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Ms Bray - History > To what extent did other nations contribute to the outbreak of war? > Flashcards

To what extent did other nations contribute to the outbreak of war? Flashcards

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1
Q

What was the impact of WW1 on the geography of central & Eastern Europe

A
  • new small independent states - Estonia & Lithuania, disputed borders
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2
Q

What was the most significant ideological divide in Europe after WW1

A
  • Communist Soviet Union & Capitalist West
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3
Q

Why did the West percieve Soviet Union as a threat

A

Communist party membership rose in the West

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4
Q

What impact did the West’s perceptions of the Soviet Union as a threat have on the relations between the West & Soviet Union

A

Strained relations - as the Soviet Union had set up a Cominterm, an organisation to spread Communist ideas

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5
Q

What was the new ideological divide from the mid-1930s

A

Germany, Italy & Japan

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6
Q

What united the dictatorships of Germany, Italy & Japan

A
  • hatred of communism
  • rejection of democracy
  • & a belief in the importance of a strong military - dictatorship by force
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7
Q

How did these ideological divisions shape Hitler’s foreign policy & contribute to the outbreak of war

A
  • Soviet Union more of a threat than NG (initially) - later, Britain sees SU as ally against Germany
  • Stalin more inclined to enter alliance with Germany as sees West with suspicion
  • Germany exploits situation
  • Hitler more inclined to invade Poland as he knew USSR would support
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8
Q

Name 3 serious weaknesses of the League of Nations

A
  • membership
  • bureaucracy
  • enforcement
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9
Q

Explain the serious weaknesses of the League of Nations

Membership

A

Not all nations were part of the League - weak as a worldwide organisation, as non-League countries did not have to work with it

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10
Q

What type of countries were a part of the League of Nations

A
  • Countries that had fought the Allies were not asked to join, nor was Russia
  • Germany was asked to join the League in 1925 when it signed the Treaty of Locarno agreeing to accept the boundaries set in the Treaty of Versailles.
  • The US Congress refused to join- had been the driving force behind the League’s creation
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11
Q

Explain the serious weaknesses of the League of Nations

Bureaucracy

A
  • Slow to make decisions and members seldom agreed to economic sanctions, let alone military force
  • It needed the agreement of a significant majority of members, sometimes all of them, in order to act
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12
Q

Explain the serious weaknesses of the League of Nations

Enforcement

A
  • It did not have its own army; member countries had to reluctantly agree to supply troops
  • Its failure to act quickly and use force made it seem increasingly weak
  • Most nations naturally act in their own self-interest and when it became clear that the League was not able to enforce decisions, there was less and less need to obey a ruling that was not in a country’s self-interest.
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13
Q

How did the Nazis take advantage of the League of Nation’s weaknesses

A
  • The Nazis did not see it as a force to contend with its foreign policy
  • Hitler took Germany out of the League & its disarament conferences in 1933
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14
Q

Name 3 failures of the League of Nations in resolving disputes between countries after 1931

A
  • 1935 - Italy invaded Abyssinia
  • 1937 - China & Japan
  • 1939 - USSR invaded Finland
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15
Q

Failures of the LofN in resolving disputes between countries after 1931

China & Japan war

A
  • 1937:
  • China and Japan went to war over disputed territory
  • The League joined with other nations, including the USA, in condemning Japan’s invasion;
  • neither country was a League member and it had no effect
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16
Q

Failures of the LofN in resolving disputes between countries after 1931

Italy invaded Abyssinia

A
  • 3 October 1935: Italy invaded Abyssinia (now Ethiopia)
  • On 7th Dec, the League of Nations demanded that Italy left; Italy did not leave.
  • On 9th Dec, the League imposed partial economic sanctions.
  • News leaked out that Italy, Britain and France had a secret meeting and signed the Hoare-Laval Pact which gave two-thirds of Abyssinia to Italy.
  • By 1936, Italy had all of Abyssinia
  • the League had done nothing, and two of its most powerful members had worked outside the League to agree on Italy’s takeover
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17
Q

Failures of the LofN in resolving disputes between countries after 1931

USSR invade Finland

A
  • 30 November 1939: The USSR invaded Finland
  • The League intervened, urging the USSR (still a member) to withdraw
  • It did not withdraw
  • The League expelled the USSR
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18
Q

What underpins all failures of the League of Nations

A
  • doesn’t really get involved in National Interests, failing to ensure stability & peace, especially in Europe
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19
Q

Why did the Soviet Union not become a member of the League of Ntaions until 1934

A
  • worried by the way Germany & Japan soke against communism, it decided it needed allies & asked to join the league
20
Q

Why did relations between Soviet Union & the League of Nations become increasingly strained after 1936

A
  • Stalin’s purged & increasingly dictatorial behaviour & the USSR’s involvement in the Spanish civil war
21
Q

How did the weaknesses of the League of Nations influence Hitler’s foreign policy between 1933 & 1939

A
  • Gave Hit;er the confidence to form the Nazi-Soviet Pact of 1939
  • This put relations between the USSR & the league under even more strain without any interference from League, allowing Germany to pursue Pan-Germanism & Lebensraum
22
Q

Why did Britain pursue a policy of appeasement towards Germany in the years preceding 1939

A
  • wanted to maintain the peaceful situation in Europe set up by the ToV
  • genuine desire amongst politicians to not go to war again
  • the govt was doubtful that its colonies would want another war
  • wanted to avoid an alliance with Germany
23
Q

In what ways did Britain’s colonies put pressure on the govt

A
  • Both Australia & South Africa made it clear they would not go to war over Germany
  • India & China wanted independence
24
Q

What evidence is there that Britain purseud a policy of appeasemnt towards Germany

A
  • 1935 - Anglo-German naval agreement
  • March 1938 - Anschluss
  • Munich Conference - Germany allowed to take back Sudetenland
25
Q

How did Britain’s policy of appeasement influence Hitler’s foreign policy & contribute to the outbreak of war

A
  • it encouraged Germany, Italy & Japan to seize more territory
26
Q

What was France’s attitude towards Germany until 1939

A
  • Out of resentment & anger because of Germany’s failure to meet the terms of the ToV
27
Q

How did France’s fear of a German invasion influence the French foreign policy in Europe

A

The one French attempt at imposing its will on Germany by force, the invasion of the Ruhr in 1923, had ended in failure.
So France turned to appeasement

28
Q

What other difficulties was France experiencing in the interwar years
-fears

A
  • France had a very real fear of German invasion,
  • which showed itself most openly in the Maginot Line defences on its border with Germany
  • & its desire to make European alliances
29
Q

What other difficulties was France experiencing in the interwar years
-isolation

A
  • Pre-WW1: Britain and Russia had been strong allies
  • Now with Britain appeasing and Russia a communist country, France felt isolated
  • It even made increasingly binding agreements with the USSR after 1932, such as its 1935 pact, and pushed Britain to join it
  • & it made a variety of alliances with the new European states, such as Czechoslovakia
30
Q

What other difficulties was France experiencing in the interwar years
-army

A
  • While France had a large army,
  • it had lost a quarter of its young men between the ages of 18 and 27 in WW1
  • & the quality of the army and its equipment was variable.
31
Q

What other difficulties was France experiencing in the interwar years
-political difficulties

A
  • France faced political difficulties
  • It developed strong communist and fascist parties, just as Germany did
  • The government changed 11 times between 1932 and 1935, and there was trouble with colonial demands for independence
  • When a left-wing government came to power in 1936, it faced considerable criticism
32
Q

All of France’s difficulties, combined with economic problems, made France…

A

weak at home and abroad, and certain it could not win a war

33
Q

How did France’s fear of a German invasion influence the French foreign policy in Europe

A

With Britain too, its appeasement policy increased Hitler’s confidence in his Eastern European aggression

34
Q

What similarities did Italy & Germany both share

A
  • Both dissatisfied with the Treaty of Versailles
  • They shared an anti-communist outlook, and a belief in autarky, strong government and military force
35
Q

What event led to the Rome-Berlin axis

A
  • At first, their mutual interest in land on the Austrian border was an issue
  • When the Austrian Nazis tried to take over in 1934, Italian troops quickly moved to the border and made them back down.
  • Hitler gave up all claims on the South Tyrol area of Austria to encourage an alliance
  • Italy and Germany both helped Franco’s fascists in the Spanish Civil War,
  • which led to the Rome-Berlin Axis agreement
36
Q

What evidence is there that Italy & Germany’s foreign policies were not always compatible
-assisting invasions

A
  • Hitler refused military aid when Mussolini invaded Abyssinia, saying his army was not ready,
  • while Mussolini did the same when Hitler was about to invade Czechoslovakia in 1938
37
Q

What evidence is there that Italy & Germany’s foreign policies were not always compatible
-instant military support

A
  • Even when united in the Pact of Steel, an agreement to provide instant military support,
  • they kept some war plans secret,
  • e.g Italy’s invasion of Albania in April 1939 and Hitler’s invasion of the rest of Czechoslovakia and then Poland in 1939
38
Q

How did Mussolini contribute to the outbreak of war, encouraging Hitler

A
  • When war began in 1939, Mussolini told Hitler that he had expected a war in 1942 and could not join the war at once - despite the Pact of Steel.
  • Indeed, until France fell in 1940, Hitler was still in contact with Britain, hoping to make an alliance and change sides.
  • Once France fell, Germany seemed the stronger power and Italy joined the war on Germany’s side
  • While Hitler never fully trusted Mussolini, the Pact of Steel was an encouragement to him to go to war
39
Q

Why was the USSR isolated in Europe

A
  • communist ideoogy - in contrast to Europe’s fascist dictatorships & democratic nations
40
Q

Why was the USSR more inclined to enter an alliance with Germany in 1939

A
  • Stalin wanted to build up the USSR’s industry, agriculture and army to the point where the country was self-sufficient and safe from attack; he wanted to avoid war
  • In this respect, his aim was very similar to Hitler’s
  • Also, from July to August 1938, the USSR was fighting with Japan on its eastern border.
  • This made the USSR more likely to reach an agreement with Germany, otherwise it might have to fight Germany and Japan on two fronts
41
Q

What foreign policy did the USA adopt in th 1920s & 1930s

A
  • isolationism & disarmament
42
Q

Despite the USA’s isolationism & disarmament policies, how did the USA intervene in European affairs in the 1920s

A
  • Neutral over Abyssinian crisis & Spanish civil war
  • but still exported arms to Germany & Italy, who were exporting arms to Franco
  • US did set up various meeting sto work for world peace, & did intervene to persuade Hitler to withdraw from Czechoslovakia in 1938
43
Q

How did the USA’s foreign policy encourage Hitler to go to war in September 1939

A
  • The evry fact that the USA openly said it woud not go to war in Europe,
  • & produced a permanent Neutrality Act in 1937 to underline it
  • encouraged Germany to go to war
44
Q

How did Japan go against the LofN –> ruling against the nation in 1933

  1. Aftermath of WW1 for Japan
A
  • Japan, like Italy, was on the winning side in WWW1 and joined the LofN
  • But, also like Italy, it was dissatisfied with the results of the treaties that ended the war and with its treatment in the League, where it was not treated as an equal by the other Allies
45
Q

How did Japan go against the LofN –> ruling against the nation in 1933

How did Japan go against the League of Nations, which led to ruling against the nation in 1933

A
  • In 1931, Japan provoked China to war with the Mukden Incident.
  • Over the next year it took much of Manchuria and some of northern China, creating a new state,
  • Manchukuo, which it said was independent, BUT Japan chose Manchukuo’s ruler.
  • Only Germany and Italy recognised the new state
  • When the League finally ruled against Japan in 1933,
  • Japan left the League and formed uneasy alliances with Italy and Germany
46
Q

Why did it suit Germay to enter into an alliance with Japan

A
  • Germany was encouraged by the alliance in its aggressive policies
  • because Japan was an enemy of the USSR,
  • & it was useful for Germany to have an ally geographically on the other side of the USSR
  • Also, if the USA decided to enter the war, Japan would be able to act against the USA in the Far East
  • The Nazi-Soviet Pact came as a shock to Japan, but by that time, Italy and Germany were the only allies it had

Ms Bray - History (35 decks)

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