being photographed with his cabinet (Fellow Nazi Herman Göring is on the left of Hitler, and Vice Chancellor von Papen is on his right)

A series of events will take place across Germany to mark the anniversary, and Chancellor Angela Merkel will give a speech to open the "Road to Dictatorship" exhibition at the former SS Headquarters in Berlin. You can read more about what happened on 30 January 1933 here at the History Place website which is also quite handy for its coverage of American History. More GCSE focused work on Hitler's rise to power can be seen here (Spartacus) and here (John D Clare).

Hitler's Charisma

Here is an interesting article on why Hitler was able to appeal to so many German people during the Nazis' rise to power. It links to a BBC2 programme that starts tonight called The Dark Charisma of Adolf Hitler made by Laurence Rees, who has been responsible for many excellent BBC History programmes.

How Hitler was Fooled

A document has come to light at Bletchley Park showing how Hitler had been convinced that the Allies would invade in the Calais region in 1944. He then ordered his troops to concentrate their defences there, allowing the D-Day landings to go ahead on 6 June with less resistance than they would otherwise have met. The story of how he was fooled is fascinating, and involves a Spanish double agent called Juan Pujol Garcia, known by his codename of Garbo. This "balding, boring, unsmiling little man" convinced the Germans that he was passing on genuine British intelligence. Indeed, much of the time he was in order to strengthen his cover, but when it came to crucial information such as this he was able to completely deceive them. He eventually gave advance warning of the actual landing sites, but too late for the Germans to deal with it, and then followed it up with red herrings designed to convince them that further, heavier attacks would take place elsewhere in France later on.

German intelligence, sent in the Enigma code, was then deciphered by the team of up to 10,000 people working at Bletchley Park, and this particular document gave absolute proof that Hitler had been fooled. "It was like turning up a crock of gold," said Peter Wescombe, who used to work there. "It was absolutely wonderful."

You can find out more about Bletchley Park at their website, and on this BBC page which includes videos of how the Enigma machines work and how they were decoded by Alan Turing and his team of "unarmed intellectuals".

PS: Here are some of the other interesting documents that have been recently revealed.

How Wrong Can You Be?

The twentieth century saw technological, political and social change at a rate far quicker than ever before. Whilst in hindsight, some of the events and developments may today appear to have been inevitable; history has shown that on many occasions, influential and powerful leaders and experts often had little idea of just how drastically their world was to change.

Politically, the United Kingdom, and more widely, the world, would now be a very different place had the predictions of Margaret Thatcher and Neville Chamberlain been correct. Speaking in 1974, Thatcher declared that it would be “years -- not in my time -- before a woman will become Prime Minister”. In fact it would be only five years, and she would be in office – a momentous, although often controversial premiership that has shaped the way much of the British public views politics. On the 30th September 1938, Neville Chamberlain, the then Prime Minister, made a statement, which was to be completely wrong little less than a year later when Britain declared war on Germany. Showing just how unexpected war was, he boldly declared that he believed it “is peace for our time”. Unfortunately, Britain found itself fighting arguably the world’s most tyrannical ruler, Adolf Hitler.

Political change, although often drastic, is often much harder to pre-empt and a major event can happen without much prior warning. In many ways, it is the inaccurate social and technological predictions that are most telling about how rapidly change was taking place. “We don't like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out” was the verdict on the Beatles given by Decca Recording Co. Without realising, they had just rejected the biggest boy band of all time.

In regards to computing, computer manufacturer, IBM, has seriously underestimated the role that computers were to play in modern life not only once, but twice. In 1943, the company’s chairman, Thomas Watson said; “I think there is a world market for maybe five computers". This was followed in 1968 with, "But what ... is it good for?" by an engineer in regards to the microchip – a device heralded by Robert Winston as one of the ten biggest breakthroughs on his programme, ‘How Science Changed Our World’. It is yet to be seen whether our present day anticipation of the future will be any more accurate, but similar quotations and thoughts that have already been proven to be incorrect can be viewed on http://www.thatsweird.net/facts13.shtm.

Many thanks to SF for this post.

Oliver Stone on Stalin

Oliver Stone, the film-maker behind JFK, Platoon, and W, is making a 10 hour series on the history of the Twentieth Century for American television. He is no stranger to controversy and has stated that this will correct the "inaccuracies and biases" that exist in conventional history teaching. He considers Hitler, for example, to be "an easy scapegoat throughout history" and that Stalin's role also needs to be reevaluated as "He fought the German war machine more than any person." More on his plans here.

More on the wall

Here is a Berlin Wall quiz, courtesy of German magazine "Der Spiegel". There is also an interesting interview with Lieutenant-Colonel Harald Jäger, the first border guard to allow East Germans to cross into the west. He explains why he made that decision, revealing the chaos and confusion of the East German government that evening.

Der Spiegel also takes a closer look at the significance of 9 November in German history, which also marks 1918 German Revolution which brought down the Kaiser, Adolf Hitler's Beer Hall Putsch in 1923, and Kristallnacht in 1938.

PS: 9 November was also the date of the execution Robert Blum, one of the leaders of the 1848 Revolution in Germany, and was the date of the foundation of the SS in 1925. It is therefore referred to in Germany as the "Day of Fate" (Schicksalstag)

PPS: Here's Pravda's take on the anniversary. Apparently the fall of the wall triggered "the largest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th Century"...