Hitler's Foreign Policy Flashcards
What was Hitler’s first foreign policy aim? (R)
Reverse the Treaty of Versailles - He never accepted the term’s and promised to restore land
What was Hitler’s second foreign policy aim? (U)
Unite all German speaking people
What was Hitler’s third foreign policy aim? (L)
Lebensraum - Saw Lebensraum in the East , Poland and Russia for their raw materials and resources
What was Hitler’s fourth foreign policy aim? (A)
Anschluss
What was Hitler’s fifth foreign policy aim? (C)
Destroy Communism - Hated the USSR, convinced that Stalin and Russian Jews were plotting a Jewish-Bolshevik takeover
What events happened in the Disarmament Conference 1932-34
-Germany wanted each nation to reduce their army to match the German army
What did Hitler do after withdrawing from the Conference
He withdrew and announced he would increase the German Peacetime army to 300,000 and airforce to 1000
When did Hitler leave the league of Nations
1933
What was the non-aggression pact with Poland in 1934
Promised to accept Polish borders and encourage trading
Set to last for 10 years
What key foreign policy did he attempt to achieve in 1934
- Anschluss
Why did the Anschluss in 1934 fail
Dollfuss, the Austrian Chancellor outlawed the Nazi’s
He was then assasinated by rogue Nazi’s
Failed due to lack of support from Hitler who was concerned about Mussolini - guardian of Austria
What was the Return of the Saarland 1935
Plebiscite voted 477,000 to 48,000 to rejoin Germany
LoN administered this vote legal
What extremely vital military move did Hitler do in 1935
Rearmament and Conscription
Why was Hitler allowed to rearm and conscript
The French and Soviet Unions were building up their armies and he argued he felt vulnerable and it was self defence
What was the Stresa Front 1935
Agreement between Britain, France and Italy to oppose Hitler’s rearmament
Why did this collapse?
- The Anglo-German Naval Agreement (Allowed Germany to increase it’s fleet to 35% size of Britain’s)
- Italy’s invasion of Abyssinia (Strengthened Hit/Musso bond)
Why did the Allies leave the Rhineland
The ToV stated they were to occupy it for 15 years and left in 1935
What did Hitler do the following year after Allies left the Rhineland?
Reoccupied the Rhineland
What order’s did he give the generals reoccupying the Rhineland
He told his generals to not engage in combat and if met with hostility to retreat immediately
Why did they face initially no resistance in the Rhineland?
Britain and France were occupied with the Abyssinia crisis
How many were in favour to reoccupy the Rhineland?
98.8%
What was the Rome - Berlin Axis 1936
Italy and Germany agreed to work together on mutual interests
Agreed to stop the spread of communism
What was the Anti-Comintern Pact 1936
A treaty with Japan to limit spread of communism and influence of the soviet union
Furthered relations between Germany Italy and Japan
By 1938, what did Hitler encourage the Nazi’s to do in Austria
- Stir up trouble
- Bomb public buildings and stage marches
What did Hitler force the Australian Chancellor to do?
Accept 2 Nazi’s onto his cabinet and later forced to resign
Who was the Australian Chancellor replaced by?
Seyss-Inquart
What did Seyss-Inquart ask Hitler to do?
- Asked German troop’s to march in and restore order
13th March - Anschluss proclaimed and 99.75% voted in favour
What was the ally and LoN response to the Anschluss
Protest but took no action - following policy of appeasement
What was the Sudetenland Crisis
- 3 million Germans within the Sudetenland
- Ordered Czech Nazi’s to stir up trouble and threatened force to solve the crisis
- Scared USSR would invade Germany through Czechoslovakia
What was the Munich Conference
-Germany, France, GB and Italy agreed to transfer the Sudetenland to Germany
- GB and Germany agreed to settle disputes peacefully
Why was there a gradual move away from Appeasement
- German continuation of territorial expansion
- Breaking the Munich Agreement
What was the Pact of Steel May 1939
Hitler and Mussolini full military alliance and economic cooperation
What did Hitler need to do before he aimed to invade and destroy Poland?
Needed the neutrality of the Soviet Union, feared Stalin would make an alliance with Britain
What did the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact agree on? (Nazi-Soviet Pact)
- Agreed to not support any third country if it attacked the other
- Agreed to consult each other and not join an alliance aimed at each other
- Secretly agreed to invade and partition Poland
What final foreign event causes the start of WW2
1st September 1939 - German troops invaded Poland
What was the French and British response?
They agreed to honour their obligations to Poland and demanded Hitler to withdraw
What was Hitler’s response
Hitler did not reply
- Britain and France declared war on Germany
- Within 2 days German Blitzkrieg broke through Polish defences.
