Nazi Foreign Policy
Germany 1919-1939 Essay
2012 HSC Question –“ How successful was Nazi foreign policy in achieving its aims to September 1939?”
Following the Nazi rise to power, Adolf Hitler’s regime conducted, and to a certain degree implemented a foreign policy that aimed for the incorporation of all Germanic speaking peoples into the Reich (Volksgemeinschaft); German domination of Western Europe; and the attainment of vast areas of living space (lebensraum) for the greater good of the volk. While the Nazis experienced great success in their plight for German hegemony in Europe, they ultimately fell short in achieving these aims as is abundantly clear in the collapse of the Third Reich in 1945.
Nazi foreign policy was inherently nationalistic and expansionistic, and as Hitler calculated, German hegemony in Europe would require war, especially in Eastern Europe. In the words of Carl von Clausewitz “war is simply the continuation of policy by other means”; this would prove the case for Hitler as the final step of his foreign policy up until 1939 involved the invasion and occupation of Poland. Moving and preparing the ‘Wehrmacht’ into action was a process of several years and was inextricably linked to other elements of foreign policy. Nazi withdrawal from the “League of Nations” and “Geneva Disarmament Conference” in 1933 made it abundantly clear that multilateralism played no role in Nazi foreign policy. Rearmament peaked in the years of 1933-1936, with the Nazi war timetable being actualised in the reoccupation of the Rhineland in 1936. Nazi foreign policy to this degree, suffered no real hiccups thanks not to the proficiency and aggression of Hitler, but to the inaction of Allied powers in their appeasement policies towards Germany. The remilitarisation of the Rhineland and the passive reaction from the international community could be seen as a success for Nazi foreign policy as it not only put Germany into a greater position of power, but also proved the flexibility of
2012 HSC Question –“ How successful was Nazi foreign policy in achieving its aims to September 1939?”
Following the Nazi rise to power, Adolf Hitler’s regime conducted, and to a certain degree implemented a foreign policy that aimed for the incorporation of all Germanic speaking peoples into the Reich (Volksgemeinschaft); German domination of Western Europe; and the attainment of vast areas of living space (lebensraum) for the greater good of the volk. While the Nazis experienced great success in their plight for German hegemony in Europe, they ultimately fell short in achieving these aims as is abundantly clear in the collapse of the Third Reich in 1945.
Nazi foreign policy was inherently nationalistic and expansionistic, and as Hitler calculated, German hegemony in Europe would require war, especially in Eastern Europe. In the words of Carl von Clausewitz “war is simply the continuation of policy by other means”; this would prove the case for Hitler as the final step of his foreign policy up until 1939 involved the invasion and occupation of Poland. Moving and preparing the ‘Wehrmacht’ into action was a process of several years and was inextricably linked to other elements of foreign policy. Nazi withdrawal from the “League of Nations” and “Geneva Disarmament Conference” in 1933 made it abundantly clear that multilateralism played no role in Nazi foreign policy. Rearmament peaked in the years of 1933-1936, with the Nazi war timetable being actualised in the reoccupation of the Rhineland in 1936. Nazi foreign policy to this degree, suffered no real hiccups thanks not to the proficiency and aggression of Hitler, but to the inaction of Allied powers in their appeasement policies towards Germany. The remilitarisation of the Rhineland and the passive reaction from the international community could be seen as a success for Nazi foreign policy as it not only put Germany into a greater position of power, but also proved the flexibility of