KQ3- How Far Was Hitler’s Foreign Policy To Blame For The Outbreak Of War In Europle In 1939? Flashcards
What were Hitler’s main foreign policy plans?
- Abolish the Treaty Of Versailles: Constant reminder of German humiliation that had been signed by the ‘November Criminals’
- Expand German territory- regain territory lost in 1919; unite with Austria, re-absorb German- speaking minorities
- Lebensraum- carve out an empire in Eastern Europe for extra living space for expanding German population
- Defeat communism- hitler believed bolsheviks had helped defeat Germany in ww1 because they wanted to take over Germany
- Push luck to see what he could get away with
Measures Hitler took to achieve German re-armament?
- began in secret
- 1934 LoN disarmament conference collapsed
- 1935 Hitler staged rally celebrating German forces
- 1935 Anglo- German naval agreement- Germany builds up naval strength to 35% of Royal Navy
-1936 conscription re-introduced - Unemployed workers drafted into the army
- Armaments spending increases from 7.4% in 1935 - 23% in 1939
- 30 warships in 1932 to 95 warships in 1939
- 36 military aircraft in 1932 increased to 82 in 1939
- 100,000 soldiers in 1932 to 950,000 in 1939
Why was Hitler able to get away with re-armament?
- Began in secret
- many other countries were using re-armament to tackle unemployment
- collapse of LoN disarmament conference in 1934 suggested other countries weren’t serious about disarmament, so why should Germany be?
- Britain had sympathy for Germany when it claimed that the disarmament clauses of ToV had been too harsh
- Military strong Germany would be a buffer against communist threat from USSR
What were the main developments in Hitlers expansionist foreign policy?
- 1935 Saar plebiscite- 90% voted it return to Germany after being ruled by Loan (France) for 15 years (boost to Hitlers prestige)
- 1936 remilitarisation of the Rhineland- France signed treaty with USSR to protect eachother against Germany, Hitler said he was under threat and should he allowed to place troops on his own frontier. League issued a condemnation but no more.
1938 The Anschluss with Austria- easier to do because Hitler and Mussolini were allies. ( Mussolini had prevented it in 1934). Chamberlain thought it should be allowed. Hitler used the Austrian Nazi party to stir trouble and claimed only the Anschluss could solve it . German troops marched in in March to guarantee and plebiscite 99.75% Germans and Austrians voted for
-1938 Sudetenland- Konrad Henlein (Nazi leader in Sudetenland) demanded to be part of Germany, Hitler said Germans in Sudetenland were being mistreated by Czechs and was prepared to fight for Sudetenland. International tensions rised, at Munich agreed that Germany would have the Sudetenland (appeasement)
- 1939 invade rest of Czechoslovakia- no one stopped Hitler but warned him if he invaded Poland they would declare war (appeasement over)
- 1939- invasion of Poland - by the Nazi- soviet pact they agreed to divide Poland between them, 1st September 1939. 2nd September Britain and France declared war on Germany
How significant was German involvement in the Spanish Civil War 1936-1939?
- opportunity for Hitler to fight against communists by sending German assistants to General Franco’s right wing rebels
- gave Hitler opportunity to try out his new armed forces in combat conditions
- Gave Hitler something in common with Mussolini who was also involved
Significance of the Anti- Comintern Pact 1936-37?
- Hitler and Mussolini realised they had much in common with the military dictatorship in Japan
-1936 Germany and Japan signed the Anti- Comintern pact
- 1937 Italy signed the pact- Axis Alliance
- aim of the pact was to limit influence of communism around the world aimed at USSR
Why did Britain and France follow a policy of appeasement in the 1930s?
Communism - admired Hitler standing up to communism. more worried about Stalin towards world peace. Thought that Germany could be a strong buffer against communism
The British Empire- Not certain that British Empire and commonwealth would support war and against Germany
- The Great War- Britain and France desperate to avoid another world war
- The USA - American leaders determined to not get involved , Britain and France reluctant to fight without support of USA
- Versailles- many felt the treaty was unfair and once it was sorted Germany would be a peaceful nation again
- Economic problems- still suffering from Great Depression and Britain and France thought they should be focusing on that rather than tackling Hitler
What criticisms can be made about the policy of Appeasement?
- Encouraged hitler to be aggressive each gamble he got away with encouraged him to take further risks
- Put to much faith in Hitlers promises- mistaken belief that he was trustworthy
- Allowed Germany to become too strong, militarily more powerful than Britain and France
- alarmed USSR- by sending a message that France and a Britain’s would not stand in the way of Hitlers plans to expand eastward thus contributing to the Nazi- Soviet pact
In what ways can appeasement be regarded as the right policy?
- Supporters of Chamberlin said it was his only option
- standing up to Hitler meant war with Germany- Britain was not ready for this
- British armed forces were badly equipped and fallen behind the Germans
- appeasement bought time for rearmament of Britain
- public opinion was in favour of appeasement
- USA against standing up to Hitler
Why did Hitler and Stalin sign the Nazi- Soviet Pact in 1939?
- USSR had joined LoN in 1934 hoping it would guarantee security against Germany but the Abyssinian Crisis demonstrated the powerlessness of the League
- Stalin saw that Britain and France had not resisted German rearmament and some welcomed a stronger Germany as a force to fight communism
- The Munich agreement increased Stalin’s fears he was not consulted and thought it demonstrated Britain and Francis powerlessness to stop Hitler or maybe even that they wanted Hitler to take over Eastern Europe and Russia
- Britain, France and Russia entered negotiations in 1939 but Chamberlain would not commit Britain to an alliance. Stalin was snubbed.
- France and Britain guaranteed to help Poland if it was invaded -Stalin interpreted this as support for one of the USSR‘s enemies
-Stalin had designs on large areas of Poland and wanted to take over the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) which he knew he could not do if he had to fight Germany.
-Stalin did not believe that Hitler would stick to the Pact forever but knew it would give him time to build up Soviet forces against the German attack when it eventually came.
