Hitlers Apeasment And Road To War Foriegn Policy To Hitlers Rearmament Programe

Question 1

What is foreign policy?

Answer 1

A term used to define how one country plans to interact and tp deal with foreign countries

Question 2

What does hitlers foreign policy refer to?

Answer 2

The way that he dealt with other countries and how he made Germany stronger, and how is actions and policies fitted in to an overriding plan which had exact targets

Question 3

What was Mein Kamph and why was it written

Answer 3

Adolf Hitler became the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party (or Nazis for short) in
1920. After his imprisonment after the failed Munich Putsch, Hitler used his time in prison to write a
book called “Mein Kampf” or “My Struggle”. The book is partly Hitler’s autobiography and partly an
explanation of his beliefs. In the book Hitler outlined his foreign policy aims

Question 4

What were Hitlers foreign policy aims?

Answer 4

Revenge for the Treaty of Versailles
Gross Deutschland (Greater Germany)
Lebensraum (Living space)
Extermination of the untermenschen (sub humans)

Question 5

Explain the aim of Revenge for the treaty of Versailles?

Answer 5

“We must have revenge for the treaty of versailles”

The treaty had to be destroyed. Hitler wanted to rearm and make Germany the strongest military power in Europe. This was not possible due to the economic, political and military restrictions that were placed on Germany.

Question 6

Explain the aim of gross deutchsland (greater germany)

Answer 6

‘We must make Germany strong by bringing together all German-speaking
people in one large country.’

Hitler believed that all Germans had the right to live in Germany and if that meant the country’s borders had to expand to accommodate them, then he was prepared to make that happen. Many Germans had found themselves living outside of Germany after the territorial changes of the Treaty of Versailles, whilst
Germany and Austria were forbidden from uniting.

Question 7

Explain lebensraum (living space)

Answer 7

‘As Germany grows more powerful, we must have land and resources so that Germans can have space to live in and grow strong.’

Hitler claimed that Germany had to have all the land and resources it needed in order to survive and grow strong. He planned a war to take over the smaller countries
of Eastern Europe and most of European Russia.

Question 8

Explain the aim extermination of the untermenschen (sub-humans)

Answer 8

‘Untermenschen should ‘serve’ the master race.’

Hitler believed Aryans – or Germans – were the master race and talked about ‘inferior’ races such as Jews and Slavs as sub-humans or Untermenschen – not even real people. Their only purpose was to serve the master race. Hitler planned
a race war in which the German master race would take land and resources from the ‘inferior’ people of Eastern Europ

Question 9

What is rearmament?

Answer 9

Rearmament means building up the number of weapons within a country.

Question 10

Explain Hitlers rise to power?

Answer 10

Hitler’s rise to power in January 1933 lead to the German leader defining his foreign policy aims. In
a speech to his generals in February 1933, Hitler outlined his vision for Germany’s foreign policy. This
covered long and short term foreign policy goals – all under the umbrella of revising the Treaty of
Versailles.

Question 11

What was the Geneva disarmament conference

Answer 11

organised by the LoN attended by 61 countries aiming to impose limits on armaments in order to keep the peace

Question 12

To what rate did Britain and France want Germany to re arm.

Answer 12

Britain wanted them to re arm at a controlled rate but France did not want them to at all.

Question 13

What did the rough deal for German rearmament entail and when was it reached

Answer 13

1933, to let Germany re-arm at a controlled rate and to reach equality in 8 years which would allow Germany and army of 200,000 to double the rate laid down at Versailles.

Question 14

What did the Germans think of the deal and what did they want instead

Answer 14

They weren’t happy with it and wanted arms equality, which meant either a reduction of french and British forces or German rearmament

Question 15

Why were France wary of Germany rearming

Answer 15

Because they were on the border of them and had been attacked twice in the past 50 years

Question 16

What happened when Hitlers demands were shut down

Answer 16

Hitler withdrew Germany both from the conference and
from the League of Nations in 1933. Over 95% of German people felt Hitler had done the right thing.

Question 17

What was the main obstacle to Germany’s success/progress?

Answer 17

France

Question 18

How did Hitler have to tackle France?

Answer 18

Not head-on, he had to be in direct. He felt that France could be separated from some of their friends. Then it would benefit him and Germany.

Question 19

What did Hitler do in order to make sure France was dealt with indirectly?

Answer 19

he offered Poland and Czechoslovakia 10 year non-aggression pacts.

Question 20

Who responded to hitters non aggression offer and why. And what did the agreement mean

Answer 20

Only Poland responded as they viewed Russia as a greater threat

Question 21

When was the German-Polish Non-Aggression Pact signed?

Answer 21

January 1934

Question 22

Describe what was happening in Germany by 1933?

Answer 22

Hitler set out rapidly rearming Germany

Question 23

What happend in December 1933 in relation to German rearmament?

Answer 23

Hitler’s general proposed a plan for the development of
the Germany army. This was conducted in secret as it violated the terms of the Treaty of Versailles.

Question 24

German rearmament-air force

Answer 24

In secret Germany built up their Luftwaffle, which by the end of 1934 had a total of 2000 planes
Although it was originally a secret the existence of the luftwaffle was admitted in a daily mail interview on the 19th of March 1935, although it violated the ToV it was not on the French and British’s radar as they were preoccupied with the Abyssinian Crisis

Question 25

German rearmament- military

Answer 25

In 1933 hitlers generals devised a plan for a development of the army making it 21 divisions - 300,000 men by 1937 in order for this to be achieved one year of short service conscription
However on the 16th of March 1935 Hitler announced he was permanently reintroducing conscription taking the army up to 36 divisions-550,000 soldiers

Question 26

German rearmament- tanks

Answer 26

In 1934 Hitler ordered German manufacturers to begin producing panzer I tanks

Question 27

Describe British and French Reaction to German Rearmament?

Answer 27

Britain and France were horrified at Hitler’s major breach of the terms of the Treaty of Versailles.
However, they did not take any direct action against Germany.

Question 28

What was the Stresea front-reaction to rearmament

Answer 28

An agreement between Britain, France, and Italy formalising opposition to German rearmament committing them to monitor Germany, agreed in April 1935 but that same year when the Abyssinian crisis took place it collapsed

Question 29

What was the Anglo-German naval deal-reaction to rearmament

Answer 29

Signed on the 18th of June 1935 between Britain and Germany, with Britain agreeing to let Germany have parity in the air, build up their naval forces to a level that is 35% of Britain’s and have an equal number of submarines

Question 30

What was the impact of the Anglo German naval deal?

Answer 30

Most of the British saw it as Hitler wanting closer ties between the 2 countries meaning their could be more chance of negotiations on issues but France however felt betrayed

Question 31

Explain the maginot line and the extension- reaction to rearmament?

Answer 31

It was a defensive line of concrete and steel fortifications
that stretched between Belgium and Switzerland along France’s border with Germany. It was built between 1929 and 1934. Alarmed by Germany’s rearmament, the French government spent a further one billion francs to strengthen and extend the line.

Question 32

Why was the Rhineland remilitarised

Answer 32

Increased frances security, and that of Belgium and the Netherlands in the event of German aggression, creating a buffer zone

Question 33

Why did Hitler want to remilitarise the Rhineland

Answer 33

Strategily important as it was important for German steel , coal and iron production

Question 34

Explain the events that lead to the Remilitarisation of the Rhineland in 1936?

Answer 34

ToV 1919- under this Germany was prohibited form stationing troops in the Rhineland but France, Belgium and Britain were allowed

Occupation of the Rhineland 1923- France and Belgium occupied the Rhineland due to insufficient payments from Germany

Lornaco pact 1925- here Germany freely agrees to not send troops in to the Rhineland

Young plan , spirit of Lornaco 1929-30 - young plan agreed between Germany and the allies cutting Germanys reparations from 6 to 2 billion as a result of this positive agreement the French left the Rhineland

Nazi seizure of power 1933 - After Adolf Hitler seized power in Germany, he set his sights on revising the terms of the Treaty of Versailles and began the processing of intensely rearming Germany. Tensions in Europe increase as Hitler withdrew Germany from the Geneva Disarmament Conference and the League of Nations.

The Franco-Soviet Treaty of Mutual Assistance (1935)- France made approaches to Russia, to build connections in Eastern Europe. They began negotiations about a mutual assistance pact. This meant that the countries would help each other in the event of war in Europe. This was technically breaking their side of Lorna I giving Germany the go ahead to break theirs, to remilitarise the Rhineland

Question 35

Describe The March into the Rhineland

Answer 35

On Saturday 7th of March, 1936, 20,000 fully armed German troops marched into the demilitarised Rhineland. Hitler chose a Saturday as the French and British parliaments would not be sitting over the weekend. This means they would not be in a good position to react until Monday, which gave Hitler time to present this actions in a better light through fine sounding declarations of peace.

Question 36

What did Hitler accompany the March on to the Rhineland with

Answer 36

Hitler accompanied this aggressive move with peaceful offers to European leaders to present his actions in a more positive light.
He offered:
1. A non-aggression pact with European leaders for 25 years.
2. A new equal demilitarised zone for the French.
3. To join the League of Nations if the Treaty of Versailles was separated from it.
By Monday, it was these promises that were in the newspapers, not the fact that the Rhineland
had been remilitarised.

Question 37

Why was rearming the Rhineland a gamble for Hitler

Answer 37

‘We had no army worth mentioning… If the French had taken any action, we would have easily
been defeated; our resistance would have been over in a couple of days.’
Britain and France had more military power than him
By breaking ToV and Lornaco there was major risk of war

Question 38

Why didn’t France take action over Germany’s re-occupation of the Rhineland?

Answer 38

Frances divided government
Frances weak relationship with Britain
The ‘Maginot’ mentality
Overestimation of the size of the German Military

Question 39

Describe Frances divided Government-Reaction to Rhineland

Answer 39

French’s government was temporary and divided waiting for elections
Government was not sure if there was enough support inside for taking action against Germany if it lead to war
The French right-wing opposed the Franco-Soviet Treaty of Mutual Assistance, while the left-wing seemed more prepared to accept Hitler’s promises of peace. The weak French government felt that the best plan was to do nothing.

Question 40

Describe the weak relationship with Britain and France- reaction to rearmament

Answer 40

The Anglo German Naval deal had convinced France that Britain were an unreliable ally, The combined impact of the AGND, failure of Stresa and Franco-Soviet pact meant they clearly didn’t see eye to eye on how best to handle Germany. Each was less likely to act when they couldn’t agree to act in unison.

Question 41

Describe The ‘Maginot Mentality’- Reaction to Rhineland

Answer 41

Due to a fear of German aggression/military strength, France had spent billions of Francs building the Maginot line to give France a sense of security, but this gave them a very defensive mindset and saw marching in to the Rhineland and opposing Germany too big a risk

Question 42

Describe the Overestimation of the Size of the German Military- Reaction to Rhine land

Answer 42

The French government fooled itself about what was really happening and believed the worst. Although Germany had begun to rearm and had introduced conscription in 1935, their
total military force was vastly inferior to those of France by March 1936. General Gamelin, a French military leader, incorrectly believed that Germany had a force of one million men, of which 300,000 were already in the Rhineland.

Question 43

Why didn’t Britain take action over Germany’s re-occupation of the Rhineland?

Answer 43

Versailles guilt
Frances relations with Russia
Poor relationship with France
A fait accompli already done

Question 44

Describe Versailles guilt- Reaction to Rhineland

Answer 44

Fairly soon after Versailles although the mood of the British was that originaly Germanys punishment was fair it very quickly changed towards the idea that it wasn’t so therefore the British be,ieved the March in to the Rhineland was fair enough and as Lord Lothian summed up ‘They are only going into their own back garden.’

Question 45

Describe Frances Relations with Russia- Reaction to Rhineland

Answer 45

The Franco-Soviet Treaty of Mutual Assistance caused a lot of

Question 46

Describe the failed accompli ( already done ) - reaction to Rhineland

Answer 46

In order for Britain to oppose Germany they needed a specific response and punishment but it was completed before Britain could decide on a response.

Question 47

What do historians look at March 1936?

Answer 47

They see it as a turning point. However wasn’t
easy at the time to see it as that the historian W. Carr described Germany’s action as: a real turning point in the inter-war years which marked the beginning of the shift in the balance of power away from Paris and back to Berlin. However, it is hard to find evidence from British newspapers, the public, or government members,
that anyone at that time saw it in those significant terms.

Question 48

Describe the Effects of the Remilitarisation of the Rhineland on France?

Answer 48

It denied them the security of the buffer zone(rhineland) they had previously had with germany giving the effect of the maginot line and mentality becoming more in valuable than ever

Their ability to be a reliable ally to those in Eastern Europe eg. Cz beacause the likelihood that they would oppose Germany was extremely low meaning Germany could do as the pleased along the east, for many the remilitariation altered the balance of power as Frances credibility as a major power was harmed if they were unable to defend the Tov how could they be expected to act in any other situation

Question 49

Describe the Effects of the Remilitarisation of the Rhineland on Britain?

Answer 49

Many saw that the British had suffered a setback in the international position and reputation Antony Eden the present foreign secretary recognised that the British did not see how large a loss falling for Hitlers lies was

He also realised it was now easier for Germany to invade France through Belgium which they did in 1940, which would have been impossible had the Rhineland not been remilitarised it was all a crucial part in Hitlers plan to control Europe

Question 50

Describe the Effects of the Remilitarisation of the Rhineland on Germany

Answer 50

Hitlers status was greatly enhanced, as he had brought back ‘victories’ to th Germans he also received positive media feedback as a result of the remilitarisation

Hitler now had a stronger power over his generals which many say were the only people that could have opposed him early on the fact that he took a gamble over remilitarising the Rhineland without their trust and it paying off meant that it put them in their place

They could now be more ambitious with plans dealing with their eastern borders without the worry of France Hitler could further revise the ToV

Question 51

What happened in July 1936

Answer 51

Hitler made an Austro-German Agreement where the two states agreed to consult over foreign policy. It increased Germany’s influence over Austria.

Spanish Civil War started. Germany offered limited but important military support to help the Fascist rebels under General Franco

Question 52

What happened in November 1936

Answer 52

Germany and Italy signed an agreement which became known as the Rome-Berlin Axis, where they agreed to share a common foreign policy.

Question 53

What do the events of 1936 demonstrate about Hitler

Answer 53

None of these actions demonstrate that Hitler was making a deliberate plan to prepare for war but they do show that he was confident enough to make diplomatic moves with whoever he liked, as and when he wished.

Question 54

What happened in January 1937?

Answer 54

Hitler made a speech to the German Reichstag where he said “the time for surprises has ended” which it has it was a quiet years in terms of German diplomacy with no major event

Question 55

What was the Hossbach Conference and who is it named after?

Answer 55

It took place on the 5th of November 1937 was a meeting between Hitler, his foreign and war ministers the chiefs of the army , navy and air force its named after Colonel Hossbach who took notes at this meeting in a document that became known as the Hossbach memorandum.

Question 56

What did Hitler give a review of at the Hossbach conference

Answer 56

Germanys future foreign policy aims, looking at different opportunities for action concerning (what he called cases) Case Otto-Austria, Green-Cz. White-Poland he also stated that ‘Germany must be ready for war for 1938 and the latest by 1943-45’ looks as if this was hitlers plan of action for war

Question 57

Describe what the conference meant

Answer 57

It seemed a significant turning point in terms of German foreign policy , Hitler now being confident enough to kay down an entire foreign policy strategy with 2 years earlier wondering if recouping the Rhineland was possible but it is all realitiley believable as the future of foreign policy was in those 3 countries in that order but