Foreign Policy of Germany

03/02/2011 07:44:00

Successor states can almost be see to rely on the lack of re-emergence of the empires The successor states rely on a separate number of Alliances such as the Little Entente and the alliance between Greece and other Balkan countries Romania and Poland ally against Russia The regions main Western ally is France, but the only formal military alliances it has are with Poland and Yugoslavia with Czechoslovakia coming in later Revisionist states: Bulgaria, Hungary, Germany, Russia, Italy, Turkey Anti Revisionist: Poland, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Greece Frances position in this system declined in the early to mid 30s France was hit hard by the global recession following 1929 Germanys economic influence replaced French domination Locarno treaty in 1926 means that Germany recognised its Western borders but not the Eastern borders France is still a naval power Czechoslovakia is position well in order to attack Germany 1936 Reoccupation of the Rhineland by Germany French prestige dented o Sign a treaty with the Russians along with the Czechs in 1935 o This is annoyed other states who saw Russia as a potential threat Spanish civil war in 1936 led to a view that Europe was being polarised between Germany and Russia on opposing sides Many saw Germany as a possible counterweight to the emergence of Russia and/or the decline of France Germany was the lesser of two evils. German Expansion Lebensraum o Agriculturally rich

Machinery and heavy goods that could be produced

in Czechoslovakia The global depression meant that Germany could barter raw material for agricultural produce and German technical knowledge With Austria he wanted Anschluss as well as the gold reserves from the national bank of Austria Czechoslovakia o Sudetenland was full of Germans o Also viewed that Czechoslovakia as an ally of France as well as having a strong army. Part of Hitlers anti-French policy Hungary o Hitler doesnt like Hungarian ruling elite o Sees them as an ally against Czechoslovakia wants them to move against Czechs rather than Yugoslavia and Romania Yugoslavia o Wanted to get Yugoslavia out of the hands of France Mussolini gets held up in Greece and Hitler has to invade Greece, seemed logical to invade Yugoslavia from the starting point of Greece

Romania o The oil supplies of Romania is very important o Agricultural produce and supply of men another French ally as well Poland o Wants to regain control of the Polish corridor also wants control of Danzig etc.

Hitlers 1930s policy towards Eastern Europe was largely one of containment rather than overt aggression Italy acted almost as a rival to Germany in this area was concerned with making the Mediterranean lake, Mussolini wants large scale Italian expansion and the recreation of the Roman empire based in the Mediterranean. Also claims from WWI on the Adriatic coast such as Dalmatia.

o Yugoslavia is also an object of Italian expansion Wanted to create Italian power in Albania as well as a treaty with Hungary who also had revisionist claims on Yugoslavia o Can argue that after 1920 the Italians are more of an active actor in this area than Hitler was. o

Hitler saw Mussolini as a potential ally because he could potentially be an ally against France and to an extent Britain in the Mediterranean Mussolini is brought round to this idea after invading Abyssinia in 1935 the League of Nations trade sanctions against Italy meant that Italy relied on German aid at this time. o wasnt really an industrial military power in the way that Germany was o Mussolini first coined the term of the Berlin/Rome Axis

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