The Road To War :The Road To War Hitler’s Foreign Policy 1933-1939


LA-SCRAMCUP :LA-SCRAMCUP The 10 Steps to World War Two League of Nations Austrian Coup Saar Plebiscite Conscription Rhineland Anschluss Munich Agreement Czechoslovakia USSR/Nazi Pact Poland


Nazi Foreign policy :Nazi Foreign policy Aims To tear up the Treaty of Versailles To make Germany strong again To expand German territory – ‘lebensraum’ To unite all Germans in one country To defeat communism in Europe


Nazi Foreign policy :Nazi Foreign policy Aims It will be the duty of German foreign policy to get large spaces to feed and house the growing population of Germany.   Destiny points us towards Russia.   Hitler, Mein Kampf (1924). The Versailles Treaty is worthless.   60 million German hearts and minds are on fire with anger and shame.   They will cry out ‘We want war!’   Mein Kampf The menace of Russia hangs over Germany.   All our strength is needed to rescue our nation from this international snake. Hitler's foreign policy should not have been a surprise to students of Mein Kampf. Despatch 3165 from the American Embassy in Berlin, 24 December 1936


League of Nations :League of Nations 1933 The League was set up in 1919 as part of the Versailles Treaty. Its aim was to maintain international peace and security. Hitler had never agreed with it. He said that Germany was not being treated equally as a nation. Hitler withdrew Germany in October. It was his first foreign policy gamble; he believed the other Powers would apply sanctions, but they did not...


Nazi coup in austria :Nazi coup in austria 1934 There were 40,000 Nazis in Austria In July, they staged a putsch, and shot Chancellor Dollfuss. Hitler at first offered support to them, but Italian dictator Mussolini was furious. He sent troops to the border to guarantee Austrian independence. Hitler backed down and the coup leaders were punished.


Saar plebiscite :Saar plebiscite 1935 The Saarland was Germany’s industrial zone. The Treaty of Versailles placed it under French/British control for 15 years In January there was a plebiscite (referendum)on rejoining Germany. Goebbels arranged the campaign; 90% voted to become part of Germany.


Conscription/rearmament :Conscription/rearmament 1935 Hitler began secret rearmament in 1933, asking the army to treble to 300,000 men, and commissioning 1000 aeroplanes In March, he made Germany’s rearmament public. By now, there were 300,000 soldiers and 2500 planes. Conscription was announced at the same time, with the army to increase to 550,000. Britain and France protested softly but took no real action. In June, Britain agreed that Germany could have a navy 1/3 the size of Britain’s, and the same number of submarines.


rhineland :rhineland 1936 Under Versailles, the Rhineland was a demilitarised zone. In March, he boldly sent 32,000 troops into the area; they had orders to retreat if the French reacted. Hitler called it the most nerve-wracking 48 hours of his life. France did not respond, and Hitler’s gamble paid off, only increasing his popularity.


anschluss :anschluss 1938 Union with Austria was banned by Versailles. Mussolini and Hitler were now firm friends. Hitler ordered Chancellor Schuschnigg to bow to a list of 10 demands, including making a Nazi the Interior Minister. He refused, and said he would hold a vote on whether Austrians wanted to remain independent. Hitler threatened to invade, so Schuschnigg and his ministers resigned. Only the Nazi remained in government... ...so he invited Hitler to take over the country. Which he did, in March. The British and French protested verbally. Italy stayed out of it.


Munich agreement :Munich agreement September 1938 Czechoslovakia was created in 1919, and contained 3 million ‘Sudeten’ Germans within its borders. A Nazi-type party emerged in the Sudetenland, demanding independence. Hitler supported this group. Hitler secretly planned an invasion of Czech to ‘liberate’ the Germans there. Czech had a good army, and support from France, Britain and the USSR.


Munich agreement :Munich agreement September 1938 British PM Chamberlain was anxious to avoid a war in Europe. He arranged negotiations between France, Britain, Germany and Italy. They agreed to hand over the Sudetenland to Germany immediately; if Czech refused, they were on their own. Hitler promised he had no more territorial demands in Europe; Chamberlain believed him!


Slide 19:“Peace in our time” “A scrap of paper”


Slide 20:What, no chair for me?


czechoslovakia :czechoslovakia March 1939 Czechoslovakia was greatly weakened after the Munich Agreement. Hitler planned an invasion of the rump state in March Slovakia was encouraged to first proclaim independence. The Czech president met Hitler and was told his country was to be invaded; he promptly fainted. He awoke to sign the surrender documents. On March 15 Hitler marched into Bohemia. The Munich Agreement was exposed as a total lie.


Ussr/nazi pact :Ussr/nazi pact August 1939 Hitler hated the USSR; Stalin hated the Nazis. Both knew that one day their nations would be at war; but they needed to buy time to prepare. Stalin had been ignored by the British and French; he also wanted to take over part of Poland. Foreign ministers Ribbentrop and Molotov met secretly on 28th August. The two countries agreed to not fight each other for ten years. They also secretly carved up Eastern Europe between their two nations. Hitler now had no obstacles to invading Poland...


Poland :Poland September 1939 Hitler had always detested the existence of Poland – it split Germany in two. Its destruction had always been his main aim in foreign policy. In August, a group of concentration camp prisoners were dressed in Polish uniforms, and shot near the border. Hitler claimed that Poland was trying to invade. He launched a blitzkrieg (lightning war) on September 1st. This time, Britain and France reacted. They declared war on September 3rd. World War Two had begun.