hitler's foreign policy - CIE IGCSE History

what were Hitler’s aims in 1933?

• to abolish the ToV and leave the League of Nations

• to expand territory to create lebensraum

• to unite German speakers to create Greater Germany

• to defeat communism

• (remilitarise Rhineland, anschluss)

describe Hitler’s aim to abolish the ToV in more detail

• he believed it to be unjust and overly harsh and hated how it had ruined Germany

• it underpinned his other aims

• by the time he came to power, Germany had already stopped making reparations payments

describe Hitler’s aim of expanding territory to create lebensraum in more detail

• wanted to take control of USSR + Eastern Europe to create living space for Germans

• these Germans would come from uniting all German speakers

• this would also make Germany very powerful again - restore militaristic pride

describe Hitler’s aim of uniting all German speakers to create Greater Germany in more detail

• he wanted to regain land taken from Germany in the ToV (which contained Gr speakers)

• he wanted German minorities in other countries and those regions to join Germany

• this included: parts of land given to Poland, Austria, the Sudetenland/Bohemia and Moravia

describe Hitler’s aim of wanting to defeat communism in more detail

• he was anti-communist

• believed that the Bolsheviks wanted to take over Germany

• believed communism was why Germany lost ww1

what restrictions on Germany’s armed forces were placed at the ToV?

• 100,000 troops with no reserves

• 6 battle ships

• 15,000 sailors

• no air force

what had happened in Germany before Hitler was elected?

• rearmament had already begun slowly, and in secret

when was rearmament secret until?

1935

how did Germany’s arms change from 1933 to 1939?

• 3x warships

• 229x planes

• 9.5x soldiers

• 35→38 proportion of spending doubled

what was introduced at a mass rally in 1935?

conscription

what did rearmament and conscription achieve?

• virtually ended unemployement

• helped Germany to overcome the shame of surrender

how did Britain respond to German rearmament?

• sympathetic - thought ToV was too tight

• wanted a strong Germany to protect them from communism

what was the Anglo-German naval pact?

• allowed the German navy to increase to 35% of the size of the British navy

• signed in 1935

when was the Rhineland remilitarised?

1936

what did the ToV order the Rhineland to be?

• a demilitarised zone

• this was accepted by both Germany and France

what were the benefits to Germany of remilitarising the Rhineland?

• meant Germans had more protection against France and could defend their whole border

• meant they had direct connections to countries such as Belgium, Luxembourg

• gave impression Germany was much stronger power

• encouraged military support for Hitler - Germany looked united and strong

how did Britain and France react to the remilitarisation of the Rhineland?

• Br supported - public opinion was that the ToV was far too harsh

• France was scared but an election was in progress and no leader wanted to cause a war

how did the league react to the remilitarisation of the Rhineland?

• was focussed on the Abyssinian crisis so morally condemned Germany but did nothing else

when did Germany intervene in the Spanish Civil war?

1936-39

why was Germany not supposed to be able to intervene in the Spanish Civil War?

was not supposed to have an air force

what did Hitler use the Spanish Civil War as an oppurtunity for?

• to test out the Luftwaffe

• to develop tactics such as Blitzkreigw

what was the section of the German air force that intervened in the Spanish Civil war?

condor legion

which famous attack did Hitler do in the Spanish Civil War?

• bombing of Guernica

• Basque city

• unprovoked - completely destroyed the city

what two sides were there in the Spanish Civil War?

• republican - supporters of Republican government

• Nationalists - right wing - led by General Franco

which side did the USSR support in the SCW?

• republican

• supplied weapons, aircraft, pilots

who did Hitler and Mussolini declare their support for?

General Franco - shared world view - anti-communist and nationalist

what did Britain, France, Germany, and Italy agree?

not to intervene directly in the SCW

in what way did France intervene?

provided some weapons for the republicans

how did Mussolini intervene in the SCW?

• sent thousands of Italian troops

• officially known as volunteers

how did Hitler intervene in the SCW?

sent aircraft and pilots

how did Hitler and Mussolini’s bond develop as a result of the SCW?

• strengthened the bond between them

how did Britain and France react to Hitler’s intervention in the SCW?

• outwardly, did not do anything

• Chamberlain ordered massive increase in spending on Britain’s armed forces, especially the RAF

what did Britain and France’s lack of intervention in Hitler’s intervention in the SCW lead to?

• Hitler now became more confident

• believed that Britain and France would not intervene against him if he took further action against the ToV

What did Germany and Japan sign and when?

They signed the Anti-Comintern pact in 1936 to oppose communism

what was comintern?

• the USSR’s organisation for spreading communism to other countries

what did Italy sign in 1937?

• the Anti-Comintern pact

• this became known as the Rome-Berlin Axis alliance

• worried Britain and France - could not do anything about it

what was the Saar?

• border area between Germany and France

• had been run by the league since 1919

what was promised to the Saar?

a plebiscite to decided whether the Saar region would re-join Germany

why did Hitler not want the Saar plebiscite to take place?

many of his opponents had fled to the Saar

what did the league seize Hitler’s unwillingness to hold a Saar plebiscite as an oppurtunity for?

opportunity to show strength and decisiveness

what did Germany do about the Saar plebiscite?

held a huge propaganda campaign to persuade the Saar people to vote for Germany

what was the outcome of the Saar plebiscite?

• around 90% of the population voted to rejoin Germany

• legal and within terms of the treaty

• this was a morale booster for Hitler

what did Hitler say after the results of the Saar plebiscite?

that he had ‘no further territorial demands to make of France.’

when did the Anschluss with Austria take place?

1938

how did Hitler cause the Anschluss with Austria?

• he encouraged the Austrian Nazi party to cause trouble in Austria

• Hitler then said that only Anschluss could solve the problems

who did the Austrian chancellor appeal to and what was their response?

Britain and France - did nothing

what the Austrian Chancellor after Britain and France refused to offer support?

agreed to hold the plebiscite

how did Hitler react to the plebiscite being called?

• he did not want to risk losing

• so he sent his troops into Austria in March 1938

what reason did Hitler give for sending troops into Austria?

to guarantee a trouble-free plebiscite

what were the results of the Anschluss plebiscite?

99.75% voted for

how did Britain and France respond to the Anschluss?

• did nothing

• Chamberlain felt that the people of Germany and Austria had a right to be united

• Britain increased military spending

how did the Anschluss with Austria benefit Hitler/Germany?

• increased confidence

• increased land and food supply - helped lead Germany towards self-sufficiency

• made Germany more imposing

• military resources increased

• wealth and industry increased - stores of gold and iron ore

when was the sudeten crisis?

1938

what is the Sudetenland?

• an area of Czechoslovakia with 3 million German speakers

what useful things were there in the Sudetenland?

• ammunitions industry - Skoda Arms factory

• forts and military defences

why else did Hitler want to invade the Sudetenland?

wanted it as a part of Greater Germany

who was the leader of Czechoslovakia?

Benes

what did Benes realise after the Anschluss?

he realised that Czechoslovakia would be taken over next

who did Benes seek help from, to protect Cz from Germany?

• Britain and France

• French were bound by a treaty and so said yes

• the British wanted to support the French so also said yes

what did the leader of the Nazi party in Sudetenland do?

• demanded that the Sudetenland should be a part of Germany

what did Hitler assert in May 1938?

• that he intended to fight Czechoslovakia if necessary

• some Historians dispute whether he actually meant this - evidence Germany was not ready for war

how did Europe react to Hitler saying he was prepared for war?

• Cz was prepared to fight also - it had public support and a modern army - it did not want to lose the Sudeten for the same reasons Hitler wanted it

• European countries thought war was imminent and began to prepare

what does Hitler tell Chamberlain on 15th September 1938?

• he only wants a part of the Sudetenland

• only if a plebiscite showed that the citizens were okay with this

• Chamberlain agrees

what does Chamberlain about Hitler’s original requests?

• tells Cz and say to appease Hitler

what does Hitler say on the 22nd September 1938?

• his original terms were not enough

• he needs all of the Sudetenland

• says that the Czechs were mistreating the Germans and that if needed he would ‘rescue’ them on the 1st Oct

what happened on the 29th September 1938?

• the Munich meeting was held which led to the Munich agreement

which countries were present at the Munich agreement?

• Britain

• France

• Germany

• Italy

• NOT Czechoslovakia or USSR

what was agreed at the Munich meeting?

• the Munich agreement

• agreed to give Hitler the Sudetenland without consulting Czechoslovakia

what was appeasement?

• 1936 policy effectively letting Hitler break the ToV

• because Britain and France were not prepared to defend it as they wanted to avoid war

• supported by majority of UK politicians and public

• Churchill major critic

what were the reasons for appeasement?

• fear of communism

• memories of WW1

• German arms

• USA - lack of support

• British empire

• British arms

• Treaty of Versailles opinions

• economic problems

explain the reason ‘fear of communism’ in more detail

• Britain and France were more concerned about this than Hitler

• saw Hitler as a protective force against communism - wanted Germany to be strong

explain the reason ‘memories of WW1’ in more detail

• both leaders and much of their population remembered the atrocities of WW1

• wanted to avoid another war

• especially Chamberlain - suffered personal losses

explain the reason ‘German arms’ in more detail

• Germany was rearming quickly

• better armed than Britain or France

• did not want to risk war as they would have the lower hand

explain the reason ‘USA - lack of support’ in more detail

• the USA had a policy of Isolationism

• Britain needed the USA to win WW1

• if the USA do not get involved there is a high chance that Britain will lose the war - thus avoid starting wra

explain the reason ‘British empire’ in more detail

• Britain needed the support of all other countries in the commonwealth to fight against Germany

• busy in Asia protecting colonies against Japan (Manchuria)

explain the reason ‘British arms’ in more detail

• Britain far behind Germany in arms race

• wanted to avoid war as likely it would lose

explain the reason ‘Treaty of Versailles’ in more detail

• many felt the terms were too strict

• felt some of Hitler’s demands were not unreasonable

• hoped if these wrongs were righted Germany would become peaceful

explain the reason ‘economic problems’ in more detail

• Britain had debt from WW1 and was barely recovering from the Great Depression

• could not afford another war

when was Czechoslovakia invaded?

March 1939

how was Czechoslovakia invaded?

• troops marched into Czechoslovakia and took over remaining territories - notably Bohemia and Moravia

what did Hitler’s invasion of Czechoslovakia show?

• Hitler was untrustworthy

• Hitler was not just interested in Greater Germany

what did Britain and France decide was to happen after Hitler invaded Czechoslovakia?

• that it was the end of appeasement

• told Hitler that if he invaded Poland war would be declared

how did Hitler react to Britain and France’s conditional sort of declaration of war?

• did not believe it due to the lasting effects of the years-long appeasement policy

why did Britain and France end the policy of appeasement/ally with Poland?

• to try and stop Hitler invading to avoid another war

• revenge as Hitler had betrayed Chamberlain

• Poland looked like the most likely target wn

why did Britain and France not ally with the USSR?

• USSR is communist

• they were scared that communism will spread

• they didn’t want Germany to feel threatened

• Germany was a good barrier against communism

why did the Soviet union feel vulnerable?

• knew they had no support from Britain and France

• knew Hitler was most likely looking to invade the USSR after Poland

• had no allies

when was the Nazi-Soviet pact signed?

August 1939

what did the Nazi-Soviet pact entail?

• allowed Hitler to have half of Poland - Hitler did not intend to stick to this

• allowed Stalin to have a part of Poland - territory that had once been a part of Russia

• Nazis would not invade USSR and vice-versa

• Poland agreement is secret

why did Hitler want to sign the N-S pact/invade Poland?

• Poland: would help him achieve his aim of taking back land taken in the ToV - polish corridor, East Prussia; create lebensraum

• ensured Hitler would not face a war on two fronts if he invaded Poland

why did Stalin sign the Nazi-Soviet pact?

• felt vulnerable as had no support from Britain and France

• knew Hitler would not stick to it but it gave him time to build up his armed forces to protect the USSR- knew Germany would invade

• gave him temporary support - unconfident Britain and France could protect against Hitler

when does Hitler invade poland?

1st September 1939

how do Britain and France react to Hitler’s invasion of Poland?

• demand withdrawal or they will declare war

• due to appeasement, Hitler thinks this is an empty threat

• on the 3rd of September Britain and France declare war