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World War 2 Part 1
World War 2 Part 1
World War 2 Part 1
1. Abolish the Treaty of Versailles. Hitler had openly declared his hatred of the
treaty & his desire for revenge.
2. Wanted to make Germany strong again through rearmament and building up
of the army.
3. He wanted to establish Greater Germany by uniting all the German speaking
people in Europe.
by regaining territories lost at Versailles [Saar, Polish
Corridor, union with Austria]
by capturing other countries to achieve Lebensraum
[living space especially in Eastern Europe like Czechoslovakia and Soviet
Union] (note: he did not openly state that he wanted to attack Soviet Union but
his action later showed that it was his intention to attack Soviet Union.)
1. Rearmament
(a) Geneva Disarmament Conference in 1932
Significance
– Raised support for Hitler – people saw Hitler as a leader who could defend
their rights and also improve their condition as unemployment was reduced.
– Allowed Germany to recover economically – increased in weapon production
and conscription meant that there was a reduction in unemployment; people
thus were better off.
– Allowed Germany to become stronger as it had a stronger army.
–
Raised confidence of Hitler that Britain and France would give in to his demands
easily as they did nothing to stop him
Significance
First territory to be regained after it was lost during the TOV after WW1.
This made Hitler popular as it showed that he was serious about upholding the
national pride of Germany via the regaining of the loss territories.
Moreover, economically, this also provided Hitler with the resources [coal, iron,
steel] he badly needed for Germany’s rearmament.
Hence, this illustrated that he did have the support of the people [plebiscite]
Significance
• Gave Germany to opportunity to try out its military tactics and its
weapons.
• Showed the destructive capabilities of aerial warfare.
• Illustrated that Germany was powerful and a force to be reckoned with
• This highlighted that Germany would use its destructive weapons if
needed.