Chapter 4: World War II in Europe (Part 1) Flashcards
WHAT WERE THE FACORS LEADING TO THE OUTBREAK OF WAR IN EUROPE ?
Hitler’s Policy of Expansion:
1. To create a
Greater Germany by uniting all German people in Austria, Czechoslovakia and Poland
2. To create Lebensraum [living space] by expanding the empire to Eastern Europe
3. to establish a superior Aryan
race by rebuilding the strength of German arm and exterminate ‘inferior races’.
EX
Conscription and Rearmament
- At LON Disarmament Conference,
Germany proposed that France should disarm to German level or allow Germany to rearm to French level. France objected and Hitler withdrew Germany from LON.
- Hitler then started the rearmament and conscription of soldier to build up German defences in defiance of the TOV. However, the LON was in a pacifist mood and didn’t impose sanctions on Hitler.
Remilitarisation of Rhineland
- Hitler used the alliance between France
and USSR as excuse to remilitarise
Rhineland.
- He claimed that Germany was under
threat from the alliance and wanted to
defend their borders.
- Britain was sympathetic to German
demand as they felt that Rhineland was
German’s territory to make the decision.
- France did not want to start a war with
Germany.
- With the support of the key members,
the LON did not take actions to stop Hitler.
Spanish Civil War
- Hitler sent army and equipment to
support the Spanish Nationalist forces. Britain and France saw that as Hitler’s effort to fight against the communist and did not stop Hitler’s involvement.
- The involvement gave Hitler’s army a practice run to strengthen the army.
Anschluss [unification] with Austria
- Hitler sent troops into Austria on the
pretext of keeping order for the Austrians
to vote for Anschluss.
- Majority of the Austrians voted for Anschluss and Germany annexed
Austria against the TOV.
- No action by LON or Britain and France.
Sudetenland and Czechoslovakia
- Sudetenland was part of
Czechoslovakia. It formed the natural defence with mountains and forest. It had rich resources such as coal.
- Main population in Sudetenland was Germans. Under the influence of the Nazis in Sudetenland, the Germans wanted to be part of Germany.
- Britain, France, Italy and Germany signed the Munich Agreement to give control of the Sudetenland to Germany. This was done without the consent of Czechoslovakia and without consulting USSR.
- After promising to only take Sudetenland, Hitler broke his promise and annexed Czechoslovakia.
- Britain and France did not take action to stop Hitler.
A
Hitler viewed the LON as weak and would not stop him. It gave Hitler more confidence and became more aggressive.
Provided Germany with the weapons and military force to wage war in Europe.
Hitler viewed the LON as weak and would not stop him. It gave Hitler more confidence and became more aggressive. This led to increased tension in Europe, leading to the outbreak of war.
Hitler was seen as anti- communist and gained the trust of the Western powers. Britain and France chose not to take action against Germany. Hitler saw them as weak, which gave him more confidence and became more aggressive.
Austria’s rich resource of gold and iron ore, its army and weapons were added strengthened Hitler’s ability to wage war. Gave Hitler more confidence to declare war.
The resources from Czechoslovakia added to Hitler’s military capability. The lack of action from Britain and France gave Hitler the confidence that he would not be stopped in his expansionist policy. Hitler became more aggressive, increasing the tension in Europe, contributing to the outbreak of war in Europe.
Policy of Appeasement (POA)
Ex
- Due to memories of WW1, LON wanted to avoid war at all cost by giving in to Hitler.
- Britain & France hoped to buy time with the POA so that they could rearm and prepare for war.
- Britain & France did not realize that by giving in to Hitler, they were seen as cowards, afraid of Hitler. This emboldened Hitler as no actions were taken against Hitler when he remilitarized the Rhineland, Anschluss with Austria. It encouraged Hitler to demand for more and as a result, peace broke down in Europe.
A
By not stopping Hitler when he occupied the Rhineland, they missed a vital opportunity to stop him as had they resisted Hitler when he remilitarised the Rhineland, Hitler would probably had withdrawn his forces as he was not ready for war.
Failure of the League of Nations:
-pacifist attitude if key members like Britain and France
-countries placed their self-interest above collective security
Ex:
LON was only successful in dealing with the small nations but failed miserably when dealing with the bigger nations e.g. Japan and Italy :
Japan
- Japan occupied Manchuria in 1931 –
LON set up a Lytton Commission to look into the crisis. LON took a long time to investigate the issue. Japan was found to be at fault and was asked to leave Manchuria. The Japanese army refused to leave Manchuria.
- LON did not take military action against Japan. Japan was allowed to keep Manchuria which it renamed as Manchukuo and they put the last emperor – Puyi on the throne. Japan left the LON subsequently.
Italy
- Italy attacked Abyssinia. LON imposed
economic sanctions on Italy but these did not include oil, coal. Britain continued to keep the Suez Canal open for them. As a result, Italy still got fuel for their war efforts and the sanctions did not work. Italy also left the LON subsequently.
Failure of Disarmament
- Countries placed their self-interest above collective security. At LON Disarmament Conference, Germany proposed that France should disarm to German level based on the TOV or allow Germany to rearm to French level. France objected and Hitler withdrew Germany from LON.
- Hitler then started the rearmament and conscription of soldier to build up German defences in defiance of the TOV. However, the LON was in a pacifist mood and didn’t impose sanctions on Hitler.
A:
The bigger nations realized that it paid to be aggressive and that the LON was in no position to stop them. Germany felt that the LON was weak and became embolden in their efforts to strengthen the country. Germany began a policy of rearmament, in defiance of the terms of the TOV. LON did nothing to stop them.
Hitler viewed the LON as weak and would not stop him. It gave Hitler more confidence and became more aggressive. This led to increased tension in Europe, leading to the outbreak of war
Nazi-Soviet Pact
- Both parties
promised not to attack each other and also to share lands between them. The Treaty was only a temporary alliance as both did not trust each other.
Ex
- Stalin signed the Pact so as to buy time for the USSR to rearm as he realized that Hitler would one day attack Russia. The Munich Agreement also showed him that Britain and France were deeply suspicious of him and would not form an alliance with him to stop Hitler.
- Hitler signed the Pact to prevent Russia from attacking at the Eastern Front.
A
Pact led to the outbreak of war as Germany could start a war without fear of a two- prong attack, the west by the western allies and the east by the Russians. It gave Hitler the confidence to wage war with the West. In fact, war broke out soon after the Pact was signed.
Legacy of the Treaty of Versailles
Ex:
The Germans were angry with the terms of the Treaty which they felt were particularly harsh.
- Unhappy with Clause 231 which put the
full blame of the First World War on Germany. Germany was also forced to pay huge reparations as punishment.
- The Germans also lost a lot of land as the German empire broke up and she was not allowed to ever reunite with Austria again.
- Germany was also angry with the naval and military terms which were particularly humiliating.
A:
This unhappiness was exploited by extremists such as Hitler to gain support from the Germans for him to wage war.
