The Outbreak of War (CAT) Flashcards
What was the Nazi- Soviet Pact?
- both Russian and German land had been taken to form Poland after WW1
- both Hitler and Stalin wanted this land back
- Hitler couldn’t risk Stalin intervening when he invaded Poland so made a deal with USSR
- the deal was if USSR allowed Germany to invade Poland they would be given some of the land
Why didn’t the USSR trust Britain and France?
- Stalin witnessed how weak the league was and lost faith in it
- France has not stood up to Hitler over the Rhineland so he didn’t believe they would for Russia
- Britain and France had followed the policies of appeasement
- Britain and France didn’t trust Stalin
- Stalin lost faith after they signed the Munich agreement without him
Why did the USSR sign the Nazi- Soviet Pact?
- to regain land in Poland
- Stalin could buy time to build up its army for war
- he felt he had no choice, it was better to be allies than be invaded
- owning territory in Poland would create s buffer zone
Why did Germany sign the Nazi Soviet Pact?
•Germany didn’t want to fight a war on two fronts
Significance of Nazi Soviet Pact?
- Nazi Soviet Pact meant Hitler knew he could invade Poland without facing a war on two fronts
- Britain and France wouldn’t have the support of the soviet army
When was war declared on Germany?
3 September 1939
What did the german generals do in an attempt to prevent war?
•they leaked plans to Britain to force Hitler to abandon his plan
What did Hitler make his generals do?
•swear an oath of loyalty to him
What are the main reasons for breaking out of the War?
- failure of League of Nations
- Hitler
- the depression
- treaty of Versailles
- appeasement
- Nazi Soviet Pact
In what ways was Hitler the main reason for ww2?
- Hitler hated communism and wanted to destroy it, do do this he had to invade Russia and declare war
- Hitler’s foreign policy meant Hitler would have to invade countries and start a war
- in mein Kampf Hitler said the only way to make Germany strong was to follow his foreign policy and have war
In what ways was the failure of the League of Nations the main reason for ww2?
- failure in Manchuria showed the league was weak
- the Abyssinia crisis showed that Britain and France could undermine the league and aggression wouldn’t be dealt with effectively
- the lack of an army meant nothing could be forced
- this encouraged Hitler to invade countries with no worries
In what ways was the depression the main reason for ww2?
- people turned to extreme leaders
- the League of Nations could not afford to put effective economic sanctions on aggressors
- desperate countries were too preoccupied with their own problems to support the league
In what ways was appeasement the main reason for ww2?
- opportunities to stop Hitler were missed such as the remilitarisation of the Rhineland
- people were desperate to avoid war so let Hitler get what he wanted
- chamberlain made a mistake trusting Hitler
- the Munich agreement alienated stalin who turned to Hitler instead in the Nazi- Soviet Pact
In what ways was the Nazi Soviet Pact the main reason for ww2?
- meant Hitler could invade Poland without worrying about a war on two fronts
- meant Hitler was backed up by the USSR
- allowed Hitler to invade Poland which Britain and France had promised to protect
In what ways was the treaty of Versailles the main reason for ww2?
- it was too harsh on Germany so allowed Hitler to gain support in an attempt to overturn it
- the territory was taken from Russia to form Poland made Russia want it back and sign and the Nazi Soviet Pact
- the treaty of Versailles created new states with german speaking people which Hitler then invaded to cause war
- Britain felt the treaty was harsh so Hitler should be able to overturn it so allowed him to do things such as Anschluss
