Responses

Question 1

What was Britain’s reaction to German rearmament?

Answer 1

• Initially sympathized and proposed that Germany should be allowed an army of 200,000 and an air-force half the size of France
• In 1935, to avoid a naval race with Germany, Britain signed the Anglo-German Naval Agreement which allowed Germany to have 35% of British fleet capacity

Question 2

What was the Stresa Front?

Answer 2

Stresa Front, coalition of France, Britain, and Italy formed in 1935 at Stresa to oppose Adolf Hitler’s announced intention to rearm Germany, which violated terms of the Treaty of Versailles

Question 3

What undermined the Stresa Front?

Answer 3

1. Franco-Soviet Mutual Assistance Treaty (1935)
2. Anglo-German Naval Agreement (1935)
3. Italian invasion of Abyssinia (1935)

Question 4

Why did the French not oppose remilitarization of Rhineland in 1936? (2 reasons)

Answer 4

1. French government was a “caretaker” government and was not in a position to consider war
2. Did not want to engage in a long drawn out war

Question 5

Why did the Britain not oppose remilitarization of Rhineland in 1936? (3 points)

Answer 5

1. Had overstretched army commitments due to its Empire
2. Not threatening to the British
3. Public opinion in favor of appeasement

Historians argue that this was the turning point, and from this point onwards war was inevitable

Question 6

Why was there a limited response to Anschluss from Italy, Britain, France and the League of Nations in 1938?

Answer 6

1. France was suffering from an internal political crisis
2. Italy was dependent on German alliance
3. League of Nations discredited after Abyssinian crisis
4. Britain felt the reunion was inevitable

Question 7

What was the reaction of Britain and France to Sudeten Crisis of 1938?

Answer 7

1. French wanted to prevent confrontation due to internal weaknesses
2. Britain did not believe Czechoslovakia was worth fighting for and wanted to conduct a peaceful handover of Sudetenland to Germany

Question 8

What was the international reaction to the invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1939?

Answer 8

Showed that Hitler’s aims stretched beyond unifying Germans and marked the end of appeasement

Question 9

Why did Western negotiations with USSR breakdown and what were the consequences?

Answer 9

After the invasion of Czechoslovakia, Britain and France negotiated with USSR for a possible alliance.

Differences causing failure of negotiations:

1. while the USSR wanted a mutual assistance treaty, Western powers only wanted its help with Poland
2. USSR wanted to intervene its neighbors militarily if they were threatened by fascist forces

The breakdown of negotiations led to the Nazi-Soviet Pact of 1939.