7) The outbreak of war Flashcards
When did Russia join the League of Nations?
1934
Nazi-Soviet Pact date
August 1939
Why did Germany sign the NSP?
To avoid a war on two fronts like WW1 (France would attack from the west and the USSR from the east)
Why did Russia sign the NSP? (3)
-Easily gain territory from Poland as Germany had agreed to do most of the fighting
-Could see that Britain and France would not stand up to Hitler (Munich agreement, Sudeten agreement)
-Buy time to build up arms
When did Germany betray Russia?
1941 invasion of Russia (Operation Barbarossa)
Why did Stalin no longer trust his old allies?
-One if their justifications for appeasement in the 1930s was that a strong Germany could provide as a barrier against Communism -> didn’t trust Stalin
-Was not consulted in the Munich Agreement
-Didn’t believe that the League could protect Russia from Hitler’s threats
-Didn’t believe that France would honour the Franco-Soviet Treaty as they didn’t react to the Rhineland invasion 1936
Who signed the Nazi-Soviet Pact?
USSR- Molotov
Germany- Ribbentrop
Both Foreign Ministers of their country. Important figures so shows that the Pact was important
Causes of WW2
-The Depression
-The Nazi Soviet Pact
-Hitler’s FP + rearming
-French and British self interest
-Appeasement
-Failure of the League
Why was the Depression a cause of WW2?
-Desperate voters turned to people such as Hitler and Mussolini
-Less international cooperation
-Can’t afford economic sanctions
Why was appeasement a cause of WW2?
-After Britain and France not reacting to Germany rearming, he felt able to invade the Rhineland in March 1936
-Anschluss
-Sudeten crisis October 1938 led to invading Czechoslovakia
Why were Hitler’s FP aims a cause of WW2?
-Wanted to destroy ToV
-Lebensraum->invading other countries would make war inevitable
Why was the League’s failure a cause of WW2?
Failure in Abyssinia and Manchuria
e.g. Manchuria: Japan just left the League- France and Britain , undermining the league
Why was the Nazi Soviet Pact a cause of WW2?
Meant that Hitler was backed by the USSR
Hitler would not have to face a war on two fronts like in WW1 so he could initiate conflict by invading Poland in September 1939. Britain and France had signed a treaty with Poland so had to protect them.
‘Final straw’ as Hitler misjudged British and French resolve as Hitler presumed that Britain could be appeased as they had been in Munich when the Nazi takeover of the Sudetenland had gone unchallenged.
