The long-term causes of WW2 in Europe and north Africa

Question 1

Overview of WW2

Answer 1

• On 1 September 1939, Germany invaded Poland. Britain and France quickly entered the conflict against Germany, turning a limited war into a regional conflict.
• By the end of 1941, the war was a global one of great significance for most countries involved.
• It ended in 1945, but there were decades of repercussions.

Question 2

How have interpretations about what caused WW2 evolved over time?

Answer 2

• Historians still debate what caused the Second World War, with many initially placing the blame solely on the actions of Adolf Hitler, Germany’s leader.
• However, as with all conflicts, the causes are complex and multilayered.

Question 3

Long-term causes of WW2 in Europe and north Africa

Answer 3

• WW1 Peace Treaties
• Post-war economic problems before the GD
• The Great Depression
• Nazi Party and the rise of Hitler

Question 4

When was the Treaty of Versailles signed?

Answer 4

1919

Question 5

What was the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 5

The peace agreement imposed on Germany after its defeat in the First World War.

Question 6

How were the terms of the ToV considered by most at the time (and since)

Answer 6

Very harsh on Germany

Question 7

What did Germany have to do as a result of the ToV?

Answer 7

• Pay reparations to the Allied powers (later agreed to be £6.6 billion)
• Accept full blame for causing the war
• Had its military severely reduced
• Lost its colonies and some territory to neighbouring countries, including Poland, Belgium and France
• Was not allowed to join the newly created League of Nations.

Question 8

Along with Germany, who had to sign peace agreements in the years 1919-20?

Answer 8

The remaining countries that formed the Central Powers

Question 9

Repurcussions of the peace agreements that the countries forming the Central Powers had to sign

Answer 9

• The Austro-Hungarian Empire was dissolved and smaller states were created.
• The Ottoman Empire was also dissolved, with Middle Eastern mandates, or semi-autonomous states under the supervision of a European power, being created, such as Palestine, Jordan, Iraq and Syria.
• Bulgaria lost territory.
• Armies were reduced, and reparation payments were enforced on Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey.

Question 10

Long-lasting effects of the WW1 peace treaties on Europe

Answer 10

• Germans felt resentment that their country had been weakened and made to accept blame for the war.
• The German people were angry that the new German government, called the Weimar Republic, had signed the Treaty of Versailles.
• It was unfair that Germans were not allowed to live in one state, unlike Poles, Czechoslovaks, Hungarians and others; Austria and Germany were not allowed to merge or ally with each other and millions of Germans were now minorities living in Czechoslovakia and Poland.

Question 11

Political changes in Europe as a result of the WW1 peace treaties

Answer 11

The government faced political challenges, with attempts at revolution from the political left and right, indicating that extremists on both ends of the political spectrum were not willing to cooperate with the government, adding to its instability.

Question 12

In what way was Germany still strong after the WW1 peace treaties?

Answer 12

• While Germany lost land, it remained the largest country in central Europe, surrounded by nations that lacked the necessary infrastructure to modenize rapidly.
• Germany soon began to reassert its dominance over Europe through its economic strength.

Question 13

What economic problems did Germany face after the war (before the Great Depression)?

Answer 13

Germany failed to pay its 1923 instalment of reparations, causing France and Belgium to occupy the industrialized Ruhr Valley until Germany paid.

Question 14

What was the effect of Germany’s economic problems after WW1 (before the GD)?

Answer 14

• This, along with other economic problems that Germany was suffering, led to a period of hyperinflation, during which the German government printed vast quantities of money, causing its currency to lose value rapidly.
• These problems contributed to the failure of democracy and the rise of an authoritarian leader.

Question 15

How was hyperinflation in Germany ended?

Answer 15

• France and Belgium eventually agreed to leave the Ruhr Valley in 1924 and Germany accepted loans from the USA.
• Both of these actions brought an end to hyperinflation.

Question 16

Although hyperinflation was ended, ___

Answer 16

Germany remained economically vulnerable and much of the population blamed this on the reparations it had to pay.

Question 17

When did the US stock market crash and what did this cause?

Answer 17

• In 1929

- This caused a global economic crisis

Question 18

How was Germany affected by the Great Depression?

Answer 18

• The USA recalled loans to Germany, bringing a quick and dramatic end to the ‘golden years’ that Germany had enjoyed in the mid to late 1920s, indicating Germany’s dependence on the US economy.
• Unemployment rose, businesses closed and high import tariffs were imposed, reducing trade opportunities and causing unemployment to rise to 6 million by 1933, with the government unable to take effective action.

Question 19

How were other states in the world affected by the Great Depression?

Answer 19

States throughout the world, including Britain, France, Japan and Italy, reduced trade as the result of lower US investment and a fall in consumption.

Question 20

When did the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (Nazi Party) assume power in Germany?

Answer 20

In 1933

Question 21

What was the Nazis’ economic policy like when they assumed power in 1933

Answer 21

Aggressive, including actions such as building a large military

Question 22

Examples of actions of the Nazi Party prior to 1933

Answer 22

• An attempt to take over Bavaria, a southern German province, in 1923 that led to Hitler, the party’s leader, being sent to prison
• The creation of paramilitary units to harass and attack opponents before and during the Great Depression, as well as the establishment of an effective system of propaganda, leading to gains in the German parliament, the Reichstag
• The development of a set of political beliefs (see next flashcard)

Question 23

What political beliefs did the Nazis develop (prior to 1933)?

Answer 23

• The Treaty of Versailles should be voided
• Germany should become a self-sufficient nation
• Germany required more Lebensraum
• Communism was evil and its growth must be stopped
• Germans were a master race and all other races (Jews, Roma, Slavs, Sinti and others) were inferior, and those who weakened the German race should be removed, including homosexuals, handicapped and mentally ill people, and others

Question 24

Describe the rise of Hitler and the Nazis into power

Answer 24

• By the beginning of 1933, the Nazi Party was the largest party in the Reichstag and Hitler was offered the role of chancellor.
• Over the following two years, Hitler and the Nazi Party effectively removed all opposition, including potential opposition from within the Nazi Party itself, enabling Hitler to declare himself Führer of Germany.