Nazi Foreign Policy

1. Aryan Theory Driving Policy
   1. Pan-Germanism
      1. Favoured alliances with the racially acceptable e.g. Britain
      2. Favoured expansion eastwards towards the racially inferior
         1. Temporary alliances only for leverage/ advantage e.g. non-aggression pact Poland 1934 and Soviet Union 1939
   2. Social Darwinism and Eugenics
2. Creation of German Empires from the past and expanding beyond that
   1. First and Second Reich - military and war strength in taking land
   2. Frederick Barbarossa, Kaisers, Imperialism
   3. Nazi Germany heavily supported by Old German Imperials - Sentiments continued
3. Impact of the Treaty of Versailles
   1. LAMB, Betrayal, November Criminals
      1. Weimar hoped to change it through diplomacy because they were not militarily strong enough to change it by force
   2. Overtime other countries saw how harsh it was (Britain) and did not stop Hitler in reversing some of its terms
      1. They hoped when this was done Hitler would be satisfied e.g. Saarland, Rhineland, Austria, Czech Sudetenlan
   3. Some nations even helped Hitler to destroy the terms (British Naval Agreement with Germany 1935 allowing Germany to build up its navy)
   4. Many nations ignored Germany ‘secretly’ rebuild its army before 1935
   5. Encouraged Hitler and the Nazis to expand Germany yet further and also gave them time to rebuild a stronger military force.
   6. Geographical, Economical, Militarial, psychological etc.

1. ToV had to be overturned
   1. Weimar had wanted to revise borders back to their position in 1914, Hitler wanted to go further (eastwards). Unlike the Kaiser he did not want colonies until Germany was fully established in Europe.
2. The Third Reich should be a large empire and world power
   1. Where possible by alliances and war
      1. Only short term with the 'racially inferior'
         1. Empire like the Kaiser and Weimar although Weimar never discussed openly or implemented policy
3. Lebensraum
   1. Shortage of raw materials and farmland and needed living space for the expansion of the German population
      1. Only keep the 'pure'
4. Europe was under threat from world Jewry and Bolshevism
   1. Worldwide conspiracy of Jews to control governments and that they had to be stopped sooner or later
5. Asked generals for advice but ultimately made the decision, often ignoring them. Many disagreed with the Italian alliance but Hitler pushed it through anyway.
6. Von Ribbentrop - Anti-Comintern Pact - H wanted allegiance most. Even if there was a war he would want 'honourable peace' w/ Britain immediately. 'I would regret it [war] very much. 'What I want most of all' (confidence)'
   1. (Very wide instructions) (playing his options) Do what you can...I will follow your efforts w/ interest...not very elaborative in his instructions
7. Master Planner or Opportunist?
   1. Answer simply a little of both. There are examples of both in his foreign policy actions: the land taken and the alliances made with whom and when .e.g. the takeover of Austria in 1938 happened earlier than expected because of the Austrian Nazis actions (an opportunity) but still a desire of Hitler’s
8. Did Hitler always intend war?
   1. drive for rearmament and self-sufficiency of raw materials and foodstuffs so they would not need to import in wartime suggests a build up for war. He may have said publicly that he wanted peace and need to rearm for defence but privately he intended expansion, not defence.

Annotations:

• Minimum requirement before '36 (39?) was for Poland to be a German satellite. The Nazis pressed Poland for alliance: - military support in war - mutual war w/ USSR giving Poland a chunk of Ukraine - said they only wanted to build road + rail connections through the corridor to EP *Poles continued to resist - even to the road-rail which was actually quite an acceptable request

1. Treaty of Versailles: German lands given to Poland which was bitterly resented by all Germans - Danzig and Polish Corridor
2. Both Germany and the Soviet Union wanted some if not all of Poland. Poland could not trust its neighbours and the growing Nazi military forces made the western powers look increasingly weak
3. Mutual assistance (Locarno) pact with France. France had made one with Czechoslovakia as well. However, France did not assist Czechoslovakia when Germany invaded in 1939; Britain nor the League of Nations would have supported such a war. Also the Western powers were badly placed to geographically to help Poland if Germany invaded
4. Poland was not a weak country. it was fiercely independent and just as keen to take land as other Eastern countries – it took land from Czechoslovakia in 1938. It had a large army in proportion to its population.
   1. However its army was not very mechanised (horses drawn heavy artillery) and still had cavalry regiments. It had only just started to train men to fight in light tanks.
5. Nazi relations with Poland up to 1936
   1. non-aggression Pact with Poland
      1. Poland was a useful ally to the biggest threat to Germany which was Russia.
   2. Polish corridor split Germans in East Prussia with the rest of Germany and was divisive for Germany in every way
      1. Hitler wanted AT LEAST a road-rail track through the corridor to connect to East Prussia
6. How did Nazi relations change in 1936?
   1. Remilitarised the Rhineland - Poland offered France help (Locarno); no-one had wanted to fight; Poland had showed their hand
      1. Hitler became more confident in taking what he wanted by force; no-one had stopped him
   2. Rome-Berlin Axis 1936 - Germany had another ally - worried Poland
   3. 1937: German-Polish Minorities Treaty; to keep Poland sweet
   4. 1938: 11-13 March: Anschluss; 1 October: Takes the Sudetenland - Moving East....
   5. 1939: Invades the rest of Czechoslovakia; May = Pact of Steel (now w/ military support); August = USSR non-aggression
      1. Hitler now had Mussolini's military support and so Poland was now less useful. USSR cynical alliance put Poland in danger > it would be split between two dictatorships
7. Hitler did not believe Britain and France would stand by their support for Polish independence- both countries had backed down over Czechoslovakia, why would they go to war to help Poland? Britain and France had shown no evidence of rearming more rapidly, conscripting troops and sending troops or equipment to Poland
   1. Hitler had been given inaccurate information regarding Britain and France's economies/military and governments. He believed they were 'weak and spineless' and so did not think they would or even could follow through their threats

1. Tensions n Europe that influenced the move towards war?
   1. Europe was in an unstable state
   2. ToV - among other things had created many smaller states that were militarily vulnerable and had tense relations
   3. A genuine desire by most nations for peace
   4. Ideological divides
   5. USSR was building a strong and large army
2. League of Nations
   1. Resolve disputes between member countries and maintain peace and prosperity in the world. All members agreed to settle disputes between each other through the League of Nations and accept the decision of the League rather than go to war
   2. The League could act against a country that did not accept its ruling – firstly economically with sanctions or as a last resort, militarily
   3. Weaknesses
      1. Membership - not all nations were members so it was not inclusive
         1. Germany - 1925 to 1933 Russia couldn't join until 1934 and were asked to leave in 19393 (Nazi-Soviet Pact)
      2. Bureaucracy - too slow to make decisions and members seldom agreed to economic sanctions let alone military
      3. Enforcement - did not have its own army so member countries had to supply troops. They rarely did and the decisions were slow that they looked weak.
3. Key Alliances in the 1930s
   1. Anti - Comintern Pact - Germany, Italy, Japan - aid each other if the USSR attacked
   2. Non-Aggression Pacts
      1. France and USSR 1932
      2. Germany and Poland 1934
      3. Czechoslovakia and Germany 1935
      4. USSR and Germany 1939
   3. Limited support in war
      1. France and USSR 1935
      2. If invaded: Britain, France, Poland
   4. Vague Friendly Arrangements
      1. Italy, Britain, France 1935
      2. Anglo-German Naval Agreement 1935
   5. Full Support in War
      1. Pact of Steel: Italy/Germany 1939
4. Britain
   1. Aim in Foreign Policy
      1. 1. maintain empire, peace and prosperity 2. Facing colonial unrest - sought diplomatic resolutions + concessions
   2. Attitude to Germany
      1. Policy of appeasement up to 1938/ felt the ToV was too harsh; Germany would be a good buffer in the spread of communism in Europe
         1. Helped break the ToV: did not prevent the anchluss or takeover of Czechoslovakia/Rhineland; Naval Agreement; tried to fulfill Hitler's hunger w/o major conflict
   3. Reasons for that attitude
      1. Pre-1938: politicians and public did not want to go to war; After Czech invasion and action of Kristallnacht against Jews- public opinion hardened to Germany
      2. Maintain the status quo
   4. Contributed to war?
      1. Policy of appeasement contributed to war because it encouraged Germany, Italy and Japan to seize more territory
      2. Declared war - gave Hitler more avenues/options than he had previously
5. France
   1. Aim in Foreign Policy
      1. Need for alliances - Britain cooling down and Russia upping communism
      2. Worked on alliances with Czechoslovakia and even Russia
      3. Harshest in ToV - wanted to punish and cripple Germany
      4. Attitude to Germany
         1. Up to 1939 = resentment due to failure of meeting the terms of ToV
            1. Had to appease Germany
         2. Reasons for that attitude
            1. Too weak to act alone; had colonial difficulties and a weak economy; quality of the army and equipment had declined
            2. Contributed to war?
               1. Increased Hitler's confidence in his Eastern European aggression e.g. no backlash; allowed the rise of extremism; no resistance to Rhineland = Poland showed their hand
6. Italy
   1. Aim in Foreign Policy
      1. Dissatisfied with the ToV - little gain; expansionist desires; wanted war after full rearmament in 1942
   2. Reasons for that attitude
      1. Did not expect war until the 1940s - only joined once Germany had defeated France
         1. Rome-Berlin axis 1936
   3. Attitude to Germany
      1. shared anti-communist views, autarky, strong government and military force
         1. Both had interest in land on the Austrian border
         2. Never trusted each other and didn't always help out in foreign policy
   4. Contributed to war?
      1. Pact of Steel 1939 encouraged Hitler to go to war - military backing
7. USSR
   1. Aim in Foreign Policy
      1. Isolated in Europe because of Communist ideology
      2. Fascist dictatorships and democracies were anti-communist and vulnerable to attack from the east and west
      3. Wanted to build up Russian army and make Russia self-sufficient and so wanted to avoid War
   2. Attitude to Germany
      1. Joined League of nations when Germany made pact with Poland
      2. Wanted to make alliances and pacts with the west which France wanted but Britain dragged its heels
   3. Reasons for that attitude
      1. Looked for a pact with Germany: anger at not being asked to the Munich conference to help solve the Czech crisis- did not trust the West to protect Russia from Germany
   4. Contributed to war?
      1. Nazi-Soviet Pact : Non –aggression Pact and secret deal to divide Poland
         1. Gave Hitler the green light
8. USA
   1. Aim in Foreign Policy
      1. Policy of isolationism and disarmament – had a very small army in 1938
      2. Remained neutral on many events: Exported arms to Italy and Germany who were supplying arms to Franco in the Spanish civil war
   2. Attitude to Germany
      1. Did try and persuade Hitler to withdraw from Czechoslovakia in 1938
   3. Contributed to war?
      1. USA openly said it would not go to war in Europe which encouraged Hitler to go to war
9. Japan
   1. Aim in Foreign Policy
      1. On winning side of WW1 but like Italy , dissatisfied with the Treaty (too few spoils of war)
      2. Claims on Chinse territory
   2. Attitude to Germany
      1. Anti-Comintern with Germany and Italy
   3. Contributed to war?
      1. Could act against USA if they did join plus was on the other side of Russia geographically if Russia changed their mind and went to war with Germany