6) Growing Tensions 1930s Flashcards
What was the Dollfuss Affair?
1933: Dollfuss established a dictatorship and ruled out the Nazi Party
1934: Hitler orderer Austrian Nazis to create havoc in the country, which turned into an event to overthrow the country. Dollfuss was killed
Why did the Dollfuss Affair ultimately fail?
Mussolini moved his troops to the Austro-Germany border to stop Hitler’s Anschluss. Hilter realised that his army wasn’t strong enough to engage in war, so backed down and claimed that the Austrian Nazis had acted alone
‘Freedom to Rearm’ Rally
1935
Hitler showed off weapons and troops that he had secretly been building
Announced that he would reintroduce conscription
Significance of the Freedom to Rearm rally
Showed that Hitler could openly defy the Treaty of Versailles and no one would stop him
Hitler introduces conscription
1936
Soldiers- 1M
Started to build the Luftwaffe
Describe the Saar plebiscite
Under the ToV, the Saar was to be given to the League for 15 years
This expired in January 1935 so a plebiscite was held to see if it should be governed by France or Germany
90% of the population voted to rejoin Germany
How did Hitler use the Saar plebiscite to his advantage?
Hitler could use this victory to promote Anschluss and the reuniting of German speaking people
The rich coalfields could be used to power the economy and build weapons for the future.
Anglo German Naval Agreement date
June 1935
Give some statistics from the Anglo-German Naval Agreement
-Germany’s navy could be 35% of Britain’s
-45% the number of British submarines
What did the Anglo-German Naval Agreement prove?
Hitler saw this as Britain admitting that the ToV was unfair and that he could ignore it.
Britain also hadn’t consulted France or Italy before signing the Agreement.
Why was the Rhineland area important?
Key industrial region (coal, steel, iron)
Natural barrier
Franco-Soviet Pact
1935:
Signed by: France and the USSR
Agreement to defend each other if Germany attacked
Hitler used this pact to claim that Germany was under threat, having enemies on both sides -> justify Rhineland invasion
How did Hitler invade the Rhineland?
1935- Hitler reveals that he has built up his forces
1936- Hitler marched 22,000 troops into the Rhineland
What statement and pact did Hitler issue after re-occupying the Rhineland?
He offered a 25 year non-aggression pact with France and Germany
‘Germany has no territorial demands to make in Europe’
Why didn’t Britain react to the Rhineland invasion? (4)
-Britons felt that the ToV was unfair
-British troops were already dealing with trouble in Abyssinia
-GD
-Some people that the Rhineland was rightfully Germany’s
Why didn’t France react to the Rhineland invasion? (3)
-There was a general election in France so if one of them decided to intervene they’d lose votes as no one wanted war
-Much of the French army was in Tunisia in case the situation in Abyssinia needed intervention
-French generals weren’t prepared to risk their men
How did the Spanish civil war help Hitler?
1936
Could test his weapons and Luftwaffe by bombing Guernica and get an experience of war
Rome-Berlin Axis
1936
Italy and Germany began to pursue closer relations in 1936 after the League of Nations imposed sanctions on Italy for invading Abyssinia and after Italy’s alliance with Britain and France ended.
Anti-Comintern Pact
1936: Signed by Germany and Japan
1937: Signed by Italy
Limit communist support globally
Who replaced Dollfuss in 1934?
Schuschnigg
Describe the events that led to Anschluss.
-Schuschnigg was afraid of the Nazis because of Dollfuss’ murder
-So, S agreed to give the Nazis key government positions.
-1938: A police raid found plans to overthrow S
-S met with Hitler and was told to agree to his demands to make Seyss-Inquart leader and have control of the police. If he didn’t agree, Hitler threatened to invade
-S decided to hold a plebiscite to oppose HItler’s claim that the people wanted Anschluss
-March 1938: Hitler demanded that the vote be postponed
-S was made to resign and S-I was made chancellor
Seyss-Inquart ‘requested’ German help to restore the peace
-12 March 1938: Nazis invaded
-April: a vote was held and 99% of Austrians voted for Anschluss, likely out of fear.
How did France react to Anschluss?
France had its own political problems that were more important than Anschluss
The entire French government resigned 2 days before
How did Czechoslovakia react to Anschluss?
Worried as Hitler would likely try to invade there next to reach for Lebensraum
France agreed to support them because of a previous treaty, so Britain did too.
How did Britain react to Anschluss?
There was anti-Versailles feelings in Britain, and many believed that Germany and Austria were essentially the same country.
Why did Hitler target the Sudetenland? (4)
-Czechoslovakia had been founded under the ToV and he wanted to destroy it
-Sudetenland was economically prosperous and home to factories e.g. Skoda, as well as forts and railways
-Had 3M German speakers
-It would make taking the rest of Czechoslovakia even easier
How did Hitler justify invading the Sudetenland?
Proclaimed that German-speaking Czechs were being mistreated by the government and that they need ‘protection’
Similar to Anschluss
Chamberlain appeases Hitler, Sudeten Crisis
September 1938
Chamberlain met Hitler at his holiday home, where Hitler said that the crisis could only be resolved if he could have the Sudetenland. Chamberlain agreed to avoid conflict.
What did Hitler do a week after the Sudetenland agreement?
He had changed his demands:
-Wanted the Sudetenland by 1st October
-Wanted Hungary and Poland to receive Czech land
He promised ‘Peace in Europe’ in exchange for this
Munich Conference
September 1938 in. which Germany, Italy, Great Britain, and France sign the Munich agreement, by which Czechoslovakia must surrender its border regions and defenses (the so-called Sudeten region) to Nazi Germany. German troops occupy these regions between October 1 and 10, 1938.
Anglo-German declaration
September 1938
Germany and England agreed that they would never go to war against each other
What did Chamberlain say after the Anglo-German declaration?
‘There will be peace in our time’
Hitler invades the rest of Czechoslovakia
March 1939
Why was the invasion of the rest of Czechoslovakia significant?
-First time he’d invaded a country with no claim: before he said it was in the interest of protecting German speakers, or that it used to be part of Germany
-Britain and France could no longer hide behind the claim that Hitler was just taking what was rightfully his
-Showed failure of appeasement
How did American isolationism affect appeasement?
USA signed 2 neutrality acts in the 1930s
Without the support of such a powerful nation, and with the LoN having failed, Britain and France had to fend for themselves and did not want to fight, which led to appeasement.
