hitlers foreign policy

• hitlers plans if nazis achieved power in germany

  • abolish treaty of versailles: he believed it was unjust and a humiliating reminder of their defeat
  • expand German territory: he wanted to get the territory taken away from him back, Anschluss with Austria, and German minorities to rejoin germany. he also wanted lebensraum in Eastern Europe for germans
  • defeat communism: he believed bolsheviks had helped to bring about the defeat of germany in WW1, and that they wanted to take over germany
• germanys rearmament


  he made a public display of his desire not to rearm germany, only stating this bc other countries refused to disarm. he then withdrew from the league. he reintroduced conscription and got away with rearmament. this was a popular move in germany, as it boosted nazi support. Britain felt sympathy with germany as they believed the limits on armed forces were too tight and weren't enough to defeat it from attack, like occupation. Britain also believed a larger army for Germany would be a buffer for communism
• anglo-german naval agreement 


  agreement between Britain and germany, agreeing to increase germanys navy up to 35% of the size of the British navy agreement between Britain and germany, agreeing to increase germanys navy up to 35% of the size of the British navy. Britain enables this as they felt sympathetic towards germany, as they believed the limits on armed forces were too tight and weren't enough to defeat it from attack. they also enabled this as it was a buffer for communism. the league didnt stop Germany and and hitler could commit to his atrocities he mentioned in 'mein kampf'
• what happened in the saar in 1935

  the league wanted the people of the saar to vote for whether the region should return to German rule. the minister of propaganda managed to persuade 90% of the population to vote for the reich. this boosted nazi confidence, as they had more troops, and it was completely legal, as hitler didnt take over the land. hitler could commit to lebensraum and had more troops to fight future conflicts. the league weren't willing to risk their countries wellbeing for war, were always busy with other issues, and France wouldn't act without britain
• what happened in the Rhineland in 1936

  hitler moved 20,000 troops into the demilitarised zone. it was risky and illegal, but he chose the perfect timing, as France and the USSR signed a treaty to protect each other from germany, but hitler argued that he should be allowed to place troops on his frontier, as germany was under threat. Britain couldn't do much, as its people felt he had a right to station troops in the Rhineland. hitler was lucky, as he had a weaker army. the league in the end condemned hitlers actions and had no power to do anything else; they were busy with other matters
• why did Britain and France do little when remilitarisation occured

  Britain wasn't planning on taking action as its people stood with hitler. they felt he had a right to place troops in the Rhineland. France were busy holding elections and were hesitant to risk another conflict so soon after WW1. france was also reluctant to take action without Britain, making hitler feel more powerful. the policy of appeasement driven by a desire to maintain peace (to avoid WW2) played a key role in their lack of action. their lack of response contributed to hitlers future actions
• why did germany become involved in the Spanish civil war

  germany wasn't originally going to become involved, however it helped hitler with a couple of things to prepare for future conflicts. Germany provided bombing to try out his Luftwaffe and blitzkrieg tactics to use in future conflicts. being involved in the war helped him build binds with Mussolini, as he was also involved in the war. with both of them attempting to accomplish the same things, their bonds helped germany further in future conflicts
• spanish civil war


  In 1936, a civil war broke out in Spain between Republicans and Nationalists led by General Franco. Britain and France refused direct intervention, though France supplied weapons to the Republicans. Mussolini sent thousands of troops to support Franco, while Germany provided aircraft and pilots, using the conflict to test new blitzkrieg and Luftwaffe tactics. This involvement strengthened ties between Italy and Germany and encouraged Hitler to believe Britain and France would not intervene if he violated the Treaty of Versailles further.
• how did hitler get Anschluss with Austria

  the nazi party in Austria was encouraged by hitler to start riots fir the govt to hold demonstrations demanding union with Germany. hitler told the chancellor that the only way to settle down the riots was to form Anschluss. the chancellor appealed to Britain and france, but they failed to provide support. the chancellor then called a plebiscite, but hitler feared he may lose. he then sent his troops into Austria in 1938, to guarantee a trouble free plebiscite. 99.75% voted for Anschluss. hitler gained all he wanted
• why was Anschluss important to hitler

  he wanted to reunite the 2 states as he believed the 2 belonged together. with Anschluss he gained Austrian soldiers, rich deposits of gold and iron ore, more territory as he was committed to lebensraum, and overall more pride. he wanted to have all this to turn his dreams mentioned in mein kampf into reality. by becoming a strong nation once again, he could attract German minorities into rejoining German rule. hitler believed that the aryan race was superior to all others, so he wanted to collect all proper germans into germany, and unite all germans
• policy of appeasement

  a diplomatic approach in which britain and france made concessions to nazi germany in the 1930s, hoping to prevent war by addressing some of germany's territorial demands. the idea was to avoid conflict by satisfying hitler's goals, but it ultimately failed as germany continued its aggressive expansion, leading to world war 2
• for policy of appeasement

  • trusting hitler: leaders believed meeting hitler’s demands would satisfy him and prevent further aggression, securing peace.
  • fear of communism: appeasement was seen as a way to keep germany strong against the soviet union. however, hitler sought world conquest, leading to ww2.
  • british arms: britain’s weak military made appeasement seem safer, buying time to strengthen forces. but this allowed hitler to grow stronger, leading to war.
  • usa: focused on isolationism and domestic issues to avoid war, but shifted as hitler’s aggression grew, eventually entering ww2
• for policy of appeasement contd

  • treaty: many believed that the treaty was unfair and hitlers demands weren't unreasonable. once the wrongs were right, germany would become a peaceful nation
  • the Soviet Union: appeasement sent the message to Stalin and the ussr that Britain and france would not stand in hitlers way as he expanded eastwards
  • british empire: appeasement was seen as a way to avoid immediate conflict and buy time to secure broader support from the empire and other allies.
  • economic problems: Britain and france had large debts mainly from WW1 and couldn't afford another war
• against policy of appeasement

  • German arms: germany’s growing military strength showed hitler wasn’t seeking peace but preparing for conquest. his rearmament, especially after violating the treaty, made appeasement ineffective and led to ww2.
  • risky attitudes: hitler’s willingness to gamble on aggression and break promises showed he couldn’t be trusted, leading to the failure of appeasement and the outbreak of ww2.
  • hitlers allies: they backed his aggression, making him bolder and ignoring diplomacy. while britain and france sought peace, hitler’s allies pushed him to expand, leading to ww2
• Sudetenland


  leader of nazis in sudetenland demanded area be part of germany. britain, france, ussr promised to support czechoslovakia, benes prepared to fight. in september, hitler told chamberlain he was only interested in parts of sudetenland. chamberlain believed this would satisfy hitler. later, british and french told czechs of plans to give hitler parts of sudetenland. hitler then demanded all of sudetenland, claiming czech govt mistreated germans and intended to rescue them by october.
• Munich agreement

  on 29 September British, germany, France, and Italy decided that Czechoslovakia was to lose Sudetenland. they didnt consult the Czechs or the ussr. Czechs had been betrayed. benes resigned and the country descended into chaos. on 15 march, German troops took over the rest of the country. there was no resistance from the Czechs nor did Britain and France do anything about the situation. Britain and france stated that oil germany invaded Poland, they'd declare war. the policy of appeasement was ended
• stalins fears

  stalin was always worried about german threat since hitler came to power. he joined league, hoping it’d guarantee security, but saw league’s lack of action in the past.

  • stalin signed treaty with france for protection if germany attacked ussr, but doubted french trust after failure to stop hitler in rhineland.
  • the Munich agreement in creased Stalin's concerns. he wasn't consulted about it, and he concluded that britian and france were powerless to stop hitler, or were happy for hitler to invade Eastern Europe and then the ussr
• stalins negotiations

  stalin was prepared to talk about an alliance with Britain and france against hitler. they were suspicious of Stalin and made things worse by guaranteeing Poland they'd defend it if invaded. Stalin saw this as support for one of users potential enemies.
• nazi soviet pact 


  the pact was signed by hitler and Stalin, stating they'd not attack one another. it was a non aggressive pact, where they also shared Poland secretly between them. the pact enabled hitler to invade Poland without fear of soviet intervention, giving him the green light to start ww2. the invasion also triggered Britain and France to declare war on germany, officially starting ww2
• why did Stalin sign the pact

  it gave him territory that had once been part of Russia, and gained time to build his forced to protect the ussr from the attack he'd knew would come, as he expected to have a fight with hitler at some point, and didnt trust britiain and France to defend him from attack
• was the pact responsible for war breaking out in europe in 1939

  yes:

  • the pact allowed germany to focus on western europe without threat of 2-front war. with soviet neutrality assured, hitler could attack france confidently. this expansion boosted german territory and emboldened hitler’s aggressive policy, leading to ww2. the pact destabilized europe, making war more likely as nations panicked.
• was the pact responsible for war breaking out in europe in 1939

  no

  • the treaty left germany humiliated and economically weakened, fostering resentment and a desire for revenge. this drove germany to remilitarize the rhineland and pursue anschluss, testing the limits while strengthening the nation. hitler regained lost land and troops through anschluss and defied the harsh treaty terms with little resistance. by failing to act, britain and france gave hitler the opportunity to push forward with the aggressive ideas laid out in mein kampf.