Germany Section C Flashcards
What were the initial interpretations of the causes of WWII?
Immediately following WW2, a significant number of historians blamed Nazi (and particularly Hitler’s) expansionist foreign policy for causing the war. It was widely accepted that Hitler always intended to go to war to build a German empire but there was some debate on how far he had a step by step plan to achieve this.
How did Taylor and Fischer challenge the initial interpretations of the causes of WW2?
In 1961, Taylor published ‘Origins of the Second World War’ which argued that although Hitler wanted a German empire, he didn’t have a master plan, nor did he necessarily want to go to war in 1939. In the same year, Fischer published ‘Germany’s Aims in the First World War’, arguing that German goals in 1914 were not dissimilar from their 1939 goals. Thus Nazi foreign policy was not unique, but a continuation of long held German expansionist policies.
What were Britain’s attitudes and policies in the 1930s?
Generally followed a policy of appeasement towards Germany in the 1930s. This was done for many reasons: to avoid bloodshed, to protect the other interests and priorities of the British Empire, to seek peace, to satisfy the growing pacifist feeling in Britain etc.
What were the USSR’s attitudes and policies in the 1930s?
Stalin had expressed a desire for closer relations with western capitalist democracies but didn’t want the SU to be drawn into conflicts. In May 1939, the Soviet foreign minister declared an interest in an alliance with the Western Allies but the Allies didn’t trust the SU and feared that an alliance with them would cause Germany to attack out of fear of encirclement. Stalin ended up signing a pact with Ribbenstrop and Germany on 23rd August 1939 to strengthen German and Russian relations.
Which aspects of German history influenced Nazi foreign policy?
-A largely fictional racial history which drove Hitler’s very firm views on race
-Nostalgia for earlier empires and a sense that power and land were Germany’s right
-WW1 and the effect of the Treaty of Versailles
What was Aryan racial theory?
For Hitler, Germans were Aryan, although he thought that some other counties in Northern Europe (like Britain) also had Aryan roots. Hitler saw the Aryan race as superior to all other races such as ethnic groups like black or Asian peoples as well as Slavs in Russia and Eastern Europe and especially Jews.
What was pan-Germanism and how did it impact foreign policy?
Uniting all German speaking peoples in one country would mean capturing other countries and clearing them of inferior people to give pure Germans enough land to live on. This led the Nazis to favour alliances with racially acceptable countries like Britain but didn’t stop the Germans making alliances with ‘inferior’ countries to gain temporary advantage. This also explains the eastwards expansion into racially inferior countries.
What was the Third Reich meant to be?
A Germany returned to its rightful power and place in Europe (especially compared to the First and Second Reichs). The Nazis wanted to overturn Versailles and expand further, securing more land in the east than Germany had held in 1914.
How might the strategy of the First and Second Reichs have impacted Nazi foreign policy?
The two earlier empires had initially worked hard diplomatically for acceptance by other nations and this may have influenced the early years of Hitler’s foreign policy where he stressed his desire for peace.
How did the Nazis try to make themselves look credible?
By linking themselves back to earlier empires. One of the propaganda postcards on sale at Nazi rallies showed the faces of Frederick the Great, Bismarck, Hindenburg and Hitler and the slogan read “what the King conquered, the Prince formed, the Field Marshall defended, the Solider saved and unified”. It was, Hitler said, the glorious past of Germany that made the loss of WW1 and the humiliating treaty that followed all the worse.
How did the Treaty of Versailles help Hitler’s aims?
The signing of the ‘Diktat’ by the SPD government helped create an image of democracy as politically impotent and unpatriotic- an image Hitler was later able to use to his advantage to gain support for his foreign policy. He claimed Germany needed a strong authoritarian leader who would reclaim German national pride.
What were the main terms of the Treaty of Versailles?
-Germany lost land like Danzig and the creation of the Polish corridor
-Disarmament with the army being limited to 100,000 men
-Germany couldn’t enter the Rhineland
-Reparations of 132 million gold marks set in 1921
-War guilt clause (Article 231)
-Germany had no say in the terms of the treaty- it was a Diktat
What was the effect of the Treaty of Versailles on the Weimar government?
Many politicians agreed privately not to reinforce the treaty and turned a blind eye to signs of rearmament. The government worked secretly to break demands for disarmament and limitations on the size of the German army.
What was the effect of the Treaty of Versailles on the army?
The army felt that it had not been defeated, but undermined so it could rearm. Secret rearmament agreements were made with the USSR, which allowed for German armaments to be made on Soviet soil by Soviet companies. Some members of the army also felt that the Weimar government was not legal. Their argument was that the army was all that was left of legitimate government so it could make its own decisions.
Why did Britain and France turn a blind eye to German rearmament?
The Treaty was seen by some within Britain and France as too harsh. They seemed to accept this reversal of unfair terms, hoping not to have to fight another war. They hoped that when this was done, Germany would be satisfied and wouldn’t try to expand further. In fact, this encouraged the Nazis to expand Germany yet further and gave them time to build a stronger military force.
What was the ideology behind Hitler’s foreign policy?
-The Treaty of Versailles had to be overturned (similar to but more extreme than in Weimar)
-The Nazi Third Reich should be large and powerful (similar to Kaiserreich)
-The Third Reich needed Lebensraum (similar to Kaiserreich)
-Europe was under threat from world Jewry and Bolshevism
What is the evidence Hitler had a step by step master plan for WW2?
-Until 1936, he kept kept many foreign ministry officials from before he came to power (continuity made him seem more moderate but really he wanted full control of Germany and military strength)
-Comparison of Nazi land gains from 1935-1939 with Hitler’s expressed aims in Mein Kampf, speeches and meetings could show planning if they matched e.g. overturning Versailles and Lebensraum
What is the evidence Hitler didn’t have a step by step master plan for WW2?
-Keeping foreign ministry officials could show he didn’t interfere or impose a plan
-Policies like eastward expansion were simply broad aims rather than a plan
-An analysis of how prepared the Nazis were for each foreign policy move shows they were generally unprepared so Hitler likely didn’t plan them (or at least they were intended for a later date)
-Mein Kampf was more of a manifesto than a plan
What is the Hossbach Memorandum?
On 5th November 1937, Hitler held a secret conference with key Nazi officials where he expressed the importance of Lebensraum and said that military action was to be taken by 1943-1945 at the latest. Hitler’s casual acceptance of the immense risks of starting a war shocked his colleagues, especially Blomberg and Fritsch who were both removed by scandals within 3 months.
How do different historians interpret the Hossbach Memorandum?
-Intentionalist historians use this to argue that Hitler was planning to start a general war
-Functionalist historians argue that the Memorandum was the improvised ad hoc response by Hitler to the growing crisis in the German economy in the late 1930s
-Taylor argues that the memorandum contained the same themes as in Hitler’s speeches and contained no directives for action beyond a wish for increased armaments.
What evidence is there that Hitler always intended war?
-Built up an army from the moment he came to power, defying the Treaty of Versailles
-Four Year Plan stressed the need to put militarisation first and develop ersatz goods
-Privately told his military generals that he intended expansion of Germany and he knew he couldn’t achieve expansion and Lebensraum without war. Particularly liked the idea of Blitzkrieg
-Set a date for the invasion of Czechoslovakia and made speeches suggesting he was about to go to war e.g. in Berlin on 26th September 1938
-6 months later he broke the promise from the Munich Conference and took all of Czechoslovakia
-Could argue the Hossbach Memorandum
What evidence is there that Hitler didn’t intend war?
-When Hitler spoke of rearming in the early 1930s he stressed Germany’s need to rearm for defence, not attack
-He always hoped to reverse Versailles but initially through diplomacy
-Hoped to avoid war with France and Britain and never prepared Germany adequately for a long term war
-Achieved foreign policy goals on the Rhineland and Austria without war
-Agreed that Germany’s territorial expansion would stop with the Sudetenland at the Munich Conference
-Didn’t expect military opposition over Czechoslovakia or Eastern Europe in general
-Used Britain and France’s aversion to war to get land he thought they wouldn’t care about
-Could argue the Hossbach Memorandum
Why did Germany want to invade Poland?
The Treaty of Versailles gave land to Poland like the Polish Corridor, along with around 800,000 Germans. Germany and the USSR were angered by Poland’s existence and wanted some if not all of its territory.
What offers did the Nazis make to Poland?
-In 1933, the Nazi party won Danzig town elections
-In 1934, Hitler signed a non-aggression pact with Poland
-In 1935, the Nazis presented the idea of sorting out Danzig and the Polish Corridor through diplomacy and having Poland as an ally. Over the next 2 years, the Nazis pressed Poland to develop the non-aggression pact
