Causes of WW2

Question 1

What was the impact of the Treaty of Versailles on Germany?

Answer 1

-They had to pay 6.6 billion in reparations
-War guilt clause (article 31) and had to accept full responsibility for the war
-Had to restrict their army to 100,000 men and only 6 battleships (no submarines or airplanes
-Lost 10% of European territory

Question 2

What were Hitler’s four main foreign and domestic policy aims?

Answer 2

1. Destruction of TOV
2. To unite all German speaking people into a greater Germany (Grossdeutschland)
3. To acquire living space (Lebansraum) to the east of Germany
4. To destroy communism

Question 3

Why did Hitler want the destruction of the TOV?

Answer 3

Blamed it for many of Germany’s troubles and blamed those who signed it as the November criminals.

Question 4

Why did Hitler want to unite all german speaking people into a greater germany?

Answer 4

Number one aim of reuniting Austria and Germany who had originally and historically been united.

Question 5

Why did Hitler want Lebensraum?

Answer 5

He believed that the growing Aryan race population who were racially superior should get to live where slavs were

Question 6

Why did Hitler want to destroy communism?

Answer 6

He detested the soviet union and its ideology and wanted to destroy it

Question 7

What were the main causes of the war?

Answer 7

1. Rearmanment
2. Remilitariation of the Rhineland
3. Anschuluss

Question 8

Outline what happened during rearmament

Answer 8

Hitler had promised as one of his election promises to fight against the terms of the treaty of vesailles. He sent Josef Goebbels to the Geneva Disarmament conference in Feb 1933 where germany asked other nations to disarm to the same levels of germany. However they refused so germany withdrew from conference and LON. They started an aggressive rearmament in secret with 60 billion spent between 1933 and 1939, army to be 300,000 and 1,000 planes. Reintroduction of conscription.

Question 9

Outline what happened in the remilitarization of the Rhineland

Answer 9

Hitler ordered 32,000 troops to the demilitarised Rhineland in an attempt to abolish the TOV and it was an important industrial region that could potentially aid in future endeavours.

Question 10

Outline what happened in the Anschulus

Answer 10

This was the Nazi’s first aggressive territorial expansion where Hitler demanded that Austria unite with Germany and become under their rule otherwise invasions. 99.75% said that they had wanted it.

Question 11

During the remilitarization, rearmament and anschulus, what were the response from the western powers?

Answer 11

All criticized but did nothing actively about it. France couldn’t act bc in the state of internal political turmoil

Question 12

What is the Sudentland and where is it located?

Answer 12

Its a region that contains parts of northern, southern and western parts of Czechoslavakia

Question 13

Outline germany’s actions in the occupation of the sudentland

Answer 13

Henlein (german nationalist) met with hitler asking to come under the reich. Then henlein would demand for germans to be set through however they knew this would be refused and would use this. British Pm agrees to give germany parts of czech with over 50% germans. however, hitler changes his mind and wants it all so massive meeting where its agreed he can have it as long as no more territorial expansion in europe.

Question 14

What was the Nazi Soviet Pact?

Answer 14

A 10 year non-aggression pact between germany and the soviet union

Question 15

What happened during the invasion of poland?

Answer 15

germany and the soviet union united and invaded poland together successfully and then divided up the land

Question 16

What’s the definition of appeasement?

Answer 16

a strategy that focuses on making consessions to a foreign power to avoid war

Question 17

Why was appeasement developed?

Answer 17

Fear of communism, desire to not go back to conditions of WW1, internal troubles