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Germany and West Germany (1918-89) > How far was Hitler's foreign policy responsible for the Second World War? > Flashcards

How far was Hitler's foreign policy responsible for the Second World War? Flashcards

1
Q

What are 2 views that historians have over Hitler’s foreign policy? What does each mean?

A
  • Intentionalist: Hitler’s plans determined everything
  • Structuralist: external factors led to the outbreak of war
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2
Q

What proof is there for intentionalists?

A
  • Mein Kampf
  • Zweites Buch
  • Hossbach Conference
  • 25-point programme
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3
Q

What were the main ideas in Mein Kampf in terms of foreign policy?

A
  • Lebensraum
  • Expanding east
  • England and Italy as allies
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4
Q

What were the main ideas in Zweites Buch in terms of foreign policy?

A
  • France would always be an enemy
  • Lebensraum
  • Britain would naturally stay out of wars unless a European country became too poweful
  • Britain’s natural enemies were France and Russia, as they could threaten their empire
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5
Q

What were the key points in the 25-point programme in terms of foreign policy?

A
  • Overturning the Treaty of Versailles
  • Pan-Germanism
  • Lebensraum
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6
Q

What were the key points in the Hossbach Conference in terms of foreign policy?

A
  • Lebensraum
  • Expanding east
  • Going to war in 1943
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7
Q

How did Germans feel about the defeat in WW1, and why?

A
  • They thought they had been betrayed by the ‘November Criminals’ and didn’t support the new government after the war
  • They had been misinformed about how the war was going
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8
Q

How had Hitler reacted to the loss in WW1? Give 2 details.

A
  • He was shocked and came to believe the ‘stab in the back’ myth
  • This caused him to not support democracy and become involved in politics
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9
Q

How did Germans feel about the Treaty of Versailles? How was this shown?

A
  • They felt that was it was humiliating
  • There were protests against it in the cities
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10
Q

What were the 3 opposing viewpoints of the ‘Big Three’ when it came to the Treaty of Versailles?

A
  • France wanted it to be harsh as possible as they had suffered the most from WW1, and would have the most to fear in the case of another war
  • Britain didn’t want to be too harsh as they didn’t want the treaty to cause resentment
  • The USA wanted a reasonable treaty and to set up a system of international negotiation to avoid wars
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11
Q

How did Britain in particular view the treaty? Give a detail. However, what presented the treaty as justified?

A
  • As too harsh
  • The prime minister Lloyd George himself said that it would cause another war in 25 years
  • The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was much harsher
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12
Q

Give an example of how the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was harsher than the Treaty of Versailles.

A
  • Russia lost 62 million people while Germany lost 6.4 million
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13
Q

What did the Western powers’ sympathetic views over the Treaty of Versailles cause? What was another reason for this?

A
  • They didn’t enforce the treaty
  • They also wanted to uphold the peace and hoped by ignoring the reversal of the ‘unfair’ terms, Germany would be satisfied
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14
Q

Give 3 examples of the ‘Big Three’ not upholding the Treaty of Versailles.

A
  • Germany never paid reparations on time
  • They ignored secret rearmament
  • The 1935 Anglo-German Naval Agreement
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15
Q

How much did the Treaty of Versailles limit Germany? Give 2 details.

A
  • Not much, as:
  • they were secretly rearming in Russia
  • foreign ministers worked for changes diplomatically
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16
Q

In what 2 ways did the Treaty of Versailles affect the popularity of the Nazis?

A
  • Opposing it made the Nazis popular automatically
  • They blamed other issues caused by the war on the treaty- such as Germany’s poor economical situation (which had actually been caused by a lack of trade, and then worsened by reparations)
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17
Q

How did the Treaty of Versailles affect Nazi foreign policy?

A
  • The treaty had caused the creation of multiple small states, which then became targets for countries such as the Germany
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18
Q

Why did Hitler decide to expand east?

A
  • He believed the people living there, such as Slavs, were ‘racially inferior’ and that ‘pure Germans’ should live there
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19
Q

What 4 influences did Hitler’s racist beliefs have?

A
  • He believed the Aryan race was superior
  • He wanted to make alliances with countries he believed to be ‘racially acceptable’, such as Britain
  • He only made short-term alliances with ‘racially inferior’ countries such as Russia if it benefitted Germany
  • He believed he would have to go to war in the east as Europe was under threat from Jewry and Bolshevism
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20
Q

How new were Hitler’s racist beliefs?

A
  • Social Darwinism and Lebensraum were already popular (Lebensraum had been created as a concept in 1901)
  • The Kaiser had been antisemitic, and this wasn’t rare in Germany
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21
Q

What were Hitler’s 3 main aims when it came to foreign policy?

A
  • Overturn the Treaty of Versailles
  • Lebensraum
  • Pan-Germanism
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22
Q

What was ‘Lebensraum’, how was it justified, and how did Hitler plan to gain it?

A
  • Living space
  • Hitler claimed Germany needed it to become a world power and for its economic needs
  • From the east
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23
Q

What was Pan-Germanism?

A
  • The idea that all German-speaking people should unite and live in one country
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24
Q

In what 2 ways was Hitler’s foreign policy a continuation of the policies of the authorities before him?

A
  • Weimar also wanted to overturn the Treaty of Versailles
  • Weimar and the Kaiser wanted Germany to be a world power
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25
Q

In what 2 ways was Hitler’s foreign policy different from the policies of the authorities before him?

A
  • Weimar wanted to return to the 1914 borders and wanted colonies, while Hitler wanted to expand beyond the 1914 borders and wasn’t interested in colonies
  • The Kaiser’s government simply wanted to expand; they didn’t care about the ‘racial purity’ of the lands they conquered or their allies
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26
Q

What major events in Nazi foreign policy took place in 1933?

A
  • Germany left the League of Nations and the Disarmament Conference
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27
Q

When did Germany and Poland sign a non-aggression pact?

A
  • January 1934
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28
Q

What happened in Austria in the early 1930s?

A
  • In July 1934, a Putsch by Austrian Nazis failed
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29
Q

When did the Saar have a plebiscite, and what was the result?

A
  • January 1935
  • To return to Germany
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30
Q

When did Germany announce that they had been secretly rearming? What else did Hitler announce?

A
  • March 1935
  • Conscription
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31
Q

When was the Anglo-German Naval Agreement signed? What did it stipulate?

A
  • June 1935
  • Germany could have a navy 35% the size of Britain’s
32
Q

When was the Rhineland remilitarised?

A
  • March 1936
33
Q

What did Hitler expect to happen when he reoccupied the Rhineland? What happened as a result?

A
  • He expected France to do nothing, but he still had prepared his troops to withdraw once the order was given
  • France did nothing, so he became more confident
34
Q

When did Anschluss happen?

A
  • March 1938
35
Q

When did Hitler take over Czechoslovakia?

A
  • October 1938: took over the Sudetenland
  • March 1939: invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia
36
Q

What was surprising about Hitler invading Czechoslovakia?

A
  • At the Munich Conference in September 1938, Hitler agreed his territorial expansion would stop with the Sudetenland
  • When he sent troops into the rest of Czechoslovakia, he was breaking this agreement
37
Q

What had made the invasion of Czechoslovakia easier for Hitler?

A
  • Hitler took advantage of demands of independence within Czechoslovakia to send troops ‘to restore order’
38
Q

When did Germany and Italy sign agreements, and what were they called?

A
  • 1936: Rome-Berlin Axis
  • 1939: Pact of Steel
39
Q

What event started WW2? When did it happen?

A
  • The invasion of Poland in September 1939
40
Q

What important event happened just before the invasion of Poland?

A
  • Germany and the USSR signed a non-aggression pact in August 1939
41
Q

What evidence is there to show that Hitler always intended to go to war? Give 3 examples.

A
  • The Four-Year Plan from 1936
  • The building of tanks
  • The reintroduction of conscription
42
Q

Give 3 reasons why Hitler might have thought he could achieve his aims without going to war.

A
  • Germany could become a world power without going to war
  • France, Yugoslavia and Romania had all signed mutual aid treaties with Czechoslovakia, but did not honour it
  • He believed Britain and France would not fight him over Eastern Europe
43
Q

Why wasn’t it possible for Hitler to achieve his aims without going to war?

A
  • Expansion was impossible without war
44
Q

What were 3 reasons why Hitler would have decided to invade Poland in 1939?

A
  • Poland had what had been German territory, and split East Prussia from the rest of Germany
  • 1 million Germans lived there due to the creation of the Polish Corridor
  • To secure his eastern border in the case of war
45
Q

What were 2 factors that pressured/ encouraged Hitler into invading Poland in 1939?

A
  • Economic problems
  • Britain and France’s inaction over the invasion of Czechoslovakia and Anschluss
46
Q

How did economic problems affect Hitler’s plans? Give 2 details.

A
  • They forced him into acting sooner, as:
  • the economic situation could only be sustained for a few more years, so Germany had no choice but to act then
  • small-scale wars of plunder could be used to support the German economy
47
Q

Describe 2 aspects of Nazi relations with Poland up until 1936.

A
  • 1934: non-aggression pact signed between Poland and Germany
  • From 1935 to 1937 Germany worked to try to make Poland a German satellite through alliances
48
Q

What were 2 reasons why Hitler kept a good relationship with Poland at first?

A
  • In 1934, Hitler needed to consolidate his power in Germany and build up the army before doing anything aggressive
  • He wanted Poland as an ally against the USSR, who he viewed as his biggest enemy
49
Q

How did Poland respond to Hitler’s attempts to make Poland a satellite state? Why?

A
  • They avoided signing an alliance with them as this would turn the USSR against them
  • They tried to maintain a balance between the USSR and Germany so that neither would attack them
50
Q

How strong was Poland as a state? Give 2 events showing this.

A
  • It wasn’t weak, as it:
  • went to war with the USSR in 1920 over land in the Ukraine
  • took Teschen during the German dismemberment of Czechoslovakia in 1938
51
Q

Which countries did Poland have an alliance with, and from when?

A
  • Britain and France in 1939 to guarantee its independence after the invasion of Czechoslovakia
  • Non-aggression pact with the USSR from 1932
52
Q

What were the 2 final steps that encouraged Hitler to invade Poland, when did each happen, and why were they important?

A
  • The Pact of Steel in May 1939
  • Hitler could then rely on Italy’s military
  • The Nazi-Soviet Pact in August 1939
  • In a secret clause, the 2 countries had agreed to invading Poland and splitting it between themselves
53
Q

What was particularly surprising about the signing of the Nazi-Soviet Pact?

A
  • The Nazis and the Soviets were complete ideological enemies
54
Q

What had Hitler ignored when invading Poland?

A
  • The guarantees of independence given by Britain and France
55
Q

What is a possible reason why Hitler could have decided to start a world war with the invasion of Poland?

A
  • Hitler could have been prepared to fight a major war due to the Nazi-Soviet Pact; his eastern border was secure and he would have the support of the Red Army
56
Q

What gives the impression that Hitler had not been intending to start a world war when he invaded Poland?

A
  • He didn’t plan to start a major war until the mid-1940s
  • He wasn’t aware that appeasement had come to an end, and that Britain and France would actually fight against him
57
Q

What body was meant to stop Hitler’s expansion?

A
  • The League of Nations
58
Q

Give 3 reasons why the League of Nations was ineffective.

A
  • Not all nations were members of the League (non-member countries did not work with it)
  • The League was slow to make decisions as they needed the agreement of the vast majority of members to even make economic sanctions, let alone military action
  • It did not have its own army, and had to rely on member countries to supply troops, who were unwilling to do so
59
Q

Give an example of the League being ineffective.

A
  • 1935: the League of Nations imposed partial economic sanctions on Italy for the invasion of Abyssinia, but this didn’t stop Italy
60
Q

What had Britain done that had encouraged Hitler? Who else had this encouraged?

A
  • They followed a policy of appeasement
  • This had also encouraged Italy and Japan to expand
61
Q

How else did Britain enable Germany to go to war?

A
  • Their refusal to make an alliance with the USSR- as they were communist- allowed Hitler to make this alliance instead, and protect his eastern flank
62
Q

What were 6 reasons why Britain was following a policy of appeasement?

A
  • They wanted to avoid war as this would cause issues with their colonies and trade
  • They didn’t want to make more enemies as their empire was already being threatened by Italy and Japan
  • There was unrest and calls for independence in colonies such as India and Egypt
  • There was a reluctance to fight in Britain after WW1
  • A lack of allies
  • They did not have the resources to fight a war on land, so they wanted to buy themselves time
63
Q

Why was Britain lacking in allies?

A
  • The USA was isolationist
  • France was unreliable due to its domestic political weaknesses
  • The Soviet Union was communist
64
Q

What were 3 reasons why Britain didn’t have the resources to fight a war on land?

A
  • The ‘Ten Year Rule’; the belief that there wouldn’t be another war for the next ten years
  • The Great Depression
  • The Dominions had made it clear in 1937 that they would not fight after the losses in WW1
65
Q

How did France behave towards Germany? After what event and why?

A
  • They also followed a policy of appeasement
  • The invasion of the Ruhr in 1923 had been a failure
66
Q

List and explain 4 reasons why France was following a policy of appeasement.

A
  • Political weakness at home; strong communist and fascist parties had developed, and governments were unstable
  • The strength of the army was uncertain; they had lost a quarter of men between 18 and 27 in WW1, and the quality of equipment was variable
  • There were colonial demands for independence
  • They relied on British support, but Britain was an unreliable and self-serving ally (shown by the Anglo-German Naval Agreement)
67
Q

What were relations between Italy and Germany like before 1936? Give an example.

A
  • In 1934 during the attempted Putsch in Austria, Mussolini put troops on the border with Austria, which forced the Austrian Nazis to back down
68
Q

What were relations between Italy and Germany like after 1936? Give 3 details.

A
  • Despite their agreements, they didn’t fully trust each other
  • They kept plans secret, such as Hitler’s plan to invade Poland immediately after he promised not to start a war until 1943 when negotiating the Pact of Steel and the Nazi-Soviet Pact
  • Until France fell in 1940, Hitler was still trying to make an alliance with Britain and switch sides
  • It was only when France was defeated that Italy joined the war as Germany looked like the stronger power
69
Q

Why was the alliance between Italy and Germany not ideal for either of them?

A
  • After the invasion of Abyssinia, Britain and France were no longer willing to trust Mussolini, so he had no choice but to turn to Hitler
  • Germany was aware that Italy was militarily weak
70
Q

In what 4 ways did Italy help Hitler take the steps to war?

A
  • The invasion of Abyssinia provided Mussolini with the distraction he needed to remilitarise the Rhineland
  • Mussolini had shown that the League of Nations would not take military action
  • Mussolini no longer opposed Anschluss by 1938, preventing war from breaking out over this
  • The Western powers did not know how weak Italy was, so they believed Nazi Germany had a strong ally, which encouraged them to continue with their policy of appeasement
71
Q

List 5 issues that determined the USSR’s foreign policy.

A
  • It was isolated by its communist ideology (other countries were reluctant to make alliances with it)
  • It was open to attack from both the east and the west
  • Stalin wanted to buy himself time while he built up the country’s agriculture and industry
  • Stalin tried to make alliances with the Western powers, and while he managed to make some with France, Britain refused
  • In 1938, the USSR was fighting Japan, which made it more likely to ally itself with Germany to avoid a war on two fronts
72
Q

What was the USA’s foreign policy like in the 1920s and 1930s? Describe 2 aspects.

A
  • They were following a policy of isolationism
  • They were disarming
73
Q

List 2 actions that the USA took that encouraged Hitler to act more aggressively.

A
  • The USA was neutral over the invasion of Abyssinia and the Spanish Civil War
  • The USA openly said it would not go to war in Europe and produced a permanent Neutrality Act in 1937
74
Q

Give an example of when the USA didn’t follow its policy of isolationism.

A
  • It intervened in 1938 to try to persuade Hitler to withdraw from Czechoslovakia
75
Q

What alliances did Japan have?

A
  • Anti-Comintern Pact: no alliances with the USSR and consultation over the aid given if attack by the USSR seemed likrly
  • They signed this with Germany in 1936
  • In 1937, Italy joined
76
Q

In what 2 ways did being allied with Japan encourage Hitler?

A
  • Japan was an enemy of the USSR that could fight it from the east
  • Japan could geographically fight the USA in the Far East

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