appeasement era while inflation increased due to currency manipulation and deficit spending The German military (Wehrmacht) reintroduced conscription, which helped to lower the unemployment rate further, and reorganized to include a new navy, the Kriegsmarine, and an air force, the Luftwaffe—both of which were severe violations of Versailles Hitler made the argument that rearmament was a necessity for Germany’s continued security At the time, European leaders felt such allowances simply corrected certain wrongs that bitter victors had set in the aftermath of a brutal world war; thus, Germany faced no repercussions other than formal protests When France and the Soviet Union signed a treaty of alliance in 1936, Hitler’s aims became even more significant In response to the Franco-Soviet treaty, Hitler pressed for the stationing of German troops in the Rhineland In accordance with the Treaty of Versailles, the entire Rhineland area was demilitarized to serve as a buffer between Germany and France, Belgium, and Luxembourg By 1930 Allied forces had completely withdrawn under the terms of the treaty, which equally prohibited German forces from entering the area Further, the Allies could reoccupy the territory if it was unilaterally determined that Germany had violated the treaty in any way France was not prepared militarily to dispute any claim over the territory without British aid Great Britain could not provide such support As a result, both countries had no choice but to allow Germany to retake the region Thus, a policy of appeasement toward Germany was officially born under British prime minister Stanley Baldwin (1935–37), though it had already begun under his predecessor, Ramsey McDonald (1929–35) Guided by the growing pacifist movement, both Ramsey and Baldwin realized that national consensus did not favor military action In spite of pressure from outspoken critics like Winston Churchill, who recognized the dangers of German rearmament, both were determined to keep the country out of war Hitler’s ambitions grew greater Unwilling to assist the Republican government, Baldwin initiated a pact of nonintervention with 27 countries, including Germany and Italy Despite being signatories, Hitler and Italy’s Benito Mussolini, in violation of the agreement, sent weapons and troops to support General Francisco Franco and his nationalist forces By December both countries were fully involved in the Spanish conflict, having agreed two months earlier to an alliance, known as the Axis, to solidify their positions in Europe 19 Using the war as a test for its armed forces and methods, particularly the Luftwaffe and blitzkrieg tactics, Germany demonstrated how far its remilitarization efforts had advanced On April 26, 1937, the town of Guernica came to symbolize and foreshadow the German advancements German and Italian forces in a joint operation began a bombing campaign against the town The attack happened so swiftly that it appeared as one continuous assault, with no other intent than the complete decimation of the civilian population However, several thousand refugees had come to the town in the wake of the war; by all estimates the number of dead stood near 1,700, consisting mainly of women, children, and elderly, with over two-thirds of the town in ruins ANSCHLUSS As the Axis powers continued to lend support in Spain, Hitler forced his native Austria to unify politically (Anschluss) with Germany in March 1938 Despite the Treaty of Versailles’s prohibition of union between Germany and Austria, again the Allies’ response to the Anschluss went no further than formal diplomatic protests A month earlier, on February 12, Austrian chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg had met with the führer in Berchtesgaden, Bavaria Hitler had demanded the ban on the Austrian Nazi Party be lifted and that they be allowed to participate in the government, or Austria would face military retaliation from Germany With little choice, Schuschnigg complied with the demands by appointing two Nazis to his cabinet, Arthur SeyssInquart and Edmund Glaise-Horstenau He also announced a referendum to decide independence or union with Germany—a stall tactic aimed at preserving Austrian autonomy However, the gradual usurpation of authority by Schuschnigg’s newly appointed ministers and pressure from Germany—in the form of an ultimatum from Hitler that threatened a full invasion—forced Schuschnigg to hand power over to Seyss-Inquart and the Austrian Nazi Party When Hitler further threatened invasion, Miklas reluctantly acquiesced On March 12 the German Wehrmacht 8th Army entered Vienna to enforce the Anschluss, facing no resistance from the Austrians Many Austrians gave their support to the Anschluss with relief that they had avoided a potentially brutal conflict with Germany Others fled the country in fear of the Nazi seizure of power Austria was only the beginning When Neville Chamberlain became prime minister of Great Britain in May 1937 he adhered to the policy of appeasement that