Events Flashcards
How did Hitler challenge the Versailles Treaty?
- Rearmament (1933+)
- Remilitarization of Rhineland (1936)
- Anschluss (1938)
- Acquisition of Sudetenland (1938)
Explain the process of rearmament
- 1933 Disarmament Conference France refused to disarm and so Hitler withdrew
- From then onwards, Hitler focused on increasing the pace of rearmament
- By 1935 there were almost 500,000 soldiers
Hitler justified his actions as French and Britain had failed to disarm and there was a growing threat from the Soviet Army
Explain the remilitarization of the Rhineland in 1936
- Rhineland had been demilitarized as part of the Versailles Treaty to provide security for France
- Remilitarization of Rhineland meant Hitler could further strengthen Germany by protecting it from France (and distract public from economic crisis)
- In 1936, France and USSR signed a mutual assistance treaty, and Hitler seized the opportunity to invade Rhineland as he claimed the actions of France and USSR were threatening
What was Anschluss?
Initially, in July 1936 the Austrian government signed an agreement with Germany stating that Austria would act as a German state. Under the agreement, pro-Nazi figures were made ministers. However, when the chancellor tried to get a vote on this by the public, Hitler forcefully marched into Austria in 1938.
What was the Sudeten Crisis?
- Sudeten Germans were initially a part of Austria before WWI and wanted independence from Czechoslovakia
- The situation got worse in Sudeten when the government declared martial law after Hitler’s speech at a Nuremberg Rally which caused unrest in Sudetenland
- Chamberlain, in an attempt to avoid war, discussed with Hitler three times and they agreed on September 1938 (Munich conference) that Hitler would be given the whole of Sudetenland
Why did Hitler invade Czechoslovakia in 1939?
As a result of the Munich Conference, Czechoslovakia was weakened by the loss of Sudetenland and Hitler saw this as a “stepping stone to the liquidation of the Czech state”.
