Czechoslovakian Crisis Flashcards

1
Q

Why did Hitler want the Sudetenland?

A

It was populated by many ethnic Germans, and their support would allow him to expand.

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2
Q

consequences

A
  1. The Munich Agreement (Sept. 38)
  2. Europe moves towards war
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3
Q

What was the short-term cause?

A

TOV (Treaty of Versailles)

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3
Q

What was the long-term cause?

A

Failure of LON (League of Nations)

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4
Q

causes

A
  1. Treaty of Versailles
  2. Failure of League of Nations
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5
Q

What was the immediate consequence?

A

The Munich Agreement, September 1938

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6
Q

What was the longer-term consequence?

A

Europe moves towards war

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7
Q

What is the name of the event?

A

The massing of German troops along the Czechoslovakian border in the summer of 1938

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8
Q

Which countries were afraid of the risks of a war breaking out?

A

France and Britain

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9
Q

What were Hitler’s main objectives?

A

to expand land (lebensraum) and rebuild Germany’s army

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10
Q

Who attended the Munich Conference?

A

Benito Mussolini
Edouard Daladier
Neville Chamberlain
Adolf Hitler

USSR did NOT attend.

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11
Q

Which countries were represented at the Munich Conference?

A

Italy, France, Britain, Germany

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12
Q

Why did the USSR not attend the Munich Conference?

A

They weren’t invited.

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13
Q

Who is the USSR?

A

Soviet Union (Russia)

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14
Q

Why were the USSR not invited to the Munich Conference?

A

Because only countries that were likely to agree with and approve the treaty were invited.

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15
Q

What resulted from WWI that caused issues? (context)

Hint: Treaty of Versailles causes

A
  • Germany had been made to pay huge reparations to France and Britain
  • Germany had given up some land
  • Germany had to reduce the size of her army, navy and airforce
  • Germany became bankrupt
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16
Q

What caused Germany to be weakened especially after the war?

A
  • The Great Depression
  • suffered from additional hardships due to the Treaty of Versailles (loss of land, reparations, etc)
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17
Q

How was Germany affected by the Treaty of Versailles?

A
  • it heavily restricted the German economy
  • it intended to limit Germany’s capacities (stop them from winning war)
  • Germany saw territories taken away
  • Germany had to pay reparations
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18
Q

What territories were taken from Germany (due to the Treaty of Versailles)?

A
  • Alsace Lorraine
  • Polish Corridor
  • Lower Silesia
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19
Q

Why was Adolf Hitler deeply outraged by the TOV?

A
  • many ethnic Germans had settled in regions (for hundreds of years) which had been ceded to other countries.
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20
Q

How did Adolf Hitler rise and gain power?

A

Hitler used criticism towards the Treaty of Versailles to his advantage
He made promises to the public and convinced them with speeches that he would meet the demands of the people
The people were angry; he used this to gain authority as the chancellor of Germany

21
Q

What were Hitler’s intentions as a result of the Treaty of Versailles? What actions was he planning to take?

A

He set about rearming and bolstering the strength of the German army via political actions

(e.g, the remilitarisation of the Rhineland)

22
Q

Why was the League of Nations a failure?

A

While Hitler was executing his campaign, the League of Nations failed to prevent such policies and did nothing to stop him from continuing.

When tensions rose, causing panic to the Czech government, the LON failed to do their job and did not manage to lower any of the tension.

23
Q

Why was it significant that the League of Nations didn’t respond to Hitler’s actions?

A
  • highlighted the weakness of the League
  • gave Hitler more confidence to push for additional claims (he asked for more)
24
Q

What ideas did Hitler push to get Germans in the Sudetenland to reunite with Germany?

A

Hitler pushed for divisive ethnic and racial rhetoric

= to encourage the Germans of the Sudetenland to reunite with Germany.

25
Q

What were Hitler’s main goals? Why did he want to amass troops along the German-Czechoslovakian border in the summer of 1938?

A
  • reclaim the Sudetenland
  • expand Germany’s territories
26
Q

When was [the country] Czechoslovakia formed?

A

Czechoslovakia was formed in 1918.

Following this was the Treaty of San Germain (1919) which saw the dismantling of the Austro-Hungary Empire.

27
Q

Why did Czechoslovakia become a nation-state?

A

Czech people of Bohemia were given the right to self-determination.

28
Q

Why did Hitler want the Sudetenland?

A

As a part of Czechoslovakia, the Sudetenland was a multi-ethnic nation which consisted of a Czech and Slovak majority. There were other ethnicities too,
which among these included Germans living there

(Sudeten-Germans are Germans of the Sudetenland).

29
Q

Why is Konrad Henlein important?

A

Konrad Henlein founded the Sudeten German Party in Czechoslovakia in 1933.

30
Q

Why is the Sudeten German Party important?

A

The party pushed for increased rights for Germans, however, it actually was the main cause behind the ethnic tension and divisive rhetoric within Czechoslovakia and the political sphere.

31
Q

What belief did Sudeten Germans push? Why?

A

‘Lebensraum’.

They believed that Germany had the right to expansion, and that all Germans should be united under a singular nation-state.

32
Q

What did the Czech government resort to do when the League of Nations failed to lower tensions?

A

the Czechoslovakian government went to seek out protection from allied nations, such as France and Great Britain.

33
Q

What month and year did Hitler cause the crisis and amass his troops?

A

May of 1938

34
Q

Why was the failure of the League of Nations one of the main leading causes? (long-term)

A
  • it caused German resentment
  • it failed to prevent peace
  • aided in Hitler’s rise to power
35
Q

When & Why was the TOV created?

A

It was established following the conclusion of World War I (The Great War, 1914-1918).

The main purpose of the Treaty of Versailles was to prevent future conflict from ever arising.

It did this by heavily restricting Germany and causing harsh punishments. It held Germany responsible for the war, the damages caused and it restricted them from the possibility of ever being able to rearm and remilitarise again.

36
Q

Which countries were greatly involved in the formation of the Treaty of Versailles?

A

The Treaty of Versailles was largely dictated by countries belonging to “the big three.”

  • France
  • Britain
  • The United States

They all believed that Germany ought to be held responsible for the war, and damages caused.

37
Q

Why was it significant that the Treaty of Versailles was so harsh on Germany?

A

The harshness endured by the German population of the Treaty of Versailles policies and terms had the very opposite effect which it was intended to have;

it made Germans even more angry and gave rise to nationalistic ideas, and made people push for the reclamation of former territories (land).

38
Q

How did Hitler manipulate the people of Germany?

A

Populist leader and nationalist, Adolf Hitler, manipulated the already weakened German political sphere by tapping into the vengeful psyche of the German masses.

Hitler’s divisive rhetoric and firecely emotional speeches would largely resonate with the people of Germany. He would frequently denounce policies of the Treaty of Versaille, making Germans agree with him.

39
Q

Why was the League of Nations formed?

A

established in 1920
- formed by western democracies to prevent a repeat of World War I and future global conflict.

39
Q

What does Lebensraum mean?

A

Lebensraum = (“living space”)

40
Q

Why was it significant that Hitler wasn’t stopped when he began remilitarising?

A
  • enabled Hitler to revitalise the German military as it went largely unopposed by the western powers
  • Hitler gained a sense of confidence and arrogance
  • He could keep pushing policies such as Lebensraum
  • He could keep stirring up ethnic tension in Czechoslovakia (which was home to a sizeable German population living within the bordering Sudetenland region).
41
Q
A
42
Q

What were the intentions of the League of Nations when it was first set up?

A

It held very high ambitions to de-escalate crises and maintaining the status quo of peace.

43
Q

What issues weakened the League of Nations? What caused it to be less effective? powerless?

A
  • The Great Depression (1929)
  • lack of a standing military
  • no involvement from the United States
44
Q

What other crises examples did the League of Nations fail to prevent?

A
  • The Manchurian Crisis
  • The Abyssinian Crisis
  • The Spanish Civil War
45
Q

Why did the League of Nations become discredited and lose authority?

A

The LON were largely disgraced and disregarded especially after they failed to prevent several crises from happening (e.g, The Manchurian Crisis, The Abyssinian Crisis, and The Spanish Civil War).

46
Q

What was the effect of the LON failing to prevent crisis?

A

= reassured Hitler.

It showed him that any actions could go without a response or penalty from the League. It showed they were not prepared or powerful enough to fight back.

47
Q

How was Hitler appeased?

A
48
Q

Why did the USSR become angry?

A

They were