How far was Hitler’s foreign policy responsible for the outbreak of WW2 Flashcards
what were his policies
- abolish the treaty of versailles
- expand german territory eastwards to gain living space for Germans ( lebensraum)
- unite all german speaking people into one reich
what conference was held in 1932-1933
global disarmament conference
what decisions were made/what happened in the global disarmament conference
not many, Hitler promised to not rearm as long as the other countries promised to reduce theri armies, the countries did not agree to this so Hitler left the conference as well as the LON
what was the Anglo-German agreement
Germany could rebuild its army as long as it was less than 35% the size of the British Navy
How did the Anglo-German agreement create division between france and Britain
Because France really didn’t want Germany to rearm as they would become a threat and they believed they deserved punishment and by allowing germany to do just that, britain caused some tension between these two powers
when was the invasion of Manchuria
1931
how did the league respond to manchuria crisis and how did it make them seem weak
It took them over a year to prepare a report about what happened and to condemn Japan but at that point Japan had already taken full control over Manchuria. they were not able to impose any meaningful sanctions on japan because Japans main trading partner was the US and they weren’t a member of the LON. So Japan stayed in control of Manchuria and the LON was seen as weak as it showed nations they could act aggressively without any consequence.
What choice of vote were people of the Saar given
- to remain governed by the LON
- to become a part of France
- to return to Germany
What actions were taken by Germany to ensure the Saar would vote them and how did it end up
there was a lot of effective Propaganda spread around by Joseph Goebbels and 90% voted to rejoin Germany
when were the people of the Saar given a choice to vote their fate?
1935
Why was the outcome of the voting of the Saar such a big win for Hitler
because he wanted to reverse the threaty of versailles and unite all german speaking people together and as the Saar had been taken from him by the TOV, he had achieved these things + all legally
what did the TOV state regarding the Saar
that it would be under the control of the LON for 15 years
when was the Abbysinia crisis
1936
While the league was busy worrying about Italy and Abbysinia, what did Hitler do
he sent his troops into the rhineland breaking the TOV and the locarno treaties
What actions were taken by the league to try and stop Italy from invading Abbysinia and how did it work out
- the LON put sanctions on Italy banning the sales of weapons and metals
- they didn’t ban the sales of oil and coal OR close the Suez canal, this meant that Italy could continue with their invasion
- Italy left the LON in 1937
why was the LON not able to impose strong sanctions on Italy
- because France was hesitant to antagonize Italy after the remilitarization of the Rhineland they were distracted, and couldn’t focus on the abbysinia crisis.
what happened in the Rhineland in 1936
hitler took a huge risk by remillitarising the rhineland as he had broken the locarno treaties so France and Britain would have been justified to send their militaries in to stop them
- the risk paid off as hitlers forces of 20000 were weak, but B & F didn’t know this and weren’t prepared to take serious action against Germany as they didn’t want war.
- The abyssinia crisis was a distraction from events in the Rhineland and disagreements on both issues meant that neither was forcefully responded to
- Hitler had taken a risk and this risk had worked out in his favour next time he would probably take an even bigger risk
what happened in july 1936 (spain)
Spanish civil war broke out
what did the other countries and the LON do about the break out of the Spanish civil war
Britain and France let a non-intervention committee that banned countries from formerly becoming involved
Hitler and Mussolini send German Italian troops to fight on the side of General Franco they wanted to help in what they saw as an international fight against communism as General Franco was fascist
consequences of G,I, LON actions regarding spanish civil war (2)
Strengthen the bond between mussolini and Hitler
encouraged Hitler to believe Britain and France would not intervene against him
what was the Axis alliance
Alliance between Germany, Italy, and Japan
what as the Roma-Berlin axis
when in 1936 Germany and Japan signed the anti-commitern pact to oppose the growth of global communism. Italy joined in 1937
what was Anchsluss
Germany uniting with Austria
what happened in 1938, regarding germany and austria
there was a strong nazi party in Austria and hitler encouraged them to create trouble fr the government and hold demonstrations calling for union with gemany.
Hitler told the chancellor that only political union would make them stop so the chancellor announced there would be a plebiscite in April to see what the Austrian people wanted.
Hitler demands this vote doesn’t take place and sends his troop to the border with Austria.
