Collapse of international peace

Question 1

Causes of WW2

Answer 1

• Long-term consequences of the Paris Treaties
• Failure of the League of Nations
• Hitler’s actions
• The policy of Appeasement: Neville Chamberlain, the British prime minister, was keen to avoid war. His policy was to appease Hitler, which usually meant giving in to his territorial needs.
• The Nazi-Soviet Pact
• The impact of the Great Depression

Question 2

Long term consequences of TofV

Answer 2

• Military reductions: humiliated Germany, caused resentment, helped rise of Hitler
• Polish corridor: displaced German citizens, unfair = “self-determination”, Germany will want it back
• De-militarization of the Rhineland: humiliated Germany, could cause resentment, too harsh?
• Prohibition of Anschluss: unfair to Germany “self-determination”
• Economic problems: German middle class lost savings, caused trauma and resentment, helped rise of Hitler

Question 3

How did Germany begin to rearm in 1933

Answer 3

• He began to draft unemployed Germans into the army
• He withdrew from the League in protest of other countries’ failures to disarm
• He rearmed in secret
• 1935 – huge military display held in Germany
• 1936 – introduced conscription
• Britain allowed Germany to rearm as they considered Germany a strong buffer against Communism

Question 4

Remilitarization of the Rhineland, 1936

Answer 4

• Germany was forbidden to place troops in Rhineland under terms of Treaty of Versailles
• March 1936: Hitler sends troops to the Rhineland
• This was Hitler’s first big risk – if it failed, he would lose support of the German army
• French army at this stage was superior and would have defeated German forces
• Hitler knew that many people in Britain felt he had the right to have his troops in the Rhineland
• The League condemned his actions but did nothing, they were busy dealing with Abyssinia
• The French did nothing as an election was approaching and nobody wanted another war
• Hitler’s gamble paid off

Question 5

Invasion of the Saar

Answer 5

• 1935 – League of Nations held plebiscite and the region overwhelmingly voted to return to German rule
• Completely legal and huge morale boost for Hitler

Question 6

Anschluss with Austria, 1938

Answer 6

• There were many Germans living in Austria, and Hitler wanted to unite the two states as one German nation
• Austrian Chancellor asked France and Britain for help – they refused
• A plebiscite was called to decide if Austrian people wanted to unite with Germany
• Just to make sure that he won the vote, Hitler sent German troops into Austria
• 99.75% voted in favor of a union
• Britain and France did not intervene as they felt that the two nations had a right to be united

Question 7

Sudetenland, 1938

Answer 7

• Hitler’s next target was Czechoslovakia
• There were a large number of Germans living in the Sudetenland
• Britain and France reluctantly said they would support Czechoslovakia in case of invasion
• Benes, leader of Czechoslovakia, was prepared to fight
• Hitler met Chamberlain (British Prime Minister) and said he only wanted a small part of the Sudetenland, but then increased this to the whole region
• In the Munich Agreement on 29 September, it was agreed by Britain, France, Italy and Germany that Hitler could have the whole of the Sudetenland
• Czechoslovakia was not even consulted
• 1st October, German troops marched into Sudetenland

Question 8

Czechoslovakia, 1939

Answer 8

• 15 March – German troops took over the rest of Czechoslovakia
• The Czechs did not resist
• Britain and France did nothing to intervene
• However, they no longer trusted Hitler and told him that if he invaded Poland, then they would declare war
• Hitler didn’t believe them

Question 9

Nazi-Soviet Pact

Answer 9

• Stalin was very worried about German intentions towards Soviet Union – it was clear that Hitler wanted to conquer Soviet land
• He appealed for help to Britain and France but they ignored his pleas
• Stalin saw that Britain and France were powerless to stop Hitler
• 24 August, 1939 he signed the Nazi-Soviet Pact with Hitler:
• They agreed not to attack each other
• They would divide up Poland amongst each other
• Both sides knew it was only a temporary agreement, but it bought them both time

Question 10

Reasons for appeasement

Answer 10

• Military: British felt that armed forces were not ready for war and people would not support
• Economic: No money due to depression
• Fear: Communism, How powerful Germany was becoming after re-arming
• Public opinion: Against war due to trauma of WW1

Question 11

Outcomes of appeasement

Answer 11

• Encouraged Hitler: Every time Hitler got away with something, he felt more confident to take bigger risks
• Made the USSR suspicious: Stalin felt that GBR and FRA were allowing Hitler to expand east and attack the USSR. In 1939, when Stalin had to approach the threat of Nazi Germany, he chose the nazi soviet pact rather than ally with GBR/FRA

Question 12

Justifying Appeasement

Answer 12

• Right policy at the right time: bought time, GBR and FRA were not ready for war
• Wrong policy but only with hindsight: Germany was not as strong as Chamberlain thought
• Risky policy that purchased valuable time
• TofVwas harsh