Revision of Versailles and Diplomatic Gains (1933–1936)
- Hitler’s foreign policy aimed to overturn the Treaty of Versailles, unite all ethnic Germans in a Greater Germany, and secure Lebensraum in Eastern Europe.
- Early moves were cautious to avoid provoking Britain and France, while secretly beginning rearmament in 1933.
- The Saarland returned to Germany in January 1935 via a League-supervised plebiscite, with over 90% voting in favour.
- In March 1935, Germany openly reintroduced conscription and expanded the army beyond the 100,000 limit, winning mass domestic approval.
- The remilitarisation of the Rhineland in March 1936, conducted with only 22,000 troops, met no military resistance from France or Britain and boosted Hitler’s prestige.
- Propaganda presented these moves as peaceful national justice, reinforcing Hitler’s image as a skilful statesman.
Case study
Remilitarisation of the Rhineland (1936)
- Conducted with only 22,000 German troops in violation of Versailles.
- France had 100,000 troops nearby but did not act, partly due to political divisions and reliance on Britain.
- Hitler later admitted he would have ordered a retreat if France had opposed the move.
- Propaganda celebrated it as a bold stand for sovereignty, increasing Hitler’s popularity at home.
- Marked a turning point, as it emboldened further revisionist steps without fear of Allied intervention.
Expansion and Alliance Building (1936–1939)
- The Rome–Berlin Axis was signed in October 1936, aligning Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany.
- The Anti-Comintern Pact (1936) with Japan, later joined by Italy, signalled ideological unity against communism.
- The Anschluss with Austria in March 1938 incorporated 7 million people and key resources into the Reich; it was celebrated with massive public rallies.
- The Munich Agreement (September 1938) handed Germany the Sudetenland without war, furthering Hitler’s claims of “self-determination” for ethnic Germans.
- In March 1939, Germany occupied the rest of Czechoslovakia, marking a shift from uniting Germans to outright territorial conquest.
- Public opinion in Germany reached record levels of support for Hitler after these territorial gains.
Pact-Making and Road to War (1939)
- Hitler’s invasion of Czechoslovakia in March 1939 convinced Britain and France that appeasement had failed, leading them to guarantee Polish independence.
- The Nazi–Soviet Pact (August 1939) secretly divided Eastern Europe into German and Soviet spheres of influence, ensuring the USSR would not oppose Germany’s invasion of Poland.
- This non-aggression pact shocked the world, as Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union were ideological enemies.
- On 1 September 1939, Germany invaded Poland, triggering Britain and France’s declarations of war two days later.
- The pact allowed Hitler to avoid a two-front war in the early stages of the conflict.
