German Aggression & the Failure of the West

Hitler s foreign policy aims

y Hitler had three major

foreign policy aims:

y Eliminate Treaty of

Versailles y Unite German speaking peoples into one nation (Austrian Anschluss) y Lebensraum ( living space ): annex eastern territory to feed the German empire

Hitler s Aggressive Foreign Policy

y March 1935: Germany

publicly announces its intention to rearm

y Rebuked by Britain,

France and Italy, but no action taken y Draft and Air Force (Luftwaffe) reinstituted

Franco-Soviet Pact
y May 1935 y Gave false sense that Germany would face a two-front war. y Insulted Britain: Soviets over us? y Exploited by Hitler: Surrounded, violated Locarno and therefore justified reoccupation of Rhineland

German-Anglo Naval Pact

y June 1935 y Germany and Britain agreed that Germany s total tonnage would be 35% of Britain s
y

Said nothing about guns or limitations by class Allowed Germany to build submarines at 100% ratio of British

y Results: y Ended Versailles naval restrictions y Angered Britain s allies (France) y Britain: if he is going to rearm anyway, why not put a limit?
y

Seen as a better alternative to the naval race that preceded WWI

German Reoccupation of Rhineland

y March 7, 1936 y French hoped to have joint response w/Britain y Britain justified occupation: Germany had mended its ways; German territory; No direct threat to Britain y Germany had no choice: surrounded by France and Soviet Union y Hitler emboldened by weak response to Japan in Manchuria and Italy s Ethiopian War and limited sanctions imposed on Italy.

Hitler s Foreign Policy Coup

y Rhineland ended

Versailles and Locarno:

y If France reacted,

Locarno was dead y Italy would not back Britain and France y France would not react unilaterally y Belgium felt abandoned, declares permanent neutrality

y Hitler s lesson learned: y If France won t react to defend itself, surely it won t protect minor Eastern nations nor Soviet Union

League of Nations failures

y October 1935: Italian invasion of

Abyssinia (Ethiopia) y League issues sanctions, but not oil embargo y Italy allowed to use Suez Canal y Spanish Civil War-1936-1939 y League failed to act y France, Britain, USA banned weapons sale to either side y Italy & Germany & USSR intervened with equipment y 1937: Japanese Invasion of Manchuria y League condemned, but weak sanctions only led to Japan leaving the League y US refused to sanction Japan Rape of Nanjing -1937

Appeasement: May 1937-March 1939

y March 13, 1938-Anschluss

w/Austria y May 1938: Hitler openly demands Sudetenland (German-Czech region) be autonomous; granted y September 1938: Munich Conference
y Sudetenland given to Hitler

(despite Soviet demands to stand up and Czech protest) y Hitler promised the integrity of the rest of Czechoslovakia would remain y Czech. & USSR kept out of meeting

Neville Chamberlain declares: I believe it is peace for our time (in reference to the Munich Agreement)

German occupation of Czechoslovakia

y March 1939 y German army marches into Czech territory y Slovakia declared independent y Poland threatened (Danzig and corridor) y April: Italy invades Albania y May: Pact of Steel between Italy and Germany (formal military alliance) y Soviets offer to intervene to protect Czech.-ignored

End of Appeasement: March 1939

y Munich Conference showed Britain and France that Hitler could not be trusted y Franco-British Guarantee (March 31): Poland would be defended at all costs
y

Hitler disregarded as idle threat

y y y

No easy access to Poland B & F not ready for war Western mistrust of USSR & Poland s refusal to work with USSR would keep them out

Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact

y August 1939 y Non-aggression and friendship-shocking! y Secret agreement:
y

Soviets and Germans would divide Poland Soviets given free hand in Baltic Soviets would stay out of war between Germany and Poland/Western Democracies

Why didn t the Allies stop Germany sooner? of pacifism Fear of war & illusion
y y Hitler underestimated & misread:
y World believed Germany was

y y

stronger than it was y World believed Hitler was rational statesman who could be negotiated with/appeased y Strong Germany was a buffer against communism Ineffective League of Nations Economic issues made foreign policy less important in 1930 s-war too costly an option in economic chaos of 1930 s British view that Versailles was irrational & French unwillingness to enforce on its own. Absence of Superpower: USA