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Germany A-Level > Foreign Policy: The influence of German history on Nazi foreign policy > Flashcards

Foreign Policy: The influence of German history on Nazi foreign policy Flashcards

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1
Q

What role did Germany’s defeat in the First World War play in Hitler’s foreign policy vision?

A

It was pivotal in shaping his personal foreign policy vision.

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2
Q

How did government propaganda affect the German people’s reaction to their defeat in 1918?

A

It prepared them for an impending victory, making the defeat more shocking.

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3
Q

What was the perception of the Versailles Treaty among the German people?

A

It was viewed as an unfair ‘dictated peace’.

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4
Q

What did Hitler challenge regarding the Versailles Treaty?

A

He challenged the ‘dictated peace’ settlement.

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5
Q

What was the impact of German defeat on Hitler and the Nazi Party?

A

It fueled indignation and support for revising the treaty.

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6
Q

How did the German military’s reputation affect German society?

A

It was revered as symbolic of national pride and infused politics.

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7
Q

What historical event forged Germany into a unified nation?

A

The military victory over the French in 1871.

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8
Q

What authority did the German armed forces hold beyond the constitution?

A

They had extra-constitutional authority, acting as a ‘state within a state’.

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9
Q

Who did far-right groups like the Nazis blame for Germany’s capitulation?

A

They blamed politicians and socialist traitors.

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10
Q

Fill in the blank: The armed forces’ power grew beyond the _______ limits of the constitution.

A

Legal

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11
Q

What was a significant psychological factor for German nationalists after the First World War?

A

The deep intertwining of pride in the military and belief in militarism.

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12
Q

What year did the German military capitulate in World War I?

A

1918.

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13
Q

True or False: The Versailles Treaty was less harsh than the conditions Germany imposed on Russia.

A

False.

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14
Q

What was Hitler’s reaction to the armistice on 11 November 1918?

A

He felt disbelief and then anger, believing that the military had not been defeated.

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15
Q

What myth did Hitler spread regarding the German military’s defeat?

A

That the military had been ‘stabbed in the back’ by traitorous politicians, referred to as the November criminals.

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16
Q

What did Hitler declare Germany needed following the armistice?

A

A strong, authoritarian leader to reclaim German national pride.

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17
Q

What were the expectations of the German people regarding the peace settlement after the armistice?

A

They anticipated it would be based on Woodrow Wilson’s proposals for peace.

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18
Q

What did Woodrow Wilson’s ‘Fourteen Points’ advocate for?

A

A peace based on international justice, self-determination, and negotiated settlements.

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19
Q

When was the Treaty of Versailles signed?

A

28 June 1919.

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20
Q

What was Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles about?

A

It stated that Germany and its allies accepted responsibility for starting the war.

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21
Q

How did military leaders in Germany perceive the Treaty of Versailles?

A

As a humiliation and a ‘diktat’ enforced upon the German people - although they were the ones that had advised the government to sign it for they felt that the army was in no state to resist an Allied invasion.

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22
Q

What did the signing of the Treaty of Versailles contribute to the perception of democracy in Germany?

A

It helped create an image of democracy as politically impotent.

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23
Q

What is a ‘Carthagian peace’?

A

A term created by British economist John Maynard Keynes to compare the harshness of the Treaty of Versailles to the terrible punishment inflicted by the Roman Empire on its vanquished opponents.

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24
Q

What was the comparison made between the Treaty of Versailles and the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk?

A

Versailles was considered mild compared to the harsh terms imposed on Russia by the Germans in 1917.

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25
What was the German public's perception of the Treaty of Versailles?
They viewed it as a 'shameful' peace.
26
What kind of protests occurred in Germany following the Treaty of Versailles?
Angry protests against the settlement broke out in cities across the country, spurred by nationalist propaganda which tended to represent the Allies as ghoulish vampires sucking the blood from Germany.
27
What did Hitler resolve to do in response to the Treaty of Versailles?
To end the peace settlement's challenge to German national pride.
28
Did the Treaty of Versailles constrain German expansionist aspirations?
No, it provided opportunities for Hitler to pursue his foreign policy vision.
29
What was the impact of the principle of self-determination on the map of Europe?
It led to the dismantling of empires and the creation of smaller, weaker states.
30
What was France's aim regarding Germany after World War I?
To permanently cripple Germany.
31
Why was France unable to cripple Germany through the Treaty of Versailles?
The need for a strong bulwark against Bolshevik Russia meant that Germany could not be dismantled.
32
How did the reparations demanded from Germany relate to its economic potential?
Although high, they were affordable if careful economic policies were introduced.
33
What was argued about Germany's ability to pay the bill after World War I?
Germany might have been able to pay the bill if it had a secure government to introduce effective economic reforms. - As it was, there was no such government able to make the difficult economic choices such as cutting costs and raising taxes.
34
What weakened the Allies' commitment to upholding the conditions of the Treaty of Versailles?
Tensions between the aggressive French and the conciliatory English weakened the Allies' commitment.
35
How was Hitler emboldened by the weakness of the treaty itself and the lack of commitment by the Western democracies?
It provided him an opportunity to realise his expansionist vision.
36
What fundamental goal of Nazi foreign policy was articulated by Hitler?
The revision of the Treaty of Versailles was a fundamental goal of Nazi foreign policy. - Hitler made this very clear from the earliest days of his political career.
37
What did the Nazi Party's 25-Point Programme (1920) demand regarding the Treaty of Versailles?
The revocation of the peace treaties of Versailles and the union of all Germans in a Great Germany.
38
What did Hitler declare about Germans in Mein Kampf?
Hitler declared Germans to be 'the highest species of humanity on this earth'.
39
What did Hitler believe was necessary for the independent existence of a nation?
He wrote that 'only a sufficiently large space on this earth can ensure the independent existence of a nation' - This need for territory required a revision of the borders established at Versailles.
40
What was Hitler's primary motivation for his foreign policy after taking office in 1933?
His foreign policy decisions were rooted in the defeat in 1918 and the Treaty of Versailles. His entire foreign policy was motivated not by a desire to return to the pre-1914 bordered, but to destroy the Europe created at Versailles.
41
What was the first major breach of the Versailles Treaty by Germany in the 1930s?
In October 1933, Germany withdrew from the Geneva Disarmament Conference and the League of Nations. - This marked a significant step in Hitler's defiance of the treaty.
42
What happened during the January 1935 referendum in the Saar?
90% of voters decided to return to Germany, influenced by intimidation and violence from the Nazis.
43
What violation of the Treaty of Versailles occurred in March 1936?
Hitler sent 20,000 troops into the Rhineland.
44
What principle did Hitler use to justify his demands for German-speaking territories?
The principle of self-determination. This principle was used to legitimize his claims for territories like Austria and the Sudetenland.
45
Why did Hitler's rationale of self-determination complicate Allied interference?
Having defended that principle in drawing up the borders of the new Europe at Versailles, it was difficult for the Allies to muster support for military action against the Germans.
46
What was the significance of the invasion of Czechoslovakia in relation to the Treaty of Versailles?
Czechoslovakia was created by the peace settlements of 1919, and its invasion in March 1939 challenged the borders established after WWI.
47
What was the motivation behind the invasion of Poland in September 1939?
The desire to remove the Polish Corridor, a creation of the Treaty of Versailles. ## Footnote This invasion marked the beginning of WWII.
48
What was a central aspect of Hitler's foreign policy?
Lebensraum
49
What did Hitler believe Germany needed according to Mein Kampf?
'living space' for the German race
50
True or False: The idea of German domination of Eastern Europe was unique to Hitler and a reaction to the constraints imposed at Versailles.
False
51
What did the great European dynasties of the late 19th century fight for empire in?
Asia and Africa
52
What scientific theory was perverted to justify racist colonial policies?
Social Darwinism - a perversion of natural selection theory applied to human race.
53
What did Charles Darwin argue?
That in order to survive, species of plants and animals adapted. Those who failed to do so became extinct.
54
What concept did Social Darwinists apply to the human race?
Natural selection
55
What was biologist Ernst Haeckel's contribution to the hierarchy of races?
He placed human beings into a hierarchy with Caucasians at the top as the most civilised.
56
Which Nazi philosopher cited Haeckel as an influence?
Alfred Rosenberg
57
According to Friederich Ratzel, how is a nation defined?
He argued that a national's geographic expansion was determined by its 'racial vivacity' - the belief in an eternal competition for survival of the fittest between nations.
58
What did Hitler's views on racial purity aim to legitimise?
The enslavement of non-Aryans - his views were not of his own creation, a number of philosophers and scientists had already expounded them.
59
Who transformed the term 'Aryan' into a racial term?
Joseph Arthur de Gobineau - He claimed that the 'Aryan race' possessed superior physical and cultural attributes.
60
What did Alfred Ploetz argue in his work 'The Foundations of Racial Hygiene'?
For the defense of the purity of the Aryan peoples
61
What was Eugen Fischer's view on race mixing?
It would cause degeneration of Europeans - strict separation of the races was required to ensure the superior western culture endured.
62
Fill in the blank: Hitler was given a copy of _______ while imprisoned after the Munich Putsch.
Fischer's book
63
True or False: Hitler's racially motivated foreign policy was solely a reaction to post-war trauma.
False
64
What role did pseudo-scientific theories play in Hitler's foreign policy?
Pseudo-scientific theories were popular subjects of discussion long before the traumas of 1918 created a social and political environment in which they could gain mainstream acceptance.
65
How long had antisemitism been a reality across Europe?
Almost 2 thousand years
66
How were Jews convenient scapegoats throughout the Middle Ages?
They were blamed for causing the Black Death
67
What pseudo-scientific theory changed Judaism into a negative racial characteristic?
Social Darwinism in the late 19th century spurred Judaism to no longer be viewed as a religious identity that could be altered by conversion to Christianity.
68
What did Houston Stewart Chamberlain argue about the nature of Jews in his book?
He argued that the materialistic nature of Jews placed them at odds with the heroic German people.
69
Referring to the Jews as 'eternally foreign', what did Chamberlain claim Germany needed to defend?
Western civilisation
70
What did the Kaiser write about Jews?
'Jews and mosquitoes... are a nuisance that humanity must get rid of in some way or another. I believe the best way is gas?'
71
How was Hitler's foreign policy suggested to be influenced by previous German policies?
It was argued that Hitler's foreign policy represented continuity with the policies of German chancellors before World War I. - This perspective challenges the notion that Hitler's approach was entirely unique.
72
Who was Bernhard von Bülow and what was his role in pre-WW1 foreign policy?
He served as German chancellor from 1900-1909. He advocated aggressive foreign policy called 'Weltpolitik' that would win colonies and make Germany a great imperial nation like Britain.
73
What was 'Flottenpolitik'?
The building of warships to challenge the power of the British empire.
74
What was von Bethmann-Hollweg's approach towards Britain?
He sought to develop close links between Germany and Great Britain This approach was in stark contrast to the more aggressive policies of his predecessor, Bulow.
75
What infamous program did von Bethmann-Hollweg draw up?
The September Program - a German plan for massive territorial acquisitions if Germany won the war. - This has been used to argue that Germany started both the first and second world wars in an attempt to create a great empire.
76
What did some historians argue about von Bethmann-Hollweg's intentions in 1914?
They argue that he advocated war in 1914 to release a 'programme' of territorial expansion, with parts of France, Belgium and Russia turned into vassal states whilst areas of Poland were to be ethnically cleansed to provide living space for German settlers.
77
What vision did some historians argue was similar between pre-1914 Germany and Nazi policies?
Concepts of German nationalism and visions of expansionism - This suggests a continuity in aggressive foreign policy ideologies.
78
What new right-wing pressure groups emerged in the 1890s in Germany?
The Pan-German League and the Navy League These groups mobilized popular sentiment for an expansionist colonial policy.
79
How many members did the Pan-German League claim to have?
1 million members
80
What type of foreign policy did the Pan-German League demand?
An aggressively nationalistic foreign policy This policy aimed to protect the interests of the German Volk.
81
Which social class was particularly drawn to the Volkisch groups?
The middle classes - saw patriotic fervour as a unifying force with which to combat the rising threat of Bolshevism.
82
What continuity can be observed between the Nazis' attitude and the policies of the Second Reich?
The treatment of racial inferiors
83
What were German leaders' motivation for establishing colonies in Africa?
They hoped that the vast expanses of what is modern-day Namibia would provide the Lebensraum needed to service Germany's expanding population and prevent the urban overcrowding that was fertile ground for the spread of socialism.
84
Which indigenous people were exploited by colonial farmers in German South-West Africa?
The Herero people - Their exploitation was in part legitimised on the grounds of the theories of racial hygiene.
85
What happened in January 1904 in German South-West Africa?
The local tribes revolted against German colonial rule
86
What was the outcome of the Herero revolt?
The revolt was brutally suppressed and the Herero people were forced off the land and into concentration camps.
87
What policy was instigated against the Herero population?
A deliberate policy of genocide
88
What was the population of the Herero before the genocide?
80,000
89
How many Herero remained after the genocide?
16,363 - 1/3 being the children born in the camps as a result of rape.
90
What was Hitler's desire regarding Lebensraum?
To achieve Lebensraum in Eastern Europe and into Russia
91
True or False: Nazi foreign policy was solely an opportunistic response to national catastrophes.
False

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