Why did Britain and France not go to war with Germany before 1939?
The Second World War was caused by the conditions of the peace treaty that ended the first, which ruined the German economy and led to feelings of national inferiority. The Germans saw Hitler and the Nazis as a way to recover their national pride, security and wealth. To achieve these aims, the Nazis started a policy of expansion to include all German-speaking Europeans in a single ‘greater Germany’ with neighbouring countries being subject to it as virtual colonies. Hitler was, of course, too clever to admit openly what he was up to, and as British and French objections grew stronger he negotiated an agreement under which he undertook not to expand any further. Shortly after, he invaded Poland, whose territorial integrity the British and French had guaranteed. As a result, the British and French declared war on Germany. Neither country had previously wanted to start a war with Germany, because the First World War was still a living memory for many people and had caused death and destr
