Key Question 3 · Hitler's Foreign Policy

Hitler's Aims & Foreign Policy 1933–1939

Understand Hitler's core ideological aims, trace each action in chronological order, and see how Cambridge rewards analysis of WHY each step brought Europe closer to war.

🎯 Four Core Aims 📅 Actions Timeline ⚠️ Examiner Warnings ✍️ Exam Focus

Section 1

Hitler's Core Aims

Hitler came to power with four distinct ideological goals. Examiners expect you to treat these as separate aims — conflating them is one of the most penalised errors.

1

Destroy the Treaty of Versailles

Reverse all territorial losses (Rhineland, Saarland, Polish Corridor, colonies), abolish reparations, and rebuild the armed forces beyond the 100,000-man limit. Versailles was the immediate political grievance that brought Hitler mass support.

Key actions: Rearmament · Rhineland · Saar
2

Grossdeutschland

Unite all German-speaking peoples (Volksdeutsche) under one Greater German state. This meant incorporating Austria and the Sudetenland — both of which had large German-speaking populations separated from Germany by the post-war treaties.

Key actions: Anschluss · Sudetenland
3

Lebensraum

Conquer 'living space' to the east — Poland, Ukraine, Russia — for German resettlement and agricultural resources. Rooted in racial ideology: the Slavic peoples were to be enslaved or exterminated. This aim went far beyond reversing Versailles or uniting German speakers.

Key actions: Nazi–Soviet Pact · Invasion of Poland

Examiner Warning

Lebensraum ≠ Grossdeutschland. Uniting German speakers (Aim 2) is about ethnicity and treaty revision. Lebensraum is about racial conquest of non-German lands to the east. Conflating them is a marked error.

4

Destroy Communism

An ideological war against Bolshevism, with the USSR as the ultimate enemy. Hitler saw communism as a Jewish-Bolshevik conspiracy and considered its destruction inseparable from the racial conquest of the east. The Anti-Comintern Pact (1936) and the eventual invasion of the USSR (1941) were both expressions of this aim.

Key actions: Anti-Comintern Pact · Spanish Civil War

Section 2

Actions Timeline 1933–1939

For each event, learn the date, what happened, how it related to Versailles, and — most importantly — its significance for the road to war.

Date Action Detail & Versailles Link Why It Mattered
1933 Left the League of Nations Withdrew from the Disarmament Conference and the League, removing international oversight of German rearmament. Freed Germany from collective security mechanisms — the first step in dismantling the Versailles order.
1933–35 Secret Rearmament Conscription reintroduced March 1935; Luftwaffe existence revealed 1935; army grew far beyond the 100,000-man Versailles limit. Directly violated Versailles Part V. Britain and France protested but took no action — establishing the pattern of non-enforcement.
1935 Anglo-German Naval Agreement Britain agreed Germany could build a navy up to 35% of British tonnage — without consulting France. Britain tacitly accepted German rearmament, undermining the Stresa Front and fatally splitting Allied unity.
1935 Saar Plebiscite League-supervised vote; 90.8% voted to return to Germany. Legal under Versailles (vote was always scheduled for 1935). A legitimate gain that Hitler exploited as a propaganda victory, portraying it as proof of popular German will to overturn the peace settlement.
Mar 1936 Remilitarisation of the Rhineland 25,000 German troops entered the demilitarised zone. Violated Versailles AND the Locarno Pact (1925). Hitler's generals had orders to retreat if France mobilised. The biggest gamble and the moment when Hitler could most easily have been stopped at minimal cost. France and Britain did nothing — demonstrating that the Versailles settlement would not be defended by force.
1936–39 Spanish Civil War Germany supported Franco's Nationalists. Condor Legion tested Blitzkrieg tactics and the Luftwaffe (Guernica bombing, April 1937). Tested military technology for future conflicts; drew Mussolini into alliance with Germany; distracted Britain and France from German rearmament.
Nov 1936 Rome-Berlin Axis Germany and Italy declared a shared 'axis' around which European affairs would revolve. Shared ideology and Spanish Civil War collaboration were the foundations. Gave Germany a major ally, broke Italy away from the Stresa Front, and emboldened Hitler in future crises knowing he would not face a united European coalition.
Nov 1936 Anti-Comintern Pact Germany and Japan (Italy joined 1937) agreed to share intelligence on and oppose the Communist International. Directed against the USSR. Reflected Aim 4 (destroy communism) and built the Axis alliance framework. Threatened the USSR with encirclement, forcing Stalin to consider his options.
Mar 1938 Anschluss with Austria German troops marched in after Austrian Nazis destabilised the government. A Nazi-controlled plebiscite returned 99% in favour. Forbidden by both Versailles and the Treaty of St Germain. Absorbed Austria's gold reserves, armed forces and strategic position. Proved appeasement held even for outright annexation. Czechoslovakia was now surrounded on three sides.
Sep 1938 Sudetenland / Munich Agreement Hitler demanded the Sudetenland (3 million German speakers, part of Czechoslovakia). At Munich, Britain and France agreed — without consulting Czechoslovakia. Proved the Allies would not fight to defend a third country. Stripped Czechoslovakia of its border fortifications. Chamberlain returned claiming 'peace for our time'.
Mar 1939 Invasion of Rest of Czechoslovakia Germany occupied Bohemia and Moravia; Slovakia became a puppet state. Broke the Munich Agreement. No German speakers were being 'united' — this was pure conquest. Proved Hitler's aims went beyond Versailles revision or uniting German speakers. Ended appeasement — Chamberlain issued the Polish Guarantee days later.
Aug 1939 Nazi-Soviet Pact Germany and the USSR agreed not to attack each other. Secret protocol divided Poland and Eastern Europe into spheres of influence. Both sides intended to break it eventually. Removed Hitler's fear of a two-front war, making the invasion of Poland possible. Shocked the world — ideologically, Hitler and Stalin were sworn enemies. It was a tactical move, not a change of aims.
1 Sep 1939 Invasion of Poland Germany invaded from the west; the USSR invaded from the east on 17 September. Britain and France declared war on 3 September, honouring the Polish Guarantee. The beginning of World War Two. Lebensraum — not treaty revision — drove the decision to invade a country with no large German-speaking minority.

Section 3

Examiner Warnings

These errors appear repeatedly in Cambridge examiner reports. Know them before you sit the exam.

Examiner Warnings — KQ3: Hitler's Aims & Actions

Cambridge 0470 ER 2021–2025
  • ⚠

    Anschluss is NOT 'reunification'. Austria and Germany were never a single state. The Austrian Empire and the German Empire were always separate entities. Calling Anschluss a 'reunion' is historically inaccurate and will undermine your analysis.

  • ⚠

    The Sudetenland was NOT 'retaken'. The Sudetenland had never been part of Germany — it was part of Austria-Hungary before 1919. Hitler did not reclaim German territory; he demanded land from a sovereign state (Czechoslovakia) because its inhabitants spoke German. These are very different things.

  • ⚠

    Munich Agreement (1938) ≠ Munich Putsch (1923). These are 15 years apart and entirely different events. The Putsch was Hitler's failed attempt to seize power in Bavaria. The Agreement was Chamberlain's concession of the Sudetenland to Hitler. Confusing them in an exam loses marks immediately.

  • ⚠

    Lebensraum ≠ Grossdeutschland ≠ reversing Versailles — these are three distinct aims. Reversing Versailles = undoing the treaty's military and territorial terms. Grossdeutschland = uniting German speakers in one state. Lebensraum = racial conquest of non-German eastern lands. An answer that treats them as one aim cannot reach Level 4.

  • ⚠

    Hitler did NOT lead appeasement. Appeasement was British and French policy towards Hitler. Hitler exploited it — he did not practise it. Do not write 'Hitler appeased…' unless you mean he was being appeased by others.

  • ⚠

    Hitler did NOT seek to spread communism — he was violently anti-communist. Destruction of Bolshevism was one of his four core aims. The Nazi–Soviet Pact was a tactical, temporary arrangement — not an ideological alliance. Hitler always intended to destroy the USSR; the invasion of 1941 confirmed this.

Section 4

Exam Focus

Cambridge asks about this material across all three question types. Know what each part demands.

Part (a) · 4 marks

What / Describe questions

  • ✦ What were Hitler's aims?
  • ✦ What happened at the Rhineland remilitarisation?
  • ✦ What was the Anti-Comintern Pact?
  • ✦ What happened in the Saar plebiscite?

Two clear factual points with specific detail each. No analysis required — but vague answers score 1–2 only.

Part (b) · 6 marks

Why / Explain questions

  • ✦ Why did Hitler remilitarise the Rhineland?
  • ✦ Why did the Spanish Civil War benefit Hitler?
  • ✦ Why did Hitler agree to the Nazi-Soviet Pact?
  • ✦ Why did the Rome-Berlin Axis form?

Two developed reasons, each explained and supported by specific evidence. WHY, not WHAT.

Part (c) · 10 marks

How far / Judgement questions

  • ✦ How far was Hitler responsible for the outbreak of war?
  • ✦ Was appeasement a wise policy?

Both sides explained with specific evidence + a supported judgement. L5 requires a clear 'how far' verdict in the conclusion.

The Key Analytical Move Cambridge Rewards

Don't just list what Hitler did — explain WHY each action contributed to war.

Example — the Rhineland: It matters not just because it violated Versailles and Locarno, but because Hitler's generals had orders to retreat if France mobilised. France's failure to act missed the cheapest possible opportunity to halt German expansion. Every subsequent demand was harder to resist because the Rhineland showed Hitler that aggression had no cost.

Apply this pattern to every event: What happened? → Why did Hitler do it? → What did it prove/enable? → How did it bring war closer?

Mark Scheme Levels — Part (c)

Level Marks What the Answer Does
L5 10 Both sides explained with specific evidence + a clear supported judgement on 'how far'
L4 7–9 Both sides explained with specific evidence — judgement weak or absent
L3 4–6 One side only, but with specific evidence and some explanation
L2 2–3 Describes events without explaining their significance
L1 1 General comments only — no specific evidence