4. Impact of ideology on Nazi foregin policy to September 1939 Flashcards
what do many historians argue?
argued that impact of Nazi ideology was enormous and ultimately resulted in war with Great Britain and allies
Bullock presents theory that?
Hitler was an opportunist who acted in response to circumstances, but he was only able to do this because he had long-term goals clearly in mind
Alternatively, other historians argue that?
ideology played a minor role, and that Hitler was just following traditional German expansionist aims similar to those of his predecessors of Imperial Germany
Hitler was not evil madman, rather, as AJP Taylor states?
he sought the same solution to Germany’s problems as had all German leaders
Main goals: Lebensraum?
(living space) – Expansion into Eastern Europe would bring conflict with Soviet Union and expansion west would bring conflict with England, France and their allies
Goals: what kind of alliance did Germany desire?
sought alliance with Italy, a fascist state, which made it a natural ideological ally for the Nazi state. Germany also desired alliance with England on ideological grounds
why did want alliance with England?
Like Germany, England was Aryan and anti-Communist. Their mutual history would make them unique allies in the fight against Jewish and Communist conspiracy
Racial policies argument?
– Some historians argue that Hitler’s ultimate goal was the elimination of the entire Jewish race (belief in Aryan superiority)
what was the Social Darwinist view?
Hitler accepted the Social Darwinist view that nations prosper at expense of others
What does he state in Mein Kampf?
“Kindred blood should belong to a common empire”
what does statement in Mein Kampf reveal about aims?
aim of drawing together all German speaking people into a GrossDeutschland
what did it mean to ignore to argue that ideology had minor impact?
would mean ignoring the forecast made by Hitler in the Mein Kampf, and all speeches and actions by Hitler, which were rife with bellicosity and racial hatred.
Ultimately, Nazi ideology was focused on the objectives of ?
territorial expansion and racial purity, both of which drove German foreign policy on a path to war
Winston Churchill argues?
Mein Kampf made clear his intentions form creating a National Socialist state to world conquest
Richard Evans suggests about lebensraum?
desire for lebensraum had less to do with ideology and more to do with economic necessity/recovery “…secure recovery of the German economy was through the conquest of ‘living space’ in the East”
