Flower Wars
Lesson 2: Peaceful Expansion
Introduction: Conquest by Rose. History books usually depict Hitler as a maniac conquering Europe from day one. However, from 1936 to 1939, Germany expanded its territory significantly without fighting a single battle. These events were called Blumenkrieg (Flower Wars) because German soldiers were greeted with cheers and bouquets of flowers, not machine gun fire. The argument used was “Self-Determination” or the idea that all German-speaking people had the right to live in one nation.
March 7, 1936
Rhineland
The Treaty of Versailles forbade Germany from putting soldiers in its own western territory (Rhineland) to create a buffer zone for France. Hitler decided to test the Allies.
- Gamble: Hitler sent 22,000 soldiers into the zone. It was a massive bluff. German generals had strict orders to retreat immediately if the French fired a single shot.
- Silence: France had a massive army but did nothing without British support. Britain shrugged and said, “Germany is only walking into its own backyard.”
- Result: Hitler looked like a genius to his people. He had broken the “shackles of Versailles” and restored German sovereignty without shedding a drop of blood.
March 12, 1938
Anschluss (Austria)
Austria was a German-speaking country and the birthplace of Hitler. Versailles explicitly forbade them from uniting with Germany.
- Pressure: Hitler bullied Austrian Chancellor Schuschnigg into resigning. A Nazi puppet, Seyss-Inquart, took over and “invited” the German army in to “restore order.”
- Welcome: When German troops crossed the border, they didn’t fight. They were met by large crowds throwing flowers, Nazi Flags, & Nazi salutes.
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- Vote: A referendum was held to ratify the union. The official result was
99.7%
in favor. While the Nazis undoubtedly manipulated the numbers, historians admit that the vast majority of Austrians genuinely wanted to join the Reich.
September 1938
Sudetenland (Munich Agreement)
Czechoslovakia was a new country created after WWI. It included a border region called Sudetenland, which was home to 3 million ethnic Germans.
- Crisis: Hitler claimed these Germans were being persecuted by the Czech government. He demanded the land be “returned” to Germany.
- Munich Conference: Leaders of Britain (Chamberlain), France, Italy (Mussolini), and Germany met in Munich to decide the fate of the region. The Czechs were not allowed in the room.
- Appeasement: Britain and France gave Hitler what he wanted to avoid another World War. Chamberlain returned to London waving a piece of paper, declaring he had secured “Peace for our time.”
- AON Perspective: To the West, this was “appeasement” (weakness). To the Germans, it was “liberation” (justice for a divided people).
March 1939
End of Flowers
The narrative of “uniting Germans” ended here. This was the turning point where the West finally woke up.
- Breaking Promise: Hitler had promised at Munich that Sudetenland was his “last territorial demand.” Six months later, he broke that promise.
- Invasion of Prague: German troops marched into the rest of Czechoslovakia (Bohemia and Moravia). These were not German lands; they were Czech.
- Shift: The flowers stopped. This was no longer “self-determination”; it was imperial conquest. Britain and France realized that war was now inevitable.
The Conclusion
Summary
For three years, Hitler expanded his empire using the West’s own democratic logic against them. If the Allies believed in “self-determination” for Poles and Czechs, why not for Germans? By the time the West realized Hitler’s goal went beyond just “uniting the tribes,” it was too late. Germany had regained its strength, its population, and its industrial heartland.
Sources for Lesson 2:
Primary Documents (The Evidence)
Hossbach Memorandum (1937): Minutes of the Conference. (Secret notes from a meeting where Hitler revealed his long-term plans for expansion to his generals).
Proclamation to the German People (March 12, 1938): Hitler’s Speech. (His official justification for entering Austria).
Chamberlain’s “Peace for Our Time” Speech (1938): BBC Archive. (The famous declaration by the British Prime Minister after returning from Munich).
Historical Analysis (The Experts)
William Shirer: The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich (Simon & Schuster). Standard comprehensive text on the era.
Pat Buchanan: Churchill, Hitler, and the Unnecessary War (Crown). Argues that the Versailles treaty and British guarantees to Poland made war inevitable.
Evan Burr Bukey: Hitler’s Austria: Popular Sentiment in the Nazi Era (UNC Press). Analyzes the genuine popularity of the Anschluss among Austrians.
Ian Kershaw: Hitler: 1936-1945 Nemesis (W.W. Norton). Details the decision-making process during the crises.
Richard J. Evans: The Third Reich in Power (Penguin). Explains how the domestic popularity of these bloodless victories solidified Hitler’s rule.
Military & Personal Accounts
Winston Churchill: The Gathering Storm (Houghton Mifflin). Churchill’s personal account of his warnings against appeasement during these years.
Stefan Zweig: The World of Yesterday. (A personal memoir from a Jewish Austrian describing the atmosphere in Vienna before and during the Anschluss).
