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What makes Nazism unique compared to Mussolini’s fascism?
Nazism was a specific form of fascism with extreme racial theories, particularly anti-Semitism and Aryan supremacy.
Why did Kaiser Wilhelm II believe WWI would be short and victorious?
He expected the Schlieffen Plan to quickly defeat France, but its failure led to a war of attrition.
Why was it perceived by the German public that Germany was not losing the war?
The Allies had not invaded German territory; Germany still controlled Belgium and parts of Eastern Europe.
What played a role in Germany seeking an armistice?
Internal factors: strikes, political unrest, the Kiel sailor mutiny, and the Allied blockade causing severe food shortages.
What is the "stab in the back theory" and how did it explain Germany’s defeat in WWI?
Dolchstosslegende: The idea that Germany didn’t actually lose the war but was betrayed by socialists and the Weimar government who signed the armistice.
What was to happen to the Rhineland according to the Treaty of Versailles (TOV)?
It was to be demilitarized.
What was to happen to the Saar according to the TOV?
It was placed under the control of the League of Nations for 15 years.
What was to happen to the Polish Corridor and the city of Danzig?
The Polish Corridor was given to Poland; Danzig was made a free city under the League of Nations.
Know the amount the German army was restricted to (TOV).
100,000 men.
Know the restrictions placed on the German navy (TOV).
Limited to six battleships and no submarines.
Know the restrictions placed on the air force (TOV).
Germany was not allowed to have an air force.
Know the “war guilt clause” (TOV).
Article 231: Germany had to accept full responsibility for causing WWI.
What did Hitler refer to the Treaty of Versailles as?
A Diktat (dictated peace).
What led to Hitler interacting with the German Workers’ Party?
He was sent as an intelligence agent to investigate them in 1919.
What did Hitler rename the German Workers’ Party to?
National Socialist German Workers’ Party (Nazi Party).
Know the name of Hitler’s book.
Mein Kampf.
What is GrossDeutschland?
The idea of unifying all Germans, including those in Austria, Czechoslovakia, and Poland.
What is Lebensraum?
The concept of "living space" for Germans.
Where was Lebensraum to be acquired from?
The East (Russia and Slavic lands).
What is the Weimar Republic?
The German government from 1918-1933, established after Kaiser Wilhelm II’s abdication.
What led to economic issues in the early years of the Weimar Republic?
High reparations, war debt, and hyperinflation due to printing money.
What internal issues did the Weimar Republic face from 1919-1923?
Political unrest, communist uprisings (Spartacist Uprising), right-wing coups (Kapp Putsch), hyperinflation.
Why did France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr in 1923?
Germany failed to pay reparations, so France and Belgium seized industrial resources.
What was Hitler’s unsuccessful coup attempt?
The Munich (Beer Hall) Putsch in 1923.
Know the dates of the “good years” and who was responsible for them.
1924-1929, led by Gustav Stresemann.
What was the Dawes Plan?
A plan to freeze German reparation payments, scale them down, and provide U.S. loans to stabilize the economy.
What was the Rapallo Treaty and what did it do?
A 1922 agreement between Germany and the USSR to re-establish diplomatic relations and secretly allow German military training in Russia.
What were the Locarno Treaties and what did they do?
A 1925 agreement where Germany accepted its western borders with France and Belgium.
What was the main reason for the failure of the Dawes Plan?
The Great Depression, which caused U.S. loans to dry up.
Why was Hitler appointed Chancellor?
Right-wing politicians and army leaders believed they could control him.
What was the Reichstag Fire and what did it trigger?
The Reichstag building was burned down; Nazis blamed Communists, leading to emergency powers being granted.
What was the Enabling Act?
A 1933 law that allowed Hitler to pass laws without Reichstag approval, effectively giving him dictatorial power.
What was the Night of Long Knives?
A 1934 purge where Hitler eliminated political threats within the Nazi Party, including SA leader Ernst Röhm.
What did Hitler do in 1934 regarding his power?
He merged the roles of Chancellor and President to become Führer after Hindenburg’s death.
Hitler’s main foreign policy goal from 1933-1938
Overturning the Treaty of Versailles, expanding German territory (Lebensraum), and uniting all Germans under one Reich.
Why Britain was not concerned with Hitler in 1933
Britain was more focused on economic recovery from the Great Depression and saw Hitler as a potential counterbalance to communist Russia.
How France responded to the growing threat from Germany in 1933
France sought alliances with Eastern European countries (Little Entente) and focused on strengthening the Maginot Line.
Main reason for U.S. isolationism in 1933
The Great Depression made economic recovery the priority, and there was widespread anti-war sentiment.
Why Hitler pulled out of the Disarmament Conference in 1933
He claimed Germany was being unfairly treated as other nations were not disarming
What Hitler used the Disarmament Conference for in 1933
As propaganda to justify Germany's own military buildup.
Polish-German Non-Aggression Pact and why it hurt France
Signed in 1934, it prevented Poland from joining France in an anti-German alliance, weakening France's position.
Anschluss
The annexation of Austria by Germany in 1938.
What sparked Italy to send 100k troops
Italy sent troops to its border in 1934 to prevent Hitler from annexing Austria.
How the Saar reunited with Germany in 1935
A plebiscite (vote) was held, and over 90% voted to return to Germany.
Justification Germany used for its rearmament in 1935
Germany claimed it needed to defend itself as other nations had not disarmed.
Date German troops moved into the Rhineland
March 7, 1936.
Who Germany supported in the Spanish Civil War
Francisco Franco and the Nationalists.
Rome-Berlin Axis
A 1936 alliance between Italy and Germany.
Anti-Comintern Pact
A 1936 agreement between Germany and Japan (later joined by Italy) against communism, specifically the USSR.
Purpose of the Four-Year Plan
To prepare Germany’s economy for war by increasing military production and self-sufficiency.
Significance of the Hossbach Memorandum
A secret meeting in 1937 where Hitler outlined his aggressive expansion plans.
Blomberg-Fritsch Affair
A scandal in 1938 that led to the removal of top military leaders, giving Hitler more control over the military.
Order of Hitler’s invasions from 1938-1941
Austria (1938) → Sudetenland (1938) → Czechoslovakia (1939) → Poland (1939) → Denmark & Norway (1940) → France & Low Countries (1940) → Balkans (1941) → USSR (1941).
What led Hitler to invade Austria on March 12, 1938
Austrian Chancellor Schuschnigg was pressured to allow Nazis into his government, and when he tried to hold a referendum, Hitler invaded.
Untermenschen
"Subhumans," a Nazi racial term for Slavs, Jews, and others deemed inferior.
Reasons why Hitler was interested in the Sudetenland
It had a large German population and strategic fortifications.
What Hitler did in response to the May Crisis of 1938
He temporarily backed down but later used it as a pretext to push for the Munich Agreement.
Neville Chamberlain, appeasement, and which country it was most associated with
Chamberlain, the British Prime Minister, followed a policy of appeasement, giving in to Hitler’s demands to avoid war.
Components of the Munich Agreement
Britain and France agreed to let Germany take the Sudetenland in exchange for Hitler’s promise of no further expansion.
Date the Munich Agreement was signed
September 30, 1938.
How Germany violated the Munich Agreement
Hitler invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia in March 1939.
What Germany took from Lithuania
The city of Memel in March 1939.
Who Britain promised to protect from German attack
Poland.
Pact of Steel
A military alliance between Germany and Italy signed in May 1939.
Why USSR, France, and Britain could not reach an agreement in summer 1939
Distrust, Britain and France's reluctance to commit to military action, and the USSR seeking a better deal with Germany.
Date the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact was signed
August 23, 1939.
Why Hitler saw the pact as a short-term agreement
It gave him time to defeat the West before turning on the USSR.
Name of the false flag operation that started the German invasion of Poland
Operation Himmler (Gleiwitz Incident).
Phoney War
A period from late 1939 to early 1940 where little actual fighting occurred in Western Europe.
Name of the German invasion of the USSR
Operation Barbarossa (June 22, 1941).
Stresa Front (Slide 4)
A short-lived alliance formed in March 1935 between Britain, France, and Italy to protest Hitler’s violations of the Treaty of Versailles, commit to the Locarno Treaties, and uphold Austrian independence.
Reasons why the Stresa Front fell apart (Slides 5-6)
Franco-Soviet Mutual Assistance Treaty (1935): France allied with the USSR, which Britain and Italy opposed.
Anglo-German Naval Agreement (1935): Britain independently allowed Germany to build a navy, angering France and Italy.
Mussolini’s invasion of Abyssinia (1935): Britain and France imposed sanctions on Italy, pushing Mussolini towards Hitler.
Non-Intervention Pact of 1936 (Slides 11-13)
Signed by 16 countries, including Britain and France, to prevent the Spanish Civil War from escalating into a larger conflict.
Germany, Italy, and the USSR ignored the pact and sent aid to Spain.
Britain’s policy of non-intervention helped Franco's Nationalists by allowing trade and financial support.
Event that led Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain to resign and who replaced him (Slide 33)
The failed British intervention in Norway in 1940 led to Chamberlain’s resignation.
He was replaced by Winston Churchill.
Where British troops fled from in June 1940 when France was taken over (Slide 34)
Dunkirk, France.
Neutrality Acts of 1935, 1937, and 1939 (Slide 35)
1935: Prohibited arms sales to warring nations.
1937: Expanded the ban to include loans and trade with warring nations.
1939: Allowed arms sales to Britain and France under a "cash and carry" system.
