Hitler's Foreign Policy Flashcards
What were the aims of Hitler’s Foreign Policy?
- To abolish the TOV
- To expand German territory and gain Lebensraum (with land taken from Eastern Europe)
- To create a greater German Reich
- To destroy communism
How were Stresemann and Hitler similar?
Their Foreign Policy aims were similar
How were Stresemann and Hitler different?
Stresemann was willing to work cooperatively with other nations to achieve his aims peacefully. Whereas Hitler was prepared to use force.
What did Hitler do in 1934?
From 1934 onwards, Hitler rearmed Germany
What did this mean?
He had broke the Treaty of Versailles
What did Britain, France and Italy do?
In alarm of the rearmament, Britain, France and Italy signed Stresa Front.
What was Stresa Front?
Condemning Germany conscription and agreeing to stand together against German aggression
What did Germany an Britain do in 1935?
Signed the Anglo-German Naval Agreement
What was this agreement?
A treaty between Britain and Germany; Germany’s navy was to be 35% of the Royal Navy
What did this mean?
Germany’s navy was never able to challenge the Royal Navy.
What did this ignore?
The Treaty of Versailles
What collapsed?
Stresa Front
What happened to the Saar Land in 1935?
They voted to rejoin Germany
What did this mean for Germany?
It was a huge propaganda boost
What did German armed forces do in 1936?
Re-enter the Rhineland
What was Britain’s response to this?
“The Germans, after all are only going into their own back garden”
As the Rhineland was their own territory
What did Italy and Germany work together on in 1936?
Rome-Berlin Axis - This was an agreement stating Italy and Germany would work together on matters of common interest.
What was the Pact of Steel and when was it signed?
A full military alliance between Italy and Germany, so ending hopes that Britain and France would be able to drive a wedge between Hitler and Mussolini
What did Hitler then signed with Japan?
Anti-Comintern Pact (anti-communist)
What did Hitler do in 1938?
Anschluss with Austria
What was Austria before the Anschluss?
An independent nation of 7 million people
What did the Anschluss break?
The Treaty of Versailles
What must we remember about the Anschluss?
Hitler had wanted an Anschluss with Austria as early as 1934 but Mussolini has defended Austrians independence. By 1938, Hitler and Mussolini had grown very close.
What was important about the Sudetenland?
It was on the borders of Germany & Czechoslovakia
It was rich in materials
Contained much of Czechoslovakia’s defences
Population of 3.25 million German speaking people
What did Hitler want with Sudetenland?
Hitler wanted these German speakers within the Reich
What did Hitler threaten?
War unless he was given the Sudetenland
What happened at the Munich Conference (Oct 1938)?
Britain, France, Italy and Germany decided that the Sudetenland should become German territory
Who were not consulted?
The Czechs, nor Stalin’s Soviet Union, which shared a border with Czechoslovakia
What had Hitler been?
Appeased
What happened to Czechoslovakia?
They became powerless and stripped of defences, industry and raw materials
What did Neville Chamberlain have to say?
It was ‘peace in our time’
What is appeasement?
an attempt to avoid war by negotiating and making concessions.
Why had appeasement been used?
The horrors of WW1 had been remembered and they wanted to avoid a war.
What was Britain more concerned about?
Communism. They approved of Hitler’s anti-communist policies
What impact had the economic depression had?
It meant that Britain and France were not prepared to go to war. Appeasement gave Britain an extra year to prepare for war.
What did Stalin suggest to Britain and France?
Signing a treaty to make the three countries stronger against German aggression
Why did Britain and France decline this>?
Because they trusted communists even less than Hitler.
What did they see Germany as?
A ‘buffer’ against the communist Soviet Union.
What astonished Britain and France in 1939?
Germany and the Soviet Union (sworn enemies) signed the Nazi-Soviet Non Aggression Pact in August 1939
What did this Pact mean?
Hitler and Stalin had agreed not to go to war against each other
What was Britain and France’s reaction?
They were shocked
What happened on September 1st 1939?
German troops invaded Poland
What happened on September 3rd 1939?
Britain declared war on Germany.
