Do you agree that Hitler's Foreign Policy appears to be following a traditional foreign policy?
Do you agree that Hitler's Foreign Policy appears to be following a traditional foreign policy?
Hitler's foreign policy seemed to be more aggressive than the traditional foreign policies in Germany, but was this in fact the case?
Neil Gregor:
'Hitler's foreign policy looked like a continuation of the expansionist policies of Bismarck and the Kaiser. But were appearances deceptive?
Traditional foreign policies are defined as those that had gone before (in Imperial Germany and Weimar Germany). Hitler was heavily involved himself in the all important foreign policy decisions
Goring said at the time
''Foreign Policy above all was the Führer's own realm'
Although there are a lot of similarities to the traditional foreign policies, it is not completely true to say Hitler's foreign policy was 'traditional'. Hitler's foreign policy had its own unique part, in the racial motivation for his policies of Lebensraum (Living Space) and Weltherschaft (World Domination) based on Hitler's belief in Social Darwinism, which is Hitler's Worldview (weltanshauung), that the world is divided into races, and the Aryan race was the superior race.
Hitler and Kaiser Wilhelm II were very similar in their personalities. The Kaiser was a nationalist, he wanted a strong empire and for Germany to be a superpower in the world. He used aggressive tactics after Bismarck retired in 1890. His tactics led to World War 1, when Imperial Germany sought to gain considerable amounts of land (the Balkans, Belgium, Holland, France, Poland Russia, Eastern Mediterranean, Turkey, Austria and parts of the Balkans) Hitler was just a more extreme version of the Kaiser. He also wanted a stronger Germany, and his achievements up to 1939 strengthened Germany. Hitler also wanted more land (e.g. Austria) he wanted 'Lebensraum' to the extent of world domination! The Kaiser was also aggressive, and so was Hitler (e.g. using the army to intimidate, by placing it on the border in Austria)
Hitler's foreign policy seemed to be more aggressive than the traditional foreign policies in Germany, but was this in fact the case?
Neil Gregor:
'Hitler's foreign policy looked like a continuation of the expansionist policies of Bismarck and the Kaiser. But were appearances deceptive?
Traditional foreign policies are defined as those that had gone before (in Imperial Germany and Weimar Germany). Hitler was heavily involved himself in the all important foreign policy decisions
Goring said at the time
''Foreign Policy above all was the Führer's own realm'
Although there are a lot of similarities to the traditional foreign policies, it is not completely true to say Hitler's foreign policy was 'traditional'. Hitler's foreign policy had its own unique part, in the racial motivation for his policies of Lebensraum (Living Space) and Weltherschaft (World Domination) based on Hitler's belief in Social Darwinism, which is Hitler's Worldview (weltanshauung), that the world is divided into races, and the Aryan race was the superior race.
Hitler and Kaiser Wilhelm II were very similar in their personalities. The Kaiser was a nationalist, he wanted a strong empire and for Germany to be a superpower in the world. He used aggressive tactics after Bismarck retired in 1890. His tactics led to World War 1, when Imperial Germany sought to gain considerable amounts of land (the Balkans, Belgium, Holland, France, Poland Russia, Eastern Mediterranean, Turkey, Austria and parts of the Balkans) Hitler was just a more extreme version of the Kaiser. He also wanted a stronger Germany, and his achievements up to 1939 strengthened Germany. Hitler also wanted more land (e.g. Austria) he wanted 'Lebensraum' to the extent of world domination! The Kaiser was also aggressive, and so was Hitler (e.g. using the army to intimidate, by placing it on the border in Austria)