International Reaction to Hitler's Foreign Policy Aims

What was the reaction of other countries to Hitler's foreign policy?

Hitler was very open about the fact that he wanted to rebuild Germany, and the only way he thought this could be done was through war. Britain, France, the USA and the USSR, all reacted differently to Hitler's actions.

What was Britain's reaction to Hitler's foreign policy?

Neville Chamberlain for much of the period leading to war thought that Hitler didn't really want war, and took a placatory approach to Hitler's foreign policy, known as Appeasement. :

What were the reasons for Britain's reaction to Hitler's foreign policy

There were 5 important reasons for Britain's reaction to Hitler's foreign policy.

• ❖ Many British people were still scarred by war and didn't want another, so they were happy to turn a blind eye to Hitler's actions.
• ❖ Opinions about the Treaty of Versailles were now different. People now felt that it had been too severe, so felt Hitler's foreign policy was fair, and he should be able to reverse the treaty.
• ❖ Hitler signed a non-aggression pact with the USSR in 1934, so people saw this as an indication that Hitler didn't want war.
• ❖ It was thought that a strong Germany could help stop the expansion of communism.
• ❖ Not everyone agreed with a more lenient approach to Hitler. Winston Churchill thought appeasement was a mistake.

What was France's reaction to Hitler's foreign policy?

Edouard Daladier, France's prime minister was very concerned about Hitler's foreign policy. However, he couldn't act against him without the support of Britain.

What were the reasons for France's reaction for to Hitler's foreign policy

There were 3 important reasons for France's reaction to Hitler's foreign policy.

• ❖ The 1930s was a hard time for people of France, who suffered greatly from the affects of the Depression.
• ❖ People were angry with the government and started protesting. Daladier struggled to think about Hitler with so many domestic problems.
• ❖ France could not afford a war.

What was USSR's reaction to Hitler's foreign policy?

Stalin, the USSR's leader reacted in 2 important ways.

• ❖ In May 1935, Stalin signed a treaty of mutual assistance with France.
• ❖ Stalin was working with capitalist nations to stop Hitler's expansion into the East.

What was USA's reaction to Hitler's foreign policy?

Franklin Delano Roosevelt continued to pursue the USA's policy of isolationism. America did not want to get involved with Hitler and what they saw as Europe's problem.

What were the reasons for USA's reaction for to Hitler's foreign policy

There were 3 important reasons for USA's reaction to Hitler's foreign policy.

• ❖ America was suffering from the affects of the Depression. Unemployment reached 25 per cent, and FDR wanted to give all his attention to fixing America's domestic problems.
• ❖ In 1934, a vote showed that 70 percent of Americans felt that the USA should not have gone to fight in the First World War, and that they should not get involved if there was another war.
• ❖ In the 1936 FDR was elected on a pledge to keep America out of any war in Europe.

Why did countries react in this way to Hitler's foreign policy?

Collectively, countries around the world initially did not take any action against Hitler's foreign policy. There were a number of reasons for this including:

• ❖ Many countries were suffering the effects of the Great Depression, and were distracted by dealing with domestic problems.
• ❖ Many countries felt they could not afford to fight another war.
• ❖ People had sympathy for Germany over the harshness of the Treaty of Versailles, and thought that Germany should be able to reclaim some of what had been lost.

What was the impact of the international reaction to Hitler's foreign policy?

The impact of this on international relations was that Hitler's actions were allowed to go unchecked and he grew in confidence. This was the beginning of the road to war.