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I. The Diplomatic Revoluton (1933-1936)
- a. when Hitler became chancellor of Germany on Jan 30, 1933, Germany was weak due to Versailles (demilitarized wth French taking over industry if war ensued)
- i. smaller states had defensive treaties
- ii. treaty limited Germany’s army to 100,000 troops with no air and limited naval forces
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Advantages
a. Advantages: most populous after Soviet Union with great industrial capacity; aware that Brits and France didn’t want war; France was a threat, but if he could hinder them, he could ignrore restrictions of Versailles
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Ability
- a. Hitler’s ability to rearm Germany and fulfill his expansionist policies depended on whether he could feign peace
- he said Hitler emphasized that Germany wanted revision of treaty and give Germany place among other states
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First two years
- 1. during first two years in office, he pursued foreign policy without unnecessary risks
- 2. dramatic action of withdrawing Germany from Geneva Disarmament Conference and the League of Natiosn, was domestic and poltical (give Germans sense of independence from dominance of European states)
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German reaarmament
- i. Beginning of 1935: Hitler wanted to break provisions of treaty without opposition from France and Brits since neither wanted to use force
- 1. he announced Germany’s military rearmament on March 9, 1935, where he announced the creation of a new air force and introduced a military draft (100kà550k)
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France, Brits, and Italy
- i. France, Brits, and Italy reacted quickly and warned them without concrete threats
- 1. Brits even moved toward open acceptance of this in the Anglo-German Naval Pact on June 18, 1935
- a. treaty allowed Germans to build a navy that would be 35% in size of British navy, with equal # of subs
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appeasement
- i. Brits started policy of appeasement, based on belief that if European states satisfied the reasonable demands of dissatisfied powers, the latter would be content, and stability would ensue
- 1. British appeasement was due to Brit’s desire to avoid another war, but it was fostered by British statesmen who believed that Nazs offered powerful bulwark against Soviets
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Rhineladn
i. Hitler (Mar 7, 1936) believed that Western democracies weren’t going to use force; so, he sent troops into demilitarized Rhineland, which Versailles said htat French could use force against
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France and Brit
- 1. France wouldn’t act without Brit support, and Brits saw it as reasonable
- a. this reinforced Hitler’s belief that they were weak and he was superior
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New alliances
- i. Oct 1935: Mussolini commited Fascist Italy to imperial expansion by invading Ethipia and welcomed Hitler’s support after French and Brit opposiotion
- ii. Joint intervention of Germany and Italy on behalf of General Francisco Franco in Spanish Civil War in 1936 drew the two closer
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Oct 1936
i. Oct 1936: Mussolini and Hitler came to agreement that recognized their common political and economic interestsà Mussolini called it the new Rome-Berlin Axis
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November 1936
- i. November 1936: Germany and Japan- Anti-Comintern Pact: maintain common front against communism
- ii. End of 1936, Hitler and Nazis ahd diplomatic revolution
- 1. Treaty of Versailles pointless with Germany as world power
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Hilter used
- i. Hitler used tactic of peaceful revision and legality for power
- 1. power increasedàHitler believed htat, since they avoided war when Germany was weak, they would hate it now since its strong
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