Hitler’s actions, 1933-36
Look at the image on the next slide.
What is your immediate reaction?
What do you suspect may have been the
reaction in Britain and France at the time?
German soldiers and armaments on
show at the Proclamation of Freedom
to Rearm Rally in 1935.
Task
•
Over the next few lessons, we are going to be looking at Hitler’s actions
after coming to power in 1933.
•
You are to make a set of detailed notes on these actions to prepare to
deliver a news broadcast in groups, explaining how these actions
brought Europe to War in 1939.
•
The broadcast will deliver ‘news flashes’ throughout the period and will
present the news on the following incidents –
Rearmament
The Saar plebiscite
The remilitarisation of the Rhineland
The Spanish Civil War
Anschluss with Austria
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Any additional research that you complete in the mean time will make
your understanding, and therefore your grade, much better.
What does this source suggest about the
British reaction to German rearmament?
SOURCE 2
I am convinced that Hitler does not want
war . . . what the Germans are after is a
strong army which will enable them to
deal with Russia.
British politician Lord Lothian, January
1935.
Helps solve unemployment
Rearmament helped boost
support for the Nazi
Party.
Why did Hitler choose
to pursue a policy
of massive rearmament?
Hitler is seen delivering
on his promise to
make Germany strong
again
Hitler is seen as challenging
the hated Treaty of
Versailles
Why did Hitler get away with
rearmament?
•
What factors allowed Hitler to get
away with rearming Germany?
•
•
•
•
•
•
Look at page 48 in Walsh.
Rearmament began in secret at
first
Hitler was only rearming as other
countries refused to disarm
Lots of countries were using
rearmament as a means of
combating unemployment
•
•
•
Hitler walked out of the League of
Nations Disarmament Conference
and the League altogether in 1933
Britain sympathised with Germany
and believed that the Treaty of
Versailles had been too harsh
Britain also thought that a strong
Germany would provide a buffer
against communism.
Britain had already helped to
dismantle the Treaty by signing a
naval agreement with Hitler in
1935 allowing Germany to increase
its navy to up to 35% of the size
of the British navy
The French were angry but there
was little they could do.
Hitler’s actions, 1933-36
• Withdrew from the League of Nations and
Disarmament Conference (1933);
• Tried unsuccessfully to stage a pro-Nazi coup in
Austria (1934);
• Won a plebiscite on the future of the Saar, which
voted 90% to be German (1935);
• Announced German re-armament, including an airforce (1935) and conscription (1936);
• Agreed an increase in Germany’s navy with Britain
(1935), allowing Germany to have as many submarines
as Britain, and 35% of its ships (Anglo-German Naval
Agreement)
How did the allies react?
In only two cases was there serious
opposition to these moves.
First, Mussolini’s objections prevented
Hitler taking over Austria in 1934
(he later did this in 1938).
Second, Italy, France and Britain
formed the Stresa Front in 1935 in
response to re-armament to
demonstrate their concern.
However, for the most part, these
countries either made token
protests or even endorsed Germany’s
moves (the Anglo-German Naval
Agreement was a British agreement
to Germany re-arming, contrary to
Versailles).
The USSR’s response to all of this was
finally to join the League of Nations
in 1934.
Task
• Design a Nazi poster to present the
information in source 10 to the German
people.
• The poster must be completed for
homework.
• Look at the following contemporary
sources to give you inspiration…
The map is titled “Demilitarized Germany.” The shaded
areas are regions demilitarized under the Treaty of Versailles.
The caption says: “With an
insufficient military, Germany can be
blockaded both by land and sea.”
Germany had suffered considerably
during World War I under the Allied
blockade, something the map
suggests could happen again.
The black areas are industrial zones. The caption reads:
“Germany’s industrial areas, unlike those of France, are defenseless in
defortified or even demilitarized border zones.”
The table is titled “Military expenditures by the great powers.”
The chart to the left is per capita military expenditures, the chart to the right military
expenditures as a percentage of the overall budget. The chart suggests that Germany
is being greatly outspent by the countries around it.
Plenary
• What were Hitler’s aims in foreign
policy?
• G?
• U?
• L?
• D?