Nazi

Germany

Foreign Policy 1933-1939

1
 Hitler’s Foreign Policy Aims
• Restore German status as a Great Power by overturning Versailles.
• Regain control over the Rhineland and the return of the Saarland.

• Reclaim the ‘Bleeding Frontiers’: reunite the free city of Danzig and East
Prussia with the Fatherland by dismantling the Polish Corridor.

• End the German diaspora by the creation of a Großdeutschland, including

the incorporation of the Sudetenland and Austria into Germany.

• Acquire lebensraum in Eastern Europe to expand the Aryan race.

• Subjugate peoples whom the Nazis deemed untermenschen (subhuman).
• Defeat communism and democracy.
• Exploit the people and resources of conquered lands for the Third Reich.
• Establish an Empire ‘that lasts a 1000 years’
 In short...
Destroy the treaty
of Versailles

Destroy communism

Lebensraum
Greater
Germany
Remember the terms
of the TOV
• The German Army was
limited to 100,000 men
with no airforce or
submarines

• Germany had to pay

reparations to the Allies

• Germany had to accept the

‘War Guilt’ Clause (231)

• Germany lost 13.2% of its

territories and all her
colonies
 A
Changing
World
The remaking of
Europe twice in a
generation
 1933 - Rearmament
• Increase German armed forces. (Solve unemployment
& kept promises/aims) SECRETLY
•
• Hitler argued that the terms of the Treaty of Versailles
would keep Germany militarily weak indefinitely.
• He demanded the major powers keep their promise to
disarm.They refused.
• Hitler withdrew from the Disarmament Conference
and Germany left the League of Nations.
• Germany’s secret defiance of Versailles accelerated
and became increasingly more open.
 1934 – A year of surprises
• January: Hitler signed a ten-year non-aggression pact with Poland, This
was a policy success for Hitler:
•Britain took it as evidence of his peaceful intentions
• It ruined the French/Polish alliance (Little Entente)
• It guaranteed Polish neutrality if Germany moved against
Czechslovakia and Austria.

• In July 1934 Hitler attempted an Anschluss (union) between Germany

and Austria. The Austrian Nazis, encouraged by Hitler, staged a revolt
and the Chancellor, Egelbert Dollfuss was murdered.

• Mussolini saw Austria as a buffer zone and the Balkans as part of his
sphere of influence. He moved Italian troops to the Brenner Pass.
Hitler backed down. He realised that he would need to have
Mussolini’s support if Germany was to annexe Austria. Britain and
France joined Italy in the Stresa Front (April,1935), an admission of fear
about Hitler’s territorial ambitions.
 The SAAR:Propaganda success
• The Saar was returned to Germany (January 1935) after a
plebiscite resulting in a 90% vote in favour of reunion.

• The plebiscite was held as a term of the Versailles Treaty

but the Nazis turned it into a propaganda triumph
 Testing the Waters
• March 1935: Hitler announced the expansion of the army to 550,000
troops and the rebuilding of the German air force (secret plans to
expand the military had been underway since 1933)
• Reintroduced conscription.
• In response>BR/FR/IT:STRESA FRONT/PACT
>USSR & FR/CZ:MUTUAL ASSISTANCE PACT

• June: Anglo/German Naval Agreement signed. This allowed the

German navy to have 35% of the tonnage of the British navy.
(Britain therefore colluded in the dismantlement of the Treaty of
Versailles as the agreement breached the terms of the treaty).

• October: Mussolini attacked Abyssinia weakening the Stresa Front

and League of Nations and focusing Mussolini’s attention on a ‘new
Roman Empire’ rather than control of the Balkans.
Remilitarization
Of the
Rhineland
 Remilitarisation of the Rhineland
• March 1936: German troops moved into the Rhineland in
contravention of the Treaty of Versailles. Britain and France were
unwilling to go to war over the matter. Italy’s manoeuvring saw her
falling into Hitler’s pocket.
• The British reaction summed up by Lord Lothian: "I see no reason to risk
war in order to stop Hitler marching into his own backyard".
• French we’re facing elections and feared war.
• Consequences:
• Treaty of Versailles (and Locarno) now a scrap of paper
• Germany built line of forts manned with German troops on the
border with France to prevent military intervention against further
breaches of Versailles.
•Weakened the ‘Little Entente’ and
Franco-Czech treaty.
• Germany grew in power and prestige.
Source analysis
 Mussolini in Hitler’s pocket (almost)
• July 1936: Germany and Italy supported the Nationalist rebels
(Franco) in the Spanish Civil War. The USSR supported the
Republican Government.

• Hitler and Mussolini signed the Rome-Berlin Axis. Mussolini

promised not to intervene in Austria (thus sacrificing Italy’s
major gain at Versailles).
EUROPE
1936
 The Spanish
HOW DID HITLER USED IT?
Civil War
-as an opportunity to fight against Communism.
-to test the strength of his armed forces.
-to test Blitzkrieg tactics. He used carpet bombing tactics for the
first time.
-By supporting the Nationalists, Hitler hoped to gain raw materials
for his armaments industry in return.
-to divert British and French attention from Central and Eastern
Europe.’
-testing carpet bombing which made civilians a direct target. The
attacks were designed in waives to maximise the damage and
casualties.’
-Mussolini and Hitler worked closely together in Spain leading to the
‘Rome-Berlin Axis’.
 What Hitler actually achieved
• Franco failed to become
Hitler’s ally.
• Spain became neutral
during ww2.
What Hitler hoped to achieve • The Lutfwaffe was able to
• Franco to become a practise in Guernica.
German ally. • Hitler & Mussolini sign the
• Dress rehearsal of a full Berlin-Rome axis.
scale war. • During these 3 years Hitler
• Test the Lusftwaffe. was able to take successful
• To detach Mussolini action over Austria and
from his association Czechoslovakia in Central
with Br & Fr. Europe.
• To distract western
diplomats from Central
Europe (smokescreen).
 Anti - Comintern Pact
• Signed on 25th November 1936, between Germany and Japan.

• Declared hostility of the two countries to international

communism.

• In case of an unprovoked attack by the Soviet Union against either

country, the nations agreed to consult on what measures to take
"to safeguard their common interests.”

• No political treaties were to be made with the Soviet Union.

• Italy joined the pact on 6th Nov 1937. A reaction against the failed
Stresa Front, the Franco-British initiative of 1935, designed to keep
Nazi Germany from extending beyond her present borders.
 The Four year Plan
• Hitler’s programme to the German
economy self-sufficient and the
German military operational and for
war within four year.

• The Plan disregarded the restrictions

imposed by the Treaty of Versailles.

• Hermann Göring was appointed to

oversee implementation of the plan
(October).
 Anschluss with Austria
• March 1938: Hitler overturns his 1934 failure with his biggest
success to date, Union with his homeland.
EVENTS:
• Austrian Nazis staged demonstrations (instigated from
Berlin) in Vienna, Graz and Linz.

• Chancellor Schuschnigg’s government, fearing this was a

prelude to a German invasion, announced a plebiscite on
union with Germany.

• Hitler fearing negative results moved German troops in.

AS A RESULT,
 DIFFERENCES IN ITALY’S ATTITUDE TOWARDS ANSCHLUSS
1934 1938
Posters celebrating the
Anschluss
 Consequences of Anschluss
• It was a political and military triumph
for Germany:

• 8 million German speaking Austrians

brought into the Reich

• It revealed the weaknesses of Britain

and France.

• It demonstrated the value of the new

alliance with Italy

• It dealt a severe strategic blow to

democratic Czechoslovakia which
could now be attacked from the south
as well as from the west and north.
•
The Sudetenland
Hitler’s next claim was on the German-speaking
Sudetenland. This was a prelude to taking over all
Czech lands.
• Claim based on self-determination – 3 million Sudeten
Germans in the region but the area had never been part
of Germany.
• Further reasons: - Czech people were Slavs, A free
Czechoslovakia would mean a two front war.
• Industrial resources to aid Hitler’s military expansion
included: Coal and copper mines •Power stations
•Good framing land •The Skoda industrial area.
• Further gain: Protection of the Bohemian Alps and a
chain of fortresses.
Resources in the Sudetenland
• Henlein, the German Sudeten leader demanded
separation from Cz., and stages protests and riots.
• Br, Fr and the USSR promised to support Cz. If
invaded.
• Meetings:
• 15/9 Chamberlain and Hitler at Berchtesgaden. Areas
with over 50% of German population should be handed
over.
• 22/9 Again at Godesberg. Hitler demanded all of the
Sudetenland. Br and Fr prepared for war.
• Chamberlain asked Mussolini to persuade Hitler to join
an international conference.
The Sudetenland
 1938: The Munich Agreement
• MUNICH CONFERENCE:29/9 BR,FR,IT,GR met. (USSR-CZ not)
• Hitler demanded the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia.
• Mussolini acted as an honest broker.
• Britain and France agreed to Hilter’s demand on the understanding that the rest of
Czechoslovakia would remain independent.
• Abandoned by their allies, the Czechoslovakians were forced to sign the Munich
Agreement.
• Chamberlain returned to Britain proclaiming ‘Peace in our time.’

• After the conference Chamberlain and Hitler signed

an Anglo-German declaration where they promised not
to go to war with each other again and to settle disputes
by talks.
 • Hungary, Yugoslavia and Romania tried
to come to terms with Germany.

Consequences • Mussolini was encouraged in his

ambitions for southeast Europe and
of Munich •
looked for closer ties with Germany.
Munich left virtually Czechoslovakia
defenceless, abandoned and humiliated.
• Hitler believed Britain and France
would not fight to protect the rest of
Czechoslovakia.
• It convinced Stalin that he could not
rely on Britain and France and that
Russia would have to come to terms
with Germany.
• Britain and France now used
appeasement, not as an attempt to
prevent war, but to buy time to rearm.
• Germany gained the Sudetenland-
another step towards the Greater
Germany.
 Appeasement

• 1933: Germany left the League of Nations - started to rearm in secret

• 1935: Anglo-German Naval Agreement, Abyssinian Crisis, German announced

conscription.

• 1936: Remilitarisation of the Rhineland

• 1938: (March) Anschluss

• 1938: (Sept) Sudetenland crisis and the Munich agreement

• 1939: Germany took over the rest of Czechoslovakia

• 1939: Britain and France abandoned appeasement and guarantee to defend Poland
 Results of Appeasement
⚫ Europe saved from war? Possibly though some historians argue that
if the Czechs, French, British and Russians had stood up to Hitler
he would have been defeated, and would have faced war on two
fronts.
⚫ Britain and France gained time to build up their armed forces, but
so did Germany.
⚫ Hitler decided Britain and France were unlikely ever to oppose him
by force.
⚫ Stalin was offended at being excluded from the talks and decided he
could not rely on Britain to help the USSR stand up against
Germany.
RIGHT WRONG

- Strong GR against communism,

- USA isolationism (no support) - Allowed GR to grow too strong,
- Didn’t want to repeat the horrors of war, - It scared the USSR,
- British army wasn’t ready for war, - Trusted Hitler too much,
- Minded their own economic problems - Encourage Hitler’s aggressiveness
- Peace treaties seen as unfair.
 1939: The Pact of Steel
• March 1939 – Hitler broke the Munich Agreement and
invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia. Western
Czechoslovakia was incorporated into the Reich. Slovakia
in the East became a puppet state under Nazi domination.
• May 1939 – Pact of Steel – Germany and Italy to stand by
each other through war. Formally known as the Pact of
Friendship and Alliance between Germany and Italy.
• Pact signed on 22nd May 1939. It contained 2 sections:
• An open declaration of continuing trust and
cooperation between Germany and Italy.
• A 'Secret Supplementary Protocol’ encouraged a joint
military and economic policy.
 The Big Surprise
• August 24, 1939 – Germany signed Non-Aggression Pact
with USSR. The USSR would not defend Poland against
German aggression. Agreement included secret deal to
divide Polish territory between them.
• Officially titled the Treaty of Non-Aggression between
Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. It was
signed in Moscow on 24th August 1939 (but dated 23rd
August). It renounced warfare between the two countries
and pledged neutrality by either party if the other were
attacked by a third party.
• It was a marriage of convenience that shocked Japan: Stalin
needed time to prepare for war and Germany wanted to
avoid a war on two fronts. Stalin was using appeasement to
deal with Hitler!
The Failure of Appeasement
 The Invasion of Poland
• August 1939 - Hitler demanded the return of the Polish
Corridor to Germany
• September 1 - Germany invaded Poland from the West
and Russia attached from the East
• September 3 - Second World War began when Britain
and France responded with a declaration of war on
Germany, while ignoring Russia’s invasion.
• The Tripartite Pact was signed in Berlin, Germany on
27th September, 1940. This military alliance cemented
the Axis Powers of World War II that opposed the
Allied Powers.
 1937: Hossbach
Memorandum
•
In 1937 a meeting with Hitler and the German War Minister Blomberg,
three chiefs of staff and the Foreign Minister Neurath took place. At the
meeting Hitler delivered a haranguing monologue which was recorded by
a Colonel Hossbach. At the Nuremberg trials this so-called Hossbach
Memorandum was used as evidence that Hitler had planned a major war
from the start.

• The meeting can be summarised as follows:

• 1) Aim of German policy was to preserve the racial community and

acquire territory 2) Britain and France were Germany’s main opponents 3)
Germany must use force to secure her objectives 4) Germany would peak
in 1943 5) If France suffered internal strife or civil war, Germany should
seize Czechoslovakia 6) If France was involved in a war, Germany should
seize Austria and Czechoslovakia. Britain and Italy would not oppose
Germany in Czechoslovakia. 7) Italy might still oppose annexation of
Austria 8) France would not act without Britain.
 Master Plan or Opportunist
• There have been competing interpretations of the Hossbach Memorandum:

• Intentionalist historians such as Gerhard Weinberg, Andreas Hillgruber and

Richard Overy claim that Hitler planned to start a general European war as part of
a long-range master plan. They claim the memorandum proves this. Hugh
Trevor-Roper called it Hitler’s blueprint for war.

• Structuralist historians such as Timothy Mason, Hans Mommsen, and Ian

Kershaw argue that the document shows no such plans, and instead contend that
the Hossbach Memorandum was an improvised ad hoc response by Hitler to the
growing crisis in the German economy in the late 1930s.

• A. J. P. Taylor dismissed the Hossbach Memorandum as evidence of Hitler's

intentions, claiming Hitler was just ranting and pointing out that most of the
people who attended the meeting were dismissed soon afterwards, and that the
memorandum was filed away and forgotten. Instead, Taylor believes that the
meeting was merely an attempt by Hitler to win support from the military.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUngG2CRYdY
 Hitler on Foreign Policy :
Master Plan or Opportunist
• Debate the issue:
http://jessbcuzz.weebly.com/uploads/8/4/7/2/8472357/
hitlers_master_plan.pdf
• May 17, 1933: "The German Government wish to settle
all difficult questions with other Governments by
peaceful methods . . . Germany will tread no other path
than that laid down by the Treaties . . .The German
people have no thought of invading any country.”
• Aug 17, 1934: "The German Government, like the
German people, are filled with the unconditional wish
to make the greatest possible contribution to the
preservation of peace in this world."
 Hitler Quotes
• Mar 15, 1936: "The German people do not wish to continue
waging war to readjust frontiers. Each readjustment is
bought by sacrifices out of proportion to what is to be
gained."
• Sep 26, 1938: "We have assured all our immediate neighbours
of the integrity of their territory as far as Germany is
concerned. That is no hollow phrase: it is our sacred will . .
.The Sudetenland is the last territorial claim which I have to
make in Europe . .”
• Jan 31, 1939: “Today I will once more be a prophet: If the
international Jewish financiers in and outside Europe should
succeed in plunging the nations once more into a world war,
then the result will not be the bolshevization of the earth,
and thus the victory of Jewry, but the annihilation of the
Jewish race in Europe!”
 Mein Kampf and the Zweites
Buch
• Hitler outlined what the German historian Andreas
Hillgruber called his Stufenplan - stage-by-stage plan - (Hitler
never used the term). The Stufenplan called for three stages:
In the first stage, there would be a massive military build-up,
the overthrow of the Treaty of Versailles and the forming of
alliances with Fascist Italy and the British Empire. The
second stage would be a series of fast, "lightning wars”
against France and whichever of her allies in Eastern Europe
chose to stand by her. The third stage would be a war to
obliterate what Hitler considered to be the
"Judeo-Bolshevik" regime in the Soviet Union. In contrast
to Mein Kampf, in the Zweites Buch Hitler added a fourth
stage to the Stufenplan. He suggested that in the future a
struggle for world domination might take place between the
United States and a European alliance.
Road to Nowhere…