There are two schools of thought on Hitler's actions while he was ruler of the Third Reich.

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Introduction

There are two schools of thought on Hitler’s actions while he was ruler of the Third Reich. One says he has a blueprint of all his intended achievements which is based upon Mein Kampf, his autobiography written in the 1920s while the other believes that Hitler did not have any concrete plans which he followed diligently. The latter argued that he rode on opportunities and was propelled into power by circumstances rather than his own abilities. The basis of this essay is to find out which school offers a more convincing argument. Due to the wide aspects of the information and views on Hitler, the scope of discussion would be limited to Hitler’s foreign policies, the various interpretations by different historians and my own analysis. One point to note is that although A.J.P. Taylor does not fall into either of the schools, his views seems slanted towards structuralist theory which would also be discussed.

Anschluss

To determine whether Hitler had a plan or was just waiting to cash in on opportunities, we must look at his foreign policies implemented and his autobiography, Mein Kampf, which he wrote in 1925 while serving his prison sentence. Mein Kampf could be used as a benchmark in finding out whether Hitler was following a laid-out plan. This is because Hitler had claimed so often that all his plans and goals were actually written in Mein Kampf.

In Mein Kampf, Anschluss was described as the “first stage” in Hitler’s foreign policy plans, which, with the benefit of hindsight, is true. In a speech on 30 January 1941 in Berlin, Hitler had spoken implicitly of how his intention of abolishing the Treaty of Versailles had been declared or recorded so often that it was impossible for people to not know of his programme of expansionism until 1933, or 1935 or 1937.  Hitler had also written in Mein Kampf that he wanted to extend the frontiers of Germany to include all Germans, regardless of where they came from.  Prior to Anschluss, Hitler had been trying to improve his relations with Italy as the latter had interfered in Austria’s affairs in 1934 due to concerns about her “own territorial integrity” and. Hitler knew the importance of Italy and tried to improve relations with her. He hoped in this way, Austria would be isolated without Italy defending her. It could thus be argued that Hitler was planning for Anschluss through diplomatic preparations.

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However, Anschluss also represented Hitler’s opportunism. Notes written from Goebbels’s diary revealed that Hitler had kept “his watchful eyes on opportunities for German expansion”, suggesting that Hitler was always waiting for opportunities to expand German territory, an argument put across by Kershaw. In fact, it was Goering who pressed Hitler to take actions. Kershaw argued Goering was pushing the pace for Anschluss, perhaps for economic interests over Austria. Hitler was waiting for a crisis in Austria which would provide the excuse for German intervention and not invasion. This arrived on 9th March 1938, when Austrian Chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg announced a plebiscite on the ...

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