Was Hitler’s Foreign Policy to Blame for the Second World War? (Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE History): Flashcards

The Holocaust resulted in the murder of 6 million Jewish people.

False.

The USA did not enter the war until December 1941, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour.

The 'dolchstoss' was the belief that German politicians had committed a 'stab in the back' by signing the Treaty of Versailles.

The 'November Criminals' were the politicians who signed the Treaty of Versailles, named after the month the government signed the armistice.

By 1923, the British public thought that the treaty was too harsh on Germany.

Britain wanted a strong Germany to defend Europe from communism, as people began to fear the USSR more than Germany.

Many French citizens thought the treaty was too soft on Germany and did not feel protected.

Lebensraum meant 'living space', the theory that Germany needed more territory in Eastern Europe so its population could grow and communism could be destroyed.

Grossdeutschland meant 'Greater Germany', the idea that all German speakers should unite under one Reich, including through Anschluss with Austria.

While in prison, Hitler wrote Mein Kampf, meaning 'My Struggle'.

In July 1932, the Nazi Party received 38% of the vote, becoming the biggest party in the Reichstag.

The Treaty of Versailles limited Germany to 100,000 soldiers and no air force.

Hitler began to secretly rearm Germany in 1933, after Germany left the League of Nations.

False.

Hitler captured the Sudetenland in 1938 and took over the whole of Czechoslovakia in 1939.

Japan invaded the Chinese province of Manchuria in 1931.

Italy invaded the African country of Abyssinia in 1935.

The League took 18 months to react to the Manchurian Crisis.

Germany left the League of Nations in November 1933, which freed Hitler to pursue an aggressive foreign policy.

Mussolini sent troops to the Austrian border to prevent Hitler annexing Austria in 1934.

By 1939, there were around 1.4 million men in the German armed forces.

Over 90% of the Saar population voted to rejoin Germany in the 1935 plebiscite.

A plebiscite was a public vote, such as the one held in the Saar on 13th January 1935 to decide who should govern the region.

Germany constructed the Siegfried Line, a complex system of fortifications along the French border.

The League was too busy with the Abyssinian Crisis to react, and Britain believed Germany had a right to the land.

German and Italian bombers destroyed the city of Guernica on 26th April 1937, killing hundreds of civilians.

False.

The USSR sent weapons and aircraft to support the left-wing government, to stop the development of another fascist state in Europe.

Appeasement was the policy of giving in to demands to avoid war, using diplomacy and treaties to make allowance for aggressive nations.

Britain and France followed the policy of appeasement in the 1930s.

Neville Chamberlain is the British politician most associated with appeasement.

Chamberlain became British Prime Minister in 1937.

Winston Churchill was a strong opponent of appeasement.

Chamberlain, like many politicians, had lost family members in the First World War, with his brother killed in action in 1915.

Some argued that Hitler could stop the spread of communism.

Supporters argued that Britain could not afford a war due to the Depression.

Supporters of appeasement argued that Britain needed time to rearm.

False.

Winston Churchill was a strong opponent of appeasement, arguing that Hitler could not be trusted as he kept breaking his promises.

The Stresa Front was an April 1935 agreement between Britain, France and Italy to oppose Hitler's foreign policy and challenge any breach of the Treaty of Versailles.

The agreement allowed Germany a navy 35% the size of the British Royal Navy.

It was the first attempt at appeasement, giving concessions to Germany's navy to limit Hitler's aggression.

Anschluss was the union of Austria with Germany, which Hitler achieved unopposed by March 1938.

Around 98% of Austrians spoke German, and many supported Anschluss.

Over 3.5 million Germans lived in the Sudetenland.

Italy, Britain, France and Germany attended the Munich Conference.

The Munich Agreement stated that Hitler would gain the Sudetenland, while Czechoslovakia would keep the rest of its territory.

Chamberlain declared that the Munich Conference had guaranteed 'peace for our time'.

Hitler marched into Prague on 15th March 1939.

The invasion of Czechoslovakia ended the policy of appeasement, as Chamberlain stated on 17th March that he could no longer trust Hitler.

False.

Czechoslovakia was not invited to the Munich Conference, and neither was the USSR, which made the meeting unfair.

The Nazi-Soviet Pact was signed on 23rd August 1939.

The Nazi-Soviet Pact, also known as the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, was a non-aggression agreement signed between Germany and the USSR in August 1939.

Hitler was Fascist (far right-wing) while Stalin was Communist (far left-wing), and they had opposite aims for Europe.

Hitler did not want to split his troops to fight the USSR as well as Britain and France, who could declare war over Poland.

The Nazi-Soviet Pact was a non-aggression pact meant to last 10 years.

Germany invaded Poland just nine days after signing the Nazi-Soviet Pact.

The secret terms partitioned Polish territory, with Stalin gaining Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Finland, and Germany gaining half of Poland and Danzig.

The Anti-Comintern Pact was a November 1936 agreement between Japan and Germany to help each other in the fight against communism.

Italy joined the Anti-Comintern Pact in 1937.

The Pact of Steel was a May 1939 military alliance between Germany and Italy, promising to help each other in times of war.

The Pact of Steel triggered the Tripartite Pact in 1940, uniting Japan, Italy and Germany.

False.

In 1941, Hitler broke the Nazi-Soviet Pact by invading Russia in Operation Barbarossa.

Britain and France made a formal agreement to protect Poland's borders on 31st March 1939.

Danzig was a free city, made free in the Versailles Settlement, that used to be German; Hitler demanded its return.

The Polish Corridor cut Germany's territory into two separate areas, giving Poland access to the sea.

Germany invaded Poland on 1st September 1939.

Britain declared war on Germany on 3rd September 1939.

Hitler was surprised because Britain and France had allowed him to get away with similar invasions and he believed he could negotiate with Britain.

Hitler falsely accused Poland of attacking the German border and used this as an excuse to invade.

Britain signed a military alliance with Poland on 25th August 1939.

Lloyd George warned that the terms of the Treaty of Versailles would cause a future conflict.

The League's lack of action against the Manchurian and Abyssinian Crises encouraged Hitler to take risks in his foreign policy.

The pact gave Hitler the perfect conditions to invade Poland, knowing he would only fight a war with Britain and France.

False.

Britain and France abandoned appeasement by March 1939, as they did not believe Hitler would stop his aggressive foreign policy.