Causes of WW2 Flashcards
What were the 8 steps to WW2?
- Manchuria crisis 1931
- Saar Plebiscite 1935
- Conscription and rearmament 1935 (Geneva conference)
- Remilitarisation of Rhineland 1936
- Anschluss with Austria 1934 and 1938
- Munich agreement 1938
- Invasion of Czechoslovakia 1939
- German-Soviet non-aggression pact 1939
- Invasion of Poland 1939
What was the Saar Plebiscite?
Saar was under League Control for 15 years. 1935, Saar inhabitants legally voted to rejoin Germany
How did the Saar Plebiscite cause WW2?
Started rearmament race, and Hitler gained more land and resources
How did German rearmament occur?
- 1932 Geneva conference. Hitler promised to destroy all arms of other nations were to
- Other nations rejected this, and Hitler left LoN
- Britain signed Anglo-German naval agreement in 1935 (allowed Germany 1/3rd size of Britain’s fleet)
What was Germany’s defence force like in 1935?
- 300,000 men
- 2,500 planes
- Conscription reintroduced
- Freedom to rearm rally held in 1935 to showcase strength of German forces, publicly announced conscription
How did rearmament help cause WW2 (league actions)
- Germany violated ToV, and no actions were taken
- Britain believed that a strong Germany would combat communist spread (USSR)
- Germany displayed themselves as a strong force, restored German pride
What was the remilitarisation of Rhineland?
7th march, 1936
- German 22,000 troops stationed in Rhineland
- Under ToV, Hitler retained political control, but could not station troops
What did LoN do about Rhineland?
- France did not send in troops, was under election and needed British support
- ToV was broken and no action was taken
How did the remilitarisation of Rhineland help cause WW2?
ToV was broken and no actions taken (showed weakness)
Hitler was showed that he could keep violating it
Abyssinia was forgotten about as focus was on this
What was the Anschluss with Austria (first time)?
1934, attempted July Putsch (assinated Chancellor Dollfuss) to unite Austria and Germany
- Mussolini sent forces under 1934 agreement to protect Austria from external aggression
What occured the second time with Anschluss with Germany, and why?
Hitler wanted all German-speaking people to live under German rule
- 1938, Nazi Austrians ordered to cause political unrest and order for Anschluss
- Chancellor Schuschnigg appealed to Britain and France, who refused
- Hitler forced resignation of Schuschnigg and ordered plebiscite
- Used force and intimidation to gain votes (over 90%)
How did Anschluss with Austria help cause WW2 (and LoN actions)?
Unification with Austria was forbidden under ToV
- First time Hitler annexed land outside of Germany
- Chamberlain appeased Germany - Austria ‘too far away’
When did the Munich agreement occur?
29th September, 1938
How did Munich agreement occur (before agreement)?
- 25% of Czechoslovakia were German-speakers (part of Austria-Hungary before WW1)
- 1938 Sudeten Germans called for self-government (Caused unrest), Hitler moved troops to the border
- Nuremburg rally in september 1938 Hitler demanded self-determination in Sudetenland
- Chamberlain proposed Sudeten Germans that wanted to be German move to Germany, Hitler refused (wanted control of sudetenland
How did the Munich agreement occur?
- Hitler refused Chamberlain’s proposal, and pencilled for military action due to mistreatment of Sudeten Germans
- 29th September 1938, Mussolini mediated discussion
- Decided Germany would take control of all of Sudetenland (north part of Czechoslovakia)
- Italy, Germany, Britain, and France attended the meeting, but not Czech. or USSR (who had alliance)
