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Hitler's foreign policy - Coggle Diagram
Hitler's foreign policy
Hitler's war
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Hitler's plans: laid out in 1925, in Mein Kampf
Expand Germany
Wanted territory taken by the treaty, wanted to unite with Austria wanted German minorities like Czechoslovakia. He wanted Lebensraum, living space for Germans
Defeat communism
He was anti-communist he thought that Bolsheviks wanted to take over Germany and he blamed them for Germany losing in WWI
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Other factors
It seems like Hitler planned the war step by step. But in the 1960s historian AJP Taylor came up with a new interpretation. His view was that Hitler was a gambler rather than a planner Hitler just took logical steps to test appeasement. Taylor blamed the League of Nations and Britain:
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actions of leading powers, 🇬🇧, 🇺🇸, 🇫🇷 Soviet Union
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Rearmament
Hitler knew that Germans like rearmament but also that it would cause alarm. He handed it cleverly. Rearmament began in secret at first. He made a great public display of his desire too rearm. Like Japan he withdrew for the league
Britain sympathised with Germany because they thought the TOV was too harsh. Also they thought that Germany was a good buffer for communism
Hitler came to power in Germany in 1933. One of his first steps was to increase the German army. 1000s of unemployed workers were drafted. This reduced unemployment which was one of the biggest problems in Germany. It helped him challenge the TOV and make Germany strong again
In 1935 Hitler staged a massive military rally to celebrate the German armed forces He was breaking the TOV but guessed correctly he would get away with it, the collapse of the Leagues disarmament conference
Britain also dismantled the TOV by signing the Angle-German navy agreement with Hitler in 1935 allowing Germany to increase their navy by 35% The French were angry with Britain for doing this but there was little they could do
The Saar Plebiscite
Had been run by the League since 1919 In 1935 the league promised plebiscite for people to vote on whether it should be German
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