Hitler's foreign policy

Question 1

How did German history impact Hitler’s foreign policy?

Answer 1

• In Mein Kampf, Hitler showed a significant interest in German history
• “Racial history”
• Nostalgia from earlier empires and a sense of entitlement to power and land
• The impact of the Treaty

Question 2

How did racial theory drive foreign policy?

Answer 2

• Hitler saw the Aryan race as superior to all other races
• His goal to unite all German speaking people in one country would mean clearing other countries of “inferior” people

Question 3

Why the Third Reich?

Answer 3

• Meant to be a Germany returned to its rightful power and place in Europe
• Inspired by the previous Reich empires
• Both empires had gained land by war and military strength

Question 4

How did the war impact Nazi foreign policy?

Answer 4

• Many Germans were uninformed about the end of the war and believed Germany could have won if the Kaiser kept on fighting
• “Stab in the back” theory
• Resentment over the Treaty

Question 5

What was Hitler’s view on the Treaty?

Answer 5

• The Treaty had to be overturned
• To achieve this, Germany had to rearm and regain lost land
• Hitler did not see the Weimar “revisionist” policies as sufficient and wanted to expand Germany’s borders further

Question 6

What was Hitler’s view on the Third Reich?

Answer 6

• Aimed to create a large German empire
• Could be achieved by war if necessary
• need for living space “lebensraum”
• Germany needed to expand in order to provide space for its people
• Hitler aimed to unite all German speaking countries

Question 7

What were the main features of foreign policy?

Answer 7

• Germany signed a non-aggression pact with Poland in 1934
• Overturning the Treaty
• Strategic alliance
• Expansion
• Germanisation

Question 8

In what ways did Hitler prepare for war?

Answer 8

• Began to rearm from 1935
• Introduced conscription, another defiance of the Treaty
• His four-year plan stressed Germany’s need for militarisation and development of synthetic products so Germany would not have to rely on other countries during wartime
• In public he claimed the military strain was for defence but in private he asserted that it would be a disaster to provoke an attack before they had prepared the required forces to go to war

Question 9

Could Hitler have achieved his aims without war?

Answer 9

• There was no viable way to achieve lebensraum without war
• He may have hoped to avoid was with Britain through the use of Blitzkrieg
• Germany was able to remilitarise the Rhineland and claim Austria without causing a war
• Hitler also did not expect any opposition to the Sudetenland area of Czechoslovakia

Question 10

Why did Hitler invade Poland?

Answer 10

• Terms of the Treaty gave land to Poland including 800000 Germans and the Polish corridor
• 1934 Non-aggression pact with Poland meant that it could not unite with the USSR to attack Germany
• Signed Pact of Steel with Italy which committed both sides to provide aid
• Nazi-Soviet Pact provided agreement that Germany and the USSR would invade Poland and divide it between them

Question 11

How did the attitude of Britain influence the move towards war?

Answer 11

• Chose to avoid an alliance and pursue a policy of appeasement
• Anglo-Naval agreement
• Remilitarization of the Rhineland
• Anschluss with Austria, viewed as a popular union among Austrain public
• Munich Agreement, Chamberlain agreed to allow Hitler to claim Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia

Question 12

How did the attitude of France influence the move towards war?

Answer 12

• Held resentment and anger towards Germany due to failure to meet terms of the Treaty
• French feared invasion from Germany
• Maginot line of defence across borders