Chapter 4: World War II in Europe (Part 2)

Question 1

Memories of World War I

Answer 1

Ex

• Fear of war - Economic loss - destruction & loss of lives & property.
• Because of the horrors of war – another war was an unpopular choice.

A

Politicians would appease Hitler through talks, discussions & giving in to him, so long they could avoid another war in Europe.

Question 2

Fear of Communism

Answer 2

Ex

• Some politicians saw communism as a greater threat than Nazism. They were afraid of the violence brought about by the communists to overthrow the existing government.
• The rich businessmen and industrialists were afraid of communism – afraid that their wealth would be taken away from them and redistribute to the poor.
• Hitler was also known to be strong opponents of communism.

A
British & French saw an advantage of having a strong Germany as an ally as protection against Russia to prevent Communism from spreading to the rest of Europe.
They were also afraid that Hitler would go into an alliance with the Russians should they offend him.

Question 3

Attitude towards Hitler & the Treaty of Versailles

Answer 3

Ex

• The TOV was unfair to Germany - it took away territories from Germany & gave them to the victors of WW I. Reparations were too heavy and bankrupted Germany and the army & navy – the national pride of the Germans were reduced.
• Many people thought that Germany had been too harshly punished – for this reason, they did not object to Hitler building up his armed forces or recovering some of the land which had lost. After all, Hitler was really restoring Germany to its rightful place amongst the major powers.

A

The British and French appeased Hitler as they thought he was a reasonable man and he would stop once he reclaimed all the lands that used to belong to Germany.

Question 4

Britain’s Problems

Answer 4

Ex

Economic Problem
- In the 1930s, Britain & France were still
dealing with problems arising from the
Great Depression.
- Government’s policy had been to lower
taxes and cut government spending 
meant that both countries were not
ready to fight a war.

Problem in the colonies
- Growing opposition to British rule in
India and Palestine.
- British did not want a conflict in Europe
as well, as they did not have sufficient resources

A

They did not want to spend
huge amounts of money
necessary to improve their
weapons & expand their
forces.

They were keen to avoid a
war.