SECOND WORLD WAR 1939-45

Question 1

What was renewed despite wariness between Russia and Germany?

Answer 1

The Treaty of Berlin and diplomatic visits continued.

Question 2

What ideological stance did the Nazi regime take?

Answer 2

Anti-communist.

Question 3

Why did a change in relations between Russia and Germany occur by the end of 1933?

Answer 3

Russia became increasingly concerned about indications that Germany intended to expand into other territories.

Question 4

What did Germany sign in January 1934?

Answer 4

A non-aggression pact with Poland.

Question 5

When was Russia admitted to the LoN? Why was this a controversial move?

Answer 5

September 1934, as Germany and Japan had recently opted out.

Question 6

What made Stalin realise that Germany was an increasing challenge to Russian security?

Answer 6

The Anschluss of Austria in 1938.

Question 7

Why did this perceived threat from Germany increase?

Answer 7

By mounting anti-society feeling in Britain and France due to knowledge of Stalin’s ‘purges’.

Question 8

What conference in 1938 excluded Russia?

Answer 8

Munich Peace Conference.

Question 9

How did Stalin justify his policy of dealing firmly with Hitler?

Answer 9

By pointing out that appeasement was not working.

Question 10

What prompted Britain and France to help Poland?

Answer 10

Hitler’s invasion of the Sudetenland.

Question 11

When did Germany invade Poland? Why was Russia unable to get involved?

Answer 11

1st September 1939.

Due to the Nazi Soviet pact.

Question 12

What period is seen as ‘neutrality’ in Russia?

Answer 12

September 1939 to 1941.

Question 13

Where were Soviet troops sent to?

Answer 13

Eastern Poland with the intention of protecting the Ukraine and Belarus.

Question 14

What policy did Stalin order in July 1941?

Answer 14

A scorched earth policy to be put in place.

Question 15

When was Kiev taken and Leningrad encircled?

Answer 15

September 1941.

Question 16

When was the main attack on Moscow launched?

Answer 16

October 1941.

Question 17

What did the Germans do in May 1942?

Answer 17

Moved away from Moscow and focused on attempting to take control of the oilfields in Caucasus.

Question 18

When did the Battle of Stalingrad start?

Answer 18

August 1942.

Question 19

How many died in the Battle of Stalingrad?

Answer 19

500,000

Question 20

When was Kiev retaken?

Answer 20

November 1943

Question 21

When did the siege of Leningrad end? How many died?

Answer 21

Ended in January 1944.

A wide-scale starvation resulted in around 1 million deaths.

Question 22

When did it seem a German attack on Russia was imminent?

Answer 22

After the German failure at the Battle of Britain.

Question 23

When did the Germans launch Operation Barbarossa?

Answer 23

22nd June 1941

Question 24

What were the Germans three main fronts?

Answer 24

German Army Group North - Leningrad.
German Army Group Centre - Moscow.
German Army Group South - Kiev and Rostov-Don.

Question 25

How long did the siege of Leningrad last? What was the state of rationing?

Answer 25

900 days.

125g of bread per person.

Question 26

Who staged a counter-offensive in Moscow?

Answer 26

Zukov.

Question 27

How many Russians were killed total? How many of these were civilians?

Answer 27

Over 27 million.

Two-thirds were civilians.

Question 28

How many deserters were shot?

Answer 28

13,000

Question 29

What was Order 270? When was it passed?

Answer 29

Commissars and commanders who left the front were seen as deserters, and their families were deprived of state entitlements.
16th August 1941.

Question 30

What was order 277? When was it passed?

Answer 30

Order for ‘not a step back’ to defend Soviet territory till the end. Passed 28th July 1942 - low point of war.

Question 31

What did Russian troops do in the counter-offensive? What did Stalin state about this?

Answer 31

Raped over 2 million women in Berlin.

“What is so awful about his having fun with a woman?”

Question 32

What was physical and infrastructural damage made worse by?

Answer 32

The fact that during the war many industrial enterprises had to be relocated to the Urals, Volga basin and Central Asia to be protected.

Question 33

What did the Soviet governments reconstruction programme centre around?

Answer 33

A fourth 5YP with the specific aim of getting the Soviet economy back to growth levels achieved before the war.

Question 34

How were the terms of the fourth 5YP achieved within three years?

Answer 34

Due to the availability of ‘free’ labour (up to 4 million prisoners of war).

Question 35

What was the biggest failure of the fourth five year plan?

Answer 35

Stalin’s continuation of ‘gargantuan’ projects.

Question 36

What did Stalin become the chairman of?

Answer 36

The State Defence Committee, which had absolute control over the lives of Soviet citizens.

Question 37

What military role did Stalin take on?

Answer 37

Supreme commander of the military, just as NII had in the First World War.

Question 38

Give three prominent members of the Politburo.

Answer 38

Kaganovich, Khrushchev and Molotov.

Question 39

How much did Party Membership increase during the war?

Answer 39

From 3.76 million in 1941 to 5.8 million in 1945.

Question 40

What was a key event that the NKVD played a part in?

Answer 40

The resolution of the Leningrad Affair, which resulted in over 200 supporters of Zhdanov being purged.

Question 41

What did Stalin join? What did he believe this would do?

Answer 41

The Grand Alliance, believing it would place Russia in a strong bargaining position over making territorial gains.

Question 42

What did Churchill agree in October 1944?

Answer 42

Russia could maintain its areas as a ‘sphere of influence’.

Question 43

What did Churchill later state that indicated the start of the Cold War?

Answer 43

Iron curtain had descended across Europe.

Question 44

What two events worsened relations with the west?

Answer 44

The Berlin Blockade of 1948 and the erection of the Berlin Wall.