How far was Hitler's foreign policy to blame for the outbreak of war in 1939?

Question 1

Introduction:

Answer 1

When Hitler became Chancellor of Germany in January 1933, he had one overriding foreign policy objective: he wanted to make Germany great again. This could be achieved by pursuing a number of secondary objectives

Question 2

Destroy the Treaty of Versailles:

Answer 2

• The disarmament clauses would be broken by introducing conscription and by building up the army, navy, and air force
• Germany’s western frontier would be secured by remilitarising and refortitying the Rhineland
• Lost territory would be regained

Question 3

Create a Greater Germany:

Answer 3

• All German-speaking peoples would be brought into the Reich
• The frontiers of Germany would be extended to cover those areas where the population was predominantly German. This might include Austria and parts of Czechoslovakia and Poland

Question 4

Destroy communism:

Answer 4

• Germany would be drawn into conflict with Soviet Russia

Question 5

Acquire lebensraum or “living space”:

Answer 5

• Hitler thought that it was the entitlement of all Germans to have “living space”
• This meant more land for their recreation and cultivation
• Lebensraum implied expansion eastwards at the expense of Poland and Soviet Russia

Question 6

Build up a central European empire:

Answer 6

• Once Hitler had achieved all this he would be master of a new central European empire, the most powerful state in Europe, if not the world

Question 7

Hitler’s future plans

Answer 7

Whether Hitler’s ambition would have been satisfied once he had achieved these objectives is open to debate. Possibly he would have wanted to have France as a client state (a state that is effectively controlled or under the influence of another. The form of control or influence might be political, economic, or military) and so extend the range of German domination from the Urals to the Atlantic. Hitler was a man with a grand vision for Germany