Transcript International Relations Paper #1 Chapter 3 Hitler*s Foreign Policy

Mein Kampf – Aims in Foreign Policy
Defeat
Communism
• Hitler hated the communist blaming
them for WW1 along with the Jews
Lebensraum
• “Living space” for the German people
Destroy the Treaty
of Versailles
• The German people felt betrayed by
democracy – “stab in the back”
• Hitler vowed to reverse the T of V
Build a Greater
Germany
• A large amount of land was taken from
Germany at the T of V – Hitler wanted to
unite all the German speakers under a
new greater Germany
The Return of the Saar 1935
Industrial zone of
Germany put under the
control of the League for
15 years
After 15 years a
plebiscite was to be held
to decide whether or not
it would be returned to
Germany
The plebiscite was held
in Jan. 1935 and over 90%
voted to return to
German control
This was greeted by
Hitler as a huge triumph
arguing that it was the
first injustice of the
Treaty to be reversed
Disarmament Conference 1932-34
Germany had been
in the League for 6
years and many
believed they
should be treated
more equally than
the terms of the
T of V
Should Germany
be allowed to
rearm to the level
of others or
should others
disarm to levels of
the Germany
When the other nations
refused to disarm Germany
withdrew from the conference
in Oct. 1933 and soon after
from the League
Germany Walk
out of the
Conference in July
1932 when other
powers failed to
disarm
May 1933 Hitler returned to
the conference and promised
not to rearm if “in 5 years all
other nations had destroyed
all there arms”
Polish Non-aggression Anglo-German Naval
Treaty 1935
Pact 1934
 Signed in January 1934
 Hitler hoped:
 to weaken alliances
between France and
Poland
 to reduce Polish fears of
German power
 He had no quarrel with
Poland only the USSR
 Britain believed:
 The limits imposed on the
treaty were too harsh
 Had sympathy on issue of
rearmament
 Germany was a strong
buffer against
communism
 Agreement
 Hitler was allowed to build
its army to 35% of the
British Navy and have the
same number of
Submarines
Rearmament
Rearmament
• Military rallies
showing German
strength (1935)
• Re-introduced
Conscription
(1935)
• Army of 550,000
& 1,000 planes
Collapse of
Disarmament
conference
• Though breaking
the Terms of the T of
V he got away with
rearmament due to
the collapse of
disarmament
conference
Stresa Front
• Representatives
from Britain, France
and Italy where they
agreed to work
together to preserve
peace – condemned
German
rearmament but
collapsed after the
Abyssinia crisis
Remilitarization of the Rhineland 1936
Breach of the Treaty
Rhineland was demilitarized as a buffer against German aggression
Germany ready for war?
Hitler’s troops were ordered to retreat it
they met any French resistance
The German troops were not ready for war
and battle with France would result it war
French/British reaction
More worried about conflict in Abyssinia
with Italy
So worried about a potential war that they
agreed to let Hitler get away with it
Anschluss 1938
Hitler forced Austrian Chancellor (Schuschnigg) into accepting a Nazi (Seyss-Inquart) as
Austrian minister of the Interior
Schuschnigg ordered a plebiscite to see if the Austrians wanted Union with Germany
Hitler feared Austrians would vote against Anschluss so he moved German troops to the
border and threatened to invade if Schuschnigg did not resign
Seyss-Inquart was made Austrian Chancellor and invited German troops into the country ON 12th March 1938 the German army entered Vienna and the Anschluss was complete
The Nazi’s organised their own plebiscite about Anschluss – of those who voted 99% voted
in favour
Preparation time?
Argument’s for Appeasement
 Wanted to avoid war at all costs
 Many remembered the
horrors of WWI
 Treaty was too harsh?
 Much of the British public
believed the Treaty had been
too harsh

Therefore Hitler was only
taking back what was
rightfully his
 Britain not ready for war
 Appeasement gave time for
Britain to rearm
 Threat of Communism
 Communism was the biggest
threat to European stability

A strong Germany is a strong
buffer against communism
 Britain preoccupied
 The depression had caused mass
unemployment
 Wanted to stay out of
unnecessary foreign politics
 Spanish Civil war
 Guernica demonstrated German
power – showed war would be
horrific
A line in the sand too late?
Argument’s against Appeasement
 It Gave Hitler the advantage
 He was able to grow stronger


When war came German was
very strong and war was too
far away for Britain to help
It made Britain look weak
 Hitler was allowed to break
International Agreements
 Britain and France were
willing to give away parts of
other countries even if they
were a breach of the Treaty of
Versailles or the Covenant of
the league
 Chamberlain misjudged Hitler
 Believed he would listen to
reason

Hitler believed he could do
anything he wanted to
 Missed opportunities to evade
war
 E.g. Remilitarization of the
Rhineland (1956)
 War was not avoided
 War broke out in 1939 –
Chamberlain did not ensure
“peace in our time”
Reactions to Anschluss 1938
 Germany
 Hitler had been born in Austria and wanted to see
Germany and Austria joined as one country
 Hitler wanted to expand his empire

On 12th March 1938 Austria became a new province of the 3rd
Reich
 French/Britain
 Complained about the Anschluss as a clear violation of
the treaty
 In Britain there was a feeling that the treaty was too
harsh and should therefore not defend it
Sudetenland
Crisis 1938
Hitler ordered
Henlein (leader of
Sudeten Germans)
to cause trouble
German newspapers
produced allegations
of
crime/mistreatment
against Germans
Hitler threatened
war if not solution
was found
Chamberlain
persuaded Beneš to
agree to the selfgovernance of the
Sudetenland
Hitler the
demanded that the
Sudetenland was
made part of the 3rd
Reich
Beneš refused to
accept these demand
as it would leave
Czechoslovakia open
to attack
Importance of the Sudetenland to
Czechoslovakia
 The majority of factories/infrastructure was concentrated
in the Sudetenland
 Losing the Sudetenland would mean that Czechoslovakia lost a
large proportion of its income
 Many of
Czechoslovakia’s
fortifications and
military bases were in
the Sudetenland
 Losing the
Sudetenland would
result in
Czechoslovakia
being completely
open to attack
The Munich Agreement 1938
 Chamberlain arranged a meeting in Munich to resolve to the
Sudetenland Crisis which included;
 Daladier (French leader)
 Hitler
 Mussolini (Fascist dictator of
Italy
 The Czechs were not invited to
the meeting
 Allied Betrayal
 The Czechs were forced to hand
over the Sudetenland to
Germany
The Munich
Agreement
1938
Chamberlain
met with
Hitler one
more time
Hitler promised
no to invade the
rest of
Czechoslovakia
This Source is drawn by cartoonist and
Anti-appeaser David Low. He was
against Chamberlain’s policy of
appeasement which is reflected in his
cartoons
Chamberlain
returned
pronouncing that
he had secured
“peace in our time”
Reaction of
the Czechs
However the
Czech
government had
been humiliated
Area of
Sudetenland had
been lost
Along with
many defences
The Collapse of Czechoslovakia 1939
Hitler invaded and occupied much of the rest
of Czechoslovakia
• Bohemia and Moravia became German Protectorates
• Slovakia remained independent but was dominated by Germany
Hungary
occupied
Ruthenia
Control of
Czechoslovakia
A small part of
Czechoslovakia
was taken by
Poland
The End of Appeasement 1939
Collapse of
Czechoslovakia
Showed war
was on its
way?
Hitler's
promises at
Munich meant
nothing
Showed Hitler
could not be
trusted
Britain and
France began
mass
rearmament
War was
imminent?
Chamberlain
announced that
if Hitler invaded
Poland than
Britain would go
to war against
Germany
Why did Chamberlain end his
policy of Appeasement?
 No longer taking back from
the Treaty of Versailles
 There were no German
speakers in the rest of
Czechoslovakia

Hitler was no loner uniting
German speaker but bring
non-Germans under the
control of the 3rd Reich
 Czechoslovakia was never
part of a part of Germany
 No demand for German Rule
 Czechoslovakia did not want
to be part of the German
empire - unlike in the Austria
and (arguably) the
Sudetenland
 Hitler couldn’t be trusted
 Hitler had promised to consult
Britain before taking action
which could result it war
 Had promised to leave the rest
of the Czechoslovakia
Poland - April 1939
Why was Poland Hitler’s
next target?
 “Polish Corridor”
 At the Treaty of Versailles the
polish corridor was given to the
Polish to give them access to the
Baltic sea

This divided German provenance
of East Prussia from the rest of
Germany
 Czechoslovakian Success
Reactions of Britain and
France?
The failure at Munich had humiliated
the British and French and were
determined to show their strength
April (1939) the promised support
against German aggression for Poland,
Greece and Romania
 Hitler felt Britain and France
would once again give him what
he wanted in order to avoid war

In April 1939 Hitler demanded
the Polish Corridor and Danzig
Britain and France began mass
rearmament as war was believed to be
imminent
Pact of Steel - May 1939
Timeline of Events
 March 1939

Hitler forced the Lithuanian’s to
give up the Baltic town of Memel
and some land over the South
West Border
 April 1939
 General Franco’s nationalist forces
took power in Spain (supported by
Hitler and Mussolini)
 May 1939
 Mussolini invade Albania
(replicating what happened in
Czechoslovakia)
 Pact of Steel signed by Mussolini
and Hitler
Effect on European Stability
 Europe was now firmly
divided in two
 Britain and France
 Italy and Germany
 Both Germany and Britain
looked to the USSR as a
solution to their problems
Role of the USSR 1938-1938
 The Soviets believed Britain’s
was sending Hitler towards
the USSR
 As many in Britain feared
Communism more than
fascism
 Also shown as the USSR was
not invited to the conference
in Munich
 Britain and France had
promised help to Poland in
the outbreak of war
 Due to the distance of Poland
from the West they would
need the assistance of the
USSR for this to happen
The Nazi-Soviet Pact 1939
Pact with Germany?
 Agreed not to fight
 Gave Soviets time to Rearm
 Secretly agreed to divide
Polish territory should war
occur
 Hitler gave Stalin consent to
occupy part of Romania,
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania
 Britain offered no territory to
the USSR
Pact with Britain?
 Stalin invited the British
foreign secretary to discuss an
alliance against Hitler – but
Britain Refused
 In August 1939 – with war
imminent the British sent a
very minor official who had
no authority to make any
decisions
 Asked to aid in war against
Hitler but offered nothing in
return
Importance Nazi-Soviet Pact 1939
For Russia
Stalin was suspicious of
Britain and France as they
had shown little friendship
during Hitler’s rise to power
Saw this as a extra time to
get ready for war
Hitler offered more than
Britain (such as territory
in the East)
For Germany
This removed the threat
of war on two fronts (which
had been Germany’s major
downfall in WWI)
Made Britain and France’s
threats worthless as they
have no way of coming to
Polish support
Invasion of Poland August 1939
A calculated risk?
The Nazi-Soviet pact meant Hitler was able to
“deal” with Poland without threat of Soviet
attack
The British and French guarantees of military
support were too late for Hitler to have any real
impact on Hitler’s decision
The policy of appeasement made Hitler feel
‘invincible’ and he believed Britain and France would
do anything to avoid another war
Even if Britain/France did declare war, Poland was
too far away for them to provide practical military
support
Outbreak of War – September
1939
On the 1st
September 1939
German troops
invaded Poland and
Britain and France
declared war on
Germany
On 15th September,
the USSR also
invaded Poland and
took the territory
agreed by the NaziSoviet Pact
Within 6 weeks
Poland has been
completely defeated
and disappeared off
the map - (much
like Czechoslovakia)
Responsibility for the outbreak of war?
Germany
• Hitler made excessive demands and
proved he couldn’t be trusted after he
invading if he didn’t get what he wanted
USSR
• Stalin made an alliance with Hitler which
left Poland open to invasion
Poland
• Signed an alliance with Britain and France
which encouraged it to resist German
demands causing a German invasion
Britain &
France
• Policy of appeasement made Hitler believe
they would not resist if he invaded Poland
Hitler’s foreign policy - Summary
Abolish Treaty of Versailles
Lebensraum - “living space”
1933 - left League
1933 – Rearmament
1935 –Conscription
1936 - Remilitarized Rhineland
1933 – Rearmament
1935 –Conscription
1939 – Invasion Czechoslovakia
1939 – Invasion of Poland
Build a Greater Germany
Defeat Communism
1933 – Rearmament
1935 –Conscription
1935 – Return of the Saar
1938 – Annexation of the Sudetenland
Unification of German speakers
1938 – Anschluss
Anglo-German naval treaty
1937 – Anti-communism
alliance with Japan and Italy
1937 – Sent German troops to
help Spanish fascists fight the
communists