International Policies of Hitler
Made by: Kabeer Qazi
Introduction
Adolf Hitler was appointed as Chancellor on 30 Jan, 1933. He soon consolidated
power and became the Fuhrer on 2 Aug, 1934. He had 3 basic aims; Revise the
Treaty of Versailles, Unite all German-speaking people into one Reich and Expand
to achieve Lebensraum. His Foreign Policy can be divided into 3 stages:
● A moderate policy up to 1935.
● Increased activity between 1935 and 1937.
● A more confident foreign policy after 1937, certain that there would be little
opposition to his plans.
1933-1935
● On 23 Oct, 1933, Germany announced its withdrawal from both the Disarmament
Conference and the League of Nations. This was in response to the Western
powers refusal to meet its demands for equality. They refused to disarm on the
same level as Germany or allow Germany to come on par with them.
● The Four-Power Pact was signed by Italy, Germany, France and Britain on 15
July, 1933. It was supposed to ensure that Great Powers would make most of the
decisions and smaller nations would not have much say in them. It could not
serve its purpose on the level that was hoped and soon failed.
● On 26 Jan, 1934, Germany signed a treaty with Poland which said both countries
would forego armed conflict for a period of ten years and resolve their conflicts
through negotiations. This surprised everyone as it was thought Hitler would
chose a more violent approach. It ended Germany’s diplomatic isolation and
increased Hitler’s respect worldwide.
1933-1935
● On 25 July, 1934, the July Putsch occured in which Austrian Chancellor Dollfuss
was murdered by Austrian Nazis. This rebellion was supported by Hitler to achieve
Anschluss i.e reunion with Austria. But Italy responded with great hostility and
Hitler had to disown any association with it.
● Since 1919, the Saar region of Germany had been administered by the League of
Nations. However, the products of its coal fields were given to the French. Hitler
believed it to be a part of Germany and a plebiscite was held on 13 Jan, 1935. The
vote to return to Germany was supported by over 90%. This was a great victory for
Hitler and a morale booster.
● Germany and Britain signed the Anglo-German Naval Agreement on 18 June,1935.
It allowed Germany to have a fleet that was 35% the size of Britain’s, and no limit
was placed on the number of submarines it could build. This pact allowed
Germany to build up its navy and also made France feel alienated.
1936-1937
● The Rhineland area was a key industrial region of Germany, producing coal,
steel and iron resources.One of the terms of the TOV was that the Germans
would not be able to keep military forces in a 50 km stretch of the Rhineland.
This made Germany vulnerable to an invasion. On 7 March, 1936, Hitler
marched 22,000 troops into this area to remilitarize it which was a direct
violation of the TOV. However, no action was taken by either French or British
because they didn’t believe it was worth going to war over Germany being
able to occupy land that was essentially part of its country. This helped his
aim of disregarding the TOV and germans loved that they were on the road to
being a superpower again.
1936-1937
● The Austro-German Agreement was signed on 11 July, 1936, between Hitler
and Austrian Chancellor Schuschnigg. This pact recognised the independence
of Austria but Austria's foreign policy had to be consistent with Germany's. The
agreement also allowed Nazis to hold official posts in Austria. Hitler tightened
his grip on Austria through this.
● Germany send aid to General Franco in the Spanish Civil War on 17 July, 1936.
Hitler did this because it provided him with an opportunity to check how his
forces fight in a war, gain Spain as an ally in future wars and to further his aim
of destroying Communism as General Franco was opposing communist
government.
1936-37
● Hitler and Mussolini had come together during the Spanish Civil War and they
officially formed an alliance known as the Rome-Berlin Axis on 25 Oct,1936. It
was an agreement to pursue a joint foreign policy and both agreed to stop the
spread of communism in Europe.
● The Anti-Comintern Pact was a pact signed by Germany and Japan on 25
Nov,1936, later joined by Italy. The pact was directed against Soviet Russia and
communism. The aim of the pact was to ensure that neither Germany nor
Japan would assist Soviet Russia in a war or sign any treaties with her. This
helped Hitler in his fight against communism and guaranteed Italy’s support for
him when he would invade Austria.
1938 Onwards
● To fulfill his dream of Anschluss, Hitler pressurized Chancellor Schuschnigg into
appointing Seyss-Inquart who was an Austrian Nazi as Minister of the Interior by
encouraging riots in Austria. Schuschnigg succumbed and did so. Seyss-Inquart
immediately requested the help of Germany in restoring order and the German
Army moved in. A plebiscite was held to ask the people if they wanted Austria to
become a part of Germany and the result came in favour of Hitler. This event
fulfilled a major part of Hitler’s dream of a Greater Germany.
● The Karlsbad Programme was announced on 24 April 1938, at a party congress in
Karlsbad, Czechoslovakia by Konrad Henlein who was a Nazi supported by Hitler
for autonomy for the Sudetenland which was an area under Czechoslovakian
control. This was done because Hitler needed an excuse to invade Sudetenland
which he would get if Czechoslovakia refused to accept its demand for autonomy.
1938 Onwards
● The May crisis of 1938 was the event which led to the German invasion of
Czechoslovakia. There were reports of major movements of German forces on the
border between two countries and the rumour spread that Germany was going to
attack its neighbour. Britain and France conveyed the message to Germany that
they would come to the aid of Czechoslovakia in case it was attacked. Germany
denied these rumours and it soon fade away. But due to the impression at home of
Hitler backing down, he issued a directive to take over Czechoslovakia by October.
● Britain, France, Germany and Italy met in Munich on 29 Sep, 1938. This was called
the Munich Conference. They met to save Europe from another war as Germany
was ready to attack Czechoslovakia. It was agreed that Hitler would get
Sudetenland but there would be no attack. Chamberlain(British PM) and
Daladier(French PM) were hailed as heroes in their countries. Hitler got
Sudetenland and a way to get the whole of Czechoslovakia too.
1938 Onwards
● On 15 March, 1939, Hitler took over the rest of Czechoslovakia by ordering his
troops to invade the Czech lands. This occupation outraged public opinion in
Britain and marked the end of appeasement.
● In the same year on 20 March, the German speaking town of Memel was seized
from Lithuania and Danzig, another German-minority town in Poland was
demanded to be returned to Germany.
● On 2 April, 1939, Hitler declared the Anglo-German Agreement and the
German-Polish non-aggression Pact to be null. Fall Weiss or Operation White was
started which marked the start of the invasion of Poland.
● Germany and Italy signed the Pact of Steel on 22 May,1939. In this agreement, the
two countries formed a military alliance.The pact had both defensive and
offensive terms requiring the two countries to come in the rescue of each other.
1938 Onwards
● The Nazi-Soviet Pact or Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was signed on 24 Aug, 1939. In
it, Stalin and Hitler agreed not to go to war with each other and to split Poland’s
territories and resources between them. This pact cleared the way for Germany’s
imminent invasion of Poland as the threat of a Russian attack was averted.
● Germany invaded Poland on 1 Sep,1939, as a result of this. In retaliation, France
and Britain declared war on Germany on 3 Sep,1939.
● On 22 June,1941, Hitler ordered Operation Barbarossa to be carried out. This was
the codename for the invasion of the Soviet Union. It was the mistake which cost
Hitler the war as it opened up the Eastern Front and caused massive German
casualties. Italy also declared war on the USSR
● Germany, along with Italy, declared war on USA on 11 Dec,1941. This was in
response to the US declaring war on Japan after the attack on Pearl Harbour. As
Japan was an ally of Germany and Italy, they came to its aid.
Bibliography
● http://www.historyhome.co.uk/europe/hitfor.htm
● https://www.timetoast.com/timelines/sdfghj-ac86a44b-24bc-41b3-81d7-f12
0afe931bf
● https://getrevising.co.uk/grids/hitlers-foreign-policy-timeline
● https://www.bbc.com/bitesize/guides/z92hw6f/revision/3
● https://worldhistoryproject.org/topics/adolf-hitler/page/2
● https://www.britannica.com/event/Pact-of-Steel
● https://www.revolvy.com/page/May-Crisis-1938
