Changing Nazi Foreign Policy the Second World War (1933-1945)

Nazi Foreign Policy (1933-1937)

Upon coming to power in 1933, Hitler was confronted with a post-Versailles international order primarily designed to ensure peace in Europe. His initial policy aimed not only at undoing the Treaty of Versailles but also at establishing Germany as a world power.
His actions from 1933 up to 1937 were essentially revisionist, trying to rectify or revise the terms of the Treaty of Versailles that Germany found unacceptable.
Key moves included Germany’s withdrawal from the League of Nations in 1933, signing the Anglo-German Naval Agreement in 1935, and carrying out re-militarisation of Rhineland in 1936 against the terms of Versailles.
During these years, his approach was cautious, as Nazi Germany was not yet militarily strong enough to risk a general war against other European powers.

Nazi Foreign Policy (1937-1939)

Hitler intensified his revisionist policy post-1937 in what is often characterised as the period of ‘aggressive expansionism’. This change was marked by the secret Hossbach Memorandum meeting in November 1937, which reinforced Hitler’s expansionist aims.
In this phase, Hitler aimed to incorporate all German-speaking people into one Reich and acquire more living space (Lebensraum) to the East for Germans. This bore the seeds of his next strategic targets: Austria, Sudetenland, and ultimately Poland.
Crucial steps include the Anschluss with Austria in March 1938 and the Munich Agreement in September 1938, which handed over the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia to Germany.
Hitler’s policy grew increasingly aggressive and led to significant diplomatic and military victories for Nazi Germany.

Outbreak of the Second World War

The policy of appeasement adopted by Britain and France emboldened Hitler and fuelled his expansionist ambitions. However, the invasion and annexation of Czechoslovakia in March 1939 signalled a turning point: it broke Hitler’s assurances at Munich and showed his aggressive intent.
In response, Britain and France issued Poland an assurance of military support in case of an unprovoked attack. Yet, Hitler disregarded these warnings and signed a Non-Aggression Pact with the Soviet Union (Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact) in August 1939, securing his eastern front.
Hitler’s invasion of Poland in September 1939 led Britain and France to declare war on Germany, marking the start of WW2.

Nazi War Goals and New Order in Europe

Nazi foreign policy hit its peak during the early years of the war (1939-1941), when Germany established the ‘New Order’ in Europe through military conquests.
The war goals were both ideological and geopolitical. The former related to racial purification and the extermination of Jews and ‘inferior races’, while the latter was about German domination in Europe and creation of Lebensraum in the East.
The New Order also involved Nazi Germany’s economic exploitation of conquered countries, which was crucial for sustaining the war effort.
However, the turning point of the war came with the failure of Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, and the subsequent entry of the USA into the war. The tide of war gradually began to turn against Nazi Germany.

Overall Effects of Nazi Foreign Policy

Hitler’s foreign policy was marked by reckless opportunism and a firm commitment to racial and territorial expansion.
The initial revisionist policies served to bolster the Nazi regime domestically and gathered support amongst Germans who felt humiliated by the Versailles Treaty.
However, the aggressive expansionism from 1937 onwards eventually led Germany into a world war that it could not sustain, leading ultimately to its defeat and downfall.
The devastating consequences and the magnitude of crimes against humanity under the New Order in Europe fundamentally transformed our understanding of war crimes and led to the creation of the United Nations.