Hitler's Foreign Policy
3 Main Aims
- Make Germany great again (Destroy Treaty of Versailles)
- Unite all German speaking people
- Create 'Lebensraum' (living space) for all German people
- Created by: Aisling Gallagher
- Created on: 01-12-15 17:40
Action 1 - German Rearmament (1933-35)
1933 - withdrew from the disarmament conference and the League of Nations
1935 - introduced conscription (above 100,000 men) TofV
- rally celebrating German armed forces
Stresa Front (France, Italy and Britain)
- condemned rearmament
- collapsed due to Abyssinian crisis (destroyed relations)
MAKE GERMANY GREAT AGAIN
Action 2 - Anglo German Naval Agreement (1935)
Signed with GB
- proof of peaceful intentions
Treaty limited German navy to 35% of the strength of the British fleet - didn't include submarines
By GB signing they'd agreed to Germany rearming
Success for Hitler
- weakened the Stresa Front (Britain hadn't consulted France and Italy)
- 1938 - German army = 800,000 , navy = 47 U-Boats, air force= 2000+ aircraft
MAKE GERMANY GREAT AGAIN
Action 3 - 10 year non-aggression pact (Poland) 19
Guaranteed the boundries of Poland
- made the Poles think that Hitler wouldn't go after the Polish Corridor (no quarrel with the USSR)
- Britain saw it as further proof of Germany's peaceful intentions
- showed Germany accepted the frontier with Poland set up at the Treaty of Versailles
Really - it was time to re-arm before seizing the Polish Corridor
Action 4 - Return of the Saar (13th January 1935)
Under control of the League of Nations for 15 years
- there was a plebiscite to decide if it should stay in control of the League
- most people who inhibited this land were German
- 90% voted yes
= Popularity
UNITE ALL GERMAN SPEAKING PEOPLE
Action 5 - Remilitarisation of the Rhineland (1936
Treaty of Versailles and the Locarno Pact - forbade the Rhineland to be remilitarised
- 1936 - sent troops in and used the Abyssinian Crisis as a distraction
- France - could've stopped them but were in a political crisis at the time
Results
- CONFIDENCE - taken a risk (no position to stand up to the French army) open letter if faced with opposition
- proved generals and ministers wrong
- Signed the Rome-Berlin axis agreement with Italy (formalized by the Pact of Steel)
- GB and France lost Mussolini as an ally against Hitler
- Along with the Abyssinian crisis, it marked the end of the League of Nations
- France built the Maginot line between France and Germany
DESTROY THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES
Action 6 - Anschluss/Failed Anschluss (1934-38)
Failed Anschluss (1934)
- Hitler encouraged Austrian Nazis to cause trouble. It resulted in the murder of the Austrain Chancellor Dollfuss. Hitler was ready to take over - Mussolini (not yet and ally) moved his troops to the boarder and stopped the Anschluss
Anschluss (1938)
- More rumors pf plots to overthrow the Autrian government
- Schuschnigg appealed to Hitler
- Hitler bullied him into making Seyss-Inquart minister of the interior (he was leader of the Austrian Nazis)
- Schuschnigg played a risky game and made the bold move of calling a plebiscite to see if they really wanted to unite with Germany
- Hitler feared 'no vote' and so moved his troops to the boarder
- Forced Schuschnigg to resign
- Seyss-Inquart becomes Chancellor
- 12th March - Anschluss
Nazis held their own vote - 99.75% approved of the Anschluss
MAKE GERMANY GREAT AGAIN / UNITE ALL GERMAN SPEAKING PEOPLE / LEBENSRAUM
Results of the Anschluss
- Triumph for Germany - CONFIDENCE
- Germany increased in wealth - economic resources e.g iron and steel
- Mussolini didn't act - it proved that the alliance was strong
- Britain and France used the excuse that it was another 'injustice of the Treaty of Versailles'
- Looked to Sudetenland as next target (3 million German-speaking people)
Action 7 - Sudetenland (1938) TEST OF APPEASEMENT
Czechoslovakia - German speaking people
1938 - Henlein (leader of the Sudeten Nazis) was ordered to stir up trouble and campaign for independance - riots broke out
- German newspapers produced allegations of crimes committed by the Czechs against the Sudeten Germans
- Hitler threatened war if a solution wasn't found
Chamberlain persuaded Benes to accept self government for Sudetenland - he had to agree
- Hitler demanded that the Sudetenland should be part of the German Reich
UNITE ALL GERMAN SPEAKING PEOPLE / LEBENSRAUM
Action 8 - The collapse of Czechoslovakia (March 1
Hitler forced President Hacha to hand over Czech lands.
- Marked the end of appeasement
- Proved he couldn't be trusted
- Lithuania was forced to surrender the province of Memel - wanted restoration of Danzig
- France promised the borders of Poland
- Mussolini conquered Albania and signed pact of steel
- Conscription was introduced
- Hitler withdrew from the pacts he'd made with Britain and Poland (action 2 &3)
LEBENSRAUM / UNITE ALL GERMAN SPEAKING PEOPLE
Action 9 - Nazi Soviet Pact
Role of the USSR
- excluded from Munich agreement
- west feared communism
- signed Nazi-Soviet pact with Hitler
The pact agreed that they wouldn't interfere with the other power
- secret clauses divided up Poland between them
- (USSR got land lost from WW1 and Germany got Danzig)
This went against the anti-comintern pact which was signed with Italy and Japan in 1937 (against Communism)
- risk of 2 front war was removed
- Hitler's attack on Poland was inevitable
- Thought that Britain and France wouldn't act but if they were to act - it would mean war
THUG
Why did Stalin sign the pact... because Hitler was a...
- T = Time to prepare for war (military)
- H= Hope to gain (a long war would weaken all three powers
- U= Unhappy with Britain (didn't trust Britain, failed to negotiate an alliance)
- G=Germany and Russia unite
Action 10 - Poland and the outbreak of War (1939)
The pact gave Hitler confidence to go ahead and invade Poland
Britain and France protecting the boarders of Poland - Hitler didn't think they would
- too far away
- appeasement
1st September 1939- Poland invaded by Germany
- B and F declare war on Poland
15th September - USSR invade
The Munich Agreement
C,D,H and M met to solve the crisis
- USSR and Czechs were NOT INVITED
- Czechs were eventually forced to hand over the Sudetenland (Benes)
Chamberlain and Hitler had a further meeting
- Hitler agreed that B and G would never go to war again
- Chamberlain returned a hero
Importance
- Hitler gained the Sudetenland (without fighting and resources) and mineral resoures
- Chamberlain had betrayed the Czechs and maintained peace
- Czechs had lost their boarder defences (rest of the nation was undefended)
- USSR - felt betrayed and no longer trusted GB and France
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