IB History German Expansion

Impact of WW1

had tem germany into the first world war expecting it to be short. However it was lengthen with the Failure of the Schliefler plan and eneded up in a war of attrition

• Germany had lostmost of its

Armistice November 1918

Kaiser Wilhelm abdicated, and New German Socialist Governement signed the peace treaty

• germans thought they were winning and quite shocked

Dolchstosslegende

“stab in the back theory” which blamed the socialist of new government for agreeing to armstice just when Germany woud have won.

Hitlers Foreign Policies

• embraced the ideas that the treaty of versailles was a dikat imposed on Germany w/ no consultants and that it had been signed by the november criminals

Novemeber Criminals

A group of people composed mainly of socialists, democrats and Catholics were found to be openly supporting the Weimar republic and were considered the November Criminals. The November criminals were the group of people who were thought to be responsible for signing the treaty of Versailles.

Gross Deutschland

meaning “Greater Germany" and refers to the concept of a unified German state that includes Austria, a term primarily used in the 19th century during discussions about German unification, with the idea being coined around the mid-19th century during the period of German unification debates; the Nazi regime later adopted the term informally after annexing Austria in 1938, using it to describe their vision of a larger German empire. 

Race and Living Space (1921 to 1925)

argued that the aryan race was superior (linked to social darwinism)

and then said that they would need living space or lebensraum. Which would come for the far east as the Ural mountains —> dispossessing of slavs, russians, ukrainians, Poles and other inferior races

—> through this expansionism they would then achienve —> third reich

Third reich

a term created by hitler in 1920s to describe 1000 year empire he wanted to create drawing inspiriation from the First Reich (roman empire in 1806)

Anti-semetic views

believed the jews would create a national r

natural enemeies and allies

hated russians because of jews and hated jews

• french was a natural enemy because of events in WW1 anf how it drey up the treaty of Versaille

• Hitler admired Italy and Mussolini because of ideological similarities

Weimar republic

had yeas of poltical unres and crisis w/ challenges from left and right

1919 January Spartacist Uprising

• The uprising began when 100,000 workers went on strike and demonstrated in Berlin

• The Spartacists took over the demonstration

• The Spartacists seized newspaper and communication buildings

• Demonstrators armed themselves

• The army and Freikorps volunteer militias put down the uprising by force

• The Spartacist leaders, Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, were murdered

Poltical Assasinations 1919 to 1922

• total 376 political assinations

• 354 right wing assinationation

• 326 left wing assinations

Dawes Plan September 1923

US halted German repayaments for teo years and set up loans for German

Great Depression 1930s

Weimar republic was greatly dependent on US Stability. Wall street crash of 1929 impacted Germany

• umployment 2.8 million in 1929 to. 5 mill in Feb 1931 and 6 million in 1932

• Hitler blamed the novrmber criminals

AJP Taylor on Hitlers Foreign policy

• did not have a clear plan and his actions were reactionary to economic pressures and demands from the Nazi Party + seized opportunity presented to him

Fritz Fischer on Continuity

• hitlers aims are similar to Kaiser Wilhel II in WW1 —> hegemony over Europe

January 1933

Hitler becomes chancellor

October 1933

Germany left the League of Nations and began rearmament.

• was to reduce unemployement and also help with the economy

Reich Labor Service 1935

a major paramilitary organization established in germany to mitigate effects of unemployement and give youn men jobs in infrastructure and arms production

Four Year Plan (1936)

to re-orientate the German economy towards rearmament and preparing for war. On the 18 October 1936, Hermann Göring was made Commissioner of the Four Year Plan, with ultimate authority to oversee its implementation. Also to achieve autaurkey (selfs-sufficehcy_ through the military industrial complex

January 1934 Non Aggression Pact

which meant Poland wouldn't interfere if Germany moved against Austria or Czechoslovakia.

Saar Plebisicite January 1935

The Saar Plebiscite of January 1935 was a referendum held in the Saar territory where over 90% of voters chose to rejoin Germany,

March 1936 Stressa Agreement

The Stresa Front was an agreement between Britain, France, and Italy in 1935 to resist Germany's rearmament. The agreement was signed in response to Germany's violation of the Treaty of Versailles.

March 1936 Germnay Remilitarizes the Rhineland

• Hitler ordered the German Army, the Wehrmacht, to march into the Rhineland 

• Hitler gambled that the Western powers would not intervene 

• Hitler ordered the Wehrmacht to retreat if France responded by deploying their military 

Why it happened 

• Hitler resented the 1935 treaty of friendship and mutual support between France and the USSR

• Hitler believed that the Rhineland could be used by France to invade Germany

What it led to 

• The remilitarization of the Rhineland was Hitler's first military action

• It encouraged Hitler to break other international agreements

• It increased his popularity in Germany

• It threw European allies, especially France and Britain, into confusion

June 1935 Anglo German Agreement

The Anglo-German Naval Agreement was signed on June 18, 1935, between the United Kingdom and Germany. The agreement allowed the German navy to grow to 35% of the size of the British navy.

Hossbach Memorandum

the Hossbach Memorandum is a summary of a secret meeting between Adolf Hitler and his top military and political leaders in Berlin on November 5, 1937. The memorandum is often used as evidence of Hitler's plans for war. 

Key points of the memorandum

• Hitler stated that the time for a war for Lebensraum (living space) was near 

• Austria and Czechoslovakia were the primary targets for this war 

• The war would ideally take place between 1943-45 

• Hitler did not want war with Britain and France in 1939 

• He favored small wars of plunder to support Germany's struggling economy 

Anschluss with Austria (12 March 1938)

German troops marched into Austria unopposed. Hitler now had control of Austria. A month later, Hitler held a rigged referendum. The results showed that the Austrian people approved of German control of their country.

• Chamberlain through this was a domestic issue

• Biritain and france did nothing

AUstria Resources

• had iron and ore

• seized reserve banks of 78 tons of gold

Sudentenland Crusus (1938)

as a series of events that led to the annexation of the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia by Nazi Germany. The crisis was a result of Hitler's demand for the Sudetenland, which was home to many ethnic Germans. 

How it started

• In February 1938, Hitler demanded self-determination for all Germans in Czechoslovakia. 

• In May 1938, the Czech government mobilized its army in anticipation of an invasion. 

• In September 1938, the leaders of Britain, France, Germany, and Italy met in Munich to discuss the crisis. 

• The Munich Agreement was signed, giving the Sudetenland to Germany. 

How it ended

• In March 1939, Hitler broke his promises and invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia. 

• The Czechs referred to the Munich Agreement as the Munich betrayal. 

Munich Argeement Sept 1938

The agreement allowed Nazi Germany to annex the Sudetenland, a border region of Czechoslovakia.

Chamberlain “peace for our time

March 1939 Hitler invades Czcecholovakia

Germany invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia, violating previous agreements.

Pact of Steel (May 1939)

formally known as the Pact of Friendship and Alliance between Germany and Italy was a military and political alliance between Italy and Germany, signed in 1939. The pact was initially drafted as a tripartite military alliance between Japan, Italy and Germany

Nazi-Soviet Pact (August 1939):

a non-aggression agreement signed in August 1939 by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. The pact allowed the two countries to divide eastern Europe and not attack each other for 10 years.

September 1939:

Germany invaded Poland, triggering WWII​

• Britain and France declared war but failed to launch significant military operations (Phoney War).

• In 1940, Germany launched the Blitzkrieg, conquering Denmark, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, and France.

• Britain remained the only major power actively resisting Germany, leading to the Battle of Britain later that year​

Battle of Britain

a major air campaign in World War II that took place from July to October 1940. The Royal Air Force (RAF) defended the United Kingdom against Nazi Germany's Luftwaffe.