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KQ3: The collapse of International Peace by 1939 (COMPLETED) (what…
KQ3: The collapse of International Peace by 1939 (COMPLETED)
Hitler's foreign policy
abolish the ToV
constant reminder of German humiliation
expansionism
regain lost territory
re-unite with austria
re-absorb German speaking minorities in other nations
Lebensraum
carve out an empire in eastern Europe
living space
defeat communism
keep testing western powers
what measures did Hitler Take to achieve german re-armement
began in secret
collapse of the 1934 LoN dissarmement conference
1935: Hitler staged an impressive military parade
1935: Anglo-German Naval agreement
1936: re-introduction of conscription
Thousands of unemployed workers drafted into the army
Armaments spending increased from 7.4% in 1935 to 23% in 1939
30 warships in 1932, 95 in 1939
36 military aircraft in 1936, 8,250 in 1939
100,000 soldiers in 1932, 950,000 in 1939
Why was Hitler allowed to get away with re-armament?
began in secret
many other countries were also using re-armament to tackle unemployment
the collapse of the LoN conference in 1934 suggested that other nations didn't care about disarmament so why should germany.
Britain had sympathy for Germany
a strong Germany would be a buffer against communist Russia
What were the main developments in Hitler's expansionist foreign policy
1935: Saar Plebiscite
90% voted to return to Germany
entirely legal
rich coal mining industry back under German control
boost to Hitler
1936: Re-militarisation of the Rhineland
a gamble
Franco-Russian mutual aggression pact, Germany appeared threatened
Britain sympathised with Germany
France wouldn't act without the support of Britain
the league was distracted by abysinnia
1938: The anschlus with Austria
Hitler used the SA and SS to stir up trouble in Austria
it led to the Austrian people being allowed to decide
The Nazi's intimidated the Austrians, and won the vote (99.75%)
took control of Austria's resources
1938: The Sudetenland
the sudentland contained 3.5 million German speakers
Hitler got the Nazis to stir up trouble and appeal to join Germany
After a few months of violent unrest, a series of meeting took place in munich
The alied powers decided to grant Hitler the Sudentenland in return for him being more peaceful
March 1939: Hitler invades the rest of the Czech republic
Czechoslovakia was in chaos
Hitler was opportunistic and marched in, he was faced by no resistance
Britain and France only gave Hitler a warning
September 1939: Invasion of Poland
Both the Nazi's and the Soviets invaded and divided Poland
Britain and France held true to their warnings and declared war on Germany.
Why did Britain and France fail to resist the Anchlus
wanted to prevent war at all costs
this didn't appear serious enough to take military action
They weren't ready for war, weren't sure they could defeat Hitler
France needed Britain's support, Britain didn't want to take action
some though the ToV was too harsh anyway
Why was Italy a threat to world peace by 1936?
Italy was struggling economically
Mussolini looked to build an empire in order to distract from the domestic struggles
in 1935 he invaded Abyssinia, and refused to obey the LoN and withdraw
Italy was a permanent member, and Mussolini used this to challenge the leagues authority
a lack of decisiveness by the league gave Mussolini more confidence
In 1936, Mussolini along with Hitler supported Franco in the Spanish civil war
In 1936, the Roma-Berlin axis was formed
Why was Japan a threat to world peace by 1937?
Japan was a permanent member of the league
Japan's aggressive nature tested the league
in 1931 Japan invaded Manchuria, and refused to co-operate with the league
between 1933 and 1936 Japan took control of China
Why was Hitler involved in the Spanish Civil war?
Believed in Franco's nationalist views and wanted to save Spain from communism
Hitler hoped to gain raw materials to help his arms program
Hitler saw an opportunity to test his military in combat
He wanted to divert France and Britain's attention away from eastern europe
How did Germany get involved in the Spanish Civil war?
Hitler supported the nationalists from late July 1936
He sent transport aircraft to allow Franco to move men and equipment from Morocco to Spain
Hitler provided his own troops who tried new tactics and used new weaponry
Hitler provided Navy units to patrol the Spanish coasts
Hitler sent an estimated £43 million of aid by May 1939
Guernica April 1937
Guernica was bombed
the German Luftwaffre obliterated the city
killing 1500 civilians
used firebombs to create flames across the city
waves and waves of aircraft
it was a test for the German air force
How significant was German involvement in the Spanish civil war?
Opportunity for Hitler to fight against Communism
Opportunity for Hitler to test his new army
Gave Hitler common ground with Mussolini
What was the significance of the Anti- Comintern pact 1936-1937?
A pact joining together Germany, Italy and Japan
the aim of the pact was to limit the power of communism
Why Did Britain Follow a policy of Appeasement in the 1930's?
Communism
Some admired Hitler's anti-communist stance
More worried about Stalin than Hitler
A strong Germany would be a buffer to Communism
The British Empire
It wasn't certain that Britain would have the full support of the commonwealth if they went to war
The Great War
Britain and France were desperate to avoid another conflict
The USA
America were determined not to be dragged into another war
Britain and France were reluctant to fight one without US support
Versaille
Many felt Versailles had been too harsh
They were simply correcting previous mistakes
Economic problems
Britain and France were still suffering from the great depression
many felt that sorting this was a higher priority than Hitler
Why were Britain and France Prepared to sign the Munich Agreement?
Wanted to avoid war at all costs
Both had suffered badly in WW1 and didn't want a repeat
Many thought communist threat was greater than the one from Hitler
Britain weren't strong enough to fight a war
Criticisms of apeasement
Encouraged Hitler to be agressive
encouraged him to gamble
Placed too much faith in Hitler's promises
Allowed Germany to become too strong
Misjudgement of Hitler ruthlessness and willingness to use force
Lost the support of USSR
Too cautious and wary
Support for apeasement
appeared the only option that didn't lead to war
Britain wasn't ready for war
The British army were badly equipped and had fallen behind the Germans
Gave Britain time to re-arm
Public opinion supported apeasement
by the 1930's most people thought the ToV was too harsh, this was a way of correcting that
Why did Hitler and Stalin sign the Nazi-Soviet pact in 1939?
The USSR join the LoN in 1934, hoping it would promise security against Germany but Abyssinya proved this wrong
Stalin saw that neither Britain nor France had stood up to Germany
The Munich agreement
Stalin wasn't consulted
were Britain and France too scared too stand up to Hitler
or did they want Hitler to take over Russia and the east
Britain, France and Russia entered negotiations in 1939 but Chamberlain wouldn't commit to an alliance
France and Britain promised to support Poland- One of Russia's enemies
Stalin wanted to take over East Europe and knew he couldn't do that if he had to fight Hitler
it gave Stalin time to build up an army
Why was the Nazi-Soviet Pact Important
Gave Stalin safety and time to build up forces
Hitler Could now invade Poland without interference from Russia
It meant Hitler avoided war on 2 fronts
Why did Britain go to war over Poland
Britain no longer Trusted Hitler
Hitler ignored Britain's warnings
Britain had no choice but to go to war over Poland, they had guaranteed Poland's independance
What Caused the outbreak of war in 1939?
Hitler left the league
Hitler broke the ToV
re-armement
re-occupation of the rhineland
United with Austria
Hitler went too far with his aggressive foreign policy
The British felt Germany had been harshly treated in the ToV and made concessions
The LoN was weak
Nations became more millitaristic
Italy
Germany
Japan
The Nazi-Soviet Pact
Was Hitler a planner or opportunist?
Planner
1924; Mein kampf
Hitler outlined his plans for expansionism
Hitler expected to get back the land lost in ToV, one of his main election promises
Oppurtunist
In March 1936, Hitler re-militarised the Rhineland whilst the league was distracted by Italy
Hitler sensed that Britain felt ToV was too harsh, he used this to test boundaries