The contribution of other nations to the outbreak of the war Flashcards
Were the USA and the USSR normally involved in foreign affairs during the 1930s?
No - provided Hitler with more reason to engage and expand
Were Britain and France in a strong position?
No:
. Both had economic problems after the Depression
. France was very unstable politically
Was the League of Nations effective?
No:
. Supposed to work for peace - lacked unity and power to take decisive action over aggression
. Evident as they were unable to stop Italy’s invasion of Abyssinia in 1936
Why did the Spanish Civil war (1936-1939) do for Germany’s international position?
. Strengthened it - war was won by nationalists and fascists
as it led to greater unity between Italy and Germany
. Whilst Britain and France maintained a position of neutrality during the civil war - created the impression that they would not intervene to stop military aggression
Why did Britain and France’s policy of appeasement encourage Hitler to go to war?
Showed they were passive and weak in the face of aggression
Why did Britain and France want to avoid war?
After the depression and the Frist World War, British and French public were keen to avoid another conflict
Were France particularly strong during the 1930s?
No: experienced a series of political crisis - therefore French government did not feel strong enough to take decisive action against the Germans without British support
What were the consequences of appeasement?
. From 1935 to 1938 Britain and France were prepared to allow Germany to breach the terms of the TOV - follow a more aggressive foreign policy
What did allowing Germany to take a more aggressive foreign policy result in?
. German aggression - rearmament of the Rhineland
. Anschluss - expansion of territory
. Hitler’s confidence increasing
Why may the policy of appeasement been misguided?
. Allowed British time to rearm and prepare to fight
. Between the signing of the Munich Agreement and the start of the war a year later, Britain’s war supplies doubled
Why was a lack of unity amongst allies significant in the outbreak of WW2?
Britain was reluctant to work with USSR - British leaders did not want to share information and intelligence with a communist country - making an alliance impossible
