Hitler's foreign policy and the build up to war
Hitler had four main aims in foreign policy:
- To undo the hated Treaty of VersaillesThe peace treaty signed by the Allies and Germany at the end of the First World War, on 28 June 1919.. Hitler blamed the treaty for much of Germany鈥檚 troubles since 1918.
- To unite all German speaking people into a Grossdeutschland (Greater Germany). This was linked to aim number one: many Germans had found themselves living outside of Germany after the territorial changes of the treaty, and of course Germany and Austria were forbidden from uniting.
- To acquire Lebensraum (living space) to the East of Germany. Hitler believed the AryanA person of European descent - not Jewish - often with blond hair and blue eyes. The Nazis viewed Aryans as the superior human race. Germans were racially superior to the Slavs of Eastern Europe and should expand into their lands to accommodate a growing Aryan population.
- To destroy communism. Hitler detested the Soviet Union and its ideology and was determined to destroy it.
Hitler pursued these aims ruthlessly, and in doing so helped to bring about World War Two, as the following table shows:
| Year | Events | Reaction of other European powers | Aims addressed |
| 1935 | In March, Germany reintroduced conscription and Hitler announced that the Germans had secretly been rearming | Britain, France and Italy condemned the moves but did nothing to stop Hitler | 1 |
| 1936 | In March, Hitler remilitarised the Rhineland, from which German troops were banned under the Treaty of Versailles | Britain and France again condemned the move but did nothing to stop Hitler, as they were distracted by a crisis between Italy and Abyssinia | 1 |
| 1938 | In March, Hitler united Germany and Austria in an event known as the Anschluss | This time the Italian leader Mussolini approved of Hitler鈥檚 move | 1, 2 |
| 1938 | In September, Hitler demanded that the German speaking part of Czechoslovakia, called the Sudetenland, be given to Germany. After threats of war the Czechs were forced to accept Germany鈥檚 annexation of the area | Britain, France and Italy arranged a series of conferences that ended with an agreement to allow Germany to annexe the Sudetenland, known as the Munich Agreement. This was part of the British and French policy of Appeasement (allowing things to happen to avoid another conflict or war). However, neither the Czechs nor the Soviet Union were invited to take part | 1, 2, 3 |
| 1939 | In March, Germany took over the rest of Czechoslovakia | This was the end of the policy of Appeasement. Britain and France signed a treaty with Poland guaranteeing its independence | 3 |
| 1939 | In August, Hitler signed the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact with the leader of the USSR, Joseph Stalin. This was a non-aggression pact that included a secret agreement to divide Poland between the two countries | This pact made war virtually inevitable, as it meant the USSR would not oppose a German invasion of Poland, which Britain and France had promised to defend | 1, 3 |
| Year | 1935 |
|---|---|
| Events | In March, Germany reintroduced conscription and Hitler announced that the Germans had secretly been rearming |
| Reaction of other European powers | Britain, France and Italy condemned the moves but did nothing to stop Hitler |
| Aims addressed | 1 |
| Year | 1936 |
|---|---|
| Events | In March, Hitler remilitarised the Rhineland, from which German troops were banned under the Treaty of Versailles |
| Reaction of other European powers | Britain and France again condemned the move but did nothing to stop Hitler, as they were distracted by a crisis between Italy and Abyssinia |
| Aims addressed | 1 |
| Year | 1938 |
|---|---|
| Events | In March, Hitler united Germany and Austria in an event known as the Anschluss |
| Reaction of other European powers | This time the Italian leader Mussolini approved of Hitler鈥檚 move |
| Aims addressed | 1, 2 |
| Year | 1938 |
|---|---|
| Events | In September, Hitler demanded that the German speaking part of Czechoslovakia, called the Sudetenland, be given to Germany. After threats of war the Czechs were forced to accept Germany鈥檚 annexation of the area |
| Reaction of other European powers | Britain, France and Italy arranged a series of conferences that ended with an agreement to allow Germany to annexe the Sudetenland, known as the Munich Agreement. This was part of the British and French policy of Appeasement (allowing things to happen to avoid another conflict or war). However, neither the Czechs nor the Soviet Union were invited to take part |
| Aims addressed | 1, 2, 3 |
| Year | 1939 |
|---|---|
| Events | In March, Germany took over the rest of Czechoslovakia |
| Reaction of other European powers | This was the end of the policy of Appeasement. Britain and France signed a treaty with Poland guaranteeing its independence |
| Aims addressed | 3 |
| Year | 1939 |
|---|---|
| Events | In August, Hitler signed the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact with the leader of the USSR, Joseph Stalin. This was a non-aggression pact that included a secret agreement to divide Poland between the two countries |
| Reaction of other European powers | This pact made war virtually inevitable, as it meant the USSR would not oppose a German invasion of Poland, which Britain and France had promised to defend |
| Aims addressed | 1, 3 |
Up until the end of 1938, every move of Hitler鈥檚 had been justified as helping to undo the injustice of the Treaty of Versailles. However, in 1939 Hitler went beyond simply undoing the treaty and began to expand Germany.
On 1 September 1939 Germany invaded Poland. Britain and France declared war on Germany on 3 September, beginning World War Two.