HOW FAR WAS HITLER'S FOREIGN POLICY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE
SECOND WORLD WAR? A – LEVEL HISTORY EDEXCEL ROUTE G
How do Taylor and Fischer differ in their views of Hitler?
AJP Taylor's 'The Origins of the Second World War' suggested that, while Hitler
wanted a German empire, he did not have a master plan, nor did he
necessarily intend to go to war in 1939. Hitler mainly reacted to events at
home and abroad.
Fritz Fischer's 'Germany's Aims in the First World War' drew connections
between German aims in the First and Second world wars, suggesting that
Nazi foreign policy continued a long-held German expansionist policy rather
than being a new policy.
In what way can it be said that the Second World War was caused by
Economic reasons?
World-Wide depression of the early 1930s helped the rise of dictators.
In what way can it be said that the Second World War was caused by
International reasons?
•problems within the League of Nations
•the desire of many countries for peace
•Russia becoming Communist
•the USA policy of non-involvement
•rise of dictatorships in Germany, Italy and Japan
In what way can it be said that the Second World War was caused by Nazi
foreign policy?
•expansionism
•racial purity
In what way can it be said that the Second World War was caused by
other countries' foreign policy?
•British and French appeasement policies
•Western attitudes to Russia
•US foreign policy
•Japanese foreign policy
•Russian foreign policy and the build-up of the Red Army
•Italian foreign policy
In what way can it be said that the Second World War was caused by
the Treaty of Versailles?
,•fed German resentment
•created an unstable international situation (e.g. setting up several small,
new states that argued over their new borders)
•made other nations more tolerant of German expansionism
In what way can it be said that the Second World War was caused by social
reasons?
Expectations of groups within Germany; industrialists, Nazis, ordinary
Germans.
What 3 strands of history influenced Nazi foreign policy?
•'racial history'- largely fictional
•nostalgia for earlier empires and as sense that power and land were
Germany's right
•First World War and the effect of the Treaty of Versailles
How did Aryan racial theory drive foreign policy?
•Hitler saw the Aryan race as superior to all other races (ethnic groups such
as black of Asian people as well as Slavs in Russia and Eastern Europe)
•wanted Germany to be a great Aryan empire
•used the idea of Pan-Germanism to excuse this: 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 Nazis to favour alliances with racially acceptable countries such as
Britain
•also led Nazis to favour expansion eastwards, taking land from those who
were racially inferior
•racial theory did not stop Nazis from making alliances with 'inferior' countries
to gain temporary advantage; these alliances were seen as a necessary evil
What earlier empires did the Nazis focus on?
•First Reich- Holy Roman Empire of Charlemagne (800-1806)
•the Second Reich- German Empire founded in 1871 by Otto Von Bismark
after Prussia defeated France. Bismark was PM of Prussia and the first
chancellor of the empire. Died in 1898. By the time war broke out in 1914, the
empire was beginning to fall apart
In what ways can it be said that the earlier empires were similar to
the third Reich?
•both empires had gained land and kept it, by war and military strength
•they also worked hard diplomatically for acceptance by other nations,
especially when first in power
•Second Reich had a series of carefully created alliances with other nations
•Nazi propaganda focused on glory of these empires, this strategy might also
, have influenced Hitler because his foreign policy during his early years of
power included stressing his desire for peace
How did looking at previous empires give credibility to the Nazis?
Appealed to Germans who wanted a political party with a history.
They could stress that they were 'continuing' and 'restoring' a great Germany.
They used other successful German rulers in their propaganda, especially if
they had enlarged the nation. During their time, for example, one of the
propaganda postcards on sale at Nazi rallies showed the faces of Frederick the
Great, Bismark, Hindenburg and Hitler, all facing the same way with Hitler in
front. The slogan read "What the King conquered, the prince formed, the Field
Marshall defended, the soldier saved and unified"
It was, Hitler said, the glorious past of Germany that made the loss of the First
World War and the humiliating treaty that followed all the worse.
How did the end of the First world war build a resentment towards
the Weimar government?
•the way the First World War ended was a bad beginning for the peace and
the new German government: the overthrow and abdication of German
Kaiser, creation of a new German government and armistice (no public
surrender or open admission of defeat)
•many German people, misinformed about how the war was going, believed
Germany could have won if the Kaiser stayed and the army kept on fighting
•many Germans felt as if they had been 'stabbed in the back' by the
'November criminals'
•new government started out under cloud of unpopularity and protests about
the signing of the treaty
•despite the fact that the army had privately advised the government that
Germany could not win the war, members of both government and army
publicly said the army could have won, so increasing German resentment over
the treaty
What did Hitler write about in Mein Kempf?
•outlined political theories
•wrote about his experiences as a soldier in the First World War including how
he felt when he heard about the armistice, the abdication of the Kaiser and
the replacement of the empire with a republic
•he said he felt all the suffering and death of the war had been in vain
•raged against politicians who betrayed Germany
•ideas on German expansion
SECOND WORLD WAR? A – LEVEL HISTORY EDEXCEL ROUTE G
How do Taylor and Fischer differ in their views of Hitler?
AJP Taylor's 'The Origins of the Second World War' suggested that, while Hitler
wanted a German empire, he did not have a master plan, nor did he
necessarily intend to go to war in 1939. Hitler mainly reacted to events at
home and abroad.
Fritz Fischer's 'Germany's Aims in the First World War' drew connections
between German aims in the First and Second world wars, suggesting that
Nazi foreign policy continued a long-held German expansionist policy rather
than being a new policy.
In what way can it be said that the Second World War was caused by
Economic reasons?
World-Wide depression of the early 1930s helped the rise of dictators.
In what way can it be said that the Second World War was caused by
International reasons?
•problems within the League of Nations
•the desire of many countries for peace
•Russia becoming Communist
•the USA policy of non-involvement
•rise of dictatorships in Germany, Italy and Japan
In what way can it be said that the Second World War was caused by Nazi
foreign policy?
•expansionism
•racial purity
In what way can it be said that the Second World War was caused by
other countries' foreign policy?
•British and French appeasement policies
•Western attitudes to Russia
•US foreign policy
•Japanese foreign policy
•Russian foreign policy and the build-up of the Red Army
•Italian foreign policy
In what way can it be said that the Second World War was caused by
the Treaty of Versailles?
,•fed German resentment
•created an unstable international situation (e.g. setting up several small,
new states that argued over their new borders)
•made other nations more tolerant of German expansionism
In what way can it be said that the Second World War was caused by social
reasons?
Expectations of groups within Germany; industrialists, Nazis, ordinary
Germans.
What 3 strands of history influenced Nazi foreign policy?
•'racial history'- largely fictional
•nostalgia for earlier empires and as sense that power and land were
Germany's right
•First World War and the effect of the Treaty of Versailles
How did Aryan racial theory drive foreign policy?
•Hitler saw the Aryan race as superior to all other races (ethnic groups such
as black of Asian people as well as Slavs in Russia and Eastern Europe)
•wanted Germany to be a great Aryan empire
•used the idea of Pan-Germanism to excuse this: 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 Nazis to favour alliances with racially acceptable countries such as
Britain
•also led Nazis to favour expansion eastwards, taking land from those who
were racially inferior
•racial theory did not stop Nazis from making alliances with 'inferior' countries
to gain temporary advantage; these alliances were seen as a necessary evil
What earlier empires did the Nazis focus on?
•First Reich- Holy Roman Empire of Charlemagne (800-1806)
•the Second Reich- German Empire founded in 1871 by Otto Von Bismark
after Prussia defeated France. Bismark was PM of Prussia and the first
chancellor of the empire. Died in 1898. By the time war broke out in 1914, the
empire was beginning to fall apart
In what ways can it be said that the earlier empires were similar to
the third Reich?
•both empires had gained land and kept it, by war and military strength
•they also worked hard diplomatically for acceptance by other nations,
especially when first in power
•Second Reich had a series of carefully created alliances with other nations
•Nazi propaganda focused on glory of these empires, this strategy might also
, have influenced Hitler because his foreign policy during his early years of
power included stressing his desire for peace
How did looking at previous empires give credibility to the Nazis?
Appealed to Germans who wanted a political party with a history.
They could stress that they were 'continuing' and 'restoring' a great Germany.
They used other successful German rulers in their propaganda, especially if
they had enlarged the nation. During their time, for example, one of the
propaganda postcards on sale at Nazi rallies showed the faces of Frederick the
Great, Bismark, Hindenburg and Hitler, all facing the same way with Hitler in
front. The slogan read "What the King conquered, the prince formed, the Field
Marshall defended, the soldier saved and unified"
It was, Hitler said, the glorious past of Germany that made the loss of the First
World War and the humiliating treaty that followed all the worse.
How did the end of the First world war build a resentment towards
the Weimar government?
•the way the First World War ended was a bad beginning for the peace and
the new German government: the overthrow and abdication of German
Kaiser, creation of a new German government and armistice (no public
surrender or open admission of defeat)
•many German people, misinformed about how the war was going, believed
Germany could have won if the Kaiser stayed and the army kept on fighting
•many Germans felt as if they had been 'stabbed in the back' by the
'November criminals'
•new government started out under cloud of unpopularity and protests about
the signing of the treaty
•despite the fact that the army had privately advised the government that
Germany could not win the war, members of both government and army
publicly said the army could have won, so increasing German resentment over
the treaty
What did Hitler write about in Mein Kempf?
•outlined political theories
•wrote about his experiences as a soldier in the First World War including how
he felt when he heard about the armistice, the abdication of the Kaiser and
the replacement of the empire with a republic
•he said he felt all the suffering and death of the war had been in vain
•raged against politicians who betrayed Germany
•ideas on German expansion
