The Second World War and Contemporary Europe

Question 1: Explain Ethiopia’s significance in the rise of Italian power.

Answer 1: Since fascism relied on a military economy, Mussolini prepared his armies for conquest and expansion. He hoped to use his forces to expand Italian colonies and access to natural resources. Ethiopia, located between Italian Somaliland and Italian-controlled Eritre, seemed a perfect target. Since Ethiopians had inflicted a humiliating defeat upon the Italian army in the 1896, Mussolini viewed Ethiopian conquest as a matter of national pride and revenge. As one of the few remaining independent African nations, Ethiopia had no guaranteed protection from other European nations, except for promises from the weak League of Nations. Betting that the League would not bother to defend the tiny nation, Mussolini used the pretense of a border dispute to invade Ethiopia in 1935. King Haile Selasse appealed to the League of Nations for defense, but, as Mussolini predicted, no countries were willing to risk armed conflict to help the Ethiopians. The League did issue economic sanctions against Italy, but with no enforcement power, these sanctions had little real effect.

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Question 2: Explain how the Spanish Civil War reflected larger political tensions brewing within Europe.

Answer 2: Spain became the first battleground in the revolt against fascism. In 1931, following several years of military dictatorship, democratic leaders established the Second Spanish Republic. Some reforms issued by the new government angered citizens and fueled support for the Falange, Spain’s fascist party led by Francisco Franco. After socialist and communist members of the Popular Front won elections in 1936, civil war broke out between supporters of the Falange, called Nationalists, and supporters of the republic, called Loyalists. Germany and Italy supported the Nationalists. While the Soviet Union supported the Loyalists, few democracies were willing to lend direct aid, lest they spark another global war or appear to be supporting communism. Instead, democratic leaders encouraged private support for the Spanish Republic. Thousands of American, French, and British individuals joined International Brigades to fight with the Loyalists. Despite this aid, the Nationalists won, establishing a fascist government in 1939. However, the civil war had crippled the nation, preventing fascist Spain from becoming a threat to other nations.

Question 3: List the major events in German expansion between 1933 and March 1939, including other nations’ responses.

Answer 3: 1933 – Upon taking office, Hitler announced he was rearming Germany and withdrawing from the League of Nations.March 1936 – Using French treaties with the Soviets as an excuse, Germany sent troops into the Rhineland, in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. Other nations offered little protest. November 1936 – Germany signed the Anti-Comintern Pact with Japan (later expanded to include Italy), an alliance against the Soviet Union.March 1938 – Hitler annexed Austria, which had already come to be dominated by the Nazi Party; British and French leaders expressed concern, but offered little protest.September 1938 – In an attempt to prevent war between Germany and Czechoslovakia, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and French Premier Edouard Daladier orchestrated the Munich Agreement, which gave Germany the disputed Sudetenland. Munich would come to symbolize the failure of appeasement. March 1939 – Germany invaded Czechoslovakia and seized a portion of Lithuania. British and French officials refused to intervene, hoping that Germany had fulfilled all of its plans for control of Central Europe.

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