Hitler's Aims and Allied Reactions - Conflict and Tension

Question 1

Hitler’s 5 aims

Answer 1

1. unite the German speaking people (Volksdeutche)
2. make Germany strong
3. take more land to the East for the German people (Lebensraum)
4. destroy communism
5. cancel the TofV

Question 2

why did overtime Britain and France allow Hitler to break the TofV even though it was international law?

Answer 2

1. at the end of WW1 they had disbanded much of their armies and they were not strong enough to fight and win a war
2. public opinion was against war after the horrors and casualties of WW1
3. Hitler wasn’t their only concern. Japan was a threat to their Asian empires. there were movements for self-determination within their own empires. if they did go to war there was no guarantee that Dominions (self-governing colonies) such as Canada and Australia would send troops to fight alongside British troops a second time
4. they were concerned about the communist Soviet Union and thought that the anti-communist Hitler could help prevent the spread of communism
5. many people thought the TofV had been too harsh on Germany in the first place so some of the things Hitler was asking for were reasonable
6. after 1929 the impact of the depression meant that they couldn’t afford the cost of war or disruption to trade

Question 3

what was the USA’s reaction to this?

Answer 3

• they had been following a policy of isolationism since the 1920s
• this attitude had been reinforced since the Wall Street Crash
• in 1934 a public opinion poll said that 70% of Americans did not want to get involved if a second war in Europe broke out

Question 4

what was the Soviet Union’s reaction to this?

Answer 4

• the Soviet Union was fearful of Hitler’s determination to destroy communism
• the Soviet Union had also been sceptical of the western allies ever since they had lent support to the White (anti-communist) armies in the Russian Civil War
• however, by 1935 Stalin was willing to work with the western democracies in order to protect the USSR from Hitler

Question 5

what was the non-aggression pact with Poland in 1934?

Answer 5

both counties agreed to settle any disputes peacefully - this made Hitler look peaceful and reduced Polish fears of German aggression. it gave Germany more chance to rearm, and upset France who were an ally of Poland.