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Causes of World War Two
Quick questions on Hitler's foreign policy and expansion explained: O-Level History
7short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.
What are hitler's three main aims?Show answer
Hitler's foreign policy was driven by three connected aims. First, he wanted to destroy the Treaty of Versailles, which he and most Germans hated as a humiliation. Second, he wanted to unite all German-speaking people into one Greater Germany (or Reich), including Germans living in Austria and Czechoslovakia, which meant changing the borders set in 1919. Third, he wanted to win Lebensraum, or "living space", for the German people by expanding eastward, into areas such as Poland and the Soviet Union, at the expense of the Slav peoples he despised.
What is rebuilding German strength?Show answer
Hitler's first step was to rebuild Germany's military power, which the Treaty of Versailles had strictly limited. He began to rearm Germany, at first secretly and then openly, building up the army, creating an air force (the Luftwaffe) and expanding the navy. In 1935 he announced rearmament publicly and reintroduced conscription, directly breaking the Versailles terms. Britain and France protested but did nothing effective.
What is remilitarising the Rhineland, 1936?Show answer
A key gamble came in 1936, when Hitler sent German troops into the Rhineland, the region bordering France that Versailles had ordered to be kept free of German forces. This was a bold and risky move, because the German army was still weak and had orders to retreat if France resisted. But France, lacking British support and unwilling to act, did nothing. Hitler had successfully reoccupied German territory and broken the treaty again without firing a shot.
What is union with Austria?Show answer
In March 1938 Hitler achieved the Anschluss, the union of Austria with Germany, which the Treaty of Versailles had specifically forbidden. Austria was a German-speaking country, and there was support there for union, which Hitler encouraged and exploited with pressure and the threat of force. German troops marched into Austria, and it became part of the Reich. This brought millions of German-speakers into Hitler's Germany and was another major step toward his aim of uniting all Germans, again with no effective opposition from Britain or France.
What is q1?Show answer
What is meant by "Lebensraum"? [3 marks]
What is q2?Show answer
Explain why Hitler reintroduced conscription and rearmed Germany in 1935. [5 marks]
What is q3?Show answer
"Hitler's foreign policy made war in Europe inevitable." How far do you agree? [8 marks]
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