conflict and tension - chapter 7 Flashcards
(20 cards)
1
Q
what did hitler promise to do
A
- solve german unemployment which had reached nearly 6 million by 1933
- right the wrong of the Treaty of Versailles
- make germany strong again
2
Q
what did hitler say he would do to make germany a world power again
A
- overturn the treaty of versailles. hitler felt the treaty humiliated germany and should be abolished
- rearm to make germany strong again and to create jobs in munitions factories and the armed forces
- take Lebesnraum, living space in the east. the treaty of versailles redistributed 13% of german land so hitler wanted to make sure germans had enough land to live on and farm
- unite Volksdeutsche (people with german blood, but without german citizenship) and create a Greater Germany. 10% of the german population found themselves living outside germany after the treaty and some had been treated badly by the countries they were living in
- anschluss - unite germany and austria again
- destroy communism. a jewish man named Karl Marx had developed the idea of communism. hitler hated jews and felt that they were ruining germany, so he believed communism would destroy germany if he did not destroy it first
3
Q
why would Lebensraum lead to war
A
- hitler wanted land to the east
- to get this he would have to invade countries in eastern europe
- this would be considered an act of war and other countries might try to protect the ones being invaded
4
Q
why would rearmament lead to war
A
- under treaty of versailles, germany’s military power was severely resurrected and the rhineland had been demilitarised
- hitler wanted to introduce conscription and build a Luftwaffe (air force) to help reduce unemployment and make germany strong again
- but this broke international law (the treaty) and other countries would become suspicious as to why germany needed a large army
5
Q
why would reuniting german-speaking people and creating a greater germany lead to war
A
- to build a greater germany hitler planned to reclaim land that had been lost in the treaty
- he also planned to unite areas that were no longer german land but where german people were living, as a part of germany
- however, it was unlikely that other countries would give up these regions without a fight and also hitler was breaking international law
6
Q
why would destroying communism lead to war
A
- the USSR had a massive army and had begun to develop a better relationship with britain and france
- the USSR also allied with many of the eastern european countries that hitler was targeting for lebensraum
- hitler was provoking a powerful nation that was bound to fight back
7
Q
how did britain react to hitlers foreign policies
A
- chamberlain was britains prime minister from 1937 to 1940
- hitlers speeches in the 1920s worried the british gov and people
- but when hitler signed a non-aggression pact with poland in 1934, many british politicians were satisfied that hitler didn’t want war after all
- many british people remembered the horrors of WWI and would do anything to avoid another, even if it meant turning a blind eye to hitler
- in november 1937, chamberlain sent his friend, Lord Halifax, to meet with hitler
- halifax was tasked with finding out what hitler wanted
- chamberlain used the term ‘appeasement’; this meant giving hitler a little of what he wanted in the hope of stopping a full-scale war
- this was chamberlains policy until 1939
- public opinion about the treaty had changed
- many felt it was too harsh and germany should be allowed to reclaim some of what it lost
- this would help germany become strong, which could help stop the expansion of the communist USSR, and france, who britain feared were becoming too powerful and might dominate europe
- however, there were some people who believed that Britain should take a stronger stance agasint hitler
-> Churchill believed that appeasement was a mistake - britain also signed the Stresa Front with france and italy in 1935, in which the three nations promised to unite against the threat of hitler
8
Q
how did france react to hitlers foreign policies
A
- Édouard Daladier was the president of france for much of the 1930s
- the 1930s were a difficult time for france
- the people suffered greatly in the depression and some started rebelling against the government
- the gov found it difficult to concentrate on the threat from hit;er with so many problems of their own
- there was no way france could have afforded to act against him without the support of britain
9
Q
how did the USSR react to hitlers foreign policies
A
- stalin was the dictator of the communist USSR
- communism was a very different political system from that of most countries in the west and because of that, the USSR’s international relationships were often hostile
- stalin was concerned about hitler - who had promised to destroy communism - but he was also wary of the USA, Britain and France
- relations had started to improve in 1934 when the USSR had finally been allowed to join the league of nations, and in may 1935 a treaty of mutual assistance was signed with france, saying the two countries would work together
- stalin decided it was worth cooperating with capitalist states if it meant that hitlers expansion into the east could be stopped
10
Q
how did the USA react to hitlers foreign policies
A
- Roosevelt came to power in 1932
- throughout the 1920s america had followed a policy of isolationism, avoiding getting involved in european affairs
- the 1930s were no different
- unemployment had reached 25% in the USA, following the walls street crash, so roosevelt focused on creating jobs for his people
- a poll published in 1934 said that 70% of americans felt that the USA should have never got involved in WW1 and if there was a WW2 the USA shouldn’t interfere
- in the 1936 election roosevelt promised to keep america out of any war in Europe
- in 1938, roosevelt did try to get hitler to promise he would stop invading countries, but hitler did not take his request seriously
- there was little more roosevelt could do do the US watched and quietly started preparing their armed forces
11
Q
hitler leaves the league of nations disarmament conference:
A
- 1933
- during the period 1932 to 1934 the league held a disarmament conference
- hitler said he would disarm, as long as every other nation did too
- if other nations would not do this then he wanted to be allowed to have an army equal in size to that of france
- france refused to cooperate
- this gave hitler the excuse to storm out of the conference while claiming it was the french, and not him, who were being unreasonable
- germany then left the league of nations and so was no longer expected to keep its covenant and work to avoid war
12
Q
when was the Dollfuss affair
A
1934
13
Q
the Dollfuss Affair:
A
- hitler was born in austria, and germany had been ruled by austria for around 630 years
- many austrians and germans felt that the two countries should be one and were outraged that the anschluss was banned in the treaty
- hitlers foreign policy included uniting all german-speaking people and overturning the treaty, so it made sense that he would try to unite with austria
- aware of hitlers intentions, the austrian chancellor, Dollfuss, banned the Nazi party in Austria
- in 1934 hitler responded by telling the austrian nazis to create havoc in the country
- they murdered dollfuss
- however, hitlers plot failed when the austrian army supported the government and mussolini moved his troops to the austrian border, promising to stop hitler’s anschluss
- hitler realised his army was not strong enough to engage in war so backed down, claiming the austrian nazi party acted on their own
14
Q
rearmament:
A
- at the ‘Freedom to Rearm Rally’ in 1935 hitler showed off weapons and troops that he had secretly been building
- he also announced that he was reintroducing conscription (which he did in 1936), expanding his army to one million men and building a Luftwaffe (air force)
- this marked the fact hitler was sure that he could openly defy the treaty, without other countries stopping him
15
Q
when was the Saar Plebiscite
A
13th jan 1935
16
Q
the Saar plebiscite:
A
- the saar was a rich industrial area, which had been given to the league for 15 years under the treaty
- this agreement was due to expire in 1935 so a plebiscite (when the people, not politicians, voted on a matter) was held to decide who should govern the area - france or germany
- 90% of the population voted to rejoin germany and hitler was able to use this victory as propaganda to show that german-speaking people wanted to unite under the nazis
- he also gained rich coalfields which could be used to power his industry and build weapons ready for the future
17
Q
when was the Anglo-German Naval Agreement
A
june 1935
18
Q
Anglo-German Naval Agreement:
A
- for some time people in britain felt that the treaty was too harsh on germany
- in june 1935 britain signed an agreement with germany saying that hitler could build his navy to 35% of the size of the british one
- when germany offered to restrict the growth of its navy and respect britain’s naval supremacy it was too good an offer for britain to decline
- britain also allowed germany to build 45% of the number of british submarines
- hitler saw this as britain admitting the treaty was unfair and that they could, therefore, ignore it
- the military terms on the treaty were officially dead and, significantly, britain hadn’t consulted france and italy before signing this agreement
19
Q
when was the Stresa Front
A
april 1935
20
Q
the Stresa Front:
A
- the Stresa Front was an agreement between britain, france and italy that stated that they would guarantee the terms of the Locarno treaty, protect austrian independence and work together to stop hitler from breaking any more terms of the treaty
- however, hitler was not concerned by this agreement
