The Final Causes of WW2 (1939) - Conflict and Tension

Question 1

how was the occupation of Czechoslovakia a final cause of WW2?

Answer 1

• at Munich Czechoslovakia had lost 70% of its heavy industry and its defensive frontier
• in March 1939 the Czech president was forced to hand over what was left of Czechoslovakia to Hitler
• Hitler marched in, claiming to be restoring order
• Britain and France protested but did not oppose directly
• Britain and France now abandoned their policy of appeasement realising that Hitler’s promises made at Munich were worthless - they were rapidly rearming and were determined to stand up to future German demands

Question 2

how was the Pact of Steel a final cause of WW2?

Answer 2

• in May 1939 Hitler and Mussolini signed a pact which promised they would support each other in the future
• Europe clearly divided into two sides and Britain and France began to look to USSR for support

Question 3

how was the role of the USSR and the Nazi-Soviet Pact a final cause of WW2?

Answer 3

• Poland was Hitler’s next target
• however, the Soviet Union felt that Poland was an area in their ‘sphere of influence’
• in April, Hitler demanded the return of the port of Danzig and the Polish Corridor
• Britain and France signed an alliance with Poland; Poland refused Hitler’s demands
• Hitler’s policy of Lebensraum involved conquering territory east of Germany including the USSR - because of his hatred of communism he would almost certainly attack the USSR
• in August 1939, Hitler sent Ribbentrop a senior Nazi, to Russia and offered a Nazi-Soviet alliance - USSR and Germany would not go to war but would divide Poland between them and Hitler would allow Stalin to occupy the Baltic States
• Stalin, the leader of the USSR knew Hitler was lying but did not trust the British either - the Munich agreement had convinced him that Britain and France would never dare to go to war with Hitler
• Stalin had two choices:
  -> if he made an alliance with Britain, he would end up fighting a war with Hitler over Poland
  -> if he made an alliance with Germany, he would get half of Poland, and time to prepare for coming war with Germany
• he chose the latter - on the 23rd August 1939, he signed the Pact with Hitler
• the world was shocked when they signed the Nazi-Soviet PAct
• the Pact guaranteed that the Soviets and Germany would not fight each other in the event of war in Europe
• in secret, both powers agreed to divide up Polish territory should war occur

Question 4

significance of USSR and Nazi-Soviet Pact as being a final cause of WW2?

Answer 4

• the Soviet’s army was huge and could have been a real problem for Germany as it has been in WW2 and actually was later in WW1
• the pact removed the threat for the time being
• Germany would not face a war on two fronts if it fought France and Britain

Question 5

why was the Nazi-Soviet Pact a cause of WW2?

Answer 5

• Hitler could now attack Poland and not have to worry about the USSR trying to stop him
• because of appeasement he didn’t think Britain and France would do anything either - this made him very confident
• if Britain and France did declare war over Poland then Hitler knew that he wouldn’t also have to fight USSR
• one of the reasons Germany had lost in WW1 was that it had fought Britain and France in Western Europe and Russia in eastern Europe - this had proved too much
• the pact meant Hitler would not have to fight a war on two fronts
• this had proved too much - this pact meant Hitler would not have to fight a war on two fronts

Question 6

how was the Invasion of Poland in 1939 a final cause of WW2?

Answer 6

• Hitler demanded that Poland hand over the city of Danzig where many Germans lived
• the Poles refused because the UK and France had promised to defend them
• on 1st September 1939 Hitler invaded Poland
• on the 3rd of September 1939, Chamberlain declared war on Germany and WW2 had started

Question 7

why did Hitler and Germany have responsibility for WW2?

Answer 7

• Hitler made impossible demands on Poland and invaded on 1st September 1939 which started WW1
• wrote in Mein Kampf that he wanted to make Germany strong again
• aggressive Foreign Policy aims including Lebensraum and uniting German speaking people
• broke TofV on multiple occasions

Question 8

why did Stalin and the USSR have responsibility for WW2?

Answer 8

• Stalin made a deal with Hitler (the Nazi Soviet Pact/ Molotov Ribbentrop Pact) that cleared the way for German invasion despite Hitler being open about wanting to destroy communism
• the size of the USSR’s armed forces meant that Hitler being open about wanting to destroy communism
• the pact meant that Hitler would not have to fight a war on two frontd

Question 9

why did Poland have responsibility for WW2?

Answer 9

• signed an alliance with Britain and France that encourage it to resist demands

Question 10

why did Britain and Chamberlain have responsibility for WW2?

Answer 10

• CHAMBERLAIN WAS ONLY PM FROM 1937 (other British leaders were in charge during the Rhineland/Abyssinia)
• missed opportunities to stop Hitler because of appeasement
• failure to act against the remilitarization of the Rhineland - at this stage the Nazis were not ready for war and would have been easily defeated
• gave the Sudetenland to Hitler without consulting the Czechs, then allowed Hitler to invade a country he had no claim to, further strengthening his army
• excluded Stalin from the Munich conference, which alienated Stalin and pushed him to sign to the Nazi-Soviet Pact
• appeasement made Hitler think they would not resist him and their guarantees to Poland encouraged them to resist him

Question 11

why did France have responsibility for WW2?

Answer 11

• distracted by their own domestic instability (lots of turnover of governments during these years) and their own fear of attack led to the same policy of appeasement that made Hitler think they would not resist him and their guarantees to Poland encouraged them to resist him