Interpretations - Influence of German history on foreign policy

How was H's ideology inspired by problems from WW1?

- war propaganda meant people had expected a victory ∆ 1918 defeat more shocking
- ToV seen as a 'dictated peace' - H's policies challenged this

What do some historians argue against the 'Carthaginian' peace idea?

- punitive treaties were common
- Germ imposed far harsher on Russians 1917 Brest-Litovsk
- took 62mil Russians (1/6th population)
- took 74% iron + coal reserves
- took 27% farm land

How can the general feeling of a 'Carthaginian' peace be evidenced?

The daily newspaper the 'Deutsche Zeitung' called for 'Vengeance German Nation!'

How could the ToV be seen as not harsh enough?

- redrawn map of Europe dismantled Austro-Hungarian + Turkish empires into smaller, more vulnerable states ∆ easier to invade
- France wanted Germ as a bulwark to Russia ∆ didn't completely dismantle
- Germ had strong econ. potential ∆ if they had produced careful economic policies they could afford reparations
- Allies did not adhere to it strictly enough, emboldening H

Why couldn't Germany afford reparations?

govt. unwilling to make hard financial decisions such as cut costs/raise taxes (but like, fair enough)

What aspects of H's foreign policy could be seen as stemming from the ToV?

- Germ withdrew from 1933 disarmament conference
- 1935 Saar Referendum
- 1936 Remilitarisation of the Rhineland
- 1938 Anschluss
- 1939 Czechoslovakia
- 1939 Poland

How does the German withdrawal from the 1933 Disarmament conference show impact of ToV on Hitler's foreign policy?

- subsequently left LoN
- shows disengagement from Western alliance - refusal to co-operate
- Refusal to engage with disarmament (not allowed an army)

How does the Saar referendum 1935 show impact of ToV on Hitler's foreign policy?

- people in Saar region could vote to reunify w/ Germ
- Directly opposing Germany to the LoN
- ToV had given the region to France
- Nazis used combination of intimidation + violence to ensure >90% vote for return to Reich

How does the 1936 remilitarisation of Rhineland show impact of ToV on Hitler's foreign policy?

- H sent for 20,000 troops to Rhineland March 1939
- using principle of self-determination (laid out in ToV) to legitimise demands
- ToV called for disarmament + to keep Rhineland undefended

How does 1938 Anschluss show impact of ToV on Hitler's foreign policy?

- Expansionism had been banned in ToV
- also rationalised by self-determination
- hard for allies to oppose as they used principle of self-determination when drawing up ToV

How does the 1939 invasion of Czechoslovakia show impact of ToV on Hitler's foreign policy?

- Anschluss + remilitarisation banned in ToV
- represented direct military challenge to border set up after WW1 as Czechoslovakia itself was created after 1919

How does the 1939 invasion of Poland show impact of ToV on Hitler's foreign policy?

- goes against borders of ToV (Poland created in ToV)
- expansionism banned in ToV
- driven by desire to remove Polish corridor

What pre-existing ideologies could have had an impact on Hitler's foreign policy?

- Racism + social darwinism
- Anti-semitism
- Policies of prev. German leaders

Example of pre-existing belief in social Darwinism?

- encouraged by the expansionism/empire as more races colonised
- Ernst Haeckel placed humans into a hierarchy with caucasians at the top
- Ratzel = German geographer who argued a nation's geographic expansion was determined by its racial vivacity

What was the Herero uprising?

- 1904
- local tribes in German south-west Africa revolted against colonial rule
- uprising was brutally repressed - forced into concentration camps
- of 80,000 population, 16,363 remained
- 1/3 of children born in the camps were result of rape

What policy is it likely Herero influenced?

Ghettos in Poland 1939

What policy is it likely Ratzel influenced?

Anschluss 1938 - encouraged expansionism

What pre-existing ideologies show belief in Aryan race?

- Gobineau made term 'Aryan' one with racial connotations
- Ploetz argued for the defence of the purity of Aryan peoples in 1895 book 'The foundations of racial hygiene'

How can pre-existing anti-semitism be evidenced?

- Kaiser Wil II wrote to a friend "Jews and mosquitos... are a nuisance that humanity must get rid of some way or another. I believe the best would be gas?'
- Houston Stewart Chamberlain; 1910 book 'the Foundation of the Nineteenth Century' placed Jews at odds with 'heroic' German people

What did Wilhelm's anti-semitic words likely lead to?

- the want to invade Poland 1939 to eliminate Jewish threat
- est. of ghettos - 'best would be gas'

When was Hitler born, under which system of govt.?

1889 under the Kaiserreich ∆ likely drew a lot of influence from their policies

What were some previous policies of German leaders?

- Bernhard von Bulow (German foreign minister + chancellor) advocated Weltpolitik dedicated to creation of Germ. empire
- new RW pressure groups e.g. Pan-Germanic league and Naval league emerged 1890s in favour of expansionist colonial policy - this sentiment later adopted by H
- the treatment of the Herero uprising

In what ways could it be argued that WW1 impacted Hitler's foreign policy?

- ideology + propaganda inspired by problems from WW1 - exploiting discontent w/ ToV
- "injustice" of ToV - war guilt + econ impact
- It actually wasn't harsh enough - typical to have punitive peace settlements + allowed H's expansionism

How did RW opposition to ToV help H?

- army revered in Germany ∆ power was above legal limits of constitution - extra-constitutional power above Kaiser Wilhelm II 'state within a state'
- H enraged by 1918 surrender + spread 'stab in back' + 'november criminals'
∆ army/nationalists supported H and blamed democracy itself for defeat - felt need for a 'strong man' leader

What did the Germans believe the ToV was based on when signing?

Woodrow Wilson's 'Fourteen points' proposing peace based on international justice through a new organisation (LoN)

What was the ToV actually based on?

war guilt - Article 231 - Germ + its allies accepted responsibility

What was the impact of the ToV in Germ?

LW had no choice but to sign ToV June 1919 but appeared unpatriotic - exacerbated by RW propaganda of ToV being enforced by 'diktat' of unpatriotic leaders

What did contemporaries believe the ToV was?

- A 'Carthaginian' peace - overly harsh
- regardless of if it was or not, H was able to utilise this general feeling