WW2

Question 1

How did the great depression affect Germany?

Answer 1

America was hit by the depression and many lost their savings and jobs

America fell into a state of extreme economic instability with poverty rates increasing and the government needed money quickly

they demanded the money they had previously lent to Germany, to be returned

The Germans needed that loan in order to pay back the other European countries, and without it, they had to raise taxes and make products more expensive

Germany was already struggling due to the financial burden placed on them after WW1 and many starved and became homeless

Question 2

How did the great depression contribute to WW2?

Answer 2

Germans were angry with their government for allowing this to happen and wanted change - they began turning to extremist parties like the nazis, who promised to restore Germany’s wealth and offered the unemployed jobs

Question 3

What does appeasement mean?

Answer 3

the policy of giving in to Hitler in the hopes he would stop

Question 4

When did WW2 begin?

Answer 4

1939

Question 5

What was Blitzkrieg?

Answer 5

An intense military campaign intended to bring about a swift victory

Question 6

What is the main principle of Blitzkrieg?

Answer 6

To win quickly without fighting by identifying the enemies weak point and using it to your advantage

Question 7

What 3 things are necessary for a successful blitzkrieg?

Answer 7

• speed of movement
• speed of decision making
• an overconfident enemy

Question 8

What are the axis powers?

Answer 8

Countries allied with Germany ( Italy and Japan being the most involved )

Question 9

What are the allied powers?

Answer 9

Countries allied with Britain ( France, the USA and the Soviet union )

Question 10

Why did Japan become involved in WW2?

Answer 10

Japan wanted to grow a powerful empire and this led to them invading China in 1937. They later attacked the USA to get their natural resources

Question 11

When did Japan attack the USA and how?

Answer 11

1941
They launched a surprise air attack on a USA naval base

Question 12

How did the USA respond to being attacked by Japan?

Answer 12

dropped 2 atomic bombs on Japan, wiping out thousands of citizens and forcing the Japanese to surrender almost immediately

Question 13

How many men from the Caribbean fought for Britain?

Answer 13

600,000

Question 14

How many men from India fought for Britain?

Answer 14

2.5 million

Question 15

How much were non-white soldiers payed in WW2?

Answer 15

1/3 of a white soldiers pay

Question 17

When was d-day?

Answer 17

June 6 1944

Question 18

Why was d-day significant?

Answer 18

Allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy ( France ) and started to break through German defences, pushing back on the axis troops for 11 months until they reached Berlin. Since - at the time - Germany controlled much of Europe, the allies regaining land in such a way and liberating France set the German’s back massively and stopped them from using France’s resources or as an army-base

Question 19

Give 3 reasons Germany lost the war:

Answer 19

• poor leadership - throughout the war, Hitler often ignored his generals and used his resources to create concentration camps and kill “undesirables” instead of useful things to win the war

Working women - while the allied powers used women to produce more weapons in factories, as nurses or as spies and pilots, Hitler had very prejudiced views towards women and refused to use them to his advantage. Because of this, munition was less available to the German troops and they had to use men on the home front, meaning less soldiers

Help from other countries - From 1938 onwards, the USA used its large economy to produce huge amounts of resources for the allies and even supplied struggling countries with food and money. Germany did not have this help

Question 20

When did WW2 end?

Answer 20

1945