Chapter 9 Flashcards
By 1938, what two countries had Hitler taken over
Austria and Czechoslovakia
What did Hitler promise to do when he came to power
destroy the Treaty of Versailles
reunite the German speaking people
claim Lebensraum in the east
Invading which country would help Hitler achieve his aims
Poland
Why was Poland easy to attack
It had no natural frontiers
Hitler was also confident as he had seen Britain and France fail to take action against him as he broke terms of the Treaty of Versailles and felt that despite them agreeing to protect Poland, they would not do anything to stop him invading the country
Why did both Stalin and Hitler want Poland
At the end of WW1 Poland had been made up of German and Russian territories
Why was Hitler concerned about Stalin
He knew that Stalin was determined to reclaim the land and was concerned about what Stalin may do if the Germans invaded
When was the Nazi-Soviet Pact signed
23rd August 1939
Why did the USSR not trust Britain and France
- Stalin joined the League of Nations in 1934, but saw how weak it was in the Manchuria, Abyssinia and Rhineland crises so lost faith in the League’s ability to protect Russia from Hitler
- In 1934, the USSR and France had signed an agreement stating that France would protect Russia from German invasion, but when Hitler remilitarised the Rhineland in 1936 France did nothing
- Britain and France followed the policy of appeasement towards Germany in the 1930s; one of their justifications for this was that Hitler could act as a barrier against Communism so should be allowed to rearm meaning they clearly did not trust Stalin
- In 1938 the Allies signed the Munich agreement with Hitler and Stalin was not invited or consulted so lost any faith he had left in them
- Lord Halifax who was the foreign minister and Chamberlain both hated Communism so when Stalin first invited them to Russia for talks they declined. When the situation in Czechoslovakia worsened, the British decided they needed the USSR on their side. (more)
- The Polish people knew that the Russian’s hated them and wanted their territory back, so they said that they would not allow Russian troops to be stationed in Poland to defend them from Nazi invasion which added to the culture of mistrust between Russia and the Allies
- Hitler sent one of his most senior Nazis to meet with Stalin which compared with Britain and France ignoring him in Munich, Hitler seemed to respect and value Stalin
Why did Russia sign the Nazi-Soviet Pact
- Hitler and Stalin secretly agreed to split Poland between them. Stalin could destroy Poland and reclaim land that had been taken from Russia. He would gain territory in Poland and didn’t have to lift a finger to take it as Hitler would do all the fighting
- Stalin did not really trust Hitler and suspected that Hitler would turn against him (which he did when he invaded Russia in 1941) and signing this pact bought him time to build his army up ready for war
- The USSR could see that Britain and France would not stand up to Hitler; they had not consulted Stalin over key issues such as the Munich agreement, and Chamberlain had insulted him by sending a diplomat with no real power or status to negotiate an alliance.
- Stalin felt isolated and felt that he had no choice but to agree to the pact as it was better to be allies with Hitler than to be invaded by him
- Owning territory in Poland would be useful as it would create a buffer zone if Hitler did decide to invade Russia
What was the benefit of the Nazi-Soviet Pact for Germany
During WW1 Germany had fought a war on two fronts, meaning that they had to divide its troops in two to fight in two different directions which weakened the army. Hitler knew that with every step towards achieving his foreign policy, war became more likely and Russia was a vast country with an equally vast army which Hitler needed to take out of the equation
What was the significance of the Nazi-Soviet Pact
- the Nazi-Soviet Pact made war inevitable as Hitler knew he could invade Poland without without facing a war on two fronts
- after Hitler had broken the Munich Agreement and invaded Czechoslovakia, Britain and France realised that the policy of appeasement was not working and vowed to protect Poland if Hitler invaded, which he surely now would
- the pact also meant that when war did break out, Britain and France would face Germany without the support of Russia. The mighty Soviet army would instead side with the Nazis, which meant Hitler had an upper hand
- the pact persuaded Britain that war was imminent as they formalised their previous agreement with Poland
When and where did Germany first invade
1st September 1939
Port of Danzig which had been ,made an independent state in the Treaty of Versailles but run by Poland
German army and Luftwaffe also invaded Poland
What were Hitler’s generals worried of
that they were not ready for war
What did Hitler’s generals do to try and get Hitler to abandon his plans of war
leaked plans to Britain
What did Hitler do in response to finding out his generals had leaked his plans
ignored their concerns and made them swear oaths of loyalty to him
When did Britain send their ultimatum to Germany
3rd September 1939
What was Britain’s ultimatum to Germany
the Germans were to send assurances to Britain that they would withdraw their troops from Poland by 11am or Britain would be in a state of war with German and would send troops to Germany
