Comprehensive Study Guide: Nazi Foreign Policy and the Origins of WWII

Chronology of German Foreign Policy (1933–1939)

• 1933: Withdrawal from the League of Nations     * Germany officially left the League of Nations and the Disarmament Conference.     * Reasoning: Hitler argued it was unfair that France refused to disarm while Germany remained restricted under the Treaty of Versailles.     * Context: The League was inextricably linked to Germany's defeat in WWI; by leaving, Hitler rejected international oversight.

• 1934: Non-Aggression Pact with Poland     * Established temporary peaceful relations with Poland to secure Germany's eastern border during early rearmament.

• 1935: Reintroduction of Military Power     * Saar Plebiscite: In a region under League of Nations control, over $90\%$ voted to rejoin Germany, boosting Hitler’s popularity and weakening the Treaty of Versailles peacefully.     * Rearmament: Hitler announced the reintroduction of conscription and the creation of the Luftwaffe (Air Force), openly defying Versailles.     * Anglo-German Naval Agreement: Allowed Germany to build a navy up to $35\%$ of British naval strength. This followed the UK "playbook" of managing powers through agreement.

• 1936: Escalation and Alliances     * Remilitarization of the Rhineland (March): German troops entered the demilitarized zone. No one stopped Hitler; British Foreign Secretary Cooper noted the British people did not care about Germany occupying its own territory.     * Rome-Berlin Axis: Formalized the alliance with Fascist Italy.     * Anti-Comintern Pact: Signed between Germany and Italy (later joined by Japan) to oppose the spread of Communism and the Soviet Union.

• 1937: Spanish Civil War     * Germany intervened to support Franco's nationalists.

• 1938: Expansionism     * Anschluss (March): Annexation of Austria.     * Sudetenland Crisis (September): Demand for Czechoslovak territory inhabited by ethnic Germans, leading to the Munich Agreement.

• 1939: The Outbreak of War     * Occupation of Czechoslovakia (March): Hitler seized the remainder of the state, breaking the Munich Agreement.     * Polish Guarantee (March): UK and France guaranteed Polish independence.     * Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact (August 23): Secret plan to partition Poland.     * Invasion of Poland (September): Official start of World War II.

The Sudetenland Crisis and the Munich Agreement (1938)

• The Conflict: Adolf Hitler claimed $3,000,000$ ethnic Germans in the Sudetenland (Czechoslovakia) were being mistreated. He used this as a pretext to demand the territory be handed to the Reich.

• The Agreement: Reached on 30 September 1938, by Nazi Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy.     * Provided for the annexation of the Sudetenland by Germany.

• International Perception:     * In the West, it was presented as a measure to ensure "peace for our time."     * In Czechoslovakia, it is known as the "Munich Betrayal" (Czech: Mnichovská zrada; Slovak: Mníchovská zrada).     * Czechoslovakia felt abandoned because of a 1924 alliance agreement and a 1925 military pact with France.

• Strategic Pivot: 1939 marked the point where Hitler’s policy shifted from "reversing Versailles" to overt, aggressive expansion into Poland and the rest of Czechoslovakia.

The Hossbach Memorandum (November 1937)

• Nature of the Conference: A secret meeting between Hitler and his military/foreign policy leadership.

• Hitler's Goals at the Meeting:     * To pressure aristocratic Generals to accept long-term goals.     * To test their loyalty.     * The only high-ranking Nazis present were Hitler and Goering (Head of the Air Force); Himmler was absent.

• Key Arguments and Scenarios:     1. Case 1: Constant rearmament by the rest of the world means Germany must act while it still has a narrow lead.     2. Case 2: If France develops a domestic crisis, Germany should act against Czechoslovakia immediately.     3. Case 3: If France is involved in a war with another state, Germany should seize Austria and Czechoslovakia.

• Strategic Needs:     * Lebensraum: Necessary for self-sufficiency and to stop threats to Germany’s flank.     * Timeline: Action must be taken by 1943–1945 because the Wehrmacht is aging and the birth rate is dropping ($declining \, birthrate$).     * Tactics: Emphasis on surprise and secret weapons, including U-boats.

The Anschluss with Austria (March 1938)

• Factors Against Anschluss:     * Many Austrians feared the Nazis; Austrian Hitler-opponent Chancellor Dollfuss had been murdered by Nazis in a 1934 coup attempt.     * The 1934 Nazi coup attempt in Austria had failed.

• Reasons for Success in 1938:     * Agitation by Austrian Nazis.     * Austrian Chancellor (Schuschnigg) confronted Hitler to get Nazis to back down; Hitler called him a "traitor to his blood."     * Chancellor called for a referendum on independence, forcing Hitler to act quickly before the vote.     * Mussolini (Italy) did not oppose the move this time (unlike in 1934).     * Hitler decided on a full annexation (Anschluss) rather than a puppet government because there was no opposition.

The Policy of Appeasement

• Definition: Addressing legitimate grievances through orderly change and agreement to settle disputes peacefully.

• The British "Playbook" and Rationale:     1. Minimize engagement with Europe.     2. Deal with whatever government is necessary.     3. Make acceptable concessions that do not harm UK interests.     4. Establish concrete commitments/threats (though UK lacked the strength to back these up early on).     5. Conservation of military strength: A global empire faced threats from Japan (Southeast Asia), Italy (Egypt), and the Soviets (India). Getting involved in Europe would leave the Empire vulnerable.

• Defense of Appeasement (The "Myth-Breaking" Perspective):     * Cost of War: Memories of WWI were fresh. $6\% - 11\%$ of British men had died in the Great War.     * Economic Impact: The Great Depression meant the Treasury could not afford a massive war.     * Public Opinion: In 1933, the Oxford Union voted $275:153$ for the motion: "This House will under no circumstances fight for King and Country."     * Lack of Allies: The USA was isolationist; Britain stood alone in Europe.     * Military Readiness: The War Office believed Britain could not win in the mid-30s.

• Appeasement as a Success:     * Bought time for rearmament.     * RAF growth: From $800$ aircraft in 1934 to $3,700$ in 1939 (a $4.6 \times$ increase).     * The delay allowed for the development of the Radar system, which was crucial for the Battle of Britain.

The Stresa Front and Italy's Shift

• The Stresa Front (1935): Formed by Britain, France, and Italy to oppose German rearmament.

• French Position: Paranoid and strategically dependent on the UK.

• Mussolini’s Motivation: Feared that Anschluss would lead to Germany reclaiming the South Tyrol region of Italy.

• Collapse of the Front:     * Italy mistook the UK and France's silence for a "green light" to invade Abyssinia.     * The subsequent condemnation by the UK/France made Mussolini feel betrayed.     * Result: Mussolini shifted toward an alliance with Hitler.

The Spanish Civil War (1936–1939)

• The Conflict: Royalists vs. Leftists.

• German Involvement: Hitler used Spain as a testing ground for the Luftwaffe and the new strategy of "Blitzkrieg."     * General Franco was flown from Morocco to Spain by the Luftwaffe.     * Guernica: Used to practice dive bombing and carpet bombing, causing mass deaths.

• Outcome: Helped Hitler gain a fascist ally and practical combat data.

Soviet Foreign Policy and the Nazi-Soviet Pact

• Stalin's Goals:     * Dictator who "thinks like an Emperor."     * Protect the three main cities: Leningrad, Moscow, and Stalingrad.     * Need for a "buffer zone" against the Great European Plain (Russia had been invaded twice in $100 \, years$ by Napoleon and Germany).

• Stalin’s Failed Outreach to the West:     1. 1934: Soviet Union joined the League of Nations.     2. 1935: Speech at Communist International in favor of collective security.     3. Appointment of Maxim Litvinov (a Jew with ties to the West via his wife, a daughter of an Oxford history don) as Foreign Secretary.     4. The UK and France ignored these overtures due to ideological differences.

• The Great Mistake: Britain and France pushed away both Italy and Russia.

• The Nazi-Soviet Pact (23 August 1939):     * A non-aggression pact between two diplomatically isolated states.     * Secret Protocol: Partitioned Poland in half and gave Russia a buffer zone.     * Stalin replaced the Jewish Litvinov with Molotov to facilitate a deal with the Nazis.     * The "Fourth Partition of Poland": The Russian deputy foreign minister told the French Ambassador: "My friend, what have you done! We see no other outcome than the 4th partition of Poland."

The Failure of British Diplomacy in 1939

• Miscalculations: Chamberlain assumed the USSR and Nazis could never work together because of ideology. He also assumed Hitler was only interested in revising Versailles rather than total conquest.

• The Diplomatic Mission: In August 1939, a British military mission was sent to Moscow to deter Germany from attacking Poland.     * Admiral Drax: Sent by ship then train; he arrived too late.     * Barriers: The Soviets wanted a swift agreement to open the Romanian and Polish borders so the Red Army could pass through to defend against Nazis; the West hesitated.

• The Polish Guarantee (March 1939): Britain guaranteed the independence of Poland, but crucially not its territorial integrity.

• Final Timeline:     * 10 August: Hitler sends ultimatum to Poland for the return of Danzig.     * 15 August: Crisis over Danzig; Chamberlain is still on holiday as war is not yet seen as imminent.

Key Principles of Foreign Policy

• Lord Palmerston (1848) Quote: "We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual."

• Hitler's Realization: Hitler concluded that collective security was fake and that the Western democracies only responded to power.