Hitler's foreign policy and the origins of the Second World War Flashcards
What was Hitler’s foreign policy?
- make Germany into a great power again
- unite all German speaking people under his rule
- to gain territory for Germany in the East to provide Lebensraum for the German people
What was Lebensraum?
Living space. Hitler wanted to expand eastwards to create more space for the growing German population
What is a plebiscite?
A vote by the people of a state or region on an important question, such as union with another country
Why was the USSR an enemy of Hitler?
The USSR was communist and Nazism was facist
When did Hitler become Chancellor of Germany?
January 1933
How did Hitler avoid League action?
He managed to convince many European leaders that once Germany had obtained the territory that they had lost at Versailles, no further demands would be made. This meant that Hitler was essentially given a free pass to take back the lands by the League simply to avoid another war
How did the Manchurian crisis encourage Hitler?
He had seen Japan successfully defy the league
What was the Saar?
An industrial area that was taken from Germany by the Treaty of Versailles and put under the control of the League of Nations
What happened because of the Saar plebiscite?
The plebiscite was set to be held 15 years after the it was removed from Germany. The plebiscite was held in January 1935. Over 90% voted in favour of the Saar being returned to Germany.
What did the return of the Saar mean to Hitler?
He treated it as a huge triumph and declared that this was the first of the injustices of Versailles to be reversed
When was the Disarmament Conference?
1932-34. First met in February 1932.
What were the aims of the Disarmament Conference?
The main problem was what to do about Germany. It had been part of the League for six years. Most countries accepted that the Germans should be treated more equally than the terms of the Treaty of Versailles stated
The biggest question was whether everyone should disarm to the level that Germany had been forced to, or whether the Germans should be allowed to rearm to the level of the other powers
What did the Germans do at the Disarmament conference? Why?
The Germans walked out of the conference in July 1932 when the other powers failed to agree to disarm down to the level of Germany
Hitler’s reaction to the Disarmament conference
In May 1933 Hitler returned to the conference and promised not to rearm if ‘in five years all other nations destroyed their arms’. When they refused, Hitler withdrew from the conference in October 1933 and soon after from the League of Nations
Why did Germany sign the non-aggression pact with Poland in 1934?
- Hitler was hoping to weaken the alliance between France and Poland
- Hoped to reduce Polish fears of German aggression
- Wanted to show that he had no quarrel with Poland, only with the USSR
