Logo

History Quiz - World War One Aftermath: 1939 - The End Of Appeasement (Questions)

In GCSE History, one topic studied is the aftermath of World War One and one aspect of this that is looked at is Nazi Germany and her relations with other countries during the 1930s. This is the last of four quizzes on that subject and it looks in particular at the end of the policy of appeasement towards Nazi Germany.

The British and French governments had signed the Munich Agreement with Hitler in the autumn of 1938. There they continued with their policy of appeasement and gave in to demands from Germany for the cession of parts of Czechoslovakia. But Hitler's intentions were not yet at an end, as the events of 1939 were to show.

Find out how the policy of appeasement finally came to an end in this quiz.

1. In March 1939 Hitler seized the provinces of Bohemia and Moravia. To which country had they belonged?
[ ] Poland
[ ] Hungary
[ ] Czechoslovakia
[ ] Yugoslavia
2. In 1939 Hitler took a formerly German city that had been seized by Lithuania from League of Nations control. What was the German name of this Baltic port?
[ ] Danzig
[ ] Riga
[ ] Memel
[ ] Soppot
3. Which Conservative backbencher (a former Home Secretary and Chancellor of the Exchequer) criticised the slow pace of British rearmament following Germany's breach of the Munich Agreement? He used information provided by serving military personnel.
[ ] Winston Churchill
[ ] Lord Halifax
[ ] Anthony Eden
[ ] Leslie Hore-Belisha
4. In May and June a joint Anglo-French diplomatic and military mission was visiting a potential ally against Germany. Which state was this?
[ ] The Soviet Union
[ ] Poland
[ ] Sweden
[ ] Romania
5. Which Soviet foreign commissar urged Stalin in 1939 to conclude an agreement with Germany, arguing that Britain and France could not be relied upon to confront the dictators Hitler and Mussolini?
[ ] Litvinov
[ ] Molotov
[ ] Beria
[ ] Voroshilov
6. Which Nazi minister flew to Moscow on the 23rd of August 1939 to sign the Nazi-Soviet Pact?
[ ] Hess
[ ] Goering
[ ] Von Ribbentrop
[ ] Goebbels
7. Hitler invaded Poland on the 1st of September 1939. On which day did Britain and France formally declare war?
[ ] The 2nd of September
[ ] The 1st of September
[ ] The 4th of September
[ ] The 3rd of September
8. Which politician was re-appointed to his old job as First Lord of the Admiralty on the outbreak of war?
[ ] Arthur Henderson
[ ] Winston Churchill
[ ] Ernest Bevin
[ ] Max Aitken
9. Which prime minister announced the declaration of war on Germany in 1939 by radio to the British people?
[ ] Winston Churchill
[ ] Stanley Baldwin
[ ] Neville Chamberlain
[ ] Archibald Sinclair
10. Britain sent an army across the Channel to fight in France and Belgium. What name was given to this force?
[ ] British Expeditionary Force
[ ] British Field Force
[ ] British Task Force
[ ] British Military Contingent

You can find more about this topic by visiting BBC Bitesize - Life in Nazi Germany, 1933-45

Logo
History Quiz - World War One Aftermath: 1939 - The End Of Appeasement (Answers)
1. In March 1939 Hitler seized the provinces of Bohemia and Moravia. To which country had they belonged?
[ ] Poland
[ ] Hungary
[x] Czechoslovakia
[ ] Yugoslavia
These areas were on Hitler's list for invasion, and he now prepared to move further east still
2. In 1939 Hitler took a formerly German city that had been seized by Lithuania from League of Nations control. What was the German name of this Baltic port?
[ ] Danzig
[ ] Riga
[x] Memel
[ ] Soppot
The town was still mostly populated by ethnic Germans, but the surrounding countryside was inhabited mainly by Lithuanians. Its invasion was a clear breach of the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, which Germany had signed in 1919
3. Which Conservative backbencher (a former Home Secretary and Chancellor of the Exchequer) criticised the slow pace of British rearmament following Germany's breach of the Munich Agreement? He used information provided by serving military personnel.
[x] Winston Churchill
[ ] Lord Halifax
[ ] Anthony Eden
[ ] Leslie Hore-Belisha
The government announced increases in defence spending following the events of early 1939. However, there was some doubt about the government's determination to achieve this. Parliamentary critics of the government relied on inside information provided by serving officers, which was at variance with the official version
4. In May and June a joint Anglo-French diplomatic and military mission was visiting a potential ally against Germany. Which state was this?
[x] The Soviet Union
[ ] Poland
[ ] Sweden
[ ] Romania
If the western powers were to go to war against Germany, they would need firm allies in the east
5. Which Soviet foreign commissar urged Stalin in 1939 to conclude an agreement with Germany, arguing that Britain and France could not be relied upon to confront the dictators Hitler and Mussolini?
[ ] Litvinov
[x] Molotov
[ ] Beria
[ ] Voroshilov
Stalin was deeply suspicious of everyone - even of his own close associates. He was expecting to be attacked sooner or later by Germany, but he hoped that he could buy time to enable Russia to be ready for war
6. Which Nazi minister flew to Moscow on the 23rd of August 1939 to sign the Nazi-Soviet Pact?
[ ] Hess
[ ] Goering
[x] Von Ribbentrop
[ ] Goebbels
German negotiators had been in Moscow for some weeks, hammering out the terms of the deal. Now it only remained for a senior Nazi to sign the treaty
7. Hitler invaded Poland on the 1st of September 1939. On which day did Britain and France formally declare war?
[ ] The 2nd of September
[ ] The 1st of September
[ ] The 4th of September
[x] The 3rd of September
Britain and France were bound by treaty to guarantee Poland's integrity. If they were to follow the etiquette from 1914, they would give Germany a chance to withdraw before war was declared
8. Which politician was re-appointed to his old job as First Lord of the Admiralty on the outbreak of war?
[ ] Arthur Henderson
[x] Winston Churchill
[ ] Ernest Bevin
[ ] Max Aitken
To be political head of the Royal Navy in the Cabinet was a key position, tasked with defending the United Kingdom and the wider British Empire
9. Which prime minister announced the declaration of war on Germany in 1939 by radio to the British people?
[ ] Winston Churchill
[ ] Stanley Baldwin
[x] Neville Chamberlain
[ ] Archibald Sinclair
There were hardly any television sets in use in 1939, so major announcements were made on BBC Radio
10. Britain sent an army across the Channel to fight in France and Belgium. What name was given to this force?
[x] British Expeditionary Force
[ ] British Field Force
[ ] British Task Force
[ ] British Military Contingent
This was a larger force than the one that had landed in France in 1914, but it was still greatly outnumbered by the French army. However volunteers were joining up in large numbers and conscription was re-imposed