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Yesha's and Saniyah's flashcards to pass! > History - Remilitarisation of the Rhineland, Anschluss with Austria & the Nazi-Soviet Pact > Flashcards

History - Remilitarisation of the Rhineland, Anschluss with Austria & the Nazi-Soviet Pact Flashcards

1
Q

When did the remilitarisation of the Rhineland take place?

A

March 1936

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2
Q

Had the Rhineland been taken away from Germany under the Treaty of Versailles?

A

No - but they were not allowed to have any armed forces there

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3
Q

Where was the Rhineland located?

A
  • On the western border of Germany.
  • The border was also shared by: France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland and the Netherlands
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4
Q

What was the main purpose of the demilitarisation of the Rhineland?

A
  • To protect France from invasion
  • It had been invaded in 1870 during Franco-Prussian War AND in 1914 during WWI
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5
Q

When had the demilitarisation been reaffirmed?

A

In the 1925 Locarno Treaties - which Germany had agreed to

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6
Q

What was agreed in the 1925 Locarno Treaties?

A
  • That Germany would stick to all except its western borders as outlined in the ToV
  • This agreement helped pave the way for Germany to join the League of Nations
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7
Q

What else was happening in the world in 1936?

A

The League was preoccupied with the Abyssinian Crisis (the Hoare-Laval Pact had just leaked)

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8
Q

Had Hitler failed with the remilitarisation, whose support would he have lost?

A

The army’s (lots of top generals were still unsure about him)

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9
Q

What had France and the USSR signed in 1935?

A
  • A mutual assistance treaty to protect each other from German attack
  • Full name: The Franco-Soviet Treaty of Mutual Assistance
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10
Q

How did Hitler exploit the Franco-Soviet Treaty of Mutual Assistance?

A

He claimed he needed to put troops in the Rhineland - on his own frontier - because Germany was under threat from France and the USSR.

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11
Q

How did Hitler exploit British attitudes?

A

He knew many Britons believed Hitler should be allowed to station troops in ‘his own backyard’ and therefore would do little to stop him

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12
Q

What orders did Hitler give to his generals?

A

To pull troops out of the Rhineland if they met any resistance from the French

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13
Q

How would Germany’s army have fared against France’s?

A

Not well, despite rearmament, France’s army was far stronger than Germany’s

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14
Q

What did the League do after Hitler remilitarised the Rhineland?

A

Condemned his actions - but did nothing else

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15
Q

Why did the French dither over their response?

A
  • France was in the middle of a financial crisis
  • They were about to hold an election - none of the French leaders wanted to be held responsible for plunging the country into a war with Germany.
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16
Q

What successes had Hitler had in 1935-37 that had left him feeling more confident?

A
  • Saar Plebiscite (1935)
  • Remilitarised the Rhineland (1936)
  • Successful involvement in the Spanish Civil War (1936-39)
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17
Q

What did Hitler believe about Austria?

A

That Austria and Germany should be united in one German-speaking nation

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18
Q

What does ‘Anschluss’ mean?

A

Political union

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19
Q

What had outlawed Anschluss?

A

The Treaty of Versailles

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20
Q

What had Hitler promised to overthrow when he came to power?

A

The Treaty of Versailles

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21
Q

When had Hitler previously attempted Anschluss?

A

In 1934

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22
Q

Why had Hitler’s attempted annexation (takeover) of Austria (Anschluss) in 1934 failed?

A

Mussolini had placed Italian troops on the Austrian border to deter Hitler

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23
Q

Why was the situation in 1938 different from 1934?

A

Hitler and Mussolini were now allies

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24
Q

What did many (all far from all) Austrians want?

A

Political union with Germany

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25
Q

What already existed within Austria that made a potential union easier?

A

A strong Nazi Party who were willing to work for Hitler

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26
Q

Who was the Austrian Chancellor?

A

Schuschnigg (Schu - sch - nigg)

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27
Q

What did Hitler order the Austrian Nazis to do in 1938?

A

Stir up trouble and hold demonstrations demanding political union with Germany

28
Q

Once the Austrian Nazis’ began causing unrest, what did Hitler do?

A

Told the Austrian Chancellor (Schuschnigg) that only Anschluss (political union) could end these problems

29
Q

When Austrian Chancellor Schuschnigg was given Hitler’s demands for a political union, what step did he initially take?

A

He asked Britain and France for help

30
Q

When Schuschnigg asked Britain and France for help, what did he recieve?

A

No support from either (shock horror)

31
Q

What does Anschluss mean?

A

Union of Austria and Germany (forbidden by ToV)

32
Q

Who did Hitler force the Austrian Chancellor to appoint as Minister of the Interior (in charge of police)?

A

Seyss-Inquart (Nazi supporter)

33
Q

After this appointment what did Hitler and the Nazis encourage across Austria?

A

Riots and demonstrations by Nazis in Austria

34
Q

What did the Austrian Chancellor call to try and end the disturbances?

A

Plebiscite (vote) for Austrian people to see if they wanted to remain independent

35
Q

Why was Hitler so concerned by this plebiscite (vote)?

A

He knew he had some support in Austria but couldn’t risk it (Schuschnigg had not asked Hitler’s permission)

36
Q

Why did the Austrian Chancellor resign?

A
  • Hitler moved German troops to the border and forced him to call off the vote
  • Schuschnigg had hoped for support from GB and France but that didn’t happen
37
Q

Who became the new Chancellor and what did they do?

A

Seyss-Inquart and he invites the Germans in to restore order

38
Q

How does Hitler quickly take control of Austria?

A
  • 80,000 of Hitler opponents were rounded up and sent to concentration camps
  • Seyss-Inquart hands power over to Hitler
39
Q

What percentage of people in Austria do the Germans claim voted in favour of the Anschluss in April 1938?

A

99.75%

40
Q

Why did Britain not take action against the Anschluss of 1938?

A
  • Austrians voted in favour of it
  • German speaking people in there
  • Britain was more frightened of communism in the USSR
41
Q

How did the Anschluss strengthen Hitler’s confidence?

A
  • Austrian army and resources can be used
  • Another part of the ToV overturned
  • Germany now possessed 3 sides of the Sudetenland (3 million German-speaking people) - next target
  • Alliance with Mussolini proved useful
42
Q

Since when had Hitler been concerned about the threat of Hitler?

A

Since 1933

43
Q

Why had Stalin been fixated on the threat of Hitler since 1933?

A

One of Hitler’s declared foreign policy aims was to destroy Communism

44
Q

What had Stalin done in 1934 in a hope of increasing the USSR’s security?

A

Joined the League of Nations - hoping the League would protect him from Germany

45
Q

Why did Stalin stop believing in the League of Nations as an effective peacekeeping institution?

A

After its failure and inaction in Abyssinia and the Spanish Civil War

46
Q

Why was Stalin particularly suspicious of Britain?

A

Many British politicians in the 1930s had welcomed the rise of Hitler as a counter-weight to the threat of the spread of Communism

47
Q

What did most British politicians see as the biggest threat to world peace in the 1930s?

A

Communism

48
Q

Who did Stalin sign a treaty with in 1935?

A

France

49
Q

When did Stalin sign a treaty with France?

A

1935

50
Q

What was the 1935 agreement between France and the USSR?

A

The Franco-Soviet Treaty of Mutual Assistance
i.e. an agreement to help each other against the threat of Nazi Germany

51
Q

Why did Stalin lose faith in the Franco-Soviet treaty?

A

Because the French failed to do anything to stop the Germans remilitarising the Rhineland - despite it being right on their border!

52
Q

Which agreement in the late 1930s deepened Stalin’s concerns?

A

The Munich Agreement - Stalin was not consulted about it

53
Q

What did Stalin conclude after the Munich Agreement?

A

The Britain and France were powerless to stop Hitler’s Germany

54
Q

When did Stalin meet with the leaders of Britain and France to discuss a possible alliance?

A

In March 1939

55
Q

When Stalin met with Britain and France in March 1939, why did the meeting end in agreement?

A
  • Chamberlain did not trust Stalin and therefore did not want to commit Britain to an alliance.
  • Stalin saw Chamberlain’s guarantee of support to Poland as him supporting a potential future enemy
56
Q

What was ongoing during the spring and summer of 1939 between Britain, France and the USSR?

A

Negotiations about a potential alliance

57
Q

Why was Poland reluctant to get help from USSR in the Spring of 1939?

A

Poland was afraid of Soviet ambitions to take land from Poland

58
Q

Why was the Nazi-Soviet Pact so surprising?

A

Fascist Germany and Communist USSR disliked each other. Germany even wanted land in the East.

59
Q

Why would Japan and Italy be surprised by this particularly?

A

In 1937 they had signed the Anti-Comintern Pact (against communism)

60
Q

What did the Nazi-Soviet Pact say?

A

Publically- USSR and Germany agreed not to interfere against the other power in the event of war
Privately- Divide up Poland between them

61
Q

How did Hitler think Britain would react?

A

Presumed they would back down just like in Munich (Danzig was German and the Polish Corridor divided Germany)

62
Q

Why did the Nazi-Soviet Pact make war likely?

A
  • Germany didn’t have to worry about fighting on 2 fronts
  • Britain had promised to help Poland if attacked (war inevitable)
63
Q

What percentage of people in Danzig were German?

A

90%

64
Q

On what date did German troops invade Poland?

A

1st September 1939

65
Q

When did Britain declare war on Germany?

A

3rd September 1939

66
Q

When did Britain declare war on Germany?

A

3rd September 1939

Yesha's and Saniyah's flashcards to pass! (9 decks)

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