{"id":2495,"date":"2018-03-03T14:57:14","date_gmt":"2018-03-03T14:57:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/schoolshistory.org.uk\/topics\/?page_id=2495"},"modified":"2026-05-23T10:59:40","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T10:59:40","slug":"hitlers-aims-lebensraum-grossdeutschland","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/schoolshistory.org.uk\/topics\/world-history\/interwar-period-c1918-1945\/hitlers-aims-lebensraum-grossdeutschland\/","title":{"rendered":"Hitler’s aims: Lebensraum and Grossdeutschland"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hitler developed foreign policy goals in the early stages of the Nazi Party. As the party became more influential, then in power, these were developed. Hitler’s main aims were to rid Germany of the humiliation of the Treaty of Versailles. He aimed to unify Germany and Germanic peoples, known as Grossdeutschland. He also saw the need for Germany to expand, Lebensraum, in order to be more secure and prosperous. These aims led to diplomatic issues, the policy of appeasement and ultimately the invasion of Poland.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Political<\/p>\n

What were Hitler’s aims and policies with regard to the Treaty of Versailles?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hitler had 3 clear aims with regards Foreign Policy.<\/p>\n

1) He said in Mein Kampf that he wanted to tear up the Treaty of Versailles<\/a>.<\/p>\n

2) He wanted to create Grossdeutschland, a unified Germany encompassing all German speakers.<\/p>\n

3) He wanted to acquire Lebensraum, ‘Living Space’, in the east.<\/p>\n

Added to these, he wanted Germany to be a strong and powerful nation once again and wanted to destroy\u00a0communism<\/span>.<\/p>\n

To achieve these things Hitler would need to do several things which would be in\u00a0breach<\/span>\u00a0of the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. The German\u00a0armed forces<\/span>\u00a0were severely restricted under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. His vision of a powerful nation and the ability to acquire and protect both Grossdeutschland and Lebensraum would require\u00a0armed forces\u00a0in excess of what was permitted. The concept of Grossdeutschland would require the terms of the Treaty of Versailles to be amended or broken as the treaty specifically forbade a union between Germany and\u00a0Austria<\/span>. In addition many German speaking areas had been ceded to newly formed nations as part of the peace settlement: again, in order to achieve his aim, Hitler would need the terms changing, or would need to use force to achieve his aims.<\/p>\n

What policies were implemented to achieve Hitler’s Foreign Policy aims?<\/h5>\n
Timeline<\/h5>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Date<\/strong><\/td>\nObjective<\/strong><\/td>\nAction<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1933<\/td>\nDefeat\u00a0Communism<\/td>\nHitler\u00a0bans<\/span>\u00a0the\u00a0Communist<\/span>\u00a0Party and puts its leaders into concentration camps. This was designed to destroy\u00a0communism\u00a0within Germany and eliminate any risk of\u00a0Communist\u00a0opposition to the Nazi party. The Nazi’s used the Reichstag Fire as an excuse to ban the\u00a0Communist\u00a0party, on the grounds that they were preparing to launch a Putsch. New elections were held that excluded the Communists and thousands of the parties members were sent to concentration camps such as Dachau.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1934<\/td>\nTear up the Treaty of Versailles<\/td>\nHitler walks out of the Disarmament Conference and leaves the League of Nations. Hitler presents the reason for leaving the disarmament conference in a moderate manner, claiming that Germany had already been disarmed for 14 years and that others ought to follow suit.<\/p>\n

Extract<\/span>\u00a0from Hitler’s speech relating to leaving the Disarmament Conference:<\/p>\n

“We are unfortunately faced by the fact that the Geneva Conference, in spite of lengthy negotiations, has so far reached no practical result. The decision regarding the securing of a real measure of disarmament has been constantly delayed by the raising of questions of technical detail and by the introduction of problems that have nothing to do with disarmament. This procedure is useless.<\/p>\n

The illegal state of one-sided disarmament and the resulting national insecurity of Germany cannot continue any longer.<\/p>\n

We recognize it as a sign of the feeling of responsibility and of the good will of the\u00a0British Government<\/span>\u00a0that they have endeavored, by means of their disarmament proposal, to cause the Conference finally to arrive at speedy decisions. The Government of the Reich will support every endeavor aimed at really carrying out general disarmament and securing the fulfillment of Germany’s long-overdue\u00a0claim<\/span>\u00a0for disarmament. For fourteen years we have been disarmed, and for fourteen months we have been waiting for the results of the Disarmament Conference. Even more far-reaching is the plan of the head of the Italian Government, which makes a broad-minded and far-seeing attempt to secure a peaceful and consistent development of the whole of European policy. We attach the greatest weight to this plan, and we are ready to co-operate with absolute sincerity on the basis it provides, in order to unite the four Great Powers, England, France, Italy, and Germany, in friendly co-operation in attacking with courage and determination the problems upon the\u00a0solution<\/span>\u00a0of which the fate of Europe depends.”<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

1935<\/td>\nTear up the Treaty of Versailles<\/td>\nIncreases the German Army to 500,000. Following the failure of the Disarmament Conference Hitler began, at first secretly, increasing the size of the German\u00a0armed forces. In 1935 the Germans agreed the Anglo-German Naval Agreement. This was negotiated directly between Britain and Germany, without the other major powers of League of Nations being consulted. It allowed Germany to increase the size of her navy to 35% of the size of the Royal Navy. Once this agreement was in place it became clear that Germany would be able to rearm in other areas.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1936<\/td>\nTear up the Treaty of Versailles<\/td>\nHitler marches the German Army back into the Rhineland. See this page on the\u00a0Re-occupation of the Rhineland<\/a>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1936<\/td>\nDefeat\u00a0Communism<\/td>\nGermany signs the Anti-Comintern Pact with Italy and Japan, who agree to fight International Communism.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1938<\/td>\nGrossdeutschland<\/td>\nAnschluss: Hitler forces\u00a0Austria\u00a0to join Germany.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1938<\/td>\nGrossdeutschland<\/td>\nAnnexes<\/span>\u00a0the Sudetenland<\/a>\u00a0through the Munich Agreement. See this page on the\u00a0Munich Agreement<\/a>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1939<\/td>\nTear up the Treaty of Versailles<\/td>\nHitler increases the German Army to 950,000.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1939<\/td>\nLebensraum<\/td>\nGermany conquers Czechoslovakia.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1939<\/td>\nLebensraum<\/td>\nNazi \u2013 Soviet Pact secretly agrees to\u00a0divide<\/span>\u00a0Poland. See this page on the\u00a0Nazi – Soviet pact<\/a>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1939<\/td>\nLebensraum<\/td>\nGermany invades Poland. See this page on the\u00a0outbreak of war<\/a>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1941<\/td>\nDefeat\u00a0Communism\u00a0\/ Lebensraum<\/td>\nHitler Declares war on USSR<\/a> (Russia<\/a>).<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

International Relations in the Inter-war Years<\/a><\/h3>\n

Treaty of Versailles, 1919<\/a> – League of Nations<\/a> – The Dawes Plan, 1924<\/a> – Locarno Pact<\/a> – Kellogg-Briand Pact<\/a> – The Young Plan<\/a> – Litvinov Protocol<\/a> – Wall Street Crash<\/a> – Impact of the Great Depression<\/a> –\u00a0Manchurian Crisis, 1931<\/a> – Abyssinia Crisis, 1935<\/a> – League of Nations response to Abyssinia and Manchuria<\/a> – Spanish Civil War, 1936<\/a> – Hitler’s Aims: Lebensraum and Grossdeutschland<\/a> – Reoccupation of the Rhineland: International Response<\/a> – Anschluss<\/a> – Appeasement<\/a> – Sudetenland plebisite<\/a> –\u00a0Munich Agreement<\/a> –\u00a0Allied Pre-War policy towards Poland<\/a> – Nazi Soviet Pact<\/a> – Pact of Steel<\/a><\/p>\n

China 1930 \u2013 1976<\/a> –\u00a0Germany 1919-1945<\/a> –\u00a0USA 1919 -41<\/a> –\u00a0 History of the Soviet Union<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hitler developed foreign policy goals in the early stages of the Nazi Party. As the party became more influential, then in power, these were developed. Hitler’s main aims were to rid Germany of the humiliation of the Treaty of Versailles. He aimed to unify Germany and Germanic peoples, known as Grossdeutschland. He also saw the… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2534,"parent":146,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"off","neve_meta_content_width":100,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2495","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t