3 How far was Hitler's foreign policy to blame for the outbreak of war in Europe in 1939?

Question 1

Describe Hitler’s foreign policy aims [4 marker]

Answer 1

1. He wanted to destroy the terms of the TOV
2. He wanted to create more living space for German people (Lebensraum)
3. He wanted to reunite all German-speaking people to be part of a greater Germany
4. He wanted to destroy the threat of Communism

Question 2

Describe how Hitler broke the terms of the Treaty of Versailles [4 marks]

Answer 2

1. In 1933, Hitler began to secretly rearm Germany
2. In 1936, Hitler reoccupied the Rhineland
3. In 1938, Hitler invaded Austria and formed an Anschluss
4. In 1938, Hitler took over the Sudetenland which had been given to Czechoslovakia

Question 3

Describe the events in the Saar in 1935 [4 marker]

Answer 3

1. Saar region had been run by the League since 1919
2. League held a plebescite for people in the Saar
3. Over 90% voted for a return to German rule
4. This was a foreign policy success for Hitler, eroded the terms of the TOV

Question 4

Why was the Spanish Civil War helpful to German foreign policy? [6 marker]

Answer 4

1. It enabled Germany to test out their new airforce, the Luftwaffe. Furthermore, the bond between Hitler and Mussolini strengthened as a result of the war
2. It terrified the British and French politicians, who refused to get directly involved with the war. This was especially apparent when the Luftwaffe bombed the town of Guernica in 1937 and hundreds of civillians were killed. This resulted in Britain and France increasing their policy of appeasement, which would make Hitler’s foreign policy aims easier to achieve

Question 5

Why did Britain and France fail to resist the Anschluss? [6 marker]

Answer 5

1. Britain and France had committed to a policy of appeasement. This was the belief that giving into Hitler’s demands would prevent war, and they believed his demands would only go so far. They believed that Hitler’s foreign policy aim for Lebensraum could be satisfied by giving into certain demands such as Anchluss to prevent blood shed
2. Secondly, their was considerable internal support for the union. Many in Austria supported the idea and there was already a strong Nazi party there. Furthermore, a plebescite was held in Austria and over 99% were in favour of the union. As a result, the British and French saw no reason to stop the union

Question 6

Why did Britain and France allow Germany to re-militarise the Rhineland in 1936? [6 marker]

Answer 6

1. Britain and France had committed to a policy of appeasement. This was the belief that giving into Hitler’s demands would prevent war, and they believed his demands would only go so far. They believed that Hitler’s foreign policy aims could be satisfied by giving into certain demands such as the Rhineland to prevent blood shed
2. Secondly, Britain and France were pre-occupied with other events. The League of Nations was busy dealing with the Abyssinian Crisis and France was about to hold an election, so politicians didn’t want to start a conflict with Germany. Furthermore, since the Rhineland had previously belonged to Germany, Britain believed they had a right to it

Question 7

What was the policy of appeasement? [4 marker]

Answer 7

1. War could be avoided by giving into Hitler’s demands
2. Hitler’s foreign policy was limited and could be satisfied
3. e.g. Anschluss in 1938
4. e.g. Reoccupation of the Rhineland in 1936

Question 8

Explain why the League of Nation’s failures encouraged Hitler’s aggressive foreign policy [6 marker]

Answer 8

1. One of the aims of the League was to enforce the terms of the TOV. This included making sure Germany didn’t increase the size of its army above 100,000, introduce conscription or reoccupy the Rhineland. However, the League failed to carry out these actions between 1933 and 1936. This encouraged Hitler to make further agressive foreign policy demands, such as the Anschluss with Austria in 1938
2. The League also failed to stop the aggressive actions of Japan and Italy in the Manchurian and Abyssinian invasions. Japan invaded Manchuria in 1931, and the League reacted slowly to Japan’s aggressive moves. Britain and France were not willing to commit their military to stop a powerful nation. This encouraged Hitler to follow Japan’s example as he saw that the League was powerless to stop Japan and Japan just left the League. Furthermore, Hitler took advantage of the League’s failure over the Abyssinian crisis in 1936 and reoccupied the Rhineland when he saw that Britain and France were not willing to commit troops against Mussolini

Question 9

What was the Munich Agreement? [4 marker]

Answer 9

1. The Munich Agreement was signed after Hitler took control of the Sudetenland
2. Britain hoped this would prevent war
3. It stated that Germany would recieve the Sudetenland and the borders of the rest of Czechoslovakia would be guaranteed
4. The Czech Government had no choice but to agree

Question 10

Explain why Stalin signed the Nazi-Soviet Pact in 1939 [6 marker]

Answer 10

1. Stalin needed time to rearm the Soviet Union and prepare for a future invasion by Germany. The Nazi-Soviet Pact guaranteed Stalin that time as Germany would now be able to wage war in the West against Britain and France. Stalin could now concentrate on building up tanks, planes and the war materials necessary to fight Germany in the future as he knew Hitler intended to wage war in the East to create Lebensraum. Furthermore, the territory that Stalin would gain in Poland from the pact meant that the Soviet Union would have a bigger defensive border to protect its war industry
2. Furthermore, Stalin signed the Pact because he did not trust Britain and France. Stalin had been left out of the negotiations over the future of Czechoslovakia at the Munich Conference in 1938, and he had seen that Britain and France were not willing to commit their forces to stopping Hitler. This led Stalin to turn his back on Britain and France, even though he knew that Hitler was just trying to avoid war on two fronts rather than creating an alliance with the Soviet Union