Conflict and Tension 1918-1939

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What was the Spring Offensive? (2)
series of German attacks on western front / Germany's last attempt to win war
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Why did Germany agree to Armistice? (3)
Allies too strong / war cost / naval mutiny and civilian protests against war
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What were some of the 34 terms of the Armistice?
treaties forced on Russia and Romania by Germany cancelled / Germany surrendered all submarines and 150,000 rail cars + more weapons / German troops returned to Germany within 14 days
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What did Georges Clemenceau want from the ToV?
reparations for 300,000 french houses + 6,000 factories + more destroyed / protect from future German attack after 1871 and 2x 1914 attacks / punish Germany
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What did David Lloyd George want from the ToV?
protect British Naval supremacy / Germany strong enough to trade with Britain / reparations for damage
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What did Woodrow Wilson want from the ToV?
the fourteen points / no revenge
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What were the main points of Wilson's 14 points?
self-determination of countries / create League of Nations / allow Poland sea access / freedom of the seas
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How much were Germany ordered to pay in reparations?
£6.6 billion
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What was included for Germany in the Treaty of Versailles?
guilt clause / arms reduction / reparations / German land loss / League of Nations
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How were Germany's arms reduced?
conscription banned / navy limited to 15,000 / army limited to 100,000 / limited to 6 battleships / no air force
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What land did Germany lose?
10% of its land / Togo and Cameroon given to France + Alsace-Lorraine / German East Africa given to Britain / Danzig made free city under LoN control / Rhineland demilitarised
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How many League of Nations members in 1920?
42
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Which nations were initially not LoN members?
Germany banned after war / Russia banned for Communism / USA Senate pursued isolationism so wouldn't join
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Who were the November Criminals?
the German Government members who signed the ToV as Germans felt it was too harsh
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How was Austria punished after the Paris Peace Conference?
Treaty of St Germain (1919) -> Anschluss forbidden / industrial areas given to Czechoslovakia (caused austrian economy collapse 1921) / army limited to 30,000
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How was Turkey punished after the Paris Peace Conference?
Treaty of Sevres (1920) -> Turkish Empire split up / Darnadelles and Bosphorus taken from Turkey / army limited to 50,000
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How did the Treaty of Sevres impact the rest of Europe?
Britain signed Treaty of Lausanne (1923) giving Turkey much back -> showed no-one would use force to implement treaties / showed Hitler and Mussolini agreements could be broken without consequence
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What problems were there with the creation of new states such as Austria and Hungary?
states included people of different ethnic backgrounds who weren't happy being in the new country / many countries eager to receive reparations so economic pressure
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What problems did the new states face?
Poland surrounded by hostile neighbours / Czechoslovakia full of German speakers who wanted to be in Germany
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What evidence was there that the Treaty was unfair?
Germany blamed entirely but not actually all their fault / new countries created tension / Treaty was Diktat
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What evidence was there that the Treaty was fair?
Germany didn't pay all reparations and was able to rebuild economy / Germany had forced harsh treaties on others ie. Brest-Litovsk Treaty giving away 1/4 Russian agricultural land
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What were the main aims of the League of Nations?
resolve disputes / improve living and working conditions / prevent future war / disarmament
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What was the Covenant of the LoN?
26 rules setting out how to achieve the LoN aims
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What were the main Covenant rules?
setting up Court of International Justice / cooperating with Red Cross / Collective Security / expecting countries to reduce military to minimum
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Which countries left the League of Nations?
Germany (1933) when Hitler withdrew / Japan (1933) after Manchurian Crisis/ Italy (1937) after Abyssinian Crisis / USSR (1939) expelled after aggression on Finland
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How could the League of Nations deal with disputes?
arbitration (countries discussed problems) / moral condemnation / economic sanctions/ military intervention
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How was the League of Nations organised?
Assembly (all nations discussed members and spendings) -> Court of International Justice -> Council (oversaw day-to-day work) -> Secretariat (civil service) -> Special Commissions (international issues eg women's rights, opium, slavery)
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Who were the four permanent members in the League of Nations Council?
Britain / France / Italy / Japan
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How successful was the League's 'International Labour Organisation'?
got 77 countries to adopt minimum wage / reduced death rate of workers building Tanganyika railway from 50% to 4% / failed to ban child labour
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How successful was the League's 'Commission for Refugees'?
freed 85% PoW / resettled 1.5 million Russian Refugees / Germany vetoed appointing commissioner for German Refugees (1933)
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How successful was the League's 'Slavery Commission.?
helped abolish slavery in Sierra Leone in 1928 / led to freeing 200,000 slaves
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What happened in the dispute over Vilna (Poland x Lithuania)? (1920)
(1920) Vilna to become Lithuanian capital but mainly Polish speakers / Poland occupied / Poland ordered to withdraw by League but refused / France didn't want to upset Poland and Britain wouldn't stand alone so Poland kept Vilna
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What happened in the dispute over Upper Silesia (Germany x Poland)? (1921)
(1921) plebiscite held over ownership of important industrial area Upper Silesia / 60% voted Germany / League split land equally / both countries accepted but Germany unhappy about industry loss, Poland unhappy about Poles living in Germany
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What happened in the dispute over the Åland Islands (Finland x Sweden)? (June 1921)
(June 1921) league gave islands to Finland (historically Finnish) / no military personnel allowed to base there / both countries accepted
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What happened in the dispute over Corfu (Greece x Italy)? (1923)
(1923) Italian general in Corfu deciding on Greece x Albania border murdered / Mussolini occupied Corfu / League order withdrawal / Mussolini consulted Conference of Ambassadors to undermine League / Greece forced to apologise + pay / Mussolini leave
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What happened in the dispute in Bulgaria (Greece x Bulgaria)? (1925)
(1925) Greek and Bulgarian soldiers fired at each other on border / Greek Soldier killed/ Greece invaded / League ordered Greece withdraw and pay / Greece accepted but angry as Mussolini got away with same thing
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What were the Locarno Treaties? (October 1925)
French Foreign Minister Aristide Briand wanted end to tension with Germany / signed 7 Treaties with Stresemann involving other countries such as Italy and Britain
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What terms were involved in the Locarno Treaties? (October 1925)
all countries agreed not to go to war with each other / agreed to protect each other from attack / France and Germany agreed to submit all disputes to an international authority / Germany accepted ToV borders
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How did the Locarno Treaties improve European relations?
Germany seen as equal / Germany and France felt more secure / relations improved with many countries
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What was the Kellogg-Briand Pact intended to be? (August 1928)
Briand still feared Germany / France wanted to strengthen other allies so proposed peace treaty to US Secretary of State Kellogg
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What did the Kellogg-Briand Pact turn out like? (August 1928)
USA didn't want obligation to protect France in future European wars / USA extended Treaty to 62 countries
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Why was the Kellogg-Briand Pact ultimately unsuccessful?
did not pull USA into bilateral agreement as France intended / feel-good factor but no real effect
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How did the Locarno Treaties and the Kellogg-Briand Pact impact the League of Nations?
countries in the agreements were outside of League so discussions couldn't happen within League / highlighted weakness of League not including key countries
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How did the Depression following the Wall Street Crash affect the world? (1929)
Americans couldn't afford as much on global businesses / USA increased customs charges on foreign goods / American banks recalled loans given to European countries
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How did Japan suffer after the Wall Street Crash? (1929-1931)
value of Japanese exports decreased 50% 1929-1931
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How did the Depression help the rise of Nationalism?
Nationalists offered work and food to suffering people / people wanted someone else to blame so turned on some others / Nationalists promised to restore National pride
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How did the Depression affect the League of Nations?
rise of Nationalists who couldn't be stopped by the League's powers / economic sanctions couldn't be enforced as no country could afford to stop trade / expenses to supply an Army for the League became too much
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Why did Japan want Manchuria?
Japan suffered economically after Depression -> Manchuria rich in coal and iron ore / Japan already had their Kwantung Army stationed there / 1931 Chinese warlord was ruling it weakly
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What was the Mukden Incident? (18th September 1931)
explosion on Japanese-owned South Manchurian Railway / Japan blamed China / invaded Manchuria in retaliation / Manchuria renamed Manchukuo and led by puppet ruler (ruler ordered by someone else) Pu Yi / China appealed to League
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Why were many members of the League reluctant to get involved in Manchuria?
China and Japan far from Europe and Europe had own problems / Japanese blamed China / China was weak and Japan may have run it better / Britain preferred China as an expansion to Japan than Australia
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How did the League deal with the Manchurian Crisis?
sent Lord Lytton to investigate / Lytton report published a year after the incident / issued moral condemnation and ordered Japan to leave / Japan ignored and left the League
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What were the consequences of the Manchurian Crisis on the League of Nations?
a main member, Japan, left the League / failed to stop Japan invading China in 1937 / let a powerful country get away with violence
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Why did Mussolini want to seize Abyssinia? (December 1934)
Italy already had 2 colonies bordering / wanted to add to empire / Italian invasion in Abyssinia defeated 1896 so wanted to restore national pride / fertile land and good resources / wasn't stopped in Corfu 1923 / knew Britain and France allied Italy
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What happened during Mussolini's invasion of Abyssinia? (December 1934)
Italy issued Moral Condemnation / Italian soldiers clashed with natives at Wal Wal near Italian Somaliland / Addis Ababa captured May 1936 / Haile Selassie went to Geneva to ask league to intervene June 1936 / Italy left League
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How did the League fail to control Italy during the Abyssinian Crisis?
banned weapons trading with Italy but not trading coal, steel, iron, oil vital to war effort / Britain and France refused to close Suez Canal to preserve trades so Italy could just send weapons via Canal
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What was the Hoare-Laval Pact?
British and French Foreign Ministers secretly met up and planned to give half of Abyssinia to Italy / plan leaked / Hoare and Laval forced to resign
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How did the Abyssinian Crisis affect the League of Nations?
showed they couldn't stop big powers / Italy left so weakened / Hoare-Laval Pact showed Britain and France weren't afraid to go behind backs
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What were the weaknesses of the League of Nations in 1939?
not enough people to carry out ambitious aims / no army / couldn't stop big powers / Assembly only met once a year so decisions slow / powerful countries not involved
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What were the aims of Hitler's foreign policy?
Lebensraum / Unite all German Speakers / Get rid of Treaty of Versailles / Defeat Communism
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How did Britain react to Hitler's Foreign Policy?
1934 non-aggression Pact with Poland showed Hitler wanted peace despite propaganda speeches / policy of appeasement / signed Stresa Front 1935 to protect self / Germany being stronger would reduce threat from Stalin
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How did the USA react to Hitler's Foreign Policy?
Franklin Roosevelt focused more on tackling the 25% unemployment rate / isolationism continued and 70% Americans thought USA shouldn't have joined WW1
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How did the USSR react to Hitler's Foreign Policy?
Stalin worried about Hitler's plan to defeat Communism / joined League of Nations 1934 / 1935 signed Treaty with France to protect eachother
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How did France react to Hitler's Foreign Policy?
President Daladier more distracted with protests against Government following Depression
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How did Tension rise in 1933?
Germany left the Disarmament Conference and blamed France for refusing to disarm or allow Hitler to rearm to French levels / he used this as an excuse to withdraw from the League of Nations
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How did Tension rise in 1934?
Hitler wanted Anschluss so told Nazis to cause riot in Austria / Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss murdered / plot failed as Mussolini moved troops to stop Anschluss / Hitler backed down and blamed Austrian Nazis
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How did Tension rise January 1935?
Saar Plebiscite held / 90% voted Germany over France / resources helped Hitler's war effort
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How did Tension rise in March 1935?
Hitler held Freedom to Rearm Rally / showed off his secret rearmament weapons / announced reintroduction of conscription and plan to build Wehrmacht (army) to half a million and build Luftwaffe (air force)
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How did Tension rise in April 1935?
Britain, France and Italy signed Stresa Front to guarantee terms of ToV and Locarno Treaties and to break Anschluss
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How did Tension rise in June 1935?
Britain felt ToVto harsh on Germany / signed Anglo-German Naval Agreement to allow Hitler Navy 35% size of Britain's / Hitler saw this as admission ToV was bad and excuse to ignore it
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Why was the Rhineland important to Hitler?
needed to strengthen Germany's Western border in order to fulfill Lebensraum and prepare to invade France
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What happened during the reoccupation of the Rhineland? (7 March 1936)
1935 France and USSR signed pact to protect eachother against Germany / Hitler argued France-Soviet pact put enemy on both sides of Germany / 7 March 1936 Hitler + 22,000 German Troops entered Rhineland / people welcomed them and gave them flowers
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How did Britain react to Hitler's reoccupation of the Rhineland?
felt sympathy after ToV so thought Hitler was entitled to reclaim land / no money to intervene after Depression
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How did France react to Hitler's reoccupation of the Rhineland?
in middle of election and didn't want anyone to risk losing votes by intervening / no money to intervene after Depression
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What were the consequences of Hitler's reoccupation of the Rhineland?
Hitler could pursue Lebensraum East / Hitler gained confidence breaking ToV wouldn't be stopped / Britain and France started rearming / Britain reaffirmed Locarno Treaty to protect Belgium and France / Mussolini signed Rome-Berlin Axis with Germany
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What were Hitler's relations like with Italy?
had stopped Anschluss in 1934 / in 1936 Mussolini signed Rome-Berlin Axis to work closer with Germany / May 1939 made friendship alliance called Pact of Steel
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What were Hitler's relations like with Japan?
1936 Japan worried USSR would protect China from Japanese Invasion and Hitler also hated USSR / November 1936 both countries signed Anti-Comitern Pact (Comitern=USSR group spreading Communism)
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What were Hitler's relations like with Spain?
1936 Hitler sent troops to support Spanish Fascist Franco in Spanish Civil War / Franco became Dictator 1939 mainly die to Nazi support
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Why did Hitler want Anschluss with Austria?
contained German speakers / Austrian by birth / increase Lebensraum / Austria had army and resources
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How did Hitler gain control over Austria?
Schusschnigg appointed Chancellor after Dolffuss' murder 1934 / feared attack by Austrian Nazis / met Hitler in mountain retreat / Hitler threatened invasion unless given control of Austrian police and finance and Nazis freed from prison
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How did Hitler achieve Anschluss?
Schnusschnigg agreed to demands but held Plebiscite / March 1939 Hitler delayed Plebiscite / forced Schusschnigg to resign and appointed Nazi Seyss-Inquart / claimed Austria in chaos / Plebiscite held April 1938 and 99.75% voted for Anschluss
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How did France react to Anschluss?
broke ToV however France more concerned with own problems of entire Government resignation after riots over economy
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How did Britain react to Anschluss?
not opposed to principle of Anschluss and many citizens viewed Austria and Germany as the same country anyway
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How did Czechoslovakia react to Anschluss?
concerned as Hitler's policy of Lebensraum was succeeding and they knew they would be next
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How did Anschluss aid Germany?
gained 100,000 men from Austrian Army / Austria's weapons and minerals valuable in war efforts / proved once again France and Britain would do anything to avoid war and wouldn't stop ToV being broken
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Why did Hitler target the Sudetenland?
3 million German speakers there which Hitler claimed were being persecuted / good base for future attack on Czechoslovakia as Germany surrounded it on 3 sides / Czechoslovakia came from ToV which Hitler wanted to rid / large army and fortifications
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What happened during the Sudeten Crisis?
May 1938 Hitler claimed Germans there were being persecuted / Neville Chamberlain met Hitler 15 September 1938 and used Appeasement to try and solve crisis / Hitler given Sudetenland as long as takeover was peaceful
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How did Hitler disobey Chamberlain's wishes?
22nd September changed demands to give some land to Poland and Hungary and gain Sudetenland earlier / 1 October 1938 German Army marched into Sudetenland
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What were the consequences of the Sudeten Crisis?
Sudetenland left defenceless against Germany as mountain-based military defence areas were taken / increase Hitler's popularity in Germany / Hitler became even more bold
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Why did the Munich Conference occur? (29th September 1938)
Chamberlain's negotiations weren't reaching a fixed agreement / Mussolini suggested Germany, Britain, France, Italy met to discuss Czechoslovakian borders
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What demands did Hitler make in return for peace at the Munich Conference? (29th September 1938)
Czechoslovakia to remove troops from Sudetenland / some of Sudetenland given ti Hungary and Poland
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What were the terms of the Munich Agreement? (30th September 1938)
Germany granted Sudetenland / Hitler promised this would be the final expansion of Germany
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How did Czechoslovakia react to the Munich Agreement?
considered it a betrayal from Britain and France
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How did German Sudetens react to the Munich Agreement?
pleased but feared it was the start of a full-blown invasion on Czechoslovakia
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How did the USSR react to the Munich Agreement?
Stalin furious at betrayal from Britain and France / feared Hitler was becoming more of a threat
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What arguments were there for Appeasement?
ToV too harsh so German demands reasonable / WW1 loss and destruction fresh in minds so wanted peace / Hitler backed by people in Plebiscites / Britain and France couldn't afford war / strong Germany stopped Communism / USA isolationism weakened
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What arguments were there against Appeasement?
Hitler demanded more the more he was Appeased / Stalin couldn't rely on Britain and France after Appeasement / people suffered from Nazi occupation / Appeasers wrong to believe Hitler was simply righting ToV / could've been stopped with pressure
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How did Hitler invade Czechoslovakia? (15th March 1939)
Munich Agreement weakened Czechoslovakia / Hitler more confident he wouldn't be stopped / March 1939 warned Czech President Emil Hacha of invasion / ordered surrender of Czechoslovakian army by threatening Luftwaffe attack on Prague
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What weapons did Hitler gain from occupying Czechoslovakia?
2000 field cannons / 450 tanks / 40,000 machine guns / this was enough to arm half the Wehrmacht
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Why was the invasion of Czechoslovakia significant?
Hitler could no longer claim to simply be uniting German speakers / Chamberlain had to accept Appeasement had failed / Britain and France had to accept Hitler was not just reclaiming ToV losses / Chamberlain promised protection to Poland
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When was the Nazi-Soviet Pact signed?
23rd August 1939
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What was the Nazi-Soviet Pact? (1)
Hitler and Stalin agreed that if Hitler expanded his Lebensraum to Poland, the USSR could have some of the land
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How did the Nazi-Soviet Pact make Germany more secure? (1)
the non-aggression pact took the USSR out of the equation for attacking Germany
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What did Stalin gain from the Nazi-Soviet Pact? (3)
Stalin could gain land in Poland without having to fight for it himself / allowed Stalin time to prepare for Hitler's imminent turn on him / territory in Poland buffer zone if Hitler invaded USSR
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Why was the Nazi-Soviet Pact significant? (3)
Hitler knew he could invade Poland without USSR resistance / powerful Soviet Army would no longer side with Allies / Britain and France had promised to protect Poland but failed
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Why did Stalin not trust Britain and France? (4)
no confidence in the League to protect him from Hitler / betrayed on Munich Agreement / Hitler showed more respect to Stalin than Chamberlain did / Appeasement was justified by throwing USSR in fireline as bufferzone
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Why did Hitler invade Poland? (4)
believed a war in Poland would be quick and easy / convinced Chamberlain and Daladier would continue Appeasement / previous invasions had been swift and unchallenged / Nazi-Soviet Pact meant Stalin would not stop him
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When did Hitler invade Poland?
1st September 1939
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What happened during Hitler's invasion of Poland?(3)
German Navy attacked port of Danzig at dawn / Poland asked for help from Britain and France as they promised to protect / Hitler asked to leave by 11am but didn't
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How did the Treaty of Versailles lead to WW2? (3)
harshness led to sympathy with Germany so people allowed them more / creation of new states caused tension / USSR tension led to Nazi-Soviet Pact
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How did the failure of the League of Nations lead to WW2? (3)
sanctions were ineffective at stopping dictators / Hoare-Laval Pact showed the League was not to be trusted to keep peace / Abyssinian and Manchurian Crises showed League wouldn't intervene even if they knew a country was wrong
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How did the Great Depression lead to WW2? (4)
caused USA isolationism which weakened international cooperation / dictators used blame as propaganda / countries couldn't afford military action / countries needed to solve own economic problems and wouldn't stop trade despite moral condemnations
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How did Chamberlain and his Appeasement policy lead to WW2? (3)
meant opportunities to stop Hitler were missed / Appeasement partially motivated by fear of Communism so Stalin lost faith in Allies / Munich Agreement led to Nazi-Soviet Pact
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How did Hitler and his aggressive Foreign Policies lead to WW2? (3)
Lebensraum meant invasion of other countries / his policies from Mein Kampf caused a lot of suffering to the people / Hitler had to attack the USSR to destroy Communism
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How did Stalin and the Nazi-Soviet Pact lead to WW2? (3)
allowed Hitler to invade Poland directly leading to the outbreak of war / got rid of the threat of USSR stopping Hitler / ensured USSR wouldn't side with the Allies
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Card 2

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Why did Germany agree to Armistice? (3)

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Allies too strong / war cost / naval mutiny and civilian protests against war

Card 3

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What were some of the 34 terms of the Armistice?

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

What did Georges Clemenceau want from the ToV?

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

What did David Lloyd George want from the ToV?

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Preview of the front of card 5
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