SECOND WORLD WAR 1939-45

Question 1

What ideological stance did the Nazi regime take?

Answer 1

Anti-communist.

Question 2

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

Answer 2

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

Question 3

When did Germany sign a non-aggression pact with Poland?

Answer 3

Jan 1934.

Question 4

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

Answer 4

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

Question 5

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

Answer 5

The Anschluss of Austria in 1938.

Question 6

Why did this perceived threat from Germany increase?

Answer 6

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

Question 7

What conference in 1938 excluded Russia?

Answer 7

Munich Peace Conference.

Question 8

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

Answer 8

By pointing out that appeasement was not working.

Question 9

What prompted Britain and France to help Poland?

Answer 9

Hitler’s invasion of the Sudetenland (Sep 1938)

Question 10

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

Answer 10

1st September 1939.

Due to the Nazi Soviet pact (Aug 1939)

Question 11

What period is seen as ‘neutrality’ in Russia?

Answer 11

September 1939 to 1941.

Question 12

Where were Soviet troops sent to?

Answer 12

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

Question 13

What policy did Stalin order in July 1941?

Answer 13

A scorched earth policy to be put in place - 1941 Germans invade - Stalin on Soviet radio gave instructions that when forced to withdraw Red Army must destroy anything that could be used by the enemy

Question 14

When was Kiev taken and Leningrad encircled?

Answer 14

September 1941.

Question 15

When was the main attack on Moscow launched?

Answer 15

October 1941.

Question 16

What did the Germans do in May 1942?

Answer 16

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

Question 17

When did the Battle of Stalingrad start?

Answer 17

August 1942.

Question 18

How many died in the Battle of Stalingrad?

Answer 18

500,000

Question 19

When was Kiev retaken?

Answer 19

November 1943

Question 20

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

Answer 20

After 900 days

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

Question 21

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

Answer 21

After the German failure at the Battle of Britain (Oct 1940)

Question 22

When did the Germans launch Operation Barbarossa?

Answer 22

22nd June 1941

Question 23

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

Answer 23

900 days.

125g of bread per person.

Question 24

Who staged a counter-offensive in Moscow?

Answer 24

Zukov.

Question 25

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

Answer 25

Over 27 million.

Two-thirds were civilians.

Question 26

How many deserters were shot?

Answer 26

13,000

Question 27

What was Order 270? When was it passed?

Answer 27

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

Question 28

What was order 277? When was it passed?

Answer 28

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

Question 29

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

Answer 29

Raped over 2 million women in Berlin.

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

Question 30

Why was physical and infrastructural damage made worse by?

Answer 30

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 31

What did the Soviet governments reconstruction programme centre around?

Answer 31

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

Question 32

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

Answer 32

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

Question 33

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

Answer 33

Stalin’s continuation of ‘gargantuan’ projects.

Question 34

What did Stalin become the chairman of?

Answer 34

June 1941

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

Question 35

What military role did Stalin take on?

Answer 35

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

Question 36

Give three prominent members of the Politburo.

Answer 36

Kaganovich, Khrushchev and Molotov.

Question 37

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

Answer 37

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

Question 38

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

Answer 38

Jan 1942

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

Question 39

What did Churchill agree in October 1944?

Answer 39

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

Question 40

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

Answer 40

Iron curtain had descended across Europe.

Question 41

What two events worsened relations with the west?

Answer 41

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