Hitlers Foreign policies Flashcards
What were the aims of Hitler’s foreign policy?
- To destroy the Treaty of Versailles imposed on Germany after her defeat in World War One. Hitler felt the Treaty was unfair and most Germans supported this view
-To unite all German speakers together in one country. After World War One there were Germans living in many countries in Europe e.g. Austria, Czechoslovakia, Poland. Hitler hoped that by uniting them together in one country he would create a powerful Germany
- To expand eastwards into the East (Poland, Russia) to gain land for Germany (Lebensraum- living space).
How did Hitler destroy the Treaty of Versailles?
Hitler built up his army in secret, then, in 1935, he openly held a huge rearmament rally. Britain made a naval agreement with Germany (the Treaty had said that Germany could only have 6 battleships)
In 1936, Hitler introduced conscription, and war-tested his armed forces in the Spanish Civil War
In 1936, also, Hitler broke the Treaty of Versailles by moving troops into the Rhineland demilitarised zone.
in 1938 by invading Austria and declaring Anschluss.
By the end of 1938, Hitler was doing the same thing in the Sudetenland which the Treaty of Versailles had given to Czechoslovakia.
Was the Treaty of Versailles a long-term cause of the Second World War?
Resulted in the German economy doing incredibly poorly and relying on foreign government (like the US) for support
Created huge resentment of European nations in Germany, and as a direct result sparked serious German nationalism
This was a long term cause of World War II because it united Germany in hate for foreign nations, caused the German economy to be reliant on foreign loans, and created a desire among Germans to restore Germany to its former power.
How did Hitler build up his armed forces after 1933?
On this day in 1935, Adolf Hitler ordered the rearmament of the German army, even though it was forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles, signed after Germany lost World War I.
Hitler simply ignored all these provisions, and the Allies had no way to oppose him.
The engagement of German industry in weapons production largely pulled the country out of an economic crisis that had lasted from 1929. Almost full employment was achieved.
What happened to the Saar in 1935?
The Treaty of Versailles put the Saar under League of Nations control and allowed the French to run its valuable coal mines for the next fifteen years.
At the end of that time the people of the Saar would vote to decide their future.
They would have three choices: To remain under League control, to return to Germany or to become part of France.
n 1935 the required vote, or plebiscite, was held. Nine out of every ten Saarlanders voted to return to Germany. For Hitler, this was the first small step towards the union of all Germans in Germany.
Why did Hitler remilitarise the Rhineland in 1936?
- In March, Hitler ordered his troops back into the Rhineland, against the terms of the Treaty of Versailles and the Locarno Treaty.
- Hitler’s generals were against the move as they thought the French would resist and also because the German army was too weak
- The army actually had strict orders to withdraw if they met any opposition but there was no opposition
- Britain thought Hitler was reclaiming what was rightfully Germany’s and took no action to resist the action and the French wouldn’t risk war without British support.
- It was condemned by the League of Nations but they didn’t do anything because they were in the middle of the Abyssinian Crisis.
What was the Anschluss of March 1938?
- “Anschluss” was the union of Germany and Austria, something forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles.
- Austria was Hitler’s birthplace, held special meaning for him and was linked culturally.
- There was a strong Nazi Party in Austria and both countries spoke German, 96% of Austrians spoke German.
- The Austrian Nazis helped Hitler step up his campaign by bombing public buildings and staging mass parades. Hitler sent for Schuschnigg (the Austrian Chancellor) and bullied him into giving more power to the Austrian Nazis.
- Schuschnigg changed his mind and ordered a plebiscite, excluding younger voters who he thought were more likely to vote Nazi. Hitler was furious and forced his resignation.
- The Austrian Nazi leader asked Germany to send in troops to ‘restore order’ and German troops marched into Austria, to be met, on the whole by cheering crowds
- A plebiscite was held and 99% voted in favour of the Anschluss. Britain and France did not object as the majority of Austrians seemed pleased with the union. Also this time, Mussolini did not protest as he had back in 1934.
What happened at the Munich Conference in September 1938?
- On 29 September 1938 the Munich Conference was called
- Here Hitler met with representatives from France, the United Kingdom, and Italy
- An agreement was reached that Hitler could take the Sudetenland as long as he promised not to invade anywhere else.
- All four countries signed the agreement: Adolf Hitler of Germany, Neville Chamberlain of the UK, Edouard Daladier of France, and Benito Mussolini of Italy.
THIS WAS POLICY OF APPEASEMENT, FRANCE AND BRITAIN, TO AVOID WAR DECIDED TO GIVE HITLER WHAT HE WANTED IN HOPES TO SATISFY HIM
DID NOT WORK BUT IT DID BUY THEM TIME TO BUILD UP THIER ARMIES AND GET READY FOR WAR
How did Hitler’s foreign policy lead to the outbreak of war in 1939?
- Hitler’s foreign policy led to war by being so aggressive that eventually the French and British could no longer ignore the fact that Hitler was trying to gain a dominant position in Europe.
- Hitler’s foreign policy was one of expansion. He used the idea that the Treaty of Versailles was unfair to Germans as a pretext for this expansion. He used it, along with the idea of self-determination for all ethnic groups, to justify the Anschluss with Austria. He used it to demand that the Sudetenland be given to Germany. He then used it to demand and get all of the rest of Czechoslovakia.
- he then finally used it to invade the rest of poland causing the outbreak of the war
Why did Britain and France adopt a policy of appeasment towards Germany during the 1930s?
- Britain and France were both still suffering from economic depression and felt that they could not afford to spend a large amounts of money on arms to combat these dictators
- Britain and France were not prepared for war, France was weak and divided and Britain simply had not mobilised its army, appeasement gave both countries vital time to re-arm and mobilise their armies, ready for war
- War would have been very unpopular with the public
- British war generals stated that Britain was not ready to fight a war on two fronts, Japan and Germany
5) The League of Nations had failed by the 1930s, so Chamberlain felt that it would be best to try and negotiate with and civilise the dictators
6) There was a feeling that the Treaty of Versailles was too harsh towards Germany and it was only natural they would try to break it
how did appeasement lead to the outbreak of the war 1939?
- Appeasement over the German invasion of the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia encouraged Hitler to push even further.
-First he broke a promise made not to invade the rest of Czechoslovakia and then he invaded Poland.
- He believed that they would not react and he could push on with his territorial gains without any fear that they would declare war.
- Some people have suggested that had Britain/France tried to stop Hitler that he would have backed down, maybe in the short-term, but he was a megalomaniac who thought he was gifted with military genius. So WWII would have happened regardless.
Why did Stalin sign the Nazi-Soviet Pact?
The Nazi-Soviet Pact was a non-agression pact that split Poland between the two countries.
Stalin had two choices:
- if he made an alliance with Britain, he would end up fighting a war with Hitler over Poland
- if he made an alliance with Germany, he would get half of Poland, and time to prepare for the coming war with Germany.
on 23rd August 1939, he signed the Pact with Hitler.
How did the Nazi-Soviet Pact lead to the outbreak of war in 1939?
Freed up Hitler to invade Poland, he knew that Britain couldn’t do anything to defend Poland
Ended Britain’s hopes of an alliance with Russia to stop Hitler, people in Britain realised that nothing would stop Hitler now but war
Why did Britain and France declare war on Germany in September 1939?
On September 1, the beginning of the German attack, Great Britain and France sent Hitler an ultimatum - withdraw German forces from Poland in two days or Great Britain and France would go to war against Germany. On September 3, with Germany’s forces penetrating deeper into Poland, Great Britain and France both declared war on Germany.
