Activity One

This activity is to accompany Unit Three of the Curriculum Guide.

Incorporating the C.E.L.s:

• Independent Learning
• Critical & Creative Thinking
• Personal & Social Values & Skills

Concept Application Lesson for:

• Leadership
• Decision Making
• Appeasement
• Consequences
• Strategic Interests

This concept application activity provides students with an opportunity to use the dialectical-thinking process in an historical situation. The conference component of this activity allows students to apply the skills of discussion and cooperative group work.

The historical events featured in this activity occurred before the outbreak of the Second World War.

Knowledge Objectives

The student will:

• know that nations, like individuals, are often faced with critical decisions and that the available policy options are scrutinized in the decision-making process;
• know that both short-term and long-term consequences have to be considered in the decision-making process; and,
• know that nations are primarily concerned with strategic interests such as the well-being of their citizens and their territorial integrity.

Skills Development

The student will:

• practise the skill of brainstorming;
• practise the skills and attitudes of cooperative group work;
• practise making hypotheses based on reasonable assumptions and inferences; and,
• practise relating evidence and assumptions to a line of argument and/or conclusions;

Values Issues

The student will:

• discuss how nations and their leaders should respond to situations which are unpredictable and may involve military actions:
  • by relying on emotion?
  • by relying on reason?
  • by relying on power?
  • by relying on morality and ethics?

Outline of the Activity

Step One

Review with the class Hitler's foreign policy achievements of the 1930s:

• abrogating provisions of the Treaty of Versailles which restricted the size of the German armed forces;
• reoccupation of the Rhineland;
• annexation of Austria;
• acquisition of the Sudetenland; and,
• annexation of the entire nation of Czechoslovakia.

Note the policies of Britain and France in responding to the demands of Hitler.

• Discuss the appeasement policy.
• Why did western leaders adopt such a policy?

Step Two

Hitler's next demand was to control Polish territory including the city of Danzig.

Have the student groups, serve as political advisors to the leaders of Germany, Poland, Britain, France and the Soviet Union.

• These nations are to attend a conference at which an attempt will be made to solve the issue using non-military options.
• Each group is to prepare policy recommendations for their respective government to take to that conference.

Each group's policy recommendations should address the following issues:

• What are the goals (objectives) of their respective nation in regards to this issue?
• What will be the positions of the other major powers be?
• Is there a realistic chance to mediate this dispute?
• Will the threat of war prevent a war?
• What will be the extent of public support for a war over the issue?
• Will this demand be Hitler's final demand?

Step Three

The groups will present their reports to the class, sitting as at the international conference, and be prepared to respond to questions.

The conference was established to find a peaceful resolution to the territorial conflict between Poland and Germany:

• Indicate that the conference will be limited to a specific number of sessions.
• The various nations can meet separately and attempt to reach compromise solutions or new alliances.

If the conference, in the specified time, fails to reach agreement on a peaceful solution, discuss the major reasons for the failure. Compare those reasons with the actual events.