1.3 failure of the league of nations, appeasement and the war

Question 1

who invaded abyssinia and why?

Answer 1

• italy invaded abyssinia (now ethiopia) to further its nationalist ambitions
• mussolini had always wanted to create an italian empire and wanted to gain territories in africa to achieve
• he had his eye on the mineral wealth and fertile lands of abyssinia

Question 2

what was phase 1 of the league dealing with the invasion of abyssinia?

Answer 2

britain and france were seen to be negotiating a settlement with mussolini:
- but mussolini began dispatching forces in africa and talk about war
- everyone wanted to portect their own self interests and abyssinia was mostly ignored

Question 3

what was the stresa pact? and when was it signed?

Answer 3

• signed april 1935
• a formal statement against german rearmament and a committment to stand against germany

Question 4

what did hoare’s speech encourage for britain?

Answer 4

• he made a speech at the league’s assembly stressing britain’s committment to collective security
• there was strong support in britain for action, possibly even military action

Question 5

what was phase 2 of the league dealing with the invasion of abyssinia?

Answer 5

• mussolini rejected the league’s proposal (of giving italy some abyssinian territory) and invaded abyssinia in 1935
• the league finally imposed sanctions: banned arms sales and financial loans to italy + italian exports were banned
• they couldn’t decide for two months whether they should ban oil exports to italy
• the suez canal was also not closed to italian ships - the canal was their main route to abyssinia and closing it meant italy had a chance to declare war

Question 6

what was the hoare-laval pact?

Answer 6

• december 1935 - samuel hoare and pierre laval hatched a plan to give mussolini 2/3 of abyssinia in return for for calling off his invasion
• hoare told the british gov that if they didn’t agree to the plan then france would no longer support sanctions on italy
• when this was leaked to the french press, it damaged the league’s reputation, especially regarding the ban on italian oil sales

Question 7

how did the US congress react to the hoare-laval pact?

Answer 7

• they were appalled by the hoare-laval pact and blocked a move to support the league’s sanctions on italy
• the US increased their oil exports to italy

Question 8

when did hitler invade the rhineland and what did this mean for france?

Answer 8

• may 1936 - he invaded the rhineland with the aim to defy the treaty of versailles
• this meant all hope for french support against italy was dead and italy would never become a french ally against germany
• italy took control of all of abyssinia by may 1936

Question 9

what were the consequences of the abyssinian crisis?

Answer 9

• the league and collective security had failed
• nov 1936, italy and german signed their own agreement; the rome berlin axis

Question 10

what were hitler’s beliefs?

Answer 10

• hated communism
• wanted to rearm germany
• believed that the aryan race was the most important -> the ideal german community (volksgemeinschaft)
• believed that the jewish and people from eastern european where the ‘untermenschen’ (underclass)
• “ein voich, ein reich, ein fuhrer” -> one voice, one empire, one leader
• wanted more lebensraum for german people

Question 11

what were hitler’s main motives and where was this highlighted?

Answer 11

mein kampf (1923) - a book where all his nazi ideologies were highlighted
- destroying communism: he believed it was a disease to be wiped out so he persecuted communists in germany
- racial theory - believed there was a superior race and germany had the destiny to create lebensraum for them
- militarism: he regarded war as a show of strength, hence his eagerness to rearm

Question 12

which of hitler’s actions during his power were legal?

Answer 12

• leaving the league (1933) - withdrew germany from the league claiming that they weren’t being treated equally, undermining the league’s authority
  saar region (1935):
• the region was run by the league but hitler claimed it so he agreed to a plebiscite during which 90% of people in the region said they wanted to join hitler’s germany, boosting his prestige

Question 13

which of hitler’s actions during his power were illegal?

Answer 13

• rearmament (1933-35): began to rearm in 1933 and this was illegal because it was prohibited by the treaty of versailles
• remilitarisation of the rhineland 1936: versailles + locarno treaties that german troops were banned from entering rhineland
• hitler argued that he was being encircled by france and the ussr so had every right to protect his borders

Question 14

who was general francisco franco?

Answer 14

• spain’s nationalist leader - he had a similar ideology to hitler and mussolini
• they helped franco by supplying troops and other aircrafts

Question 15

how did the spanish civil war impact international relations?

Answer 15

• 1936: war between republicans and nationalists (general francisco franco)
• britain and france refused to intervene which made hitler think that they’d do the same for any war, therefore boosting his confidence
• germany and italy said they woudn’t intervene but eventually did. this convinced them that wars were dangerous
• due to the devastating effect, neville chamberlain was convinced that war should be avoided at all costs

Question 16

what was the anti-comintern pact?

Answer 16

• hitler, mussolini and general tojo (from japan) all found that they had much in common with military dictatorships
• 1936 - they all signed the pact to pledge their opposition to communism + italy in 1937
• they became known as the axis alliance/powers

Question 17

what is appeasement?

Answer 17

the foreign policy of pacifying an aggrieved nation through negotiation in order to prevent war

Question 18

what were britain’s views on hitler?

Answer 18

• they were worried about stalin and the rise of communism. they believed that hitler was standing up to communism
• no one in britain wanted a second world war + america believed in isolationism so would not help
• the treaty of versailles was too harsh on germany and it was unfair that they had to disarm completely, while no one else did
• their armed forces were weak and lacked equipment because of posy wall street crash economic crisis
• everyone underestimated hitler and believed his aims were unachievable. though they could control him but were mistaken

Question 19

what was the anschluss and when did it happen?

Answer 19

• 1938 - hitler wanted to invade austria and unite it with germany but this was forbidden by the treaties of versailles and st. germain
• austria had a strong nazi party which hitler used to campaign. many were against this but neither britain nor france did anything to prevent it
• march 1938 - there was a plebiscite in which 99% of the pop. wanted to join germany
• it was a success for hitler as it increased the german population and added austria’s reserves for gold and iron to the national industry

Question 20

how did the the situation with sudetenland increase hitler’s power?

Answer 20

• after the anschluss, czechoslovakia was vulnerable so they asked britain and france to protect and they agreed to protect them against a german invasion
• hitler was interested in the part of sudetenland that was populated by ethnic germans
• he threatened to invade czechoslovakia if they did not hand germany the control of the region -> tensions were high and everyone prepared for a war

Question 21

what was the munich agreement and when did it happen?

Answer 21

• 1938:
  september 15th: chamberlain met hitler and hitler told him that he only wanted the parts of sudetenland and then only if a plebiscite agrees
• chamberlain believed that this was reasonable and that giving away the land would satisfy him

september 9th:
france and britain showed czechoslovakia the plan of giving parts of the sudetenland to hitler

september 22nd:
- hitler increased his demands and said he wanted the whole sudetenland but chamberlian told hitler his demands were unreasonable

september 29th:
- mussolini agreed to join chamberlain, hitler and daladier at a summit
- the other leaders decided to give him the rest of the sudetenland but the czechs were not consulted about this

chamberlain returned with a signed declaration from hitler which he said would bring ‘peace for our time’

Question 22

what did the public think about the outcome of the munich agreement?

Answer 22

• many newspapers at the time regarded the munich agreement to be a triumph -> chamberlian was greeted by cheering crowds
• but many people criticised the decision and the public was concerned
• opinion polls in 1938 showed that a majority of the british people did not think appeasement would stop hitler

Question 23

when/how did appeasement end?

Answer 23

• hitler moved his forces into the sudetenland in october 1938 and said that was the end of his expansionist ambitions
• but (1939) then german forces invaded the rest of czechoslovakia
• this made the leaders question hitler’s intentions and knew that his next target was likely to be poland
• appeasement ended and britain and france told hitler that they would declare war if he invaded poland -> he didn’t think that they would risk war

Question 24

what were hitler’s intentions with poland?

Answer 24

• he wanted reclaim the polish corridor and was confident he could defeat the polish forces
• he didn’t think france and britain would do anything but was concerned that stalin would oppose him because poland bordered the USSR

Question 25

what were stalin’s concerns regards hitler?

Answer 25

• although the USSR joined the LoN, they had done nothing to stop hitler rearming germany or seizing territory in europe + the munich agreement made stalin more suspicious because hitler had been encouraged eastwards towards the USSR

Question 26

what was the nazi-soviet pact?

Answer 26

aug 1939
- the two countries decided not to attack each other
- they also privately decided to divide poland between them + the baltic regions
- there was no real faith in the pact and this just encouraged hitler to invade poland