Foreign Policy Flashcards
WWI as an influence on Nazi Foreign Policy:
Many Germans had been misinformed about how the war was going and believed Germany could have won had the Kaiser stayed and the army kept on fighting,
Many believed the ‘stabbed in the back’ by the ‘November Criminals’ theory.
Aryan Racial Theory as an influence on Nazi Foreign Policy:
Hitler saw the Aryan race as superior to all other races and wanted Germany to be a great Aryan empire.
This led the Nazis to favour alliances with racially acceptable countries such as Britain (who had Aryan roots) and favour German expansion eastwards by taking land from those who were racially inferior in order to implement Pan-Germanism (all German-speaking people should be united and live in one country)
The First and Second Reich as an influence on Nazi Foreign Policy:
Both empires had gained land and kept it by war and military strength, however, they had also worked hard diplomatically for acceptance by other nations, especially when first in power
Influenced Hitler because his foreign policy during his early years in power included stressing his desire for peace.
Terms of the Treaty of Versailles
- Guilt: Germany had to sign a war guilt clause that
seemed to hold it responsible for starting the war - Lost Land: Germany lost land and 6.4 million Germans
found themselves outside the new borders. - Army: Germany was told to disarm. It could have no
submarines, no heavy warships, no tanks and no air
force. It could no longer conscript soldiers for its
severely reduced army of 100,000 troops that could
not leave Germany. - Rhineland: The German army could no longer enter
the Rhineland, which ran along most of the border
with France as it became a demilitarised ‘buffer zone’
for France. - Reparations: Germany had to pay heavy reparations
set at 132 million gold marks in 1921 - Equal power: it was not allowed to join the League of
Nations so it was not accepted as an equal power in
Europe - Diktat: Germany had no say in terms of the Treaty as
it was a diktat (a dictated peace)
Impact of the the Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles caused resentment as the terms led to Germany losing status, the ability to defend itself and led to Germans feeling humiliated.
The treaty was used as a measure to gain support from the German population - the treaty was blamed for problems caused by the way, e.g. the economic disruption because of reparations.
Main features of Nazi foreign policy
- Germanisation: Spreading nazi racial ideas, oppression
and removal of ‘undesirables’ in german controlled
lands. - The Third Reich: Hitler’s expansionist policy aimed to
create a large German empire in Europe and was
meant to be Germany returned to its rightful power
and place in Europe. - Alliances: strategic alliances ensured germany did not
have to fight a war on two fronts - made with individual
countries to divide other nations - Versailles: The treaty had to be overturned: Germany
had to rearm, lost land had to be regained, the - Rhineland had to be occupied and reparations left
unpaid. - Expansionism/Lebensraum (‘living space’): Germany
had a shortage of raw materials and farmland -
Germany needed to expand to meet the needs of its
people
Evidence of Hitler’s masterplan
Hitler’s aims of overturning Versailles and lebensraum are expressed in Mein Kampf could show planning however it could be argued these policies were broad aims, rather than a plan
Evidence of the defiance of the Treaty of Versailles
Hitler built up an army from 1935, openly defying the Treaty of Versailles - conscription forbidden by the treaty was reintroduced: forbidden tanks and other armoured vehicles were built
Evidence of Hitler’s intention of war
Hitler’s Four Year Plan stressed Germany’s need to put militarisation first and to develop synthetic oil and other war materials so germany would not depend on other countries during war
Could Hitler achieve his aims without war?
No - Hitler could not achieve lebensraum and expansion eastwards without war
Yes - Germany remilitarized Rhineland and took Austria by invasion without causing war so hitler did not expect military opposition to his next claim - the Sudetenland area of Czechoslovakia
History of enmity between Germany and Poland
The Treaty of Versailles gave land to Poland along with about 800,000 Germans
The Polish Corridor created by the treaty with the ‘free’ port of Danzig on its coast to give Poland access to the sea, was bitterly resented
Nazi relations with Poland up to 1936 -
In 1934, Hitler made a non-aggression pact which include military support in times of war with Poland despite his many speeches about reversing the terms of Versailles - Hitler saw the USSR as the biggest threat to germany so poland who stood between was a useful ally
Relations after 1936
The nazis remilitarised the Rhineland in 1936: The polish government expected France to drive the German troops out so offered military help under the terms of the 1921 Mutual Assistance Pact with France but France did not send in troops into the Rhineland
The response of other countries to Hitler’s remilitarisation of the Rhineland and the impact
Poland exposed itself as willing to fight Germany
France had shown itself as unwilling to fight so did Britain and the League of Nations
Hitler became more confident about pressing for what he wanted by force as he was not going to meet resistance
Hitler always intended to invade poland
Hitler agreed to Poland getting Teschen when Czechoslovakia was divided up in 1939 but dependent upon the term of Poland joining the Anti-Comintern Pact which would have certainly set off a Soviet invasion
The Anti-Comintern Pact was Hitler’s litmus test of obedience; although Germany was technically offering a peaceful alliance to Poland, it was offering it on terms that Poland was likely to refuse.
Nazi-Soviet Pact - Hitler wanted a nonaggression pact with the Soviet Union so that his armies could invade Poland virtually unopposed by a major power
