WW2 Flashcards
How did Hitler become president?
When Von Hindenburg died, Hitler merged Chancellor and President and called himself the Fuhrër
What does appeasement mean?
To control someone you give them what they want
Why was Hitler not stopped by the rest of Europe?
They didn’t want to start another war, so they appeased Hitler
When is propaganda most effective?
When it is repeated and shown everywhere
How did Hitler become Chancellor of Germany?
President von Hindenburg thought that he could control Hitler
Which country did not attend the Treaty of Versailles?
Russia
Why didn’t Russia attend the Treaty of Versailles?
It was undergoing the Russian Revolution
What was Danzig?
Danzig was a free city run by the League of Nations
Who was the Kaiser?
Wilhelm II
Who demanded the abdication of the Kaiser?
Ebert and a group of Socialists
What did Ebert do after the Kaiser abdicated?
He formed a provisional government
Where did the new government meet?
In Weimar instead of Berlin
Why didn’t the government meet in Berlin?
Communist uprisings were happening in Berlin
Why did the Weimar government fail?
Had to shoulder the blame for accepting the Treaty of Versailles
The Weimar government was democratic; the Germans weren’t used to democracy
Inexperience and too many political opinions
Economic problems
What were the economic problems during the Weimar government?
The German Mark was devalued because of the effects of the Treaty
German industry came to a standstill
The Wall Street Stock Market Crash
How did the Wall Street Crash affect Germany?
The USA gave extensive loans to Germany (The Dawes Plan). When the stock market crashed America pulled the loans
Why did other political parties become popular?
When democracy (the Weimar government) failed
Where was Adolf Hitler born?
Austria
20 April 1889
How did Hitler gain entry into Germany?
He was a corporal in the German army in WW1
Who did Hitler marry?
Eva Braun
28 April 1945
How did Hitler die?
30 April 1945
Committed suicide with his wife to avoid capture
Why did Hitler think Germany lost the war?
He thought they had been betrayed
What did Hitler do after WW1?
He joined the German Workers Party and attempted a putsch in 1923
What did Hitler do in prison?
He wrote Mein Kampf
What kind of government did Hitler want?
An autocratic centralised government
What were Hitler’s plans for the land in Germany?
He wanted to colonise areas to create Lebensraum for pure Germans only
What were Hitler’s plans for the people of Germany?
To create a genetically stronger race
What was Hitler’s idea of a genetically strong race?
Aryan:
Blue eyed
Blond haired
Physically strong
Who did Hitler want to eliminate?
All “impure people”
Who did Hitler consider “impure people”?
Jews Gypsies Homosexuals Disabled people Jehovah's Witnesses His opposition Blacks
Who was Hitler’s scapegoat?
The Jews
What did Hitler accuse Jews of?
Cornering Germany’s wealth
Having an international outlook
What did Hitler promise the Germans?
A better economy
What did Hitler use to gain power?
Propaganda
Military force
Mass meetings
What kind of speaker was Hitler?
A fiery orator
What did the Sturmabteilung do?
To protect Nazi meetings
To break up other meetings
How were the Sturmabteilung dressed?
In a brown uniform with a swastika on the armband
Who were The Schutz Staffel?
A private army that protected the party leaders
What did the SS wear?
Black uniforms
Caps with with intimidating symbols on them
Who was the Minister of Propaganda?
Josef Goebbels
How did Hitler become Chancellor?
President vin Hindenburg was persuaded by his vice chancellor Von Papen to appoint Hitler as chancellor
Why did Von Papen want to appoint Hitler?
He thought Hitler would be useful
He thought the Nazi party could be controlled
What did Hitler do when he was first appointed?
He said elections for party members should be held
How did Hitler swing the elections in his favour?
He accused the Communist leaders of burning down the Reichstag buildings
How did Hitler abdicate all legislative power to himself?
He made a decree
How did the Enabling Act help the Nazis to win the election?
Only Nazi candidates were allowed to stand
When did Hitler become the Führer?
After Von Hindenburg dived, he merged the positions of Chancellor and President
Why were concentration camps set up?
As somewhere for “impure” people to live and work away from society
Why were death camps set up?
Concentration camps got too full
What were death camps?
They were places where people went to be robbed, gassed and burnt
What are the features of a totalitarian state?
One leader
Membership of the ruling party is only for the elite
Propaganda is used to subjugate and control
Communications are censored
Individual rights are suspended
People are terrorised by the secret police
All forms of the military are controlled and used by the leader for expansion of the nation
Education is controlled by the state
Indoctrination and discipline is encouraged
Racial superiority is often encouraged
What did the winning countries of WW1 want from Germany?
To pay for all the damages of the war
What was the Ruhr valley?
A demilitarised zone that acted as a buffer between France and Germany
What happened to Germany’s colonies after WWI?
All her colonies were given away
When did Hitler become the leader of the German Workers Party?
1921
What was the motto of the Nazi party?
All opposition must be stomped into the ground
What were the rules of violence in the SA?
There were no rules preventing the use of violence
They often beat up people who disagreed with them
What was the Nazi salute?
The right arm is held perpendicular to the body
It was called “Heil Hitler” (Hail Hitler)
How long was Hitler in prison?
Only nine months
What happened to Germany in the Great Depression?
Banks closed
Factories closed
Workers lost their jobs
Inflation rose
Why did Hitler get such a short prison sentence?
The officials didn’t support democracy
Why wasn’t the Weimar government strong enough to deal with Germany’s problems?
There were too many political parties
They had fifteen chancellors
Who was blamed for the poor economy in Germany?
The Weimar government
Why did people support the Nazi party?
They wanted their former glory as a world power
They wanted a better economy
Hitler had financial support
Hitler was a brilliant public speaker
The Nazi party used propaganda to gain support
What was the Nazi dictatorship like?
It ignored the German constitution
It was cruel
It was violent
It was unjust
Why were concentration camps set up?
The jails could not hold all of the people Hitler arrested
Where was the first concentration camp?
Dachau
What is Anti-Semitism?
The hatred of Jews
Why were Jehovah’ Witnesses persecuted?
They refused to be loyal to Hitler
They refused to join the army
Why were homosexuals persecuted?
They were considered a hindrance to the expansion of the German race
What symbol identified Jews?
A yellow Star of David
What symbol identified political opponents?
A red triangle
What symbol identified Jehovah’s Witnesses?
A purple triangle
What symbol identified homosexuals?
A pink triangle
What symbol identified Roma?
A brown triangle
What symbol identified criminals?
A green triangle
What were the Nuremburg Laws?
They took away the basic rights of Jews
What happened to Jews under the Nuremburg laws?
Dismissed from civil service Dismissed from jobs Expelled from education systems Stripped of citizenship rights Prohibited from marrying non-Jews Forced to sit on separate park benches Dismissed from society
What is a fascist state?
The opposite of democracy
It serves itself instead of the country
How did the Nazis help Hitler?
They convinced the people that Hitler had the answers to all their problems
They used propaganda and fear to do this
What are the features of a fascist state?
No opposition allowed No freedom of speech "Worship" of a leader who holds all the power Use of violence Secret police who spy on people Trade unions are banned Use of propaganda Willingness to go to war Nationalist pride Racism Hatred of democracy
How did Hitler break the Treaty of Versailles?
He armed Germany He occupied the Ruhr Valley He united with Austria He invaded Poland He tried to invade Russia
How did WWII break out?
Germany invaded Poland, whom Britain and France swore to protect
Whose side was Italy on?
Italy joined Germany
Why did Italy join Germany?
It was also a fascist state
Who ran the SS?
Heinrich Himmler
What did the SS have to do?
Declare absolute obedience and loyalty to Hitler
They had to harden their hearts against human suffering
What did the Einsatzgruppen have to do?
Line up Jews and shoot them into mass graves
Why was “The Final Solution” put into place?
Firing squads were inefficient and too personal
How did extermination camps work?
Victims were sent to the camps cities were told to undress and forced into the chambers
They were told they were going to have a shower
They were locked inside and dead within fifteen minutes
They were stripped of any valuables
The bodies were burnt in giant ovens
The ashes were sometimes used as fertiliser
Who was Sophie Scholl?
The leader of the White Rose Movement
What was the White Rose Movement?
A small, non-violent resistance group
What did the White Rose Movement do?
They printed pamphlets complaining about the Nazis and spread them in universities
What happened to Sophie Scholl and her brother Hans?
They were caught by the Gestapo and executed by guillotine
What were the three main churches in Germany?
The Catholic Church
German Christians
Confessing Church
What did the Catholic Church?
A church that signed an agreement with Hitler
Nazis wouldn’t interfere with them and they wouldn’t interfere with the Nazis
What was the church of German Christians?
They supported Hitler
What was the Confessing Church?
They were led by Dietrich Bonhoeffer and opposed the Nazis
What happened to Dietrich Bonhoeffer?
He was a spy on a failed plot to assassinate Hitler
He was caught and hung
What was the Warsaw Ghetto?
It was a poor area that was closed off for the rest of the city. The people inside were not allowed to leave
What did Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto do?
They secret,y armed themselves in an attempt at an uprising
What was the result of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising?
Nazis attacked the ghetto but were resisted
Nazis returned to the ghetto with poisoned gases
They set fire to the ghetto
The survivors were sent to death camps
Who were the Nazis?
They were a political party led by Hitler
What does indoctrinate mean?
To brainwash
Who were the Gestapo?
The secret police
Why did Hitler want to get rid of the communist party?
They were his main opposition
What was the Holocaust?
The oppression of the Jews during Hitler’s rule
It refers to the genocide of Jewish people in Europe
Why couldn’t Jews escape from Germany?
The other countries came up with excuses why they could not take more refugees
How was Italy defeated during WWI?
The Italian dictator tried to flee, but was stopped and killed by Italian resistors
Who was the Italian dictator during WWI?
Benito Mussolini
What did the Italian resistors do to Mussolini?
They killed hi and hung his body upside down in a public square
How was Germany defeated?
Hitler didn’t want to suffer Mussolini’s fate
He committed suicide along with his wife
What happened after WWI? (In terms of the concentration camps)
The full scope of Nazi horrors was discovered
Most inmates died a short while after liberation
