Diverting Germans’ Attention from Domestic Problems: Foreign Policy.
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Diverting Germans’ Attention from Domestic Problems: Foreign Policy
Transcript of Diverting Germans’ Attention from Domestic Problems: Foreign Policy.
Diverting Germans’
Attention from Domestic
Problems: Foreign Policy
Hitler’s Foreign Policy Aims
• Re-arm Germany– So that Germany can defend itself
• Tear up the Treaty of Versailles– Restore Germany to its old borders
• Create a Greater Germany!– Fit for the Master Race
Revising the Treaty of Versailles?
What areas did Hitler want to return to Germany?
Timeline of building a Greater Germany
• 1935– Saar Plebiscite
• Great success for Hitler as 90% of Saar voluntarily elect to rejoin booming Germany
• 1936– Remilitarisation of Rhineland
• German Army is ordered back into the Rhineland (against the Treaty of Versailles)
• They are ordered to withdraw if Allies oppose them
• What was the effect on Hitler’s Popularity in Germany after these 2 events?
Timeline of building a Greater Germany
• 1936– Spanish Civil War
• Germany helps Franco win power in Spain. He uses the war as an excuse to test Blitzkrieg out.
• 1938– Austrian Anschluss
• Hitler creates an excuse to invade Austria. Most Austrians are delighted to be reunited with a Greater, booming Germany.
• What was the effect on Hitler’s Popularity in Germany after these 2 events?
Timeline of building a
Greater Germany
• 1938– Sudetenland (Czechoslovakia)
• Hitler uses Sudeten Germans as an excuse to take the border regions of Czechoslovakia. He promises to Britain and France that this is his final demand.
• 1938– Invades Czechoslovakia
• He takes the rest of undefendable and very wealthy Czechoslovakia. They are NOT German
• What was the effect on Hitler’s Popularity in Germany after these 2 events?
Timeline of building a Greater Germany
• 1939– Nazi-Soviet Pact
• Hitler and Stalin stun the world by agreeing an alliance with each other.
• 1939– Invasion of Poland
• Hitler confidently expects that Britain and France can do little especially after the deal with the USSR. He is surprised that World War 2 breaks out.
• What was the effect on Hitler’s Popularity in Germany after these 2 events???
World War 2• 1940
– Fall of France, Denmark, Holland, Belgium and mighty Luxembourg
– Battle of Britain
• 1941– Fall of Yugoslavia,
Greece and Albania– Advances in Desert– Invasion of Russia
• To outskirts of Moscow
• What was the effect on Hitler’s Popularity in Germany after these events???
The Tide Turns• 1942
– Stalingrad– El Alamein– American Forces start to arrive
• 1943– Sustained bombings of German cities– Italy knocked out of war
• 1944– D-Day– Russians enter Poland– German Army tries to assassinate Hitler at the Wolf’s Lair
• 1945– Fall of Berlin– Germans are forced to see the Concentration Camps by Allies
• What was the effect on Hitler’s Popularity in Germany after these events?
Questions• Explain why opponents of Hitler had a hard time in the
1930s convincing Germans that Hitler was a loser.• How come there does not seem to be a lot of criticism of
Hitler and the Nazis when things start to go wrong in 1942?
• What was Total War? Why didn’t Hitler force Total war onto the Germans.
• Why did some German officers try to assassinate Hitler in 1944?
• How do you think a regular German soldier would feel about serving in the Wehrmacht between 1935 and 1941.– Write a yearly diary explaining your feelings building a Greater
Germany and then a new German Empire (Third Reich)
Group Grievances Opposition group names
Evidence or examples of Anti-Nazi Resistance
Punishments received
Youth
Groups
The Wehrmacht
The Left
The Churches
Jews
Opposition Groups
Germany Overview• 1918 – 1933 (A)
– How did the Weimar Republic Fail
– How did the Nazis take advantage
• 1919 – 1923 – The Putsch• 1929 – 1933 – The Legal
Assault
• 1933 – 1945 (B)– How did the Nazis stay in
power• Night of the long knives• Propaganda• Education• Persecution
• Groups (C) – How did they live with
the Nazis• Political Opponents• Trade Unionists• Women• The Armed Forces• Youth Groups• Jews
• Grade F – Simplistic answer that
identifies one key point
• Grade C – Shows a variety of
valid factors in a logical order
• Grade A – Shows complicated
interrelationship of a multitude of factors
• Make sure you read the instructions!!!– You only get marks for the answering the correct questions
• Choose your questions wisely– Read all parts of the question – not just that you can answer part
a worth 5 marks but have no clue for parts b and c? worth 15• Give yourself appropriate time for each question
– If a question is worth 8 marks your answer should be longer than one worth 5 marks!
– You should have NO free time left at the end. If you have any spare time left then you have not used your time properly!
– Leave some space at the end of each question so that you can come back to it later
• Make sure you answer the question asked– Do not waste time writing an answer that will not get you any
marks• Make sure you have revised fully
– You can not bluff your way through. – Make sure you understand your own notes!
