Hitler's policies increased the likelihood of war.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (Oct/Nov 2022). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [1] (a) In 1933 Hitler began to rearm.
2. [1] (a) He withdrew from the League of Nations in 1933.
3. [1] (a) Hitler announced that conscription would be re-introduced in 1935.
4. [1] (a) He created a military air force.
5. [1] (a) Hitler started manufacturing weapons.
6. [1] (a) A massive rearmament rally was held in Germany in 1935.
7. [1] (a) In 1935 Germany signed a naval agreement with Britain.
8. [1] (a) It allowed Germany to have a navy up to 35% of the size of the British navy.
9. [1] (a) Germany withdrew from the Disarmament Conference.
10. [1] (a) Resources useful for the military preparations were taken from the Saar Basin.
11. [1] (b) The term 'lebensraum' means living space.
12. [1] (b) The policy meant the expansion of Germany.
13. [1] (b) It was a threat to Russia and Poland.
14. [1] (b) It would help Hitler to create the Reich.
15. [1] (b) It was necessary to gain resources.
16. [1] (b) It led to World War II.
17. [5] (b) 'Lebensraum' was important for the development of Hitler's foreign policy because it meant expanding Germany's borders to gain living space for the German people. This implied that Germany would expand to the east and was therefore a threat to Russia and Poland.
18. [1] (c) Hitler threatened war if he did not get the whole of the Sudetenland.
19. [1] (c) The four powers effectively abandoned Czechoslovakia to its fate.
20. [1] (c) Appeasement had failed.
21. [1] (c) It allowed Hitler to gain confidence.
22. [1] (c) Munich showed that Hitler could not be trusted.
23. [1] (c) Germany and Russia made a secret pact to divide Poland between them.
24. [1] (c) Hitler did not have to fight a war on two fronts.
25. [1] (c) Britain and France promised Poland they would guarantee its independence.
26. [1] (c) Hitler did not believe Britain and France would go to war over Poland.
27. [5] (c) The decisions at Munich made war more likely because they meant Britain and France had abandoned Czechoslovakia. In October 1938, German troops marched into the Sudetenland. In March 1939, Hitler took the rest of Czechoslovakia. There was no resistance from the Czechs, Britain or France. Because of the way Britain gave in to Hitler, he now thought he could take part of Poland without going to war.
28. [5] (c) The Nazi-Soviet Pact encouraged Hitler to invade Poland because he knew that the USSR would not fight as they had agreed to divide Poland between them. Hitler ignored Britain's warning that, if he invaded Poland, Britain would declare war. Britain had signed a formal alliance with Poland in August 1939.
29. [10] (c) Explanation of both sides (Level 4, 7-9 marks) with evaluation of 'how far' (Level 5, 10 marks).