NAZI Foreign Policy - Background

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Nazi Foreign Policy 1933-1939

Alan Elliott Centre for Learning Innovation (Department of Education and Training)

Syllabus

Nazi foreign policy

nature of Nazi foreign policy: aims and strategies to September 1939

impact of ideology on Nazi foreign policy to September 1939

Some focus questions:

Assess the aims and strategies of Nazi foreign policy to September 1939

Assess the impact of Nazism on German foreign policy in the period 1933-1939 (2007 HSC)

Background

German foreign policy after World War I to the Chancellorship of

Hitler in 1933 was dominated by the restrictions and demands of the post

war treaties and the Weimar policies of Gustav Stresemann from

1923-1933. The nazi foreign policy had Germany at war within seven

years. The easiest way to follow the so-called 'drift to war' is a

chronological investigation which includes questions about the

significance of each event as a possible step towards war.

The key aspects of Nazi foreign policy were linked to the long-term policies of the Nazi Party:

End the restrictions on Germany of the Versailles treaty

German re-armament - necessary for expansion and international status

“Lebensraum� (living space) - German expansion in the East

“Volksdeutsche� - unite all German speaking people in one country to make a greater Germany

Promote Nazi ideology to the world - Aryan superiority, anti-jewish, pro-fascist and anti-communist, economic dynamism

Hitler had calculated that this would sooner or later require a war.

On January 30, 1933, Adolf Hitler was appointed chancellor. Over the

next six years, he was the driving force behind public repudiation of

the peace settlement and the expansion of German political and economic

influence over Europe. The two German Foreign Ministers during this time

were Konstantin von Neurath, a career diplomat (1933-1938) and Joachim

von Ribbentrop, a Nazi party member and former ambassador to Great

Britain (1938-1945).

The League of Nations

The League of nations had been established after the World War I

treaties. Britain, France, and the United States were the main

architects of the post-WWI international order and the League was meant

to be a tool for moderation and peace.

Here are some turning points for the League in the early 1930's:

In February 1933 Japan left the League of Nations.

In October 1933 Germany withdrew from the League of Nations

In September 1934, the Soviet Union was admitted to the League.

Listen to the following podcast on why the League of Nations failed:

http://web.mac.com/gileshill/iWeb/history%20at%20hand/GCSE%20Podcasts/81D3DAA9-AA4F-4433-99EB-93D98BCB52F7.html

Questions to consider:

How many member nations did the League of Nations include in the early 1930s?

What was the main aim of the League of Nations?

How did some Britons regard Hitler in 1934? (Listen to a BBC broadcast by Winston Churchill at: http://www.archive.org/details/TheThreatOfNaziGermany1934

German Non-Aggression Pact with Poland January 1934

For Hitler's foreign policy to be successful it needed a stronger Germany. This would take time.

With a slim majority in the Reichstag and an

insignificant army of one hundred thousand men, Hitler would have to

tread warily in foreign affairs. …any kind of hard line had to be put

aside until he had succeeded in bringing the reich military strength

nearer the numbers and materials of his heavily armed neighbors. What he

needed for this was time…'

The Unmaking of Adolf Hitler, Eugene Davidson, 2004, p 26.

In 1934 Germany signed a Non-Aggression Pact and then a trade

agreement with Poland. This included an end to previous border disputes,

agreement to negotiate differences and a ten year non-aggression

treaty. This stabilised Germany's eastern borders and gave Hitler time

to continue rearmament and focus on other aspects of Nazi foreign

policy. Five years later Germany would officially end the treaty and

invade Poland (September 1, 1939)

Question to consider: What is the significance of this pact for Germany, Poland, France, Russia and Britain?

Task: Consider this interpretation below and write a paragraph comment:

In six years (1933-38) Hitler carried through

his minimum programme. Before he came to power the League of Nations

had revealed its weakness by the failure to check Japanese aggression in

Manchukuo (1932-33), and the Japanese withdrawal from the league and

from the Disarmament Conference (March 1933) was followed by that of

Germany (October 1933). That action Hitler had already foreshadowed in

an article in the Volkische Beobachter a year earlier. He covered it now

by a barrage of pacific words and by his Ten-Year pact with Poland

(January 1934), interpreted not only by the poles, but in England and

France, as evidence of his good intentions, rather than as a temporary

to safeguard his rear whilst he faced the western powers.

Passant, E J, A Short History of Germany 1815-1945, p 197.

The Völkischer Beobachter or 'People's Observer' was the newspaper of the NSDAP or Nazi Party from 1920.

Return of the Saar January 1935

The Treaty of Versailles had given France control of the

resource-rich Saar region for 15 years. In 1935 an independent and

observed area vote (plebiscite) gave a 90% vote to rejoin Germany. This

gave Germany access to a small population but the richest coal basin in

Europe. Part of the German weapons and chemical production industries

had been in the Saar since the 1870's.

Question to consider: Which powerful German arms family had factories in the Saar area?

Re-armament March 1935

Hitler had the German delegation to the Disarmament Conference in

Geneva propose that the French should disarm to the level of the Germans

or that the Germans should be allowed to re-arm to the level of the

French. Hitler knew this would not be accepted and used this excuse to

leave the conference. German rearmament had begun in secret even before

1933 Hitler had plans for an army of 300,000 and an airforce of one

thousand planes.

In March 1935, Hitler publicly announced Nazi Germany's military

status and plans - which broke the terms of the Versaille treaty.

Germany had 2,500 war planes in its Luftwaffe and an army of 300,000 men

in its Wehrmacht. Hitler also introduced compulsory military

conscription in Nazi Germany and an army target of 550,000 men.

And what were Germany's opponents doing diplomatically?

In April 1935 Britain, France and Italy formed an alliance known as the Stresa Front to oppose any move by Germany to annex Austria.

And in May 1935 France concluded a treaty with Russia.

Anglo-German Naval Agreement June 1935

The Treaty of Versailles had also limited the German navy to only six

warships over 10 000 tons and banned any submarines. This restricted

German naval development to a small coastal defence service. This

problem for German was partly overcome because innovations in warship

design and materials had produced a 'pocket battleship' (Deutschland

class) near the tonnage limits. But Hitler wanted a navy to rival that

of Britain's.

And then In June 1935 the Anglo-German Naval Agreement

was signed. This allowed Germany to have one third of the tonnage of

the British navy's surface fleet (probably the largest in the world at

this time) and an equal tonnage of submarines.

Questions to consider:

Why did Britain agree that Nazi Germany could break the terms of

the Versailles Treaty? How could this Agreement be possible after

Britain's part in the Agreement at the Stresa Conference?

Is this Britain's version of 'fair play' or more to do with an appeasement policy?

How did Europe react to Germany's rearmament plans?

Rhineland 1936

In October 1935 Mussolini's Italy had invaded Abyssinia (present-day

Ethiopia) in North Africa. Mussolini had suddenly created an 'Italian

east' with economic resource potential for Italy and in gaining more

land had demonstrated to the rest of Europe the weakness of the League

of Nations and the increasing power of Italy and fascism. This

encouraged Hitler to implement the first stage of his expansionist plan

in the Rhineland to gain more territory, resources and demonstrate the

power of a rearmed Germany under a Nazi leader.

Question to consider: Why was Italy successful in its aggression against Abyssinia? Consider the role of Britain and France.

In March 1936 Hitler continued a calculated gamble and re-militarised

the Rhineland. Germany still had a relatively small military but met no

resistance from its neighbours despite breaking clauses of the Treaty

of Versailles and the Locarno Pact.

Questions to consider:

What was the degree of Popular support in Germany for Hitler's foreign policy actions by 1936?

How did France and Britain react to the re-militarisation of the Rhineland? Why?

Spanish Civil War July 1936

Germany and Italy supported the fascist rebels and the Soviet Union

supported the Republican government. This was a conflict between two

political ideologies.

Question to consider: In what ways did the fascists and communists become involved?

Alliances with Italy and Japan 1936

In November 1936 Germany strengthened its diplomatic and military

position against France, Britain and Russia with two alliances:

Rome-Berlin Axis agreement

Germany and Japan agreement (Anti-Comintern Pact) which specifically agreed to oppose communism

Task: Research and write a detailed paragraph or two about each of the alliances noted above.

Japan invaded China July 1937

Japan began full-scale war with China in 1937 and conquered much of China's eastern seaboard by 1938.

Question to consider: What significance did this have for Nazi Germany?

The Anschluss March 1938

The political union (Anschluss) of Austria and Nazi Germany

was a key element of the 'lebensraum' aspect of Hitler's foreign policy.

Again it was forbidden by the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. And Austria

was a member of the League of Nations. Hitler promoted civil unrest in

Austria and German troops entered Austria to 'restore order'. Then a

citizen vote (plebiscite) approved the union.

Questions to consider:

What was the role of Seyss-Inquart in the charade which led to the 'Anschluss'?

Did the majority of Austrians favour a political union as well as an economic union?

The Munich Agreement September 1938

Hitler demanded the right to occupy the Sudetenland, the part of

Czechoslovakia with around 3 million Germans. The four power conference

at Munich between Germany, Britain, France and Italy tried to solve the

crises. France had an alliance with Czechoslovakia and Britain might be

drawn into this by France.

The only concession gained from Hitler was that the Sudetenland would

be the last territorial claim of Germany in Europe. The British Prime

Minister, Neville Chamberlain, brought the signed agreement back home

confident that diplomatic appeasement had stopped a major war.

Q: Which government did not take part in the Munich talks about Sudetenland?

Q: Assess the success and failure of appeasement in 1930's

foreign policy diplomacy. (Consider: Did countries other than Germany

need time to be ready for war?)

Listen to the following podcast on the British policy of appeasement in the 1930s:

http://web.mac.com/gileshill/iWeb/history%20at%20hand/GCSE%20Podcasts/14CA8FE1-22CD-490B-B864-09571DE8F2CC.html

Germany occupies the rest of Czechoslovakia March 1939

The German military occupied more of Czechoslovakia and broke the

Munich Agreement from seven months earlier. Chamberlain would not go to

war over Czechoslovakia but gave a guarantee to Poland. In April Italy

annexed Albania.

Task: Study a map of Czechoslovakia and identify where it bordered Germany and Austria and the German-speaking areas.

Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact August 1939

Hitler and Stalin came to an agreement because:

Russia preferred an agreement with Germany since Britain and France's preferred appeasement of the Nazi regime

Russia was not trusted by Britain and France

Collective security was the dominant foreign policy in 1930's Europe

The final step - invasion of Poland September 1939

After years of side-stepping a confrontation with Hitler's Germany the final step to a European war was swift.

Coercion by Germany and appeasement by Britain and France had worked

for Germany. Then on September 1, 1939 Germany invaded Poland. The

British response was unusually quick and final - a declaration of  war

on Germany September 2nd.

But what followed was a period of non-conflict until Germany invaded

Denmark and then Norway in April 1940. The invasion of the Netherlands,

Belgium and France followed. Chamberlain resigned and was replaced as

Prime Minister of Britain by Winston Churchill.

Hitler had stated in Mein Kampf that Germany would settle

its continental position by the conquest of France as a preliminary to

the conquest of Russia. All his other foreign policy moves had been

leading to his 'New Order'.

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