Paper 1 (Germany), Section C – Historical Interpretations
The influence of German History on Nazi foreign policy:
• Germany was militaristic through a special path of development, known as
‘Sonderweg’.
• Long-term cause of the Second World War was that German culture was
entrenched in militarism and war, the basis of its creation, therefore making
war in the Third Reich an inevitable occurrence.
• How did Nazi foreign policy compare to prior policy:
➢ ‘September Programme’ drawn up prior to WWI, to seize large swathes of Europe.
➢ Kaiser Wilhelm II’s Weltpolitik was based on colonial expansion and racist beliefs.
➢ Popular viewpoint to expand Germany’s frontier eastward (Lebensraum) prior to 1914.
➢ Antisemitism and racial purity were common themes, especially in colonial years.
➢ Unification of German speaking people, popular as in many countries such as Italy.
• The main counter to this is that many European powers such as Britain were racist and
imperialist in the nineteenth century (e.g. superiority to Indian and African populations), yet this
did not lead to preparations for total war in the 1930’s.
• Franco-German tensions. Germany was formed after the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871)
which saw the French defeated and the loss of their territory including Alsace-Lorraine. The
Treaty of Versailles was designed to cripple Germany to ensure they would not embarrass France
again. This and internal public resentment of the ToV led the Nazi’s to go to war.
• History is presumed to have influenced however the extent of causation is widely contested and
uncertain. The Nazi’s were for example influenced by the ambitions of Napoleon; however, this
did not cause them to go to war.
• 1871, embedded from the very beginning, was the idea that military success and national
greatness are inseparable.
• The Treaty of Versailles in 1918 and such large embarrassment gave aggressive foreign policy
emotional legitimacy.
• The Weimar Republic sought revision of the ToV, therefore German history made revision
inevitable not war.
Hitler’s ideas and his role in the shaping of Nazi foreign policy:
• Hitler was a large advocate for Lebensraum, racial purity, vassal border states
and the overturning of the Treaty of Versailles, arguably leading to the annexation
of Austria (Anschluss in 1938), invasions of Czechoslovakia and Poland.
• From 1936, it was Hitler who gave the directive to make economic preparations for a Total War
(Goring’s Four-Year Plan).
• Hitler was also instrumental in the remilitarisation of the Rhineland in 1936, against the advice of
his generals, alongside preparations for arming Germany from 1938 onwards.
• The Blomberg-Fritsch Affair saw the forced resignation of two senior military officials. Blomberg
(Reich Minister of War) resigned after his new wife was found to have a criminal past that tainted
the reputation of the German army. Fritsch (Commander-in-Chief of the German) was subjected
to a plot by Himmler and Goring of accusations of homosexuality. Although acquitted through
lack of evidence, his reputation was tainted forcing him to resign. The removal of two senior army
leaders who represented the cautious, conservative nature of the old-style army, was a political
manoeuvre, giving the remaining power of the Wehrmacht to Hitler.
• Evidence for Master Planner:
➢ 1920 Nazi 25 Points Programme (abolition of ToV, expansionism).
➢ Mein Kampf 1924 and Lebensraum.
➢ Hitlers Book (1928), published posthumously, laid out Stufenplan for world domination.
➢ Four Year Plan (1936), designed to have an autarkical state ready for all-out war by 1940.
➢ Hossbach Memorandum (1937) laid out Anschluss and Czechoslovakia by 1945.
• Others argue Hitler was more of an Opportunist:
The influence of German History on Nazi foreign policy:
• Germany was militaristic through a special path of development, known as
‘Sonderweg’.
• Long-term cause of the Second World War was that German culture was
entrenched in militarism and war, the basis of its creation, therefore making
war in the Third Reich an inevitable occurrence.
• How did Nazi foreign policy compare to prior policy:
➢ ‘September Programme’ drawn up prior to WWI, to seize large swathes of Europe.
➢ Kaiser Wilhelm II’s Weltpolitik was based on colonial expansion and racist beliefs.
➢ Popular viewpoint to expand Germany’s frontier eastward (Lebensraum) prior to 1914.
➢ Antisemitism and racial purity were common themes, especially in colonial years.
➢ Unification of German speaking people, popular as in many countries such as Italy.
• The main counter to this is that many European powers such as Britain were racist and
imperialist in the nineteenth century (e.g. superiority to Indian and African populations), yet this
did not lead to preparations for total war in the 1930’s.
• Franco-German tensions. Germany was formed after the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871)
which saw the French defeated and the loss of their territory including Alsace-Lorraine. The
Treaty of Versailles was designed to cripple Germany to ensure they would not embarrass France
again. This and internal public resentment of the ToV led the Nazi’s to go to war.
• History is presumed to have influenced however the extent of causation is widely contested and
uncertain. The Nazi’s were for example influenced by the ambitions of Napoleon; however, this
did not cause them to go to war.
• 1871, embedded from the very beginning, was the idea that military success and national
greatness are inseparable.
• The Treaty of Versailles in 1918 and such large embarrassment gave aggressive foreign policy
emotional legitimacy.
• The Weimar Republic sought revision of the ToV, therefore German history made revision
inevitable not war.
Hitler’s ideas and his role in the shaping of Nazi foreign policy:
• Hitler was a large advocate for Lebensraum, racial purity, vassal border states
and the overturning of the Treaty of Versailles, arguably leading to the annexation
of Austria (Anschluss in 1938), invasions of Czechoslovakia and Poland.
• From 1936, it was Hitler who gave the directive to make economic preparations for a Total War
(Goring’s Four-Year Plan).
• Hitler was also instrumental in the remilitarisation of the Rhineland in 1936, against the advice of
his generals, alongside preparations for arming Germany from 1938 onwards.
• The Blomberg-Fritsch Affair saw the forced resignation of two senior military officials. Blomberg
(Reich Minister of War) resigned after his new wife was found to have a criminal past that tainted
the reputation of the German army. Fritsch (Commander-in-Chief of the German) was subjected
to a plot by Himmler and Goring of accusations of homosexuality. Although acquitted through
lack of evidence, his reputation was tainted forcing him to resign. The removal of two senior army
leaders who represented the cautious, conservative nature of the old-style army, was a political
manoeuvre, giving the remaining power of the Wehrmacht to Hitler.
• Evidence for Master Planner:
➢ 1920 Nazi 25 Points Programme (abolition of ToV, expansionism).
➢ Mein Kampf 1924 and Lebensraum.
➢ Hitlers Book (1928), published posthumously, laid out Stufenplan for world domination.
➢ Four Year Plan (1936), designed to have an autarkical state ready for all-out war by 1940.
➢ Hossbach Memorandum (1937) laid out Anschluss and Czechoslovakia by 1945.
• Others argue Hitler was more of an Opportunist:
