Topic overview
What you need to know
The Second World War resulted from the breakdown of collective security, aggressive expansion by dictatorships, the legacy of Versailles and failed responses by other powers.
Exam tip
Distinguish Hitler's aims from the opportunities created by appeasement, international weakness and the Nazi–Soviet Pact.
Core knowledge
Key facts for The Origins of the Second World War
Appeasement
The policy of making concessions to aggressive powers in the hope of avoiding a larger war.
Remilitarisation of the Rhineland
Hitler's 1936 decision to send German troops into the demilitarised Rhineland, breaking Versailles and Locarno.
Anschluss
The union of Germany and Austria achieved by Hitler in March 1938.
Munich Agreement
The September 1938 agreement allowing Germany to take the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia.
Nazi–Soviet Pact
The August 1939 non-aggression agreement whose secret terms divided influence in eastern Europe.
Invasion of Poland
Germany's attack on Poland on 1 September 1939, leading Britain and France to declare war.
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Mark the notes complete, then test what you can recall.