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Lesson 2 Nazi Foreign Policy

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6 views

Lesson 2 Nazi Foreign Policy

Uploaded by

bassib1313
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Nazi Foreign Policy

The Expansion of the Third Reich


OVERVIEW
In these lessons, you will examine:
• Goals of Nazi foreign policy
• Reasons for Germany’s successful reversal of
the Treaty of Versailles
• Reasons for appeasement and the annexation
of Czechoslovakia
Goals
Although the Nazis did not have detailed
plans, they did have clear foreign policy
goals:
• To overturn the Treaty of Versailles
• To provide territory for the Aryan nation –
“lebensraum”
• To destroy communism and the Jewish nation
The first moves
From 1933-1936, Nazi foreign policy was
clearly set against the Treaty of Versailles but
it proceeded cautiously:
• Germany withdrew from the disarmament
conference of 1933
• Germany signed a non-aggression pact with
Poland in 1934
A “speed bump”
In 1934, Austrian Nazis helped coordinate the
assassination of the Austrian Chancellor,
Engelbert Dollfuss
• Mussolini threatened to invade Austria if
Hitler attempted “anschluss”
• Hitler backed down
Divide and conquer
Hitler needed to change the opinion of nations
defending both the Treaty of Versailles and the
status quo to achieve goals:
• 1935 - Germany begins re-armament
• 1935 - Anglo-German Naval Agreement
• 1936 - Re-militarization of the Rhineland
• 1936 - Rome-Berlin Axis
• 1936 - Support for the Spanish Nationalists
Anschluss
With Italy as a ally, Hitler moved towards uniting
Germany and Austria together
• Feb 1938: Hitler forced Austria’s new chancellor,
Kurt von Schuschnigg to accept Nazis into his
government
• Mar 1938: Schuschnigg attempted to hold a
plebiscite on union with Germany
• Mar 13, 1938: German soldiers and police invade
Austria and meet no resistance
• Mar 14, 1938: Hitler proclaimed union with Austria
The case for appeasement
Hitler threatened to invade Czechoslovakia if the
Sudeten Germans were not made part of Germany.
British PM, Neville Chamberlain, sought a
peaceful solution for various reasons:
1. Public support for war was low
2. The British army was not ready for conflict
3. Chamberlain believed that this would be Hitler’s
final demand
The case against appeasement
What Chamberlain did not consider in
seeking appeasement:
1. The Sudetenland held Czechoslovakia’s
major defenses
2. The Czech army was modernized and well-
trained
3. Hitler’s goal was not German self-
determination, but an end to the Treaty of
Versailles
The Munich Conference
• In Sept 1938, France and Britain would not go to war
over a plebiscite by the Sudeten Germans
• Hitler expanded his demand to include Polish and
Hungarian requests for territories – France and
Czechoslovakia readied for war
• Chamberlain flew to Munich on Sept 29 where Hitler
agreed to take only the Sudetenland – Chamberlain
proclaimed that it was “peace for our time”
The die is cast
• In March 1939, Germany invaded the remainder of
Czechoslovakia
• In April 1939, France and Britain declared their full
support against any German invasion of Poland
• In August 1939, Germany and the USSR signed the
Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact
• On Sept 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland
• On Sept 3, 1939, Britain and France declared war on
Germany.
SUMMARY QUESTIONS
• Why did Hitler pursue a cautious foreign policy prior
to 1936?
• What explains the success of anschluss in 1938 and
not in 1934?
• Why did Britain and France not enforce the terms of
the Treaty of Versailles prior to 1939?
• What was “appeasement” and why could it be
considered a failure of collective security?

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