World War 2 Flashcards
Explain how Hitler expanded his power for each of the following event: Army Size
Broke Treaty of Versailles by starting to rebuilt his military, airforce, and navy in secret
Explain how Hitler expanded his power for each of the following event: Rhineland
Put his military in the region between France and Germany that was taken away from Germany in Treaty
Explain how Hitler expanded his power for each of the following event: Austria
Combined Austria into the German empire
Explain how Hitler expanded his power for each of the following event: Czechoslovakia
Took over the region and used its resources for their army
Why did Hitler/ Germans want the above things?
He wanted to make Germany powerful again, expand their living space, and combine all the German speaking people into one empire.
What is appeasement?
diplomatic policy of making political or material concessions to an aggressive power in order to avoid conflict.
What are the four reasons why Europe allowed appeasement?
- The Allied Powers were in the depths of the Great Depression, and did not have the money to be involved in another war.
- The memory of World War 1 was still fresh, and none of the world wanted to do that again.
- They were trying to convince themselves that Hitler’s demands were reasonable, and hoped he would be satisfied if he got what he wanted
- The militaries of the Allied countries were still recovering from WWI
What was the consequence of appeasement for the Allies?
- Allowed Hitler to control a larger population to use as an army
- Allowed Hitler to control a more people to tax and gather wealth from
- Made Hitler seem invincible to his own people, so they bought into him as a leader
- Allowed the Germans to control areas with tons of resources like iron, coal, and agricultural land
What was the importance of the Battle of Dunkirk?
Germany surrounded French troops and pushed them out of France to Great Britain.
Left France undefended from the Nazis, but saved 338,000 soldiers to fight later in the war.
What was the importance of the Battle of Britain?
Germany used constant bombing to try and have them surrender, since they could not have a land invasion across the sea easily.
This battle saved Europe from complete Nazi control, and was later the able to be used as the base of operations for retaking control of Europe from Hitler.
What was the importance of the attack on Pearl Harbor?
Japan bombed the United States Navy fleet to try to knock them out of the war before they could attack Japan.
This battle drew the United States into WW2
What was the importance of the Battle of Stalingrad?
The German and Russian army clashed in the bloodiest battle for control of this important Russian city
This battle was the turning point for the war, especially in the East. From this point on, Hitler’s armies were pushed back into Germany.
What was the importance of the D-Day?
Massive Allie re-invasion of Europe by the Allied powers, launched from England
This battle put Hitler into a 2 front war and stopped him from reinforcing his armies getting beat in Russia.
Who are the allies?
Britain, France, the United States, Soviet Union
Who are the Axis Powers?
Germany, Italy, Japan