the start of german expansion 1933-1935

Question 1

what was the dolfuss affair of 1933

Answer 1

• dolfuss was the dictator of Austria, and didn’t want Austria to unite with Germany
• Austrian nazis carried out terrorist attacks
• in July 1934, a group of Austrian nazis attempted to come to power, they killed dolfuss and took control
• the attempt didnt work and the government was restored and italian troops moved to the border to warn hitler off
• hitler denied any connection to the attempt

Question 2

how did Hitler take control over the saar land

Answer 2

• a plebiscite was held in january in 1935 and 90 percent of voters chose reunion with Germany and the saar was given back in march 1935

Question 3

why was the plebiscite significant

Answer 3

• showed that people were willing to live under Hitler
• gave Hitler the confidence to demand more territory
• showed that hitlers armed forces were still weak at this point.

Question 4

how did germany rebuild its armed forces

Answer 4

• in October 1933, Hitler withdrew from the League of nations disarmament conference
• also withdrew from the league as a whole
• in march 1935, Hitler brought military conscription back
• breaking the terms of the treaty of Versailles

Question 5

how did the Allies react to german rearmament

Answer 5

• Britain, France, and Italy met in April 1935 at the Stresa conference
• Britain and France were worried about German rearmament and conscription
• Mussolini was concerned about his northern borders if Hitler united Austria with Germany
• in the stresa pact they agreed to work together to maintain peace in Europe and defend Austrian independence

Question 6

how was the anglo German naval agreement affect the stresa pact

Answer 6

• in June 1935, Germany reached a naval agreement with Britain
• allowed Germany to build up to 35 percent of British naval strength
• implied Germany had a right to rearm
• weakened the spirit of the stresa pact
• affected britain and frances realtionship

Question 7

how was Britain following a policy of appeasement?

Answer 7

• Neville chamberlain was negotiating with Hitler rather then using force and threats

Question 8

arguments for appeasement

Answer 8

• many British just wanted peace
• British armed forces were not ready for war
• British feared communism and thought Germany could be a barrier
• many politicians admired hitlers success
• Germany wasn’t a great threat to Britain at the time

Question 9

arguments against appeasement

Answer 9

• hitler became more demaning as time went on
• some politicians at the time warned of the dangers of appeasement
• hitler proved that he couldnt be trusted to keep his promises