Why did German Foreign Policy change direction after 1937?

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Why did German Foreign Policy change direction after 1937?

The first four years of Nazi rule in Germany were undoubtedly characterised by the revisionist policies which were both evident during the final years of the Weimar Government and used extensively in order to allow Hitler and the Nazis to take power in Germany by appealing to the wants and needs of the German public. Many Germans resented the Treaty of Versailles and revisionist ideas would have been on the agenda of any elected Government and Hitler’s passionate speeches and rallies convinced the German people that he would be able to deliver his promises more quickly and effectively than any other party. In 1937 however, Nazi Foreign Policy became much less compliant and more aggressive, as well as exhibiting an increasing expansionist desire. A number of factors influencing this marked change have been suggested by historians.

The continuity with Weimar in the early years of the Nazi regime centred around regaining territory lost in the Treaty of Versailles in a non-aggressive way. For example, Germany regained the Saarland by holding a plebiscite, began rapid re-armament, remilitarised the Rhineland and left the League of Nations with very little opposition from either Britain or France, two of the main members of the League of Nations council.

One way in which Foreign Policy became more aggressive is in its attitude towards defence. In 1935 ‘Plan Red’ had been drawn up and implemented, a defensive response to Germany’s vulnerability to attack. It was believed that an attempted attack by France was likely and Plan Red assured that Germany’s borders with France and, to a lesser extent, Poland and Czechoslovakia were defended. However, in 1937 ‘Plan Green’ came into operation, an aggressive plan for the invasion of Eastern Europe, beginning with Austria and more importantly, Czechoslovakia. Hitler’s intention was to cause disruption in Czechoslovakia (which he did by arousing nationalist sentiment in Germans – through right-wing groups -  convincing them of their continued ‘oppression’ by the Czech majority) which would then give him reason to make a pre-emptive attack.

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‘Plan Green’ was held up as an example of the planned aggression by the Nazis at the Nuremburg War Crimes Trial along with the ‘Hossbach Memorandum’, minutes of a meeting conducted by Hitler in which he set out his aims for Foreign Policy and the expansion of Germany over the coming years. The memorandum contained numerous references to the “need for expansion” and shows that Hitler could foresee this happening before 1943. The document appears to uncompromisingly suggest that Hitler’s plans for expansion lie in the East, notably Russia and Czechoslovakia. Whilst specific plans are not evident from the ...

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