Origins And Outbreak Of WWII Flashcards
(42 cards)
1
Q
Hitlers aims (USE CV)
A
- unite German speaking people
- make Germany strong
- take more land to the East (lebensraum)
- destroy communism
- cancel ToV
2
Q
Non-aggression pact with Poland (1934)
A
Both countries agreed to settle any disputes peacefully -> this made Hitler looked peaceful and reduced Polish fears of German aggression
Gave Germany the chance to rearm and upset france who were an ally of Poland
3
Q
The Dollfuss Affair
A
- chancellor of Austria (dollfuss) established a dictatorship in 1933, outlawing other political parties including the Nazi party
- Hitler encouraged the Austrian Nazis to create chaos within Austria
- 1934 -> Dollfuss was assassinated by 10 Austrian Nazis
4
Q
Significance of the Dollfuss Affair
A
- Hitler knew he would need to build up the power of Germanys armed forces
- Italy had shown Britain and France that they could be a useful power against Germany -> the allies would hope to keep Italy on their side
- Hitler would be determined to try again
5
Q
The Saar plebiscite
A
- a plebiscite among the German people was to be held after 15 years to decide whether it should returned to Germany
- an international force of over 3,000 soldiers from the UK, Netherlands, Italy and Sweden patrolled the Saar to make sure the vote was conducted fairly
- in January 1935, 90% of the people voted in favour of returning to Germany
6
Q
Significance of the Saar plebiscite
A
Hitler gained the coal resources for Germany and the victory in a legal vote was useful for his propaganda
7
Q
Disarmament conference
A
1932-33
- Hitler brought up how it was unfair Germany was disarmed but members of the LoN weren’t
- in 1933 he walked out of the conference and left the LoN -> gave him the legal justification to begin rearmament
- in 1935 Hitler held a rally where he announced that he had already begun conscription and building a new air force , the luftwaffe
- by 1939 he had 1 million men in his army
8
Q
The Stresa Front - April 1935
A
- agreement between Britain, France and Italy which formalised opposition to German rearmament
- it aimed to reaffirm the Locarno Treaties and agreed to resist any future attempt by Germany to change the ToV
9
Q
Anglo-German Naval Agreement
A
June 1935
- The British signed an agreement with Hitler that effectively bypassed the ToV and allowed Germany to rearm its navy
- the German navy would be allowed to increase, but would be limited to 35% of the British navy
- but the German navy was also now only 15% smaller than France’s
10
Q
Remilitarisation of the Rhineland
A
- whilst the rest of the world was watching Abyssinia, Hitler ordered his troops to occupy the Rhineland
- he used the excuse of that he felt encircled by France and Russia from the Franco-Soviet Pact in 1936
- 32,000 armed troops
11
Q
Why was Hitler nervous about remilitarising the Rhineland
A
- his troops were in no position to fight the French if they reacted
- Hitler sent in 22,000 soldiers who were on strict order to retreat if they met resistance
- German financial ministers warned Hitler if he failed Germany would have to pay large fines they couldn’t afford
12
Q
Why was there no resistance to the remilitarisation of the Rhineland
A
- France was preoccupied with domestic issues and a general election
- French generals overestimated the number of German troops
- many French troops were in Tunisia in case they were needed to deal with the Abyssinian crisis
- Britain and France worried one another wouldn’t back each other
- many within the British government believed Germany had a right to revise the ToV
13
Q
Significance of the remilitarisation of the Rhineland
A
- Hitler gained confidence that he could get away with breaking the ToV
- showed Hitler that he didn’t have to worry about the League -> condemned him but didn’t bring in any economic sanctions
- Britain and France started rearming
14
Q
Rome-Berlin Axis
A
July 1936
Pact with Germany and Italy
15
Q
Anti-Comintern pact
A
1936 - Between Germany and Japan
1937 - Italy also signed (axis alliance)
16
Q
Significance of axis alliance
A
Mussolini initially stopped Hitler attempt to force union with Austria in 1934 but now Mussolini was on his side he could try again for Anschluss
17
Q
What was Austrias new chancellor called after Dollfuss
A
Kurt Schuschnigg
18
Q
How did Schuschnigg attempt to keep peace with Germany
A
- German-Austrian Agreement (1936)
-> recognised the independence of Austria but that Austria’s foreign policy was consistent with Germany’s
19
Q
How was Schuschnigg undermined
A
In 1936 when Hitler and Mussolini formalised the Rome-Berlin Axis
-> Austria lost the protection of Italy and was vulnerable to German attack
20
Q
What did Hitler and schuchsnigg do in 1938
A
- Austrian nazis had a plot to get rid of Schuschnigg but the police prevented it
- schuchsnigg compromised with Hitler and allowed a Nazi member (Seyss-Inquart) to be in charge of the police
- this meant the police started to ignore the actions of Austrian Nazis
21
Q
Why did Hitler encourage Austrian Nazis to cause trouble
A
If he could prove Australian law had broken down he could justify marching German troops into Vienna to restore peace
22
Q
Schuschnigg’s plebiscite
A
- to decide whether the people of Austria really wanted a union with Germany
- Hitler feared ‘no’ could be the result and so mixed troops to the Austria border and threatened to invade if Schuschnigg didn’t resign
- Seyss-Inquart became chancellor and invited German troops into Austria
23
Q
How much of the Austrian plebiscite did the Nazis win
A
99% (Nazis made the yes box a lot bigger)
24
Q
Significance of the Austrian plebiscite
A
- Czechoslovakia feared they would be next as Germany now surrounded them in 3 sides
- it made Hitler even more confident
- made Germany more powerful -> natural resources, transport links, Hitlers army could easily access areas through Austria
- B+F promised to help Czechoslovakia
25
Why was Czechoslovakia vulnerable
- it was a new country created by the Treaty of St Germain at the end of WWI
- Hitler wanted to expand into the area of Czechoslovakia known as the Sudetenland
-> 3 million German-speaking people lived there (20% of the population)
- had many factories and natural resources
26
What did Hitler claim about Sudetenland in order to justify his invasion
Claimed that the German minority there were being persecuted
27
Munich Agreement
Sept 1938
- Hitler met Chamberlain, Mussolini and the French PM at Munich
- Czechoslovakia and USSR weren’t invited but were forced to hand over the Sudetenland to Germany
- Hitler promised he didn’t want the rest of Czechoslovakia
28
Significance of the Munich Agreement
- Stalin wasn’t consulted -> made him feel he couldn’t trust B+F
- Czechoslovakia lost its best defences to Germany
- hitlers support grew
- gave him more confidence to take the rest of Czechoslovakia in 1939
29
Arguments for Appeasement
- war cost lives
- many still saw Germany as a buffer to the spread of communism from east
- many British people felt Germany were mistreated with the TOV
- French instability (24 govs in 10 years)
- USA was following an isolationist policy
- Italy had joined the axis alliance
- B+F armies weren’t strong enough for 1939
- in the Peace Ballot of 1934 11 million people voted against fighting
30
Arguments against appeasement
- Hitler had threatened violent actions in his foreign policy
- Britain betrayed Austria and Czech by following it
- Hitler couldn’t be trusted to keep his word
31
Occupation of Czechoslovakia
- At Munich Czechoslovakia lost 70% of its heavy industrial and its defensive frontier
- March 1939 the Czech president was forced to hand over what was left to Hitler
32
Pact of Steel
May 1939
- Hitler and Mussolini signed a pact which promised they would support each other in the future
- Europe clearly divided into 2 sides and Britain and France began to look to USSR for support
33
What areas of Poland did Hitler want
Danzig port and Polish Corridor
34
Stalins choices
- alliance with Britain -> would end up fighting a war with Hitler over Poland
- alliance with Germany -> would get half of Poland and time to prepare for the war with Germany
35
Nazi-Soviet Pact
23rd August 1939
- guaranteed that the Soviets and Germany would not fight each other
- in secret both powers agreed to divide up Poland if war occurred
36
Significance of Nazi-Soviet pact
- USSR had a huge army and could have been a problem for Germany
- Germany would not face war in 2 fronts
37
How did the Nazi-Soviet pact cause WW2
- Hitler could now attack Poland without worrying about USSR trying to stop him
- appeasement convinced him B+F wouldn’t do a thing either
- Hitler wouldn’t have a war on 2 fronts
38
Imvasion of Poland
Sept 1939
- Hitler demanded Danzig and Poland refused as B+F promised to defend them
- 3rd Sept Chamberlain declared war on Germany
39
How was Germany responsible for WW2
- Hitler made impossible demands in Poland and invaded starting the war
- wrote in Mein Kampf that he wanted to make Germany strong again
- aggressive foreign policy (Lebensraum)
- broke TOV a lot
40
How was USSR responsible for WW2
- Nazi-Soviet Pact cleared the way for German invasion
- massive army -> powerful ally
- Hitler wouldn’t have to fight on 2 fronts
41
Britain as respsonubke for WW2
- appeasement -> could’ve stopped Hitler earlier
- didn’t act against the remilitarisation of the Rhineland
- gave the Sudetenland to Hitler without consulting the Czechs
- excluded Stalin from the Munich Conference -> pushed him to sign the pact
42
France as responsible for WW2
- distracted by their own domestic instability
- appeasement out of fear
