Question

What shocking development enabled Hitler to begin World War II without immediately repeating Germany's problem of fighting a war on opposite sides of its country?

1) The signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact with the Soviet Union
2) The annexation of Austria
3) The appeasement policy of the Western powers
4) The failure of the League of Nations to take action

Answer 1

The signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact with the Soviet Union enabled Hitler to begin World War II without immediately repeating Germany's problem of fighting a war on opposite sides of its country.

Step-by-step explanation:

The shocking development that enabled Hitler to begin World War II without immediately repeating Germany's problem of fighting a war on opposite sides of its country was the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact with the Soviet Union.

This pact, signed in August 1939, was a mutual non-aggression pact between Nazi Germany and the USSR. It allowed Hitler to neutralize the major eastern threat, the USSR, while he focused on his invasion of Western and Northern Europe. In addition, the pact secretly included provisions to divide Poland between Germany and the USSR.

This development was crucial for Hitler as it eliminated the risk of a two-front war, which Germany faced during World War I, and paved the way for the beginning of World War II.