World War 2 - exams

Question 1

appeasement meaning

Answer 1

the attempt to bring about a state of peace, quiet, ease, or calm. ​

Question 2

Why did the British appease Hitler?

Answer 2

1. The British appeased Hitler because they wanted to avoid another deadly war, they believed the Treaty of Versailles had been too harsh.
2. Some believed that fascism was a better alternative to Soviet Communism.
3. they had just been impacted by the Great Depression and Britain was focused on domestic affairs. ​

If the British gave Hitler what he wanted, they hoped to avoid another conflict or at the very least, delay a costly conflict for which they were not prepared.​

Question 2

who is appeasement related to, what happened?

Answer 2

the unsuccessful effort by British prime
minister Neville Chamberlain to keep Adolph Hitler from starting World War II.​

Hitler came to power in 1933 and rejected the Treaty of Versailles and violated many terms of the treaty.​

Question 3

Munich Agreement

Answer 3

signed in 1938
- agreement where the british allowed Nazis to have Sutenland (part of Czechoslovakia) by pressuring Czechoslovakia to allow this to happen. HItler agrees not to take any more territory

Question 4

why was the munich agreement significant?

Answer 4

• the munich agreement was significant because the British, french and italians disregarded Czechoslovakia’s reputation in the name of avoiding war.

Question 5

What was the result of the Munich agreement?

Answer 5

Hitler did not uphold his end of the agreement. The
Nazis soon invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia.​

This prompted the British and French to draw a line – if the Nazis invaded Poland, they would declare war.

Question 6

Blitzkrieg

Answer 6

lightning war
- A military tactic calculated to create psychological shock and results with disorganization in enemy forces through the employment of surprise, speed, and superiority in materiel or firepower.

Question 7

Invasion of Poland

Answer 7

Germany invaded Poland on September 1st 1939, marking start to WW2

Germany attacked using Blitzkrieg tactics with fast panzer divisions and air support from the Luftwaffe to overwhelm Polish defenses

Despite Poland’s attemped resistance (Battle or Bzura), they weren’t able to hold

British and France declared war on September 3rd, but didn’t offer much military support

September 17th: soviet union invaded Poland from the East from the secret terms of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact with Germany, agreeing to divide Poland

September 27th: Warsaw surrendered, Poland was divided between Nazi Germany and the Soviet union

Question 8

Phony war

Answer 8

September 1939
- after Germany invaded Poland, British and France declared war on Germany, but nothing happened for about 8 months despite mobilized forces

Question 9

When did the phony war come to an end?

Answer 9

it can to an abrupt end with the launch of the German blitzkrieg against France, Belgiu and the Netherlands in May 1940.
This led to the Battle of France unfolded

Question 10

Non-agression pact
- what was it called?
- what were the secret protocols of the treaty?

Answer 10

August 23rd 1939: Hitler and Stalin signed Molotov-Ribbentrop pact right before WW2
-> main idea: no conflict, support each other, pursue their expansionist goals of going into Eastern Europe

the secret protocols of the treaty defined the control/power that Germany and Russia would have over countries.
-> Russia would have control over: Latvia, Estonia and Finland.
-> Germany: Lithuania and Danzig

Question 11

Where was Poland occupied according to the pact?

Answer 11

Poland would be occupied by G and R in different regions

1. wartheland: western area of poland, closest to Germany.

germany directly took over their land. they planned to make it ethnically full of germans by expelling the polish and jewish population and replace with ethnic germans

2. eastern poland: vast area (more than 13 million people)
   - part of the secret agreement where R would take over this region
3. general government: central part of poland.
   - not taken over, but instead became a german-controlled area governed by german officials

Question 12

articles in the molotov-ribbentrop pact

Answer 12

Article 1: germany and soviet union agree not to attack each other, and not help others to do so

article 4: neither nations will join any other alliances that are aimed against the other

article 5: if any disagreements, they will resolve it peacefully through talks

article 6: the treaty lasts for 10 years

• while these articles seemed peaceful, there was a secret protocol, where G and R agreed to divide Eastern Europe between them (e.g. Poland, Romania, Finland)

Question 13

what was the point of the pact?
- hitler
- stalin

Answer 13

while the treaty appeared to promote peace, it was actually a strategic move

• Hitler wanted to invade Poland, but was afraid of fighting B and F in the West and R in the east, so he made the pact with R to avoid a two- front war.
• Stalin agreed because they tried to form an alliance with B and F to stop Germany, but failed because Poland and Romania didn’t want soviet troops in their countries. He didn’t trust that B was serious enough about stopping hitler.Since the alliance failed, he made a deal with Hitler

Question 14

secret protocol articles in the treaty?

Answer 14

• article 1: if there are changes in the control of Finland, Lithuania, e.t.c both sides agree who gets what
• article 4: both sides agree to keep this protocol secret from the rest of the world

Question 15

who signed the nazi-soviet pact?

Answer 15

German Foreign Minister Joachim von
Ribbentrop and Soviet Foreign Minister Viacheslav Molotov,

Question 16

why did this pact shock the world?

Answer 16

This pact shocked the
world because until that time Germany and the Soviet Union had acted like
mortal enemies

Question 17

what were the 2 agreements

Answer 17

1. economic agreement: exchange of goods worth 200 million reichsmarks.
   - provide food products and raw materials to Germany in exchange for products like german machinery
2. non-agression pact

Question 18

What happened after the non-aggression pact?

Answer 18

R took over the eastern part of Poland, and Ukraine, while Germany occupied the rest.

impacts:
- one week after signing, germany invaded poland
- 2 weeks later, R invaded from the east
TRIGGERED WW2 -> B and F declare war on Germany

Question 19

When was the non-aggression pact broken?

Answer 19

The pact was abruptly broken by the Germans when they
invaded the Soviet Union in June 22nd 1941: called operation barbarossa

Question 20

How did the Nazis and Soviets feel about each other before the pact?

Answer 20

They were bitter ideological enemies.

G were facist, anti-communist, and saw Soviets as racially inferior.

Soviets were communist, anti-fascist, and feared G’s expansion.

Hitler talks about the Soviet Union in his book Mein Kampf (1925), referring to the Slavs as inferior.

Despite this, both sides were willing to set aside their hatred temporarily for political gain

Question 21

How was the pact negotiated?

Answer 21

The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, was signed on August 23, 1939 in Moscow.

Vyacheslav Molotov – Soviet Foreign Minister.
Joachim von Ribbentrop – German Foreign Minister.

Stalin approved the deal himself.

It was arranged after Soviet’s attempted alliance with Britain and France failed in early August 1939.

Question 22

Impacts and significance for Germany (pact)

Answer 22

Positive Impact:
- Avoided a two-front war, which had weakened Germany in WWI.

• Gave him the opportunity to invade Poland on September 1, 1939, starting World War II.
• Germany gained western Poland and time to focus on fighting Britain and France.

Negative Impact:
- Gave Stalin time to build up the Red Army.

• Later, the pact failed when Hitler invaded the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941 (Operation Barbarossa), opening the eastern front.
• Turned the R into an enemy, which contributed to Germany’s eventual defeat

Question 23

Impacts and significance for Soviet union (pact)

Answer 23

Positive Impact:
- Gained territory (eastern Poland, Baltic States) without fighting.

• Bought time to strengthen the Soviet military, which was weak after Stalin’s purges.
• Avoided immediate war with Germany.

Negative Impact:
- Stalin underestimated Hitler’s betrayal.

• When Germany invaded in 1941, R was caught off guard and suffered heavy losses.

Question 24

Overall significance of the pact

Answer 24

The pact was a major turning point that allowed Hitler to start World War II by invading Poland. Britain and France declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939. - The secret protocol was one of the most shocking as it divded independent nations like Poland and the Baltic States without their consent. - The pact collapsed when Germany invaded the USSR in 1941, leading to the Eastern Front, the largest and bloodiest part of WWII.

Question 25

3 reasons why hitler wanted WW2 to take place

Answer 25

1. expand german territory 2. undo the treat of versailles 3. prove german power and greatness

Question 26

Operation Barbarossa key information

Answer 26

June 22nd 1941: Hitler launched operation Barbarossa -> the long awaited invasion of the soviet union (particularly Bolshevism) -> invading Soviet union was one of his main war objectives from the start Defeating the Red army

Question 27

What evidence shows that Hitler was scheming plans for Barbarossa?

Answer 27

“Fuhrer Directive Number 21”: it was an important document in WW1 that ordered preparations to be made for Operation Barbarossa. - it was submitted as evidence in the Nuremberg war crime trials

Question 28

Backstory on Germany's economic situiation (leading to the pact and operation)

Answer 28

1. GDP of the largest nations Britain and US was very high, Germany wanted to know how to reach this group. -> Gustav Stresemann, the foreign minister of Weimar republic helped with this, until 1929 when he died, world’s economy collapsed into the great depression Hitler had new solutions. He wrote his thoughts in his book ‘Mein kampf”

Question 29

What did Hitler want to do after the economic usses?

Answer 29

Germany had a huge proportion of farmers in the workforce, but had small farms Hitler felt that germany was surrounded by ideologies and political enemies like Jews and communists: undesirable people needed to be stopped and exterminated so Germany could prosper Germany wanted to spread East to get living space and raw materials - With German population density crowded to 146 per square km, compared to US’ 16 per square km, securing lebensraum (living space) in the east would improve the efficiency of Germany's farms, and would deliver the raw materials that Germany was lacking.

Question 30

why did hitler want to team up with russia?

Answer 30

Germany’s responsibility for western europe made lack of resources worse, due to the british blockade leaving Europe starved of food and oil. Britain was also backed by the US, Germany’s industrial strength definitely couldn’t compete - The shortages in germany’s european empire due to the blockade led G to have an alliance with Russia to stay afloat and have hands on raw materials -> seen in the nazi-soviet pact where R promised to provide grain, oil and raw materials into germany

Question 31

why did Hitler chose to invade Russia?

Answer 31

With their resources still bad, Hitler didn’t want to be dependent on the soviet union, so he decided to invade them to take control of the resources and land In december 1940: german military began planning a blitzkrieg campaign against the soviet union

Question 32

Statistics on Operation Barbarossa

Answer 32

- it was the largest army ever assembled in human history - To make use of R’s land, systematic mass murder was organised to get rid of undesirable people to make living space for more Germans. Final solution: extermination of jews in EUROPE, 6 million people were murdered -The German military had 3 million German troops, 3000 tanks, 7000 artillery pieces and 2,5000 aircrafts -> red army was poorly equipped

Question 33

Successes and failures of Operation Barbarossa

Answer 33

SUCCESSES - Surprise attack along a 1800 mile front made the Soviet shocked and unprepared, leading to massive losses and territorial gains. -1941 army managed to take over cities rapidly like Kiev FAILURES - Soviet scorched-earth tactics like burning crops and destroying railroads slowed the Germans and denied resources to them -October 2nd Operation Typhoon: Germans resumed attack in Moscow, 600,00 soviet troops were captured in Vyazma - German troops lacked winter gear and were hit hard by frostbite and mechanical failures. Rain, mud and frost made the German’s journey to Moscow harder - December 6t 1941, the red army led by Zhukov launched a major counterattack near Moscow using well-trained Siberian troops Operation barbarossa has failed, the germans did not capture Moscow

Question 34

3 overall statements on why Operation Barbarossa failed

Answer 34

1. Underestimation of the power of Soviets 2. Underprepared: lack of preparation for winter conditions 3. Soviets managed to adapt quickly

Question 35

Battle of Stalingrad key information

Answer 35

17th July 1942 - 2nd February 1943 - a major WW2 battle between Nazi Germany (and it axis allies) and the soviet union - fought in Stalingrad, a city in Soviet Union on the Volga river

Question 36

why did Hitler want to invade Stalingrad? how did stalin react?

Answer 36

- stalingrad was important to russia as it was key for industrial production and access to south oil fields - sits on the Volga river, key route for shipping goods across Russia - hitler wanted to capture it to cut off Soviet's resources -> stalin ordered it to be defended at all costs

Question 37

how many deaths from Stalingrad war?

Answer 37

One of the bloodiest battles in history: Over 2 million total casualties

Question 38

How did Russia respond to Hitler's invasion to Stalingrad?

Answer 38

Operation Uranus: The Soviets launched a counteroffensive in November 1942 They surrounded and trapped over 250,000 German troops inside the city. German General Paulus surrendered in February 1943, disobeying Hitler’s order to fight to the last man.

Question 39

What air techniques did Germany employ in Stalingrad?

Answer 39

Germany’s Luftwaffe (air force) began bombing the city in late August 1942. They sank ships on the Volga River, cutting off supplies and making it impossible to ship goods. The airstrikes continued for months, destroying much of the city -> By September, Germany controlled the skies over Stalingrad

Question 40

how did russia use winter during stalingrad?

Answer 40

As Russia’s harsh winter began, Soviet generals took advantage of the cold, which the Germans weren’t prepared for. The Soviets surrounded Stalingrad, cutting off German troops from supplies and escape.

Question 41

what were some soviet victories in Stalingrad?

Answer 41

- places like Rostov-on-Don , the Soviets won key battles, weakening the Axis forces (mostly Germans and Italians). - Operation Little Saturn, the Russians attacked Italian troops west of Stalingrad, breaking their lines.

Question 42

Russia's victory in Stalingrad - what did it signify?

Answer 42

By February 1943, Russian forces retook the city and captured about 100,000 German soldiers - Historians see the Battle of Stalingrad as a major turning point. It marked the start of the Allies’ path to victory (Russia, Britain, France, and the U.S.).

Question 43

what were the names of the groups that hitler divided into 3?

Answer 43

Army Group North Moved toward Leningrad Army Group Centre Moved toward Moscow (the capital). *This was the main target of the invasion. Army Group South Moved toward Ukraine and the Black Sea coast. Goal: grab rich farmland, oil, and industrial areas