c&t part three: the origins & outbreak of WWII Flashcards
chapter 8: what year was the Sudeten Crisis?
1938
chapter 8: where was the Sudetenland?
Czechoslovakia
chapter 8: what were some reasons that Hitler wanted to take the Sudetenland?
- Sudetenland part of Czechoslovakia, on the G border
- he planned to take Lebensraum
- Czechoslovakia’s main defences in there, so taking it allows Hitler to invade whole country. natural resources & factories in the area he could utilise in his war effort
- Czechoslovakia created at end of WWI, he felt invasion of it would be another step towards destroying ToV
- about 20% of pop. G, in may 1938 claimed they were being persecuted & used this as excuse to attack
chapter 8: what happened when Chamberlain met Hitler on 15th September 1938?
- Chamberlain flew to Berchtesgarden to meet Hitler
- he wanted to appease him to prevent war, so agreed to allow him to take Sudetenland so long as his actions peacful
- Chamberlain then met w Czechs & forced them to agree to Hitler’s terms
- 22 Sept: Chamberlain met Hitler at Bad Godsberg, where Hitler changed demands: Sudetenland would be handed over to him by 1 Oct and Hungary & Poland must also be given Czech land
chapter 8: when did Chamberlain meet with Hitler about the Sudetenland? (not the Munich conference)
15 Sept 1938
chapter 8: what happened at the Munich Conference on 29th September 1938?
- Chamberlain, Hitler, Mussolini & Daladier (F president) met in Munich
- they accepted demands Hitler had made at Bad Godsberg
- Chamberlain & Daladier said they’d prevented war, as Hitler promised not to take any more land. Chamberlain said he’d guaranteed ‘peace in our time’
- Czechs not consulted!!!
- USSR not consulted, this made Stalin think he couldn’t trust B & F
chapter 8: when was the Munich Conference?
29th Sept 1938
chapter 8: when did Hitler invade the Sudetenland?
10th Oct 1938
chapter 8: what happened when Hitler invaded the Sudetenland?
- troops marched in, but unlike events in Rhineland & Austria, Czechs saw this as real military invasion
- this was 1st time Hitler invaded a country that’d never prev been united w G
- Hitler completed invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1939. he’d broken promises made at Munich Conference & Chamberlain had to accept policy of appeasement failed
chapter 8: what are some arguments for appeasement?
- war costs lives, so should be avoided
- ToV too harsh on G
- Hitler said he was man of peace
- Hitler’s actions gave ppl what they wanted e.g. Anschluss
- ppl of B didn’t want war
- war too expensive during GD
- Hitler could be ally against Communism
- B rearmament didn’t start until 1936 - B not ready for war
- USA wouldn’t support B & F
chapter 8: when did B start rearming?
1936
chapter 8: what are some arguments against appeasement?
- Hitler made no secret of fact he’d use violence
- opportunities to stop Hitler when he was weak, such as when Rhineland remilitarised, were missed
- Hitler grew confident
- appeasement morally wrong
- Czechoslovakia strong & modern, and so could’ve made stand against Hitler, but was forced to back down
- USSR alienated
chapter 8: summary of appeasement’s failure?
- Hitler’s foreign policy meant he’d invade other countries
- however, B & F reluctant to go to war, so followed policy of appeasement
- this taught Hitler he could do as he wanted & so Europe got closer to war, as he remilitarised Rhineland, forced Anschluss on Austria, invaded Sudetenland, & then took rest of Czechoslovakia
chapter 9: when was the Nazi-Soviet Pact signed?
23 Aug 1939
chapter 9: how would G benefit from the Nazi-Soviet Pact?
- Hitler could invade Poland w/o facing war on 2 fronts. B & F had promised to protect Poland, but USSR wouldn’t interfere
- B & F would now face war w Germany w/o USSR as ally
- USSR had massive army, which would no longer be threat to G