The Third Reich - The War Years Flashcards
What were the four main aims of Hitler’s foreign policy?
Lebensraum, creating and empire, destroying communism and destroying Judaism.
Name 3 territorial gains Germany had already made in 1939.
Possible answers: Bohemia-Moravia, Polish corridor, Danzig, the Sudetenland, Memel (Lithuania).
From 1936-8 Germany took three actions which were in violation of the Treaty of Versailles - what were they?
1) remilitarised the Rhineland
2) Anschluss with Austria
3) invaded Czechoslovakia
What was the result of the 1938 plebiscite in foreign policy?
99% of Germans supported Hitler’s foreign policy.
When did Britain declare war on Germany and why?
September 1939 - because they invaded Poland.
What happened in June 1940?
French armistice - they surrender to Germany.
When did Germany violate the Nazi-Soviet pact and invade Russia and what was this action militarily known as?
June 1941 - known as Operation Barbarossa.
When did the USA get involved in the war and why?
December 1841 - because the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbour.
When and where was the first British victory of the war?
Oct-Nov 1942 - at El Alamein.
When did Germany surrender at Stalingrad and what key thing did they leave without
February 1943 - they left without a single barrel of oil!
When was D-Day?
6th June 1944
What happened in February 1945?
The Allies invade Germany.
When and why did Germany finally surrender?
May 1945 - because Hitler committed suicide.
The German economy was ready for the war and is not to blame for Germany losing - true or false?
False - the economy was only geared for Blitzkrieg, not a long war, and this hindered Germany significantly.
Name three reasons Germany lost the war (not including poor economy).
The numbers against them were too large, they had too many fronts to fight at once, their allies were weak and they were having to fight to protect them constantly, allied air raids were ruthless, they were short of labour, the American economy was too powerful and could fight a far longer war, ideology over pragmatism.
