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Causes of World War Two

4 dot points across 4 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How did Hitler's foreign policy aims and his actions in the 1930s lead Europe toward war?

Explain Hitler's foreign policy aims and his expansionist actions in the 1930s up to 1938
A focused answer to the O-Level History dot point on Hitler's foreign policy. His aims of overturning Versailles, uniting German-speakers and gaining living space, and his actions: rearmament, the Rhineland, the Anschluss with Austria and the Sudetenland.
10 min answer →

Why did the League of Nations fail to stop aggression in the 1930s, and how did this help cause the Second World War?

Explain why the League of Nations failed to prevent aggression in the 1930s, using Manchuria and Abyssinia, and how this contributed to the Second World War
A focused answer to the O-Level History dot point on the failure of the League in the 1930s. The Manchurian and Abyssinian crises, the impact of the Depression, the self-interest of Britain and France, and how the League's failure encouraged aggression.
9 min answer →

How did the events of 1939, especially the Nazi-Soviet Pact and the invasion of Poland, lead to the outbreak of war?

Explain how the events of 1939, including the Nazi-Soviet Pact and the invasion of Poland, led to the outbreak of war in Europe
A focused answer to the O-Level History dot point on the outbreak of war in 1939. The seizure of the rest of Czechoslovakia, the British guarantee to Poland, the Nazi-Soviet Pact, the invasion of Poland, and the British and French declaration of war.
9 min answer →

Why did Britain and France follow a policy of appeasement, and did it make war more or less likely?

Explain the reasons for the policy of appeasement, focusing on the Munich Agreement of 1938, and assess its effects
A focused answer to the O-Level History dot point on appeasement. The reasons Britain and France gave way to Hitler, the Munich Agreement over the Sudetenland in 1938, the arguments for and against the policy, and how it affected the coming of war.
10 min answer →