Foreign Policy 1933 - 39 Flashcards
Actions that shows intentionalism:
- Mein Kampf
- Zweites Buch
- Hossbach Conference
- 25 point programme
What 3 main points on Hitler’s view of history, as mentioned in Mein Kampf, influenced foreign policy?
- Racial history (pure race)
- Power and land was Germany’s right
- WW1 + effect of Treaty of Versailles
What is pan-Germanism?
- Other countries would have to be captured and cleared of inferior people TO GIVE Germans land when uniting all German speaking people into one country
How did pan-Germanism affect foreign policy?
- Favoured German expansion eastwards
- Favoured alliances w/ racially acceptable countries eg. Britain
- ‘Evil’ alliances w/ racially inferior countries to take advantage
What two earlier German empires did Hitler look up to and why?
- 1st Reich –> Holy Roman Empire of Charlemagne
- 2nd Reich –> Otto von Bismark
- Gained land and kept it by war + military strength
- 2nd Reich had carefully created alliances
How did the early German empires influence foreign policy?
Nazi propaganda focused on its glory, why may have influenced Hitler as his early years stressed desire for peace
What ideas did 25 Point Programme of Nazi Party and Mein Kampf contain?
- Race
- German expansion
6 main causes of resentment of treaty of Versailles:
- Creation of Polish Corridor + loss of Danzig
- Disarmament
- German army could not enter their Rhineland
- Heavy reparations
- War guilt clause
- No say in Treaty terms (Diktat)
Why was the creation of the Polish corridor and the loss of Danzig most significant?
It cut East Prussia off from the rest of Germany
What agreements were made with Germany’s ideological enemy USSR (+stat)?
- Secret rearmament agreements allowing German armaments to be made on Soviet soil
- By 1928 –> Tanks for Germany being built and tested in USSR
How did the Treaty of Versailles change the aims of foreign policy?
- The treaty created small self-determining states that were weak, had sizeable GER pop + ethnic divisions that made governance difficult
- Desirable targets for GER
How did the Treaty affect the reactions of the Allies to GER’s foreign policy?
- Guilt about treaty from FRA, GBR + many nations
- GBR PM , Lloyd George, said it was so unfair there would be war in 25 yrs time
Give one example where the Allies let a violation of the Treaty slide because of their guilt and for what other reason:
- Jun 1935 –> Anglo-German naval agreement, which set naval sizes for both countries
- Hoped GER would be satisfied and not expand further after this
What was one consequence of allowing GER to break the treaty?
- Gave GER time to build military force
- Expand GER further
What were Hitler’s 4 aims for foreign policy?
- Treaty of Versailles had to be overturned
- Large and powerful world power
- Lebensraum
- Would have to go to war due to world Jewry + Bolshevism
What did Hitler have to do to overturn the Treaty (4 R’s)?
- Rearm
- Regain lost land
- Reoccupy Rhineland
- Reparations left unpaid
Why did Hitler not want colonies when compared to the Kaiser?
Wanted to wait until GER was fully established in EUR
How did Hitler want to obtain a German empire and which countries did he want to do this with (w/ example)?
- Through alliances
- Countries w/ suitable ethnic mix eg. GBR
However, there was something that Hitler was willing to form w/ countries that did not have a suitable ethnic mix. What was this (w/ example)?
Short-term alliances eg. USSR
Give one example of a short-term alliance formed in jan 1934 and why Hitler did this:
- Non-aggression pact w/ POL
- Cut France off from Eastern European allies
Why was Lebensraum needed, which countries should this be taken from and what should be done to it?
- Become a great nation + Meet needs of people
- Countries in East
- Cleared of all but pure Germans
What did Hitler believe about Jews + communists?
Believed the grps were working together to stir up anti-German feeling in other countries and to control govs
