BB The inter-war years: 1918–1939

Question 1

aims of Wilson

Answer 1

wanted 14 points to ensure world peace including the creation of the league of nations and including Germany

Terms:
The creation of independent states like Poland that had access to the sea
The return of Alsace-Lorraine to France
The end of Germany’s empire and the weakening of all empires
Avoiding blaming Germany for the start of the First World War. This included not making Germany pay high reparations
The inclusion of all nations, including Germany, in the League of Nations
Freedom of the seas. Wilson believed that trading ships should have access to any waters without fear of attack

Question 2

aims of Llyod George

Answer 2

middle ground between Clemenceau and Wilson
wanted revenge but also wanted to trade with Germany to prevent another war

Terms:
Retaining a strong trading relationship with Germany
Taking Germany’s overseas colonies
Harsh enough terms to satisfy the British desire for revenge. Lloyd George had just won an election on the promise that he would ‘make Germany pay’
Germany keeping its military strength to prevent communism from Russia spreading into Europe
A reduction in Germany’s navy to reinforce Britain’s naval supremacy

Question 3

aims of Clemenceau

Answer 3

wanted to punish Germany severely, as France had been devastated from WW1, by loosing land and money

Terms:
High reparations
The protection of France’s borders
The splitting of Germany into states
Germany disbanding its armed forces to prevent another invasion
The return of Alsace-Lorraine to France
Giving France the rich industrial area in Germany known as the Saar Basin to rebuild its economy
Germany giving its overseas colonies to France

Question 4

how much did Lloyd George achieve his aims in the ToV

Answer 4

did get Germany to destroy the majority of their Navy so did get Naval supremacy
did not get any of Germanies land or colonies to expand Britain’s empire
did not get lower reparations or keeping Germany as a trade partner

Question 5

how much did Wilson achieve his aims in the ToV

Answer 5

did not get free navigation of the seas due to Britain’s navel supremacy
did not get the ending of all empires as France and Britain both expanded theirs
Germany were not allowed to join the League of nations

only thing he got was the creation of the League of nations

Question 6

how much did Clemeceau achieve his aims in the ToV

Answer 6

he had more say than the others as the terms were harsh however he wanted them to be even harsher as he still wanted Germany to have a smaller army, pay higher reparations and for the rhineland to be given to France instead of just demilitarised

Question 7

TOV terms - Diktat

Answer 7

German representatives were not allowed to attend the peace talks
Germany had to accept the terms of peace otherwise the Allies would take control of the country

Question 8

TOV terms - territorial changes

Answer 8

Anschluss between Germany and Austria was forbidden
Germany was forbidden from joining the League of Nations
Germany was split in two by the polish corridor
Danzig was taken from Germany and made a free city under the league of nations control
The Saar (industrial area) was taken from Germany and given to the League of nations for 15 years
Rhineland (area between germany + france) was demilitarised
all of Germanies over seas colonies were given to the league of nations

Question 9

TOV terms - military restrictions

Answer 9

only 6 battleships in the navy
army was limited to 100,000 men and no conscription
no tanks, submarines or air force

Question 10

TOV terms - war guilt

Answer 10

Germany and their allies had to take full responsibility for starting the war

Question 11

TOV terms - reparations

Answer 11

had to pay 6.6 billion to the winners which was estimated to take until 1988 to pay

Question 12

reactions of the allies to the TOV - France

Answer 12

none of the allies were happy with the treaty as no leader achieved all their aims and all of them had to make significant compromises

Clemenceau - felt that reparations were not high enough. Didn’t like how Germany still had an army. Was satisfied that the Rhineland was demilitarised and that France could gain control of the Saar as they could gain money however wanted the Saar permanently.
Overall French people thought that the treaty was not harsh enough and Germany needed to be totally crippled.

Question 13

reactions of the allies to the TOV - England

Answer 13

Was happy that Britain gained Naval supremacy over Germany. Also happy that Britain could expand its empire due to gaining some of Germanies colonies.

Overall the British public thought the treaty was fair as they were still very affected by the war however also thought it could have been harsher.

Lloyd Georges thought the reparations were too high and also knew that Germany would seek revenge so was concerned

Question 14

reactions of the allies to the TOV - USA

Answer 14

Wilson - was happy the League of Nations had been created and that some countries had achieved self determination

Public - felt treaty was unfair on Germany as US only joined late and weren’t too effected. Public wanted US to stay out Europe’s business. Wanted peace and thought the treaty was getting the opposite

Politics - senate refused to ratify treaty as it was not based on 14 points so the US was unable to join the league which devasted Wilson

Question 15

reactions of the allies to the TOV - Germany

Answer 15

German people called it Diktat as they had no choice and couldn’t negotiate
Germans called the German politicians who signed it November Criminals as they thought the treaty was dolchstoss (stab in the back). Didn’t like the treaty as they thought it was too harsh and they felt humiliated.
They also hated how they had to accept war guilt
there were lots of uprisings (kapp putsch + Hitler) and revolts in the first 5 years after the signing as so many people were unhappy

Question 16

weaknesses of the treaty

Answer 16

6 million Germans ended up living outside of Germany and feared prosecution due to the hostility towards Germany
Germany lost 13% of land so many German families were forced off of their land
Many people thought the treaty was too harsh and would start another war
Germans felt too vulnerable due to reduced army
Germany had to accept war guilt even though many countries were involved in the start of the war.
The treaty was a diktat so Germany could not negotiate
Germans thought the treaty would have been based on Wilsons 14 peace points so may not have signed the armistice signed if they knew the actual treaty
Reparations crippled Germany and caused many economic problems
USA was not a member of the League which significantly weakened it

Question 17

Strengths of the treaty

Answer 17

was signed at the end of the most devastating war in history so it was only fair for the treaty to be harsh
People thought that if Germany had won then the allies would have been made to sign an even harsher one
the peacemakers didn’t have very much time to create the treaty so did the best job they could
Brought temporary peace
created the League of Nations

Question 18

problems faced by new states formed from the treaty

Answer 18

poland had no natural borders such as a river so its newly established borders were hard to defend
Poland was surrounded by enemy countries
The polish corridor also meant that lots of Germans were living in Poland

Question 19

formation of the league of nations

Answer 19

in the TOV there were basic rules about how the treaty was going to be set up to be a way to bring about world peace. It was meant to be a group of countries the would work together and solve problems.

Its objectives were:
to stop war from breaking out again
to encourage disarmament
to improve working conditions
to tackle deadly diseases

based in Geneva, Switzerland as Switzerland had not been involved in war so it was a peaceful country

Question 20

which countries were in the league

Answer 20

USA were unable to join as the senate refused to sign it so one of the most powerful countries did not join

Germany and Russia were banned and other countries who lost were also banned

Germany was eventually allowed to join however Hitler removed Germany. Japan and Italy also left after they invaded other countries

When the league was founded there were 42 members which increased to 58 by 1934 with Britain, France, Italy and Japan being members of the council who made all of the important decisions

Question 21

covenant of the league

Answer 21

covenant set out how the league would deal with aggression

1. Mitigation - countries would come together to talk through problems
2. Moral Condemnation - wrong countries would be told off
3. Economic sanctions - league members would not trade with fighting countries

the league did not have an army so if it was necessary other countries would lend armed forces

Question 22

Structure of the league - assembly

Answer 22

every member could send representatives to the assembly which met once a year, to discuss and and vote on matters

every country had an equal vote on the decision which had to be unanimous, otherwise it would be sent to the council

some things the assembly was in charge of:
deciding if a new country could join
election of judges to the permanent court of international justice
voting for non permanent members of the council
deciding how the leagues money should be spent

strengths - all members had one vote so stopped domination from one country

weakness - only met once per year
all votes had to be unanimous so decision making was slow

Question 23

Structure of the league - the council

Answer 23

met more frequently than the assembly as it was fewer countries so could respond quicker to emergencies than the assembly

had 4 permanent members - Britain, France, Italy, Japan and 4 (later changed to 9) other non permanent countries who were elected for 3 years

council had veto (could stop a ruling with its vote) so could stop a unanimous vote from the assembly

strengths - met 5 times per year so decision making was quick

weakness - made some countries more powerful than others
was weak without the USA
overused the veto power

Question 24

Structure of the league - the secretariat

Answer 24

was the civil service of the league (in charge of administration and organising any actions that the league wanted to achieve)
made up of a body of experts from different areas including finance who were responsible for carrying out any actions made by the league other than military

strengths - had talented experts
weakness - was expensive and grew too large as the league expanded its role

Question 25

Structure of the league - special commissions

Answer 25

special groups put together to tackle issues the league was worried about.

examples:
International Labour organisation
Disarmament commission
health organisation
slavery commission
commission for refugees

other ones helped developing countries with economic issues and also supported minority groups

Question 26

work of the international labour organisation

Answer 26

aimed to bring workers, employers and governments together to improve working conditions

successes - recommended banning of white lead in paint as is it was toxic
helped Greece to set up social insurance
77 countries agreed to set up minimum wage

failures - failed to stop children u14 working as members thought it would be too expensive
failed to make working days only 8 hours as again members thought it would be too expensive

Question 27

work of the commission for refugees

Answer 27

aimed to return prisoners of war home and support refugees by improving camp conditions and returning them to their own countries once conflict had passed

successes - returned 85% of WW1 war prisoners
league helped 1.5 million people who fled Russia find new homes
helped refugees who fled from Greece and Turkey during a clash by finding new homes and providing docters
created the Nansen passport for refugees

Failures - tried to appoint a high commissioner for refugees who were Jewish but Germany refused to vote so it could not be passed

Question 28

work of the Slavery commision

Answer 28

successes - investigated slavery around the world and created a slavery treaty to prevent slave trade in just one country freed 200,000 slaves

failures - slavery still continued in other countries and some areas of LoN members

Question 29

work of the economic committee

Answer 29

successes - Austria and Hungary lost the war and were trying to rebuild their economies so the league sent financial experts to help them
developed codes for importing and exporting goods so all members were following the same rules

failures - could not cope during the global depression in 1929

Question 30

work of the organisation of communications and transport

Answer 30

aims - regulated transport developed during the war to keep people safe

successes - introduced shipping lanes to prevent collisions
made an international highway code so all car drivers followed the same traffic rules

Question 31

work of the health committee

Answer 31

successes - started an international campaign to kill mosquitos to spread fewer diseases
worked with Russia to teach people about how typhus was spread
sent doctors to Turkey to improve living conditions in refugee camps
now called world health organisation and still exists today

Question 32

work of the central opium board

Answer 32

aims - to stop cultivation and distribution of opium and later targeted other drugs

successes - blacklisted 4 large companies who were illegally trading drugs
introduced a system where companies had to have a certificate to say they were allowed opium for medical purposes

failures - some members made lots of money from opium so were not so keen to stop it

Question 33

successes of the league - aland islands

Answer 33

Both sweden and Finland claimed the islands which were in between the 2 countries and threatened to settle it by war. The league investigated it and decided the islands should go to finland but prevented Finland from building forts on the islands to attack Sweden. Both countries agreed to these terms so it was successful

Question 34

successes of the league - Bulgaria

Answer 34

Greek soldiers were killed on Bulgarian border to Greece invaded. Bulgaria asked the league for help who condemned Greece and ordered them to remove their troops and pay compensation. Greece was a small country and didn’t want poor relations with the powerful countries so obeyed

Question 35

failures of the league - Vilna

Answer 35

Lots of countries had been created after the collapse of the Austo-Hungarian empire. Vilna was the capital of Lithuania (new country) but the majority of people living their wanted to be Polish. A polish army took control of the city and Lithuania asked the league for help. The league told Poland to remove its army however Poland refused. France and Britain both saw Poland as an ally against Germany so refused to help Lithuania so nothing happened and Poland gained Vilna

Question 36

failures of the league - Upper Silesia

Answer 36

Upper Silesia was on the border between Poland and Germany and there was both Polish and Germans living there. Both countries wanted the area as it was important for iron and steel production. A vote occurred to ask the people who they wanted to have the area.
Germany had 60% but the Polish said the majority of those people were no longer living there so the League then split it into regions based on how people had voted. Germany got most of the rural areas while Poland got the industrial areas.
Both countries accepted the deal and the league ensured people still got water and electricity.

The final settlement was considered unfair by the Polish as they received half the population but only a third of the land and half a million polish were now living in German territory

Germans weren’t fully satisfied as they lost 3/4 of their mines which was a valuable source of income so they complained to the League who allowed them the rate to import coal at a heavily discounted price. This agreement ended 3 years later and relations between Germany and Poland worsened

Question 37

failures of the league - Corfu

Answer 37

After the war the boundaries of Greece and Albania were still to be agreed upon. The League gave the job to an Italian general named Tellini, but while he was surveying an area of Greece, Tellini and his team were murdered.

Italy was ruled by Mussolini who was a dictator. When he heard about what had happened he was furious and blamed the Greek government. He demanded that the murderers should be executed and that he should be paid compensation, but the Greeks did not know who had murdered Tellini and his team. Then Mussolini invaded and occupied Corfu, killing fifteen people. Greece appealed to the League, who condemned Mussolini’s act of aggression but agreed that Greece should pay the compensation. The League would look after this money and it would be awarded to Italy once the killers were found.

Mussolini still wasn’t satisfied. He complained to the Conference of Ambassadors, a group of powerful countries including Britain, France and Japan, and persuaded them to undermine the League. Greece was forced to apologise and pay compensation directly to Italy. Mussolini did withdraw his troops from Corfu. In this instance, when a large country had threatened a smaller one with military action, the League had proved that they could be ignored and overturned by other international groups.

Question 38

Locarno treaties 1925

Answer 38

Between France and Germany to improve relations.

The treaties agreed:
the borders set by the TOV (giving up Alsace Lorraine)
to settle disputes peacefully

Also signed by Britain, Italy, Belgium and Czechoslovakia to prevent war with each other and that if war did break out then they would support each other - this was important as Germany felt vulnerable due to how weak the TOV left them

These treaties were very significant as it represented the end of German resentment of the TOV and it was also signed voluntarily. Also showcased Germany as a peaceful nation so other relations improved which allowed Germany into the league

This was done outside of the league which is a failure of the league as the league should have been at the head of international agreements but it had nothing to due with this

Question 39

Kellogg-Briand pact 1928

Answer 39

65 countries met in Paris to sign an agreement promising to not use war as a way of solving disputes

This took place outside the league due to the USA being involved which again made the league look bad due to not being involved in international affairs

Question 40

collapse of the league - great depression

Answer 40

1929 wall street crash hit USA and 1000s of businesses collapsed and went bankrupted

by 1933, 15 million Americans were unemployed and many lost their homes which left people desperate and afraid.

USA then asked for the loans (to Germany and other loosing countries that the US leant to help them rebuild such as the Dawes plan and Young plan) back to try and fix their economy

this caused other countries (mainly Germany) to suffer as they then didn’t have any money and had to rebuild and pay reparations

The economic crisis caused widespread unemployment and poverty across the world which then caused people to turn to extremes such as Hitler as they blamed the governments. The chaos also meant that countries did not focus on the league or fund it. The extremist leaders then take no interest in the league (as it stops them going to war and acting as they want) which then makes other leaders ignore it so then the league doesn’t really work and it was already weak

the league couldn’t really do anything to stop these dictators as they didn’t care about moral condemnation and economic sanctions wouldn’t work as other countries were unable to stop trading as they needed money desperately. Countries also couldn’t afford to fight a war or supply an army so nobody could stop them

Question 41

collapse of the league - Manchurian crisis

Answer 41

Manchuria is an area in china which is rich in natural resources such as coal and iron which nearby countries wanted

China was weak in the 1930s due to being split into many regions ruled by individual leaders who ignored the government.

Japan’s economy was suffering in the depression due to the fact nobody wanted their main export, silk, as it was a luxury which no one could afford so Japan invaded manchuria as it had lots of fertile soil and natural resources unlike in Japan

Japanese army assassinated the leader of Manchuria and their own prime minister and then took control of the country

The japanese then took over manchuria by planting a bomb on the South Manchurian Railway and blaming China for it as they said it was an attack on the Japanese people working their. Japan then took Manchuria and renamed it Manchukuo and placed Pu Yi as a puppet leader to rule over the area under Japans order

Leagues response:
China went to league for help. There was a lot of confusion over what actually happened as Japan were lying. The league launched a very slow investigation which showed that Japan was in the wrong. The league morally condemned Japan which did nothing. They also issued economic sanctions which also did nothing as Japans main trade partner was the US who wasn’t in the league so continued to trade. The league didn’t really do anything as they couldn’t afford to send an army so far away and the closest country was the USSR who wasn’t in the league.

Overall, the league hadn’t done anything as one of its most powerful members had ignored its disarmament policy and it showed other leaders such as Hitler that there was no consequences for acting against the league.

Question 42

collapse of the league - Abyssinian crises

Answer 42

Abyssinia is on the north eastern coast of Africa. In 1935 Mussolini invaded it as he wanted to expand his empire and Africa was a good option as France and Britain had both got colonies there already. Abyssinia had lots of natural resources and also boarded other small Italian colonies so could be easily invaded. Mussolini was confident that the league would not stop him as they didn’t stop him in Corfu previously.

In 1934 due to Mussolini’s orders Italian soldiers clashed with Abyssinian soldiers and 150 Abyssinian soldiers died with only 2 Italian soldiers dying. The league tried to intervene as both countries were members however Italy was intent on war.

Previously Britain, France and Italy had Stresa Front allying them against Hitler and in 1935 France met with Italy and promised to not intervene with Italy’s affairs in Abyssinia.

Italy then invaded Abyssinia in late 1935 despite going against the league. Italy’s army was much larger and more modern and terrorised the citizens through bombing and chemical warfare.

Abyssinian emperor when to the league and asked for help however the league did nothing and so the Italian troops took the capital showing the league was unable to stop conflict.

Leagues response:
they didn’t make Britain and France close the Suez canal (as Britain and France wanted to be on good terms with Italy) which would have stopped Italy easily reaching Abyssinia.
League members were banned from selling guns to either country which left Abyssinia very underprepared. The league also took 2 months to decide what else to ban and when the decision was made they didn’t ban coal or oil (as this would have caused unemployment in British mining areas and they thought other countries would supply Italy with these anyway). Mussolini said later if these were banned he would have had to stop the invasion as he wouldn’t have been able to fuel his machines.

Question 43

Failure of the league to avert war in 1939

Answer 43

after all of the previous failures to stop war and deal with issues, the leagues reputation was ruined. This meant countries such as Germany were not afraid of going against the league as they knew there would be no consequences so began to take over Europe. Germany, Japan and Italy all left the league before the war.

problems with the League:
no army
only met once per year
required unanimous voting making decision making slow
powerful countries were not involved so lacked power and trade sanctions did not work as countries outside the league could still trade

Question 44

Hitlers aims

Answer 44

overturn the TOV as it humiliated Germany
Rearm Germany to make it strong again and create jobs in the army and factories
Create Lebensraum (living space in the east)
unite Germany and Austria in Anschluss
unite people with German blood who weren’t living in Germany to make a greater Germany
Destroy Communism. (a Jewish man had developed the idea so he also hated Jews)

Question 45

allied responses to Hitlers aims - Britain

Answer 45

Hitlers speeches worried British people and government however when Hitler signed a non-aggression pact with Poland many people were satisfied.
Many British people wanted to avoid a war at all costs after WW1 so turned a blind eye to Hitler.
Chamberlain sent his friend to meet with Hitler in 1937 to discover what he wanted so Britain could ‘appease’ Hitler to avoid all out war.
Public opinion had changed to the TOV and many people thought it was too harsh so people didn’t mind that Germany was reclaiming what it had lost. This also allowed Germany to stop communist USSR which people wanted.
Churchill believed that Britain needed to take a stronger stance against Germany and thought appeasement was the wrong idea.

Question 46

allied responses to Hitlers aims - France

Answer 46

French government found it difficult to concentrate on Hitler as they had been strongly effected by the depression and had interior issues with rebellion

Question 47

allied responses to Hitlers aims - USSR

Answer 47

Stalin was concerned about Hitler as Hitler wanted to destroy communism but was also wary of USA, Britain and France.

Relations improved when USSR joined the league and Stalin had decided it was worth working with other countries to stop Hitlers expanse to the east.

Question 48

allied responses to Hitlers aims - USA

Answer 48

Franklin D Roosevelt (FDR) was president and was following the policy of isolationism away from Europe’s affairs and also was dealing with the depression as unemployment had reached 25% so was focused on making jobs.

70% of Americans wanted to stay out of another war which FDR promised

FDR tried to get Hitler to stop invading other countries however Hitler didn’t take the request seriously.

Question 49

Road to war - Dollfuss affair 1934

Answer 49

Hitler wanted to unite with Austria as the two countries had been ruled together for 600 years. The Austrian leader, Dollfuss, was aware of this so banned the Austrian NAZI party. Hitler then told them to wreck havoc and they murdered Dollfuss. Hitlers plot ultimately failed as the Austrian army supported the Austrian government and Mussolini also put his troops on the border, promising to stop Hitler. Hitler knew his army was not strong enough so stopped and blamed the Austrian Nazi party.

Question 50

Road to war - Rearmament 1935

Answer 50

At a rally in Germany Hitler showed off the weapons he had secretly been building. He also reintroduced conscription and expanding the army to 1 million. He also said he was going to rebuild the air force which marked the point where he openly went against the TOV and nobody stopped him.

Question 51

Road to war - The Saar 1935

Answer 51

the Saar was a rich industrial area which had been given to the league of nations for 15 years which had just expired so the people voted on whether Germany or France should govern the area. 90% said they wanted to join Germany so Hitler got rich coalfields to build weapons. He also used the victory as propaganda to show that the German people outside of Germany wanted to unite under Hitler.

Question 52

Road to war - The Stresa Front 1935

Answer 52

this was an agreement between Britain, France and Italy stating that they would guarantee the terms of the Locarno treaty, protect Austrian independence and work together to stop Hitler breaking any more TOV terms.

Question 53

Road to war - Anglo-German naval agreement 1935

Answer 53

Britain signed an agreement with Hitler saying that his navy could be 35% of the size of Britain’s and have 45% of the number of British submarines. Germany accepted this without consulting France or Italy. Hitler saw this as Britain admitting that the TOV was too harsh and therefore he could ignore it

Question 54

Escalation of tension - remilitarisation of Rhineland

Answer 54

area between Germany and France which the TOV stated that had to be demilitarised

Hitler knew when he started invading other countries, it would provoke a response from France and the allies so he needed to defend Germanies borders including to France which meant the Rhineland needed to be remilitarised.

Hitler entered after France and USSR signed a pact agreeing to help each other if attacked by Germany. Hitler said this meant Germany was under threat so then he sent troops in.

France and Britain both didn’t respond as both were still suffering from the depression and had most of their troops dealing with Abyssinia. France also thought Germany’s army was much larger than it so was not prepared to risk soldiers.

Could Hitler have been stopped?
Hitler ordered his generals to retreat if there was any resistance and knew he would have had to pay crippling fines if there was objection.

How did it lead to war?
Hitler grew more confident as he could act as he wished with no resistance
He started planning how to achieve Anschluss
Britain and France started rearming
France and Britain resigned the Locarno treaty confirming they would help each other if Hitler invaded

Question 55

Escalation of tension - Mussolini and the Axis 1936

Answer 55

Hitler saw Mussolini as a potential ally as he was also a dictator. They made the Rome-Berlin Axis saying the countries would work more closely together. This also gave Hitler an ally and support and no longer made Mussolini isolated

Question 56

Escalation of tension - Anti-Comintern Pact 1936-7

Answer 56

In 1936 Germany and Japan signed the Anti-Comintern Pact which was an agreement for the 2 countries to help each other out in the fight against communism. In 1937 Italy joined which increased tensions as this was similar to WW1 and angered the USSR

In 1939 this turned into the pact of steel which was a military alliance making war more likely

Question 57

Escalation of tension - Anschluss 1938

Answer 57

Hitler wanted to join with Austria as it was one of his main foreign policies and also gave him more resources and a tactical advantage. He had previously tried but failed.

In 1938 Hitler met with the Austrian Chancellor to discuss the ‘persecution of Austrian Nazis’. However the Chancellor was under pressure from Hitler and so gave a leading Nazi (Seyss-inquart) a ministerial role. Hitler told Seyss-inquart to create trouble and demand Anschluss.

Austrian chancellor asked Britain and France for help but they did nothing so chancellor held a vote on whether the people wanted to join or not

Hitler feared he would loose so ordered Chancellor to resign and replaced him with Seyss-inquart.

Under Hitlers orders Seyss-inquart asked for Germanys help to restore order in Austria so Germany marched troops into Austria on 12th march 1938.

In the vote 99% of people voted in favour of anschluss however there were stormtroopers who intimidated voters at polling stations.

Hitler became even more confident as no one stopped him and realised that he could take even bigger risks.
Czechoslovakia were very concerned as they knew Hitler would come for them next

Question 58

reasons for appeasement

Answer 58

was Chamberlains policy of giving in to demands from Hitler to avoid war
He would do anything to avoid another world war

Reasons:
Hitler could help stop the spread of communism so wanted to be on Hitlers good side
Britain needed time to rearm
Hitler is just retaking the TOV which was unfairly taken from Germany
Public do not want another war
Britain could not afford another war due to the depression
Hitler surely would stop his demands soon

Question 59

reasons against appeasement

Answer 59

Churchill was very against appeasement

Reasons:
Britain can’t trust Hitler as he keeps breaking his promises
Germany was rearming very quickly and Britain needs to stop them before its too late
Appeasement makes Britain look weak
People missed opportunities to stop Hitler as if France had intervened when Hitler entered the Rhineland then he may have backed down
The more Hitler was given the more confidence Hitler gained and so he took more and more
Was morally wrong as it left countries with no say occupied by the Nazis such as Czech who may have been able to fight back however weren’t given the chance

Question 60

Escalation of tension: Sudeten crisis 1938 and the Munich Agreement

Answer 60

The Sudeten Crisis was a key moment when the policy of appeasement failed

Hitler wanted the Sudetenland which was part of Czechoslovakia where ethnic Germans lived as he claimed that Czech government was mistreating them.
The Sudetenland had fortifications so by claiming this area, it would make invading the whole of Czechoslovakia easier for Hitler

In September 1938 the leaders of Britain, France, Germany and Italy met in Munich to discuss the crisis. They agreed to let Hitler take over the Sudetenland (but not all of Czech) without consulting the Czechoslovakia gov making it very unfair and controversial as they had to accept the terms. They believed that this concession would satisfy Hitler and prevent further conflict. The USSR was also not involved which caused distrust between them and the rest of Europe

Question 61

outbreak of war: invasion of Czechoslovakia 1939

Answer 61

After Anschluss, Germany bordered Czechoslovakia on three sides
Claiming Czechoslovakia would protect Germany from invasion and achieve Lebensraum

By March 1939, Hitler gained the rest of Czechoslovakia
Hitler demanded the Czech government surrender control of Czechoslovakia and failure to do this would result in the Luftwaffe bombing of Prague

Hitler could not defend his actions to claim the whole of Czechoslovakia as there was no German-speaking population in the land he claimed which was the first instance of Hitler going further than just reclaiming the TOV

The invasion of Czechoslovakia ended the policy of appeasement and Chamberlain stated on 17th March that he could no longer trust Hitler

Question 62

reactions to the Munich agreement

Answer 62

Czechoslovakia - felt let down by their allies. Britain and France had promised to protect Czechoslovakia yet they had given the Sudetenland to Germany without their consent. The Sudetenland contained many of Czechoslovakia’s military resources. They were now defenceless if Hitler decided to invade the whole of Czechoslovakia

Britain - Many people at home saw Chamberlain as a hero. They believed that Chamberlain had guaranteed peace, as shown in Chamberlain’s ‘Peace for Our Time’ speech. However, critics like Churchill believed that Hitler would break his promise not to invade Czechoslovakia

Germany - Hitler had achieved a significant victory for Grossdeutchland and Lebensraum. He had united the German speakers of the Sudetenland and took land away from the Slavs. Hitler knew that Czechoslovakia could not defend itself from an invasion

USSR - Similarly to Czechoslovakia, the USSR felt angry and betrayed by Britain and France. Stalin believed that Britain and France agreed with Germany’s Lebensraum tactics

Question 63

Outbreak of war - the Nazi soviet pact

Answer 63

Poland was made of both German and USSR territories and so both countries disliked Poland and wanted to reclaim their land.

The Nazi soviet pact was a deal between USSR and Germany to split Poland between the two of them in secret. Hitler would do all the fighting and Stalin would get the land. This also meant that Stalin had time to get an army incase Hitler betrayed him.

USSR signed this as they didn’t trust Britain or France due to the Czech situation and also when USSR invited Britain for talks they first declined then sent someone by boat instead of by plane giving the impression that they don’t really care. Hitler however sent a very important Nazi for negotiations.

Before the pact, there was uncertainty about whether the USSR would support Poland or oppose German expansion. The agreement between the Nazis and the Soviets removed this uncertainty, making it clear that the USSR would not interfere with Germany’s invasion of Poland allowing Germany to invade.

Question 64

Outbreak of war - the invasion of Poland

Answer 64

Due to the Nazi Soviet pact Hitler was very confident he could easily invade Poland. So launched the invasion on 1st September 1939.

Nazi officials didn’t believe that Germany was ready so leaked the plans to Britain to try and deter Hitler however he didn’t care.

Question 65

Outbreak of the war

Answer 65

Britain had signed an agreement which protected Poland if Germany were to invade.

On the 1st sept 1939 Germany launched an attack on Danzig which was a state which Poland ran. The Army and Luftwaffe also invaded Poland at the same time

3rd sept 1939 Britain tell Germany that if they did not remove their troops from Poland then Britain would be at war. When Germany did not reply Britain and France declared war on them. Hitler was proved wrong as he did not think Britain would actually follow through.

Question 66

reasons for the outbreak of war - Hitler

Answer 66

He hated Communism and wanted to destroy it by invading and controlling all communism countries
Hitler wanted to get revenge for the TOV
Hitlers foreign policy - Lebensraum

Question 67

reasons for the outbreak of war - Failures of the league

Answer 67

Manchuria crisis
Abyssinian crisis
no USA
Fundamental policies of no army

Question 68

reasons for the outbreak of war - The Depression

Answer 68

Desperate times cause people to turn to desperate measures such as Hitler and Mussolini
League of Nations was not able to be supported due to each countries having its own problems

Question 69

reasons for the outbreak of war - appeasement

Answer 69

Opportunities to stop Hitler were missed such as the remilitarisation of the Rhineland
Munich agreement to appease Hitler excluded Stalin which caused him to join with Hitler and create the Nazi Soviet pact

Question 70

reasons for the outbreak of war - Nazi soviet pact

Answer 70

allowed Hitler to freely invade Poland
Hitler didn’t have to fight on 2 fronts
Hitler was backed by the USSR

Question 71

reasons for the outbreak of war - TOV

Answer 71

too harsh on Germany meaning that Hitler wanted revenge
Other countries allowed Germany to break these terms which built Hitlers confidence