The influence of German history on Nazi foreign policy

Question 1

What are 2 German empires that existed before the Third Reich?

Answer 1

1. The First Reich (AD 800 to1806)
2. The Second Reich (AD 1871 to 1918)

Question 2

Who was the first leader of the Second Reich?

Answer 2

Otto von Bismarck (1871-1890)

Question 3

What were the 2 foreign policies of the First and Second Reich?

Answer 3

1. Territorial expansion through war and military strength
2. Diplomacy with other nations and forming alliances (e.g. the Triple Alliance with Austria-Hungary and Italy in 1882)

Question 4

Why did Hitler call the Nazi regime ‘the Third Reich’? (2 reasons)

Answer 4

1. He believed that his foreign policy continued the work of previous German empires
2. He celebrated the triumphs of the First and Second Reichs, and wanted to make Germany as powerful as they had e.g. he positioned himself next to previous leaders in Nazi propaganda.

Question 5

When did Germany and the Allies sign the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 5

28 June 1919

Question 6

How many Germans lived outside of German borders after the territorial loss that came with the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 6

6.4 million

Question 7

What happened to the German military after the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 7

It was significantly reduced to have a maximum of 100,000 soldiers, no air force or submarines, 6 battleships.

Question 8

After the ToV which area became a demilitarised “buffer zone” between Germany and France?

Answer 8

The Rhineland

Question 9

How did Stresemann deal with the terms of the ToV?

Answer 9

He negotiated the Dawes Plan (1924) and Young Plan (1929) which made reparation payments more manageable.

Question 10

How did Stresemann go against the military terms of the ToV?

Answer 10

He made secret rearmament agreements with the USSR. A German tank-training school was set up in 1926 and German tanks were being built and tested in Russia by 1928.

Question 11

What agreement was made about the Rhineland in 1930?

Answer 11

The Allies withdrew their troops (5 years earlier than planned).

Question 12

What was the KWIA?

Answer 12

The Kaiser Wilhelm Institute of Anthropology, Human Heredity and Eugenics set up in 1927

Question 13

Who was the director of the KWIA, and what did he believe in?

Answer 13

Eugen Fisher: He supported eugenics controlling human reproduction to improve the genetic quality of humans. Hitler used Fischer’s work to support his ideas of a racially pure and superior Aryan society.

Question 14

Until what year did Hitler keep Weimar foreign policy office officials in place?

Answer 14

1938

Question 15

How did Hitler overturn the work of Stresemann?

Answer 15

He withdrew Germany from the League of Nations in 1934, which Stresemann had negotiated in 1926.