WW2 Flashcards
1
Q
How did Hitler become president?
A
When Von Hindenburg died, Hitler merged Chancellor and President and called himself the Fuhrër
2
Q
What does appeasement mean?
A
To control someone you give them what they want
3
Q
Why was Hitler not stopped by the rest of Europe?
A
They didn’t want to start another war, so they appeased Hitler
4
Q
When is propaganda most effective?
A
When it is repeated and shown everywhere
5
Q
How did Hitler become Chancellor of Germany?
A
President von Hindenburg thought that he could control Hitler
6
Q
Which country did not attend the Treaty of Versailles?
A
Russia
7
Q
Why didn’t Russia attend the Treaty of Versailles?
A
It was undergoing the Russian Revolution
8
Q
What was Danzig?
A
Danzig was a free city run by the League of Nations
9
Q
Who was the Kaiser?
A
Wilhelm II
10
Q
Who demanded the abdication of the Kaiser?
A
Ebert and a group of Socialists
11
Q
What did Ebert do after the Kaiser abdicated?
A
He formed a provisional government
12
Q
Where did the new government meet?
A
In Weimar instead of Berlin
13
Q
Why didn’t the government meet in Berlin?
A
Communist uprisings were happening in Berlin
14
Q
Why did the Weimar government fail?
A
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
15
Q
What were the economic problems during the Weimar government?
A
The German Mark was devalued because of the effects of the Treaty
German industry came to a standstill
The Wall Street Stock Market Crash
16
Q
How did the Wall Street Crash affect Germany?
A
The USA gave extensive loans to Germany (The Dawes Plan). When the stock market crashed America pulled the loans
17
Q
Why did other political parties become popular?
A
When democracy (the Weimar government) failed
18
Q
Where was Adolf Hitler born?
A
Austria
20 April 1889
19
Q
How did Hitler gain entry into Germany?
A
He was a corporal in the German army in WW1
20
Q
Who did Hitler marry?
A
Eva Braun
28 April 1945
21
Q
How did Hitler die?
A
30 April 1945
Committed suicide with his wife to avoid capture
22
Q
Why did Hitler think Germany lost the war?
A
He thought they had been betrayed
23
Q
What did Hitler do after WW1?
A
He joined the German Workers Party and attempted a putsch in 1923
24
Q
What did Hitler do in prison?
A
He wrote Mein Kampf
25
What kind of government did Hitler want?
An autocratic centralised government
26
What were Hitler's plans for the land in Germany?
He wanted to colonise areas to create Lebensraum for pure Germans only
27
What were Hitler's plans for the people of Germany?
To create a genetically stronger race
28
What was Hitler's idea of a genetically strong race?
Aryan:
Blue eyed
Blond haired
Physically strong
29
Who did Hitler want to eliminate?
All "impure people"
30
Who did Hitler consider "impure people"?
```
Jews
Gypsies
Homosexuals
Disabled people
Jehovah's Witnesses
His opposition
Blacks
```
31
Who was Hitler's scapegoat?
The Jews
32
What did Hitler accuse Jews of?
Cornering Germany's wealth
| Having an international outlook
33
What did Hitler promise the Germans?
A better economy
34
What did Hitler use to gain power?
Propaganda
Military force
Mass meetings
35
What kind of speaker was Hitler?
A fiery orator
36
What did the Sturmabteilung do?
To protect Nazi meetings
| To break up other meetings
37
How were the Sturmabteilung dressed?
In a brown uniform with a swastika on the armband
38
Who were The Schutz Staffel?
A private army that protected the party leaders
39
What did the SS wear?
Black uniforms
| Caps with with intimidating symbols on them
40
Who was the Minister of Propaganda?
Josef Goebbels
41
How did Hitler become Chancellor?
President vin Hindenburg was persuaded by his vice chancellor Von Papen to appoint Hitler as chancellor
42
Why did Von Papen want to appoint Hitler?
He thought Hitler would be useful
| He thought the Nazi party could be controlled
43
What did Hitler do when he was first appointed?
He said elections for party members should be held
44
How did Hitler swing the elections in his favour?
He accused the Communist leaders of burning down the Reichstag buildings
45
How did Hitler abdicate all legislative power to himself?
He made a decree
46
How did the Enabling Act help the Nazis to win the election?
Only Nazi candidates were allowed to stand
47
When did Hitler become the Führer?
After Von Hindenburg dived, he merged the positions of Chancellor and President
48
Why were concentration camps set up?
As somewhere for "impure" people to live and work away from society
49
Why were death camps set up?
Concentration camps got too full
50
What were death camps?
They were places where people went to be robbed, gassed and burnt
51
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
52
What did the winning countries of WW1 want from Germany?
To pay for all the damages of the war
53
What was the Ruhr valley?
A demilitarised zone that acted as a buffer between France and Germany
54
What happened to Germany's colonies after WWI?
All her colonies were given away
55
When did Hitler become the leader of the German Workers Party?
1921
56
What was the motto of the Nazi party?
All opposition must be stomped into the ground
57
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
58
What was the Nazi salute?
The right arm is held perpendicular to the body
| It was called "Heil Hitler" (Hail Hitler)
59
How long was Hitler in prison?
Only nine months
60
What happened to Germany in the Great Depression?
Banks closed
Factories closed
Workers lost their jobs
Inflation rose
61
Why did Hitler get such a short prison sentence?
The officials didn't support democracy
62
Why wasn't the Weimar government strong enough to deal with Germany's problems?
There were too many political parties
| They had fifteen chancellors
63
Who was blamed for the poor economy in Germany?
The Weimar government
64
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
65
What was the Nazi dictatorship like?
It ignored the German constitution
It was cruel
It was violent
It was unjust
66
Why were concentration camps set up?
The jails could not hold all of the people Hitler arrested
67
Where was the first concentration camp?
Dachau
68
What is Anti-Semitism?
The hatred of Jews
69
Why were Jehovah' Witnesses persecuted?
They refused to be loyal to Hitler
| They refused to join the army
70
Why were homosexuals persecuted?
They were considered a hindrance to the expansion of the German race
71
What symbol identified Jews?
A yellow Star of David
72
What symbol identified political opponents?
A red triangle
73
What symbol identified Jehovah's Witnesses?
A purple triangle
74
What symbol identified homosexuals?
A pink triangle
75
What symbol identified Roma?
A brown triangle
76
What symbol identified criminals?
A green triangle
77
What were the Nuremburg Laws?
They took away the basic rights of Jews
78
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
```
79
What is a fascist state?
The opposite of democracy
| It serves itself instead of the country
80
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
81
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
```
82
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
```
83
How did WWII break out?
Germany invaded Poland, whom Britain and France swore to protect
84
Whose side was Italy on?
Italy joined Germany
85
Why did Italy join Germany?
It was also a fascist state
86
Who ran the SS?
Heinrich Himmler
87
What did the SS have to do?
Declare absolute obedience and loyalty to Hitler
| They had to harden their hearts against human suffering
88
What did the Einsatzgruppen have to do?
Line up Jews and shoot them into mass graves
89
Why was "The Final Solution" put into place?
Firing squads were inefficient and too personal
90
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
91
Who was Sophie Scholl?
The leader of the White Rose Movement
92
What was the White Rose Movement?
A small, non-violent resistance group
93
What did the White Rose Movement do?
They printed pamphlets complaining about the Nazis and spread them in universities
94
What happened to Sophie Scholl and her brother Hans?
They were caught by the Gestapo and executed by guillotine
95
What were the three main churches in Germany?
The Catholic Church
German Christians
Confessing Church
96
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
97
What was the church of German Christians?
They supported Hitler
98
What was the Confessing Church?
They were led by Dietrich Bonhoeffer and opposed the Nazis
99
What happened to Dietrich Bonhoeffer?
He was a spy on a failed plot to assassinate Hitler
| He was caught and hung
100
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
101
What did Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto do?
They secret,y armed themselves in an attempt at an uprising
102
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
103
Who were the Nazis?
They were a political party led by Hitler
104
What does indoctrinate mean?
To brainwash
105
Who were the Gestapo?
The secret police
106
Why did Hitler want to get rid of the communist party?
They were his main opposition
107
What was the Holocaust?
The oppression of the Jews during Hitler's rule
| It refers to the genocide of Jewish people in Europe
108
Why couldn't Jews escape from Germany?
The other countries came up with excuses why they could not take more refugees
109
How was Italy defeated during WWI?
The Italian dictator tried to flee, but was stopped and killed by Italian resistors
110
Who was the Italian dictator during WWI?
Benito Mussolini
111
What did the Italian resistors do to Mussolini?
They killed hi and hung his body upside down in a public square
112
How was Germany defeated?
Hitler didn't want to suffer Mussolini's fate
| He committed suicide along with his wife
113
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
