Germany - The impact of Nazism on German Foreign Policy_ The origins_Ms Storer.pptx

Nazism on German Foreign Policy

1. THE IMPACT OF NAZISM ON NAZISM ON GERMAN FOREIGN POLICY Ms Storer

2. Hitler’s foreign Policy was influenced by: Hallo! Legacy of Versailles Racial Beliefs Domestic problems Nazi ideology Contemporary events Consolidating Power Hm, moustaches

3. WORLD WAR I

4. GERMAN TERRITORIAL LOSSES AFTER WWI

5. THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES

6. WOODROW WILSON 14 POINTS

7. THE LEGACY OF THE WAR Nazi ideology and Hitler’s Foreign Policy aims were not just shaped by, but created by the legacy of the First World War. Defeat in 1918 shattered these plans, and the surprise abdication of the Kaiser Wilhelm on 9 th November 1918 ruptured the very heart of the German state. The armistice that was signed on the 11 th November 1918 came as a surprise to many Germans. Blame was heaped on t he ‘NOVEMBER CRIMINALS’ - those Liberals, Social Democrats who had signed the armistice. Thus the ‘Dolchstoss - STAB-IN-THE-BACK’ myth was formed. This undermined the legitimacy of the newly created Weimar Republic. Diktat: a harsh settlement unilaterally imposed (as on a defeated nation)

8. THE LEGACY OF THE WAR The Spartacists - Left Wing: Ruhr Uprising, staged a General Strike led by Karl Liebknecht & Rosa Luxemburg 4-15 January 1919 - KPD vs SPD , which was crushed by the Freikorps - SPD Leader Ebert ordered this, what would be the repercussions of this decision! The Freikorps - Right Wing During the 1920 Kapp Putsch attempted a coup d'état - lead by Wolfgang Kapp & Walther von Lüttwitz, which was derailed by a General Strike, ironically called by the Social Democrat Party Government. Both further undermined popular support for parliamentary government, whose ‘proportional representation’ system only served to create weak & indecisive coalition governments.

9. Dolchstoss - STAB-IN-THE-BACK

10. Dolchstoss - STAB-IN-THE-BACK

11. National Socialist Workers’ Party (NSDAP) Working for the army as an intelligent agent, Hitler was sent to investigate the German Workers’ Party. He became leader member of the party renaming it as NSDAP It was similar to Mussolini’s ideas. However, unlike Mussolini, Hitler has clear foreign policy aims well before attaining power. Mein Kampf was written in 1923 when he was in prison after a failed attempt of a Coup D’etat highlighting his foreign policy. Nationalism Militarism Social Darwinism Authoritarianism Hatred of communism/socialism and trade unions

12. Hitler’s Foreign Policy - Mein Kampf (1923) “Gross- Deutschland” - Pan-Germanism The unification with Austrian Germans and German minorities (Czechoslovakia and Poland) German Unity Nationalism Anti-Semitism 2) Race and living Space - Greater Germany Only ‘pure’ Germans - superior Aryan race “robust muscular power with first class intellect” Hierarchy of races (Social Darwinism) - Human life, was subjected to the natural laws of selection and only the fittest would survive. LEBENSRAUM: Aryan race would need more space. Dispossessing Slavs, Russians, Ukrainians, Poles and other ‘inferior’ races. The Jews were considered the most inferior people. German race must be protected against contact with inferior blood.

13. The Third Reich (Empire) : Term used by Hitler to describe the 1000 year empire he intended to create. First Reich: Holy Roman Empire Second Reich: Otto Von Bismarck (1871-1918) Hitler’s Natural Enemies & Allies Enemies Allies Russia - Many Jews in Russia Communist country led by the Bolsheviks Hitler was convinced that all Bolsheviks were Jews Britain - Great admiration Similar racially France - Treaty of Versailles WWI Italy - Ideologically sympathetic to Mussolini’s government

14. The SA and SS SA ( Sturmabteilung ): Brown-Shirts Paramilitary wing of the Nazi Party. Initially, made up largely from the Freikorps and ex-soldiers. Following the lead of Mussolini’s Fascist Blackshirts in Italy. SS (Schutzstaffel): 1925. A section of SA. Hitler’s Personal B odyguard Elite Force The membership was restricted to ‘pure’ Aryan Germans The SS was used to carry out the killings of the ‘Night of the Long Knives’ .

15. The Munich Putsch (1923) Hitler launched his own bid to take over the government Military solution to taking power Inspired by Mussolini successful March on Rome in 1922 Gaining control over Bavaria and marching on Berlin Despite having no support from the Bavarian Government, policy or army, Hitler decided to go ahead anyway and, with about 600 SA men, tried to take over government buildings. 16 Stormtroopwe were killed and Hitler was arrested. However, the PUBLICITY of the trial turned Hitler into a national figure. Acting as a patriotic German Hitler has the lightest sentence: 5 years’ imprisonment, he served less than a year and was released on December 1924 He wrote Mein Kampf whilst in prison

16. Following his release from prison, Hitler decided to use legal and constitutional means to take power The Nazi Party was relaunched and reorganised in 1925: Youth and women’s groups were established and the SS was created Modern PROPAGANDA technique were employed Economic Recovery in the 1920s - Stresemann Gustav Stresemann was German foreign minister during 1924-29 Dawes Plan : Negotiation with the USA. This plan froze German reparation payments for 2 years and set up loans for Germany from the USA. Young Plan: USA agreed to give further loans to Germany The Nazi propaganda machine's influence was felt in every sphere of life. In this 1935 poster, German students are called upon to fight for the Führer and the people. German School / Private Collection / Peter Newark Historical Pictures / The Bridgeman Art Library

17. Germany join the League of Nations in 1926 Kellogg-Briand Pact with outlawed the war in 1928 Locarno Treaties of 1925, Germany agreed to uphold the western borders with France and Belgium- Locarno brought a degree of rapprochement between Germany and France and it ushered in a period of hope for European cooperation know as ‘Locarno Spirit’ Given the economy recovery and the new international standing, many Germans were not interested in extreme politics. Until…. The impact of the Great Depression on the Nazi Party The dependance of Weimar on US loans made its recovery dependant on US stability, and the Wall Street Crash of 1929 had a catastrophic impact on Germany. This is key to explain German support on Hitler’s foreign and domestic policies. USA called in its loans and all financial support to Europe was stopped. Unemployment, expenditure cuts, wage cuts, job losses. This economic situation led to a POLARIZATION in German politics. Communists (far-left) x Parties +NSDAP (far-right) Hitler portrayed the Nazi Party as it would provide food and job in the economic crisis.

18. The impact of the Great Depression on the Nazi Party Hitler restarted the myth that Germany had been “stabbed-in-the-back” by the “November criminals” Hitler also criticized Stresemann’ policies of friendship and collaboration with the West. Believed that the Locarno Treaties only benefited the French and that Germany should not join the League of Nations. Dawes Plan and Young Plan were opposed because these agreements accepted the fact that Germany should be paying reparations. Hitler’s foreign policies aims did not change as a result of the Depression of 1929 . However, the acute economic crisis made Hitler’s promises more attractive to the German people.

19. Steps to dictatorship Hitler’s electoral following impressed army leaders and right-wing nationalists politicians who wanted to form a strong government. They believed they would be able to control him. On 27 February 1933, the Reichstag (legislative) building was burnt down, the Nazis claimed it was a communist plot. As a result, a decree was passed suspending freedom of the press, of speech and of association . Leading communists and socialist were imprisoned . Enabling Act: power to pass law s without the Reichstag consent. The political system was Nazified: state parliaments were abolished, trade unions shut down, and the Socialist and Communist parties were banned. By July 1933, Germany was a one-party state. In 1934 Hitler moved against the SA. Röhm wanted to join the SA and the army under his control. During the Night of the Long Knives, some 200 people were killed as Hitler used the SS to purge the SA leaders and other enemies. In August 1934 all German armed forces took a personal oath of loyalty to Hitler. 1933: The first concentration camp had been established to deal with political enemies: Jews, Roma, homossexuals and Jehovah’s Witnesses. Nuremberg Law: pure Aryan Germans were forbidden from having any relationship with Jews.

20. Viewpoints on Hitler’s Foreign Policy Historians can be divided into three competing viewpoints on the nature of German foreign policy under Hitler : Hitler the Evil One! The German historian Klaus Hildebrand argues Hitler had a plan for war from the beginning - I ntentionalist Hitler the Blunderer! British historian AJP Taylor controversially argued that Hitler was just like any European statesman, he blundered into a war he did not want in 1939 , had no plan and simply took advantage of opportunities - Structuralist-Determinist Hitler the Pragmatist! British historian Allan Bullock views Hitler as an opportunist adventurer, who was motivated by a lust for power to take advantage of events - Intentionalist-Structuralist. Think about what you know of Hitler’s foreign policy so far – which viewpoint would you agree with the most and why?