Germany Section C Flashcards

1
Q

What were the initial interpretations of the causes of WWII?

A

Immediately following WW2, a significant number of historians blamed Nazi (and particularly Hitler’s) expansionist foreign policy for causing the war. It was widely accepted that Hitler always intended to go to war to build a German empire but there was some debate on how far he had a step by step plan to achieve this.

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2
Q

How did Taylor and Fischer challenge the initial interpretations of the causes of WW2?

A

In 1961, Taylor published ‘Origins of the Second World War’ which argued that although Hitler wanted a German empire, he didn’t have a master plan, nor did he necessarily want to go to war in 1939. In the same year, Fischer published ‘Germany’s Aims in the First World War’, arguing that German goals in 1914 were not dissimilar from their 1939 goals. Thus Nazi foreign policy was not unique, but a continuation of long held German expansionist policies.

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3
Q

What were Britain’s attitudes and policies in the 1930s?

A

Generally followed a policy of appeasement towards Germany in the 1930s. This was done for many reasons: to avoid bloodshed, to protect the other interests and priorities of the British Empire, to seek peace, to satisfy the growing pacifist feeling in Britain etc.

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4
Q

What were France’s attitudes and policies in the 1930s?

A

Severely weakened by WW1; agriculture curtailed and they lost 1.5 million men. The political situation was also weak with strong political divisions and the possibility of a civil war. France generally wanted harsher policies towards Germany but didn’t have the manpower to do so and was very reliant on Britain.

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5
Q

What were Italy’s attitudes and policies in the 1930s?

A

Bitter about its pitiful gains from WW1 and wanted easy options to gain more territory to glorify the fascist regime. Mussolini wanted the creation of a modern Roman Empire and a bigger navy to compete with Britain. Changed alliances a lot but was never fully ready to go to war.

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6
Q

What were the USSR’s attitudes and policies in the 1930s?

A

Stalin had expressed a desire for closer relations with western capitalist democracies but didn’t want the SU to be drawn into conflicts. In May 1939, the Soviet foreign minister declared an interest in an alliance with the Western Allies but the Allies didn’t trust the SU and feared that an alliance with them would cause Germany to attack out of fear of encirclement. Stalin ended up signing a pact with Ribbenstrop and Germany on 23rd August 1939 to strengthen German and Russian relations.

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7
Q

What were the USA’s attitudes and policies in the 1930s?

A

Followed a policy of isolationism and disarmament in the 1920s and 1930s. Remained neutral in the Abyssinian crisis and Spanish Civil War but supplied Italy and Germany with arms who supplied them to Franco. Set up meetings in the 1930s advocating for world peace and signed a permanent Neutrality Act in 1937 (actually encouraged Germany to go to war).

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8
Q

What were Japan’s attitudes and policies in the 1930s?

A

Dissatisfied with gains from WW1 and provoked China in 1931 with the Mukden Incident. Began to take over Manchuria and some of Northern China to create an independent state called Manchukuo and joined an alliance with Germany and Italy after the League of Nations refused to acknowledge the state. Pursued a further invasion into China in 1937 based on their imperialist policies.

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9
Q

Which aspects of German history influenced Nazi foreign policy?

A

-A largely fictional racial history which drove Hitler’s very firm views on race
-Nostalgia for earlier empires and a sense that power and land were Germany’s right
-WW1 and the effect of the Treaty of Versailles

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10
Q

What was Aryan racial theory?

A

For Hitler, Germans were Aryan, although he thought that some other counties in Northern Europe (like Britain) also had Aryan roots. Hitler saw the Aryan race as superior to all other races such as ethnic groups like black or Asian peoples as well as Slavs in Russia and Eastern Europe and especially Jews.

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11
Q

What was pan-Germanism and how did it impact foreign policy?

A

Uniting all German speaking peoples in one country would mean capturing other countries and clearing them of inferior people to give pure Germans enough land to live on. This led the Nazis to favour alliances with racially acceptable countries like Britain but didn’t stop the Germans making alliances with ‘inferior’ countries to gain temporary advantage. This also explains the eastwards expansion into racially inferior countries.

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12
Q

What was the Third Reich meant to be?

A

A Germany returned to its rightful power and place in Europe (especially compared to the First and Second Reichs). The Nazis wanted to overturn Versailles and expand further, securing more land in the east than Germany had held in 1914.

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13
Q

How might the strategy of the First and Second Reichs have impacted Nazi foreign policy?

A

The two earlier empires had initially worked hard diplomatically for acceptance by other nations and this may have influenced the early years of Hitler’s foreign policy where he stressed his desire for peace.

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14
Q

How did the Nazis try to make themselves look credible?

A

By linking themselves back to earlier empires. One of the propaganda postcards on sale at Nazi rallies showed the faces of Frederick the Great, Bismarck, Hindenburg and Hitler and the slogan read “what the King conquered, the Prince formed, the Field Marshall defended, the Solider saved and unified”. It was, Hitler said, the glorious past of Germany that made the loss of WW1 and the humiliating treaty that followed all the worse.

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15
Q

How did the Treaty of Versailles help Hitler’s aims?

A

The signing of the ‘Diktat’ by the SPD government helped create an image of democracy as politically impotent and unpatriotic- an image Hitler was later able to use to his advantage to gain support for his foreign policy. He claimed Germany needed a strong authoritarian leader who would reclaim German national pride.

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16
Q

How else did the Treaty of Versailles contribute to WW2?

A

It created small states in the Balkans which were vulnerable to being invaded e.g. they were desirable targets to the USSR, Germany, Italy and Poland.

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17
Q

What were the main terms of the Treaty of Versailles?

A

-Germany lost land like Danzig and the creation of the Polish corridor
-Disarmament with the army being limited to 100,000 men
-Germany couldn’t enter the Rhineland
-Reparations of 132 million gold marks set in 1921
-War guilt clause (Article 231)
-Germany had no say in the terms of the treaty- it was a Diktat

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18
Q

What was the effect of the Treaty of Versailles on the Weimar government?

A

Many politicians agreed privately not to reinforce the treaty and turned a blind eye to signs of rearmament. The government worked secretly to break demands for disarmament and limitations on the size of the German army.

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19
Q

What was the effect of the Treaty of Versailles on the army?

A

The army felt that it had not been defeated, but undermined so it could rearm. Secret rearmament agreements were made with the USSR, which allowed for German armaments to be made on Soviet soil by Soviet companies. Some members of the army also felt that the Weimar government was not legal. Their argument was that the army was all that was left of legitimate government so it could make its own decisions.

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20
Q

Why did Britain and France turn a blind eye to German rearmament?

A

The Treaty was seen by some within Britain and France as too harsh. They seemed to accept this reversal of unfair terms, hoping not to have to fight another war. They hoped that when this was done, Germany would be satisfied and wouldn’t try to expand further. In fact, this encouraged the Nazis to expand Germany yet further and gave them time to build a stronger military force.

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21
Q

What was the ideology behind Hitler’s foreign policy?

A

-The Treaty of Versailles had to be overturned (similar to but more extreme than in Weimar)
-The Nazi Third Reich should be large and powerful (similar to Kaiserreich)
-The Third Reich needed Lebensraum (similar to Kaiserreich)
-Europe was under threat from world Jewry and Bolshevism

22
Q

What is the evidence Hitler had a step by step master plan for WW2?

A

-Until 1936, he kept kept many foreign ministry officials from before he came to power (continuity made him seem more moderate but really he wanted full control of Germany and military strength)
-Comparison of Nazi land gains from 1935-1939 with Hitler’s expressed aims in Mein Kampf, speeches and meetings could show planning if they matched e.g. overturning Versailles and Lebensraum

23
Q

What is the evidence Hitler didn’t have a step by step master plan for WW2?

A

-Keeping foreign ministry officials could show he didn’t interfere or impose a plan
-Policies like eastward expansion were simply broad aims rather than a plan
-An analysis of how prepared the Nazis were for each foreign policy move shows they were generally unprepared so Hitler likely didn’t plan them (or at least they were intended for a later date)
-Mein Kampf was more of a manifesto than a plan

24
Q

What is the Hossbach Memorandum?

A

On 5th November 1937, Hitler held a secret conference with key Nazi officials where he expressed the importance of Lebensraum and said that military action was to be taken by 1943-1945 at the latest. Hitler’s casual acceptance of the immense risks of starting a war shocked his colleagues, especially Blomberg and Fritsch who were both removed by scandals within 3 months.

25
Q

How do different historians interpret the Hossbach Memorandum?

A

-Intentionalist historians use this to argue that Hitler was planning to start a general war
-Functionalist historians argue that the Memorandum was the improvised ad hoc response by Hitler to the growing crisis in the German economy in the late 1930s
-Taylor argues that the memorandum contained the same themes as in Hitler’s speeches and contained no directives for action beyond a wish for increased armaments.

26
Q

What evidence is there that Hitler always intended war?

A

-Built up an army from the moment he came to power, defying the Treaty of Versailles
-Four Year Plan stressed the need to put militarisation first and develop ersatz goods
-Privately told his military generals that he intended expansion of Germany and he knew he couldn’t achieve expansion and Lebensraum without war. Particularly liked the idea of Blitzkrieg
-Set a date for the invasion of Czechoslovakia and made speeches suggesting he was about to go to war e.g. in Berlin on 26th September 1938
-6 months later he broke the promise from the Munich Conference and took all of Czechoslovakia
-Could argue the Hossbach Memorandum

27
Q

What evidence is there that Hitler didn’t intend war?

A

-When Hitler spoke of rearming in the early 1930s he stressed Germany’s need to rearm for defence, not attack
-He always hoped to reverse Versailles but initially through diplomacy
-Hoped to avoid war with France and Britain and never prepared Germany adequately for a long term war
-Achieved foreign policy goals on the Rhineland and Austria without war
-Agreed that Germany’s territorial expansion would stop with the Sudetenland at the Munich Conference
-Didn’t expect military opposition over Czechoslovakia or Eastern Europe in general
-Used Britain and France’s aversion to war to get land he thought they wouldn’t care about
-Could argue the Hossbach Memorandum

28
Q

Why did Germany want to invade Poland?

A

The Treaty of Versailles gave land to Poland like the Polish Corridor, along with around 800,000 Germans. Germany and the USSR were angered by Poland’s existence and wanted some if not all of its territory.

29
Q

Was Poland a weak country?

A

No, it was fiercely independent and just as keen to take land as other European countries. It went to war with the USSR over land in Ukraine in 1920 and took Teschen from Czechoslovakia in 1938. It had a large army in proportion to its population although the army was not very mechanised.

30
Q

What offers did the Nazis make to Poland?

A

-In 1933, the Nazi party won Danzig town elections
-In 1934, Hitler signed a non-aggression pact with Poland
-In 1935, the Nazis presented the idea of sorting out Danzig and the Polish Corridor through diplomacy and having Poland as an ally. Over the next 2 years, the Nazis pressed Poland to develop the non-aggression pact

31
Q

Why did Poland reject the Nazi offers?

A

They knew a settlement with Hitler would mean Poland turned into a German satellite. They also knew a more developed alliance with Germany would damage relations with the USSR. Poland was still trying to maintain a balance where it was seen as a possible, valuable ally to both sides and would therefore be attacked by neither.

32
Q

Why was France’s refusal to fight after Nazi remilitarisation in 1936 so critical?

A

The Polish government expected France to fight to drive the German troops out, so offered military help under the 1921 Mutual Assistance Pact with France but France didn’t send troops to the Rhineland. Poland had exposed itself as willing to fight Germany while France, Britain and the League of Nations had shown themselves unwilling.

33
Q

What else convinced Hitler to invade Poland on 1st September 1939?

A

-France’s unwillingness to fight over Czechoslovakia persuaded Hitler he wouldn’t face opposition over Poland
-The Pact of Steel 1939 with Italy meant he could rely on Italy’s military support
-The Nazi Soviet Pact 1939 meant Germany wouldn’t risk having to fight a war on two fronts
-Britain and France made no clear efforts to mobilise troops or ready themselves for war
Despite this, Britain and France declared war on Germany on 3rd September.

34
Q

Do Hitler’s policies towards Poland show he was always intent on invading Poland?

A

Yes- wanted Lebensraum, secret clause in the Nazi-Soviet Pact where Germany and the USSR agreed to invade Poland and divide it between them
No- signed a non-aggression pact, originally wanted diplomacy and an alliance, policies only changed after Poland refused to ally with them and the Allies showed their clear reluctance to fight Germany

35
Q

What evidence is there that Hitler intended to start a war when he invaded Poland?

A

-Britain and France had promised military aid to Poland if it was attacked
-Britain and France were coming to the conclusion that war was the only way to stop Hitler
-Hitler was so buoyed up with his alliance with the USSR that he was prepared to fight a war in the west

36
Q

What evidence is there that Hitler didn’t intend to start a war when he invaded Poland?

A

-In speeches and negotiations with Italy, Hitler talked of being ready to fight a large scale war in the 1940s, when newly acquired lands in the east had been Germanised and Germany would have a larger military force
-British and French demilitarisation
-Hitler perceived French and British policies as bluff, failing to see the change in British and French feeling after Kristallnacht and Sudetenland

37
Q

Why were the Allies not too concerned about the Nazi-Soviet Pact?

A

Germany and the USSR had different economic systems and political beliefs and Hitler’s racial beliefs meant he saw the Russians as inferior. The USSR were also anti-liberal. They thought the alliance would not be taken any further.

38
Q

What were the problems with the League of Nations?

A

-Membership: not all nations were members and powerful countries like Russia and the US were not members
-Bureaucracy: slow in decision making and members rarely agreed
-Enforcement: it didn’t have its own army, member countries and to agree to supply troops, which most were reluctant to do.

39
Q

What did the problems with the League of Nations mean for German foreign policy?

A

The Nazis didn’t see it as a force to contend with in foreign policy. Hitler took Germany out of the League and its disarmament conferences in 1933.

40
Q

What was the result of the LoN’s intervention in the Mukden Incident?

A

The League of Nations protested against Japanese actions in 1931 but Japan ignored the protests and withdrew from the League in March 1933.

41
Q

What was the result of the LoN’s intervention in Italy’s invasion of Abyssinia?

A

Italy invaded Abyssinia in 1935 after a dispute that was taken to the League in 1934. The League demanded that Italy leave but Italy didn’t leave and the partial economic sanctions had little impact. Britain and France were forced to work outside of the League to resolve the issue with the Hoare-Laval Pact.

42
Q

What was the result of the LoN’s intervention in the Spanish Civil War?

A

The League told Germany and Italy not to intervene but by May 1937, there was clear proof of Italian troops on Spanish soil but the League did nothing.

43
Q

What was the result of the LoN’s intervention in the dispute between China and Japan in 1937?

A

The League condemned Japan’s invasion but neither country was a League member and it had no effect.

44
Q

What was the result of the LoN’s intervention in the USSR’s invasion of Finland in 1939?

A

The League urged the USSR (still a member) to withdraw. It didn’t withdraw. The League expelled the USSR.

45
Q

What was the USSR’s relationship with the LoN like?

A

Russia initially wasn’t invited to join but joined in 1934 after it decided it needed allies. Relations were never easy as the two were too suspicious of each other, while the smaller states in Eastern Europe were concerned the USSR wanted to take them over. The USSR also saw the League as weak but didn’t leave until it was expelled in 1939.

46
Q

How did the League of Nations contribute to WW2?

A

The weak methods of dispute resolution benefitted Hitler because it made the League look very weak and illegitimate. This allowed Hitler to get away with invading Eastern European countries. It also caused divisions between those in the League and those not in it, especially those who were expelled.

47
Q

How did ideological divides contribute to WW2?

A

The biggest ideological divide following WW1 was between Communist Russia and Capitalist West. Russia had set up the Comintern to spread communism beyond its borders. During the Russian Civil War, Britain and the US had helped the opposition forces fighting the Russian Communists. By the mid-1930s however, there was a new ideological divide with the rise of dictatorships in Italy, Germany and Japan. These countries were united by their anti-Communist beliefs.

48
Q

Why did the West initially not view the new European dictatorships as a threat?

A

They hoped they might destroy the USSR. As the dictatorships became more powerful and aggressive, Western democracies began to see them as more dangerous.

49
Q

How did the world economy contribute to WW2?

A

The worldwide depression beginning in 1929 caused political upheaval, leading to the rise of the Nazis in Germany. Countries became more inward looking as they traded less and Britain looked towards its empire to build its economy. This meant that many of the new Eastern European countries created in 1918-1919 were left susceptible to Germany or the USSR and became increasingly weaker in their economic independence.

50
Q

How did domestic circumstances in Germany contribute to WW2?

A

Hitler needed rearmament to boost the German economy. As the economic strains of Nazi policy grew through the late 1930s, war became a means of expanding Germany and achieving economic sustainability for the Nazi regime.