Origins & Outbreak of the Second World War Flashcards
All 38 cards in this deck
What were Hitler's three main foreign policy aims?
To destroy the Treaty of Versailles, to unite all German-speaking people, and to win Lebensraum (living space) in the east.
What was the Dollfuss Affair (1934)?
Austrian Nazis murdered Chancellor Dollfuss in an attempted takeover of Austria; Mussolini moved troops to the Brenner Pass and Hitler backed down.
What was the result of the Saar plebiscite in January 1935?
About 90% voted to return to Germany, and the Saar was reunited with Germany.
What did Hitler do in 1935 to rearm Germany openly?
He introduced conscription and held a 'Freedom to Rearm Rally' to show off his troops and weapons. This broke the Treaty of Versailles and no one stopped him.
What was the Stresa Front (April 1935)?
An agreement between Britain, France and Italy to oppose German rearmament and to uphold existing treaties.
What was the Anglo-German Naval Agreement (1935)?
Britain agreed that Germany could build a surface fleet up to 35% the size of Britain's, and submarines up to 45% — accepting German breaches of the Treaty of Versailles.
True or false? Britain signed the Anglo-German Naval Agreement without consulting its Stresa Front partners.
True. Britain acted alone, which angered France and Italy and weakened the Stresa Front.
When did Hitler remilitarise the Rhineland, and what did this break?
March 1936; it broke both the Treaty of Versailles and the Treaty of Locarno.
True or false? Hitler's army was strong enough in 1936 to fight France over the Rhineland.
False. It was a gamble — his army was not big enough to fight if France had challenged him.
Give one way the remilitarisation of the Rhineland increased international tension.
It put German troops on the French border, making France more nervous and keener for reassurance from Britain.
What was the Rome–Berlin Axis (1936)?
An agreement between Hitler and Mussolini to work together, which strengthened and emboldened the two fascist dictatorships.
What was the Anti-Comintern Pact (1936)?
An agreement between Germany and Japan to oppose the spread of communism; Italy joined in 1937.
What was the Anschluss (March 1938)?
The union of Austria with Germany: Hitler forced the Austrian Chancellor to resign, sent in troops, and held a vote approving union.
Give one reason Britain followed the policy of appeasement.
Chamberlain wanted to use discussion to avoid another war, and Britain was not yet ready militarily for one.
What was agreed at the Munich Conference (September 1938)?
Britain, France, Germany and Italy agreed that Hitler could take the Sudetenland; Czechoslovakia and the USSR were not invited.
Give one argument made against the policy of appeasement.
It misjudged Nazi Germany and encouraged Hitler's territorial ambitions — he invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia in 1939.
When did German troops occupy the rest of Czechoslovakia, and why was it a turning point?
March 1939; it made Chamberlain accept that appeasement had failed, as Hitler had broken the Munich Agreement.
What was agreed in the Nazi–Soviet Pact (August 1939)?
Hitler and Stalin agreed not to attack each other, and secretly agreed to divide Poland between them.
When did Germany invade Poland, and when did Britain and France declare war?
Germany invaded on 1 September 1939; Britain and France declared war on 3 September 1939.
Give one way Stalin contributed to the outbreak of war in 1939.
By signing the Nazi–Soviet Pact, which allowed Hitler to invade Poland without fearing a war on two fronts.
True or false? Hitler expected Britain and France to declare war when he invaded Poland.
False. He misjudged their commitment to Poland, assuming they would give in as they had at Munich.
When did Hitler become Chancellor of Germany?
January 1933.
Why did Hitler take Germany out of the Disarmament Conference in October 1933?
He said it was unfair that other countries would not disarm to Germany's level; he left the League at the same time.
What did Hitler reveal in March 1935, the same month he announced conscription?
That Germany had built an air force, the Luftwaffe, which the Treaty of Versailles banned.
Give one weakness of the Stresa Front (1935).
Britain, France and Italy condemned German rearmament but agreed no concrete action to stop it.
What was appeasement?
The British and French policy of giving in to some of Hitler's demands, through negotiation, in the hope of avoiding war.
Who was Neville Chamberlain?
British Prime Minister from 1937 to 1940, who led the policy of appeasement and signed the Munich Agreement.
What excuse did Hitler give for remilitarising the Rhineland in 1936?
That the new Franco-Soviet mutual assistance treaty threatened Germany.
Give one reason France did not act when Hitler remilitarised the Rhineland.
France was in the middle of an election campaign and no government wanted to start a war without British support.
What was the Sudetenland?
The border regions of Czechoslovakia next to Germany, where about three million German speakers lived.
What happened when Chamberlain first met Hitler at Berchtesgaden (15 September 1938)?
Hitler demanded the Sudetenland; Chamberlain agreed in principle that areas with a German majority should go to Germany, then persuaded France and Czechoslovakia to accept.
Why did the Bad Godesberg meeting (22 September 1938) bring Europe close to war?
Hitler raised his demands, insisting on occupying the Sudetenland at once; Chamberlain rejected this and Britain began preparing for war.
What did Chamberlain claim the Munich Agreement had achieved?
'Peace for our time': he returned to Britain to a hero's welcome, believing war had been avoided.
How did fear of communism encourage the British policy of appeasement?
Some British leaders saw a strong Germany as a barrier against the communist USSR.
What promise did Britain and France make to Poland in spring 1939?
To support Poland if Germany attacked it (announced by Chamberlain on 31 March 1939); it is often seen as the end of appeasement.
What was the Pact of Steel (May 1939)?
A military alliance in which Germany and Italy agreed to support each other in war.
Give one reason Stalin signed the Nazi-Soviet Pact.
He distrusted Britain and France, who had left the USSR out of the Munich talks.
Give one way Chamberlain could be blamed for the outbreak of war in 1939.
He failed to win an alliance with the USSR: Britain's slow, half-hearted talks with Moscow in 1939 helped push Stalin into the Nazi-Soviet Pact.