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Descent into war

German troops enter Prague on 15 March 1939.

German troops enter Prague on 15 March 1939.
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Following the German remilitarisation of the Rhineland in 1936, Germany's aggressive foreign policy in Europe led directly to the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939.

Related documents

Remilitarisation

Cabinet Conclusion 1. The Locarno Treaty. 9 March 1936 (PDF, 4.267MB)

appendix Cabinet Conclusions. 9 March 1936 (PDF, 4.267MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 1. Germany 11 March 1936 (PDF, 2.688MB)

Cabinet Conclusions 1 and 2. Germany and Germany and the Locarno Treaty. 19 March 1936 (PDF, 4.165MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 1. Germany and the Locarno Treaty. 19 March 1936 (PDF, 2.793MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Germany and the Locarno Treaty. Memorandum by the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. 8 March 1936 (PDF, 1.789MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Germany and the Locarno Treaty. Memorandum by the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. 15 March 1936 (PDF, 0.535MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 1. The Five-Power Conference. 13 November 1936 (PDF, 2.360MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 2. The Five-Power Conference. 9 December 1936 (PDF, 5.935 MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Preparations for the Five-Power Conference. Memorandum by the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. 23 October 1936 (PDF, 2.375MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. The Position of Belgium in the proposed Five-Power Conference. 30 October 1936 (PDF, 3.086MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Preparations for the Five-Power Conference. Memorandum by the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. 11 November 1936 (PDF, 1.629MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Preparations for the Five-Power Conference. Memorandum by the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. 16 November 1936 (PDF, 1.423MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. The Position of Belgium in the proposed Five-Power Conference. 5 December 1936 (PDF, 2.915MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 9. Defence Expenditure in Future Years. 16 February 1938 (PDF, 9.972MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Defence Expenditure in Future Years: Further Report by the Minister for Co-ordination of Defence. 8 February 1938 (PDF, 6.840MB)

Appeasement

Cabinet Conclusion 2. Austria. 16 February 1938 (PDF, 9.972MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 1. The Situation in Central Europe. 12 March 1938 (PDF, 2.357 MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Austria: Proposals of the French Government. 18 February 1938 (PDF, 0.940MB)

Cabinet Conclusions 1 & 2. The International Situation. Central Europe: Czechoslovakia. 19 September 1938 (PDF, 6.187MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 1. The International Situation. Central Europe: Czechoslovakia. 21 September 1938 (PDF, 5.566MB)

Cabinet Conclusions. The International Situation. The Prime Minister's second visit to Herr Hitler. 24 September 1938 (PDF, 5.854MB)

Cabinet Conclusions. The International Situation. The Prime Minister's second visit to Herr Hitler. 25 September 1938 (PDF, 8.734MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. 24 September 1938 (PDF, 0.533MB)

and annex Cabinet Conclusions. The Munich Conference. 30 September 1938 (PDF, 2.330MB)

Outbreak of war

Cabinet Conclusion 2. Czechoslovakia. 15 March 1939 (PDF, 8.627MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 2. The International Situation: Russia. 24 August 1939 (PDF, 3.840MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 1. The International Situation. 30 August 1939 (PDF, 5.748MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 1 and annex. The International Situation. 1 September 1939 (PDF, 4.611MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 1. The International Situation. 2 September 1939 (PDF, 3.445MB)

Search using Rhineland Locarno Treaty Spanish Civil War

Further reading

Adamthwaite, A.P., Making of the Second World War (London: George Allen and Unwin, 1979)
Parker, R.A.C., Chamberlain and Appeasement: British Policy and the Coming of the Second World War (Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1993)

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