The Causes Of The Second World War

Question 1

What were hitlers main aims in the foreign policy

Answer 1

To overturn the treaty of versailles, expand german territory and destroy communism

Question 2

What is rearmament

Answer 2

the process of equipping military forces with a new supply of weapons.

Question 3

What did hitler announce in his 1935 military rally

Answer 3

He announced the introduction of conscription and revealed that he had built an airforce, the Luftwaffe

Question 4

When did hitler order his troops to remilitarise the rhineland

Answer 4

7th march 1936

Question 5

What is Anschluss

Answer 5

The political union of Austria with Germany

Question 6

How did hitler unite germany with austria

Answer 6

encouraged Austrian Nazis to challenge the Austrian government. The Austrian chancellor planned to hold a plebiscite to allow the Austrian people to vote on whether they should join Germany, but Hitler thought this was too risky. He demanded Schuschnigg’s resignation and on 12 March 1938 German troops entered Austria and it was absorbed into Germany.

Question 7

How did hitler gain power of the sudetenland

Answer 7

Hitler claimed that the 3m German speakers were being mistreated by the Czech government. He demanded control of the Sudetenland. He initially accepted a deal that would give him the areas with the most Germans, but then changed his mind and said he would invade if he didn’t have all of the Sudetenland by 1st October 1938. Britain and France gave him the Sudetenland.

Question 8

When and how did germany invade poland

Answer 8

Invasion of Poland: 1st September 1939. Germany invaded using Blitzkrieg tactics.

Question 9

What are blitzkrieg tactics

Answer 9

Blitzkrieg, meaning ‘Lightning War’, is a combined arms surprise attack using a rapid, overwhelming force

Question 10

When did britain declare war on germany

Answer 10

When germany refused to withdraw from poland britain declared war on the 3rd september 1939

Question 11

When did ww2 start and end

Answer 11

1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945

Question 12

How were hitlers actions toward s other countries

Answer 12

Aggressive and angered eventually provoking a response from britain and france

Question 13

What is appeasement

Answer 13

Giving someone what they want in order to avoid conflict.

Question 14

When was the appeasement policy introduced

Answer 14

The Munich Agreement is the best known example of appeasement. It was signed by Britain, France, Germany, and Italy in 1938.

Question 15

When did neville chamberlain become british pm

Answer 15

1937

Question 16

Give 5 reasons as to why britain followed a policy of appeasement

Answer 16

 Wanted to avoid repeating the horrors of WW1
 Many people thought that the Treaty of Versailles was too harsh and were therefore not prepared to go to war to defend it
 Britain was still recovering from the effects of the Great Depression
 They believed that a strong Germany would act as a buffer, preventing the spread of communism from the Soviet Union.
 Britain’s army was not ready for war, it was not clear that the empire would be willing to fight and the USA did not want to be involved in another European conflict.

Question 17

How did britain react when hitler invaded the rhineland

Answer 17

Britain believed Hitler was just marching into his own backyard

Question 18

How did britain and france react to the Anschluss (Nazi Germany joined with the neighboring country of Austria)

Answer 18

Britain and france took no action against hitler, the british believed that the treaty of versailles was too harsh and a plebiscites in which 99.75% of Austrians voted for Anschluss convinced them that Austria was okay with the situation

Question 19

How did britain and france react when germany invaded the sudetenland

Answer 19

Britain, france, italy and germany met at the Munich conference on 29th September 1938, they didn’t want to go to war with hitler, so they agreed that the Sudetenland should become part of germany, afterwards chamberlain said he believed they had ensured ‘peace for our time’

Question 20

Why was appeasement problematic

Answer 20

Because it allowed germany to become stronger and encouraged hitler to become more aggressive ad make further demands because he didn’t believe britain and france would stand up to him

Question 21

When was the nazi-soviet pact signed

Answer 21

23rd august 1939

Question 22

What did the nazi soviet pact state

Answer 22

That they couldnt go to war with eachother for 2 years and (secretly) to invade poland and divide it between them

Question 23

Why did hitler sign the nazi soviet pact

Answer 23

To enable him to invade Poland without having to fight a war one 2 fronts and to stop the soviet union forming an alliance with britain and france

Question 24

Why did Stalin sign the nazi soviet pact

Answer 24

He wanted parts of Poland that had historically belonged to Russia, he didn’t trust britain and france and he needed time to build up his armed forces to fight germany in the future

Question 25

How did britain react to the nazi- soviet pact

Answer 25

They signed the anglo-polish mutual assistance pact on 25th august promising to defend Poland if germany attacked

Question 26

How did the nazi soviet pact provoke the begining of ww2

Answer 26

The nazi soviet pact allowed hitler to invade Poland which provoked a response from britain and france because they were allies of Poland