Topic 3 Unit 1

The Saar was an industrial region of Germany, important for coal production bordering France. Under the (TOV) the Saar was put under the control of the (LON) for 15years from 1920, in order to weaken Germany. In 1935 a plebiscite took place in which 90% of voters from the German-speaking Saar region voted to re-unite with Germany. Hitlers plans to strengthen Germany and undermine the (TOV) were given a boast as the leading nations didn't react to this violation to the treaty. This therefore encouraged Hitler to see how far he could go in breaking other terms of Versailles.


Source c suggests that the strength of the German Army was the main reason why there was no opposition to Hitlers demilitarisation of the Rhineland. The Rhineland was demilitarised by the TOV so Germany wasn't allowed to keep any military forces in the Rhineland.

It could be argued there is some truth in this view because in 1935 Hitler reintroduced conscription of men into the armed forces. Also Hitler revealed that he had built up an air-force and signed the Anglo-German naval agreement which allowed him to enlarge his naval forces. This meant that Germany was no longer weak and had the ability to defend itself.

However the view doesn't give us the full picture as it doesn't tell us how Hitler wasn't sure about the outcome and had told his 22,000 troops to return immediately if there was any sign of trouble. This tells us Germany wasn't as powerful as they made out to be as they weren't willing to go to war.

The evidence is also affected by the purpose of the source as it was a nazi photograph. This means that it may had been purposefully exaggerated to make Germany look powerful and to justify their actions therefore it is unreliable.

Overall is isn't an accurate view as although Germany's army was growing powerful it wasn't the main reason there was no opposition. This is because the (LON) was busy with Italy's invasion of Abyssinia and therefore couldn't take action and...