Answer and Explanation
Austrian citizens salute German soldiers
during annexation, March 1938
(Source: Wikimedia Commons--public domain)
Question 1128:
Which of the following was not a factor encouraging American neutrality as the world moved towards war in the late 1930s?
(A) memories of the brutality of World War I trench warfare
(B) the rise of the America First Committee
(C) the Nye Committee hearings into war profiteering during World War I
(D) the relatively small size of the U.S. Army (17th in the world) at the outbreak of war in September 1939
(E) concern that entering war with Germany might make conditions worse for German Jews
Which of the following was not a factor encouraging American neutrality as the world moved towards war in the late 1930s?
(A) memories of the brutality of World War I trench warfare
(B) the rise of the America First Committee
(C) the Nye Committee hearings into war profiteering during World War I
(D) the relatively small size of the U.S. Army (17th in the world) at the outbreak of war in September 1939
(E) concern that entering war with Germany might make conditions worse for German Jews
Answer:
(E) concern that entering war with Germany might make conditions worse for German Jews
Explanation:
While some groups in the U.S. attempted to raise attention to the plight of Jews being persecuted in Germany following the passage of the Nuremberg Laws, this was not a factor in keeping the U.S. on the sidelines as war developed in Europe, Africa, and Asia. Americans generally did not want to become involved in another European struggle and the Nye Committee hearings led to the passage of a number of Neutrality Acts in the 1930s which made engagement difficult. The America First Committee, featuring aviator Charles Lindbergh and other prominent Americans, urged neutrality. The army, commanded by General George Marshall, was unprepared and undersized for a two-front war. Germany's army was comprised of approximately 800,000 soldiers in 1939, while the U.S. Army had 174,000 active officers and enlisted men.
(E) concern that entering war with Germany might make conditions worse for German Jews
Explanation:
While some groups in the U.S. attempted to raise attention to the plight of Jews being persecuted in Germany following the passage of the Nuremberg Laws, this was not a factor in keeping the U.S. on the sidelines as war developed in Europe, Africa, and Asia. Americans generally did not want to become involved in another European struggle and the Nye Committee hearings led to the passage of a number of Neutrality Acts in the 1930s which made engagement difficult. The America First Committee, featuring aviator Charles Lindbergh and other prominent Americans, urged neutrality. The army, commanded by General George Marshall, was unprepared and undersized for a two-front war. Germany's army was comprised of approximately 800,000 soldiers in 1939, while the U.S. Army had 174,000 active officers and enlisted men.
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