the outbreak of war

Question 1

in what year was the Nazi- Soviet Pact formed?

Answer 1

1939

Question 2

what deal did Hitler make with Stalin?

Answer 2

if the USSR allowed Hitler to invade Poland, the USSR would be given Polish territory

Question 3

why didn’t the USSR trust Britain and France?

Answer 3

• 1938- the Allies signed the Munich Agreement with Hitler- Stalin was not consulted and he lost faith in the countries
• 1934- USSR and France signed an agreement- France would protect Russia from German invasion- Hitler remilitarised the Rhineland- France did nothing- the French could not stop an act of aggression on their own doorstep- let alone in the USSR

Question 4

in what year did Hitler invade Russia?

Answer 4

1941

Question 5

why did Russia sign the Nazi- Soviet Pact?

Answer 5

• Hitler & Stalin agreed to split Poland between them- Stalin could destroy Poland and reclaim land- Hitler would do all the fighting
• owning territory in Poland would create a buffer zone which would be useful if Hitler invaded Russia
• Stalin felt isolated- it was better to be allies with Hitler than to get invaded by him

Question 6

why was the Nazi-Soviet Pact good for Hitler?

Answer 6

he could now invade Poland without having a war on both sides

Question 7

what date did Hitler invade Poland?

Answer 7

1st September 1939

Question 8

what date did Britain and France declare war on Germany?

Answer 8

3rd September 1939

Question 9

what time did Hitler invade Poland?

Answer 9

4.45am

Question 10

where did Hitler invade Poland?

Answer 10

Danzig

Question 11

how much of Danzig was German?

Answer 11

90%

Question 12

how many divisions of the Germany army and Luftwaffe invaded Poland?

Answer 12

• 62 divisions of the Germany army
• 1300 Luftwaffe aeroplanes

Question 13

what happened on 3rd September 1939?

Answer 13

• Britain sent an ultimatum to Germany
• the Germans were to send assurance to Britain that they would withdraw their troops from Poland by 11am or Britain would be in a state of war with Germany and they would send troops to Europe

Question 14

what were the causes of the Second World War?

Answer 14

• Hitler
• the failure of the LoN
• the Nazi- Soviet Pact
• Appeasement
• the Depression
• the ToV

Question 15

why was Hitler a cause of the second World War?

Answer 15

• Hitler wanted to overturn the ToV and take Lebensraum
• foreign policy- overturn ToV, create a Greater Germany, unite German- speaking people and get Lebensraum

Question 16

why was the League of Nations failing a cause of the second World War?

Answer 16

• the Abyssinian crisis- no army- no action- also showed Britain and France would undermine the League and that acts of aggression would not be taken seriously
• failure in Manchuria- showed the League was weak

Question 17

why was the Depression a cause of the Second World War?

Answer 17

• desperate people turned to dictators like Hitler and Mussolini
• the League could not afford to put economic sanctions on aggressors
• desperate countries were too busy to solve their own financial problems that there was less international cooperation in the League

Question 18

how was appeasement a cause of the Second World War?

Answer 18

• opportunities to stop Hitler were missed e.g. in the Rhineland
• people were desperate to avoid the horrors of the First World War
• Munich Agreement alienated Stalin who then turned to Hitler and signed the Nazi- Soviet Pact
• Chamberlain trusted Hitler too easily

Question 19

how did the Nazi- Soviet Pact contribute to the outbreak of the Second World War?

Answer 19

• Hitler did not have to face a war on 2 fronts
• Hitler was backed up by the USSR
• Hitler could invade Poland, which Britain and France promised to protect

Question 20

how did the Treaty of Versailles contribute to the outbreak of the Second World War?

Answer 20

• too harsh on Germany
• Hitler promised to “Right the wrong of the Treaty”
• Britain felt Hitler should be able to overturn the Treaty- did not intervene to prevent events like Anschluss
• territory was taken from Russia to create Poland- Russia wanted this back so signed the Nazi- Soviet Pact