!! History HL 2015 ... predictions, guesses and discussion

lizhession wrote: »

I have 2 essays that I could post, A1s in both, one to what extent did Stalin transform society and economy in soviet Russia, and the other is to what extent did Hitlers foreign policy contribute to WW2 - would they help anyone?

lizhession wrote: »

To what extent was Hitler's foreign policy, 1933-39, responsible for the outbreak of WW2?

The basic principles of Hitler's foreign policy centred around three main aims. Firstly, Hitler wanted to destroy the Treaty of Versailles (TV) to make Germany free from its restrictive clauses following WW1. Secondly, Hitler wanted to unite all Germans in one single country, particularly those in Austria and the Sudeten Germans of Czechoslovakia, a theory which would be called 'Grossdeutschland', meaning greater Germany. Thirdly, Hitler sought to provide Germany with 'Lebensraum', or 'living space', particularly within Poland, Ukraine and Russia, which would provide Germans with sufficient food and raw materials. These aims could only be achieved if Germany greatly increased her armed forces and remilitarised itself.

After coming into power in 1933, Hitler proceeded cautiously in foreign policy, giving the illusion that he was a man of peace while he consolidated his domestic power. The first steps to re-armament was to withdraw from the Disarmament Conference held in Geneva that year. He did this by means of challenging the other powers within the League of Nations (LN) to disarm as Germany had done. When France refused to disarm, Germany withdrew from the LN and begun to remilitarise. Hitler introduced conscription, building up an army to the strength of 550,000 men and also announced the existence of the German airforce known as the Luftwaffe. Hitler also signed a 10 year Non-Aggression Pact with Poland in January 1934, substantiating Germany's claim to peaceful intention. Germany's rearmament led to the formation of the Stresa Front by Britain, France and Italy against Germany due to fear of German expansion.

Further success was found in 1935 in The Saar plebiscite and the Anglo-German Naval Pact. In the TV, the Saar region had been given to France for 15 years to extract coal. Now 90% of the people of the Saar had voted to return to German control. Weaknesses began to show within the LN and the TV. Britain undermined the Stresa Front by signing a Naval Agreement with Germany allowing Hitler to increase its navy by up to 35% of the British navy but have the same amount of submarines (U-Boats) as the British. Also, during the Italian invasion of Abyssinia with which Britain and France remained preoccupied, Hitler invaded the Rhineland. Hitler wanted to remilitarise the Rhineland which was banned under the TV. In March 1936, hitler marched 35,000 troops into the Rhineland. As a result of the Abyssinian crisis, the LN failed to act upon this and Hitler was unchallenged. The war in Abyssinia saw the end of the Stresa Front and it showed up the weaknesses of the LN. Thus it was clearly shown that the TV was no longer sacrosanct.

Hitler and Mussolini formed the Rome-Berlin Axis in 1936 in which Mussolini agreed to support Hitler's takeover of Austria (Anschluss). Hitler, as an Austrian native, felt Austria should be the first acquisition of the new German Empire. Hitler demanded of the Austrian Chancellor, Dr Schuschnigg, that the Nazi Party be legalised and that the Nazi, Dr Seyss-Inquart, be appointed Minister of the Interior, to which Hitler threatened immediate invasion should he refuse. A plebiscite was to decide the fate of Germany and Austria's unification, before which, Seyss-Inquart invited Germany into Austria to "help preserve the peace". Austria was taken over and in March 1938, a Nazi supervised referendum produced a 99.75% vote in favour of Anschluss. The British did not attempt to stop the union because they felt that the Austrians and Germans had a right to be united.

In 1938, a similar situation erupted in the Sudetenland, a German speaking area of Czechoslovakia, home to 3 million Germans. The Sudeten leader, Konrad Henlein, demanded to be united with Germany however the Czechs were prepared to resist German threats. France favoured action but Britain remained cautious and disfavoured a possible war. Thus the Munich Conference was organised. The political leaders in attendance, Chamberlain (Britain), Daladier (France) and Mussolini and Hitler, together decided that the Sudetenland was to be given to Germany. Once again, Hitler's tactics of taking Europe to the brink of war had succeeded. Germany was now in a stronger position - in taking over the Sudetenland, Germany had taken most of Czechoslovakia's heavy industries and defences. Britain and France's policy towards Hitler was characterised by appeasement. Britain believed that if they gave in to Hitler's demands, they would prevent a European war. Nazi Germany was also seen as a barrier to the threat of Communism from the Soviet Union. Britain was economically not ready for war and longed for peace following WW1 as did the French.

In 1939, the preparations for war had begun. Hitler took over what remained of Czechoslovakia and the weaknesses of the policy of appeasement began to show. While Britain and France merely protested, Britain began to change policy. Prior to this, the British believed that Hitler's aims were limited; now they knew he sought European domination and clearly Poland would be Hitler's next target. In the same year, Hitler demanded access to the port of Danzig and a rail link to East Prussia through the Polish Corridor but Poland rejected these demands. Britain and France agreed to support Poland against "any action which clearly threatened Polish independence". Hitler made an agreement with Italy known as the Pact of Steel which formed a military alliance between the two countries. However, the key to the safety of Poland was the Soviet Union. The Nazi-Soviet Pact was a 10 year non-aggression pact which allowed Germany to avoid fighting a two-front war. On the 1st of September 1939, Hitler invaded Poland. France and Britain declared war on Germany two days later. The Second World War had begun.

The causes of the outbreak of WW2 can indisputably be found in the tactics of Hitler's foreign policy which he ruthlessly and cunningly executed in his plot for European domination. However, in assessing blame, it is most significant to note the failure of the appeasers and the League of Nations to deal with Hitlers consistent aggression and manipulation. Their anxiety to prevent war after the economic and social degradation of WW1 had put them on a defensive stance, allowing them to engage in an extraordinary amount of foolish wishful thinking. Chamberlain expressed his views in a radio broadcast - "Hitler gave his word and he broke it... Can you wonder his word is, for us, not worth the paper it is written on!" I would also note the failure of the USA to deal with Hitler by following their own policy of isolationism - it was only interested in affairs in its own continent and was reluctant to send troops to fight in faraway wars. I believe they are also somewhat responsible for the outbreak of WW2, although not to the same extent.

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