CONTRIBUTE TO THE COMING OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR?
How did Hitler’s Germany Contribute to the Coming of the Second World War?
On January 30, 1933, second German President Paul von Hindenburg appointed Adolf Hitler, the leader of the largest political party National Socialists, Chancellor of Germany. That date marked the beginnings of Nazi Germany and the Third Reich and the destruction of the democratic German Republic. Hitler always said that the Third Reich would exist for a thousand years, but it lasted only for twelve years and four months. However, despite its short existence, Hitler’s rule left a significant mark both in German history and history of the whole world. What were the reasons why the Second World War started? How did the Third Reich contribute to its beginning?
After the death of Paul von Hindenburg on August 2, 1934, Hitler became Führer of Nazi Germany. During his rule, the country had a single-party totalitarian regime of power. Stackelberg and Winkle write that the new government aimed to appeal to the thousands of Germans, who were dissatisfied with the policies of the Weimar Republic, parliamentary systems, and Marxism. The long-term goals of Hitler as a new country leader included the abolishment of the Versailles treaty and preparations for war that was necessary “to meet Germany’s supposedly legitimate need for more territory.” The territories Hitler wanted to integrate into the German Reich were Austria and other ethnically German regions of Europe. Of course, the accomplishment of such political aims was not possible without military conflicts.
While the 1933-1936 years were the years of the establishment and development of the Third Reich, the following three years marked the road to the Second World War. Weinberg states that by 1937, Germany was undoubtedly “the most powerful country in Europe.” Hitler made successful domestic policies that helped him to turn the Third Reich into a strong dominative nation. In 1934, he publicly renounced the Treaty of Versailles and its military restrictions that led to the steady growth of the numerical force of the German army. In 1935, Italian dictator Mussolini invaded Ethiopia. Hitler supported Mussolini, and their cooperation gave birth to the German-Italian “Axis” that was joined by Japan later. He planned to start the annexation of Austria in 1943 at the latest. Of course, Hitler understood that the following war would not be just the war between the Third Reich and the countries he aimed to annex. He hoped that he would be able to fight his expansionist war in the east and to keep the neutrality with France and Great Britain at the same time. However, the 1939 German invasion of the Czech state and Slovakia significantly affected further possibilities of that neutrality. France and Great Britain extended their support to Poland and Romania that could have been the next aims of the German invasion. In return, Hitler invaded Poland. The Second World War started.
How large was Hitler’s contribution to the origins of the Second World War? Historians have different views on this issue. Hillgruber writes that the Second World War was an unavoidable result of Hitler’s foreign policies and was a part of his plan. Kershaw, on the contrary, argues that even if Hitler was responsible for the German foreign policies, he was not the only person to make decisions, and he was dependable on forces both outside and within the country. However, one cannot argue that Hitler set the stage of the war that was destined to become one of the greatest wars in the history of humankind. This point of view is proved by Weinberg, who writes that the German government kept within special bounds to keep its invasion to Poland in secret and to surprise Europe. The invasion of Poland was a surprise to the whole Europe and forced France and Great Britain to declare war on Germany. Hitler craved for power, and his desire was one of the main reasons for his foreign policies and the coming of the Second World War.
Works Cited
Hillgruber, Andreas, and Kershaw, Ian. “Was World War II the Result of Hitler’s Master Plan?” Jessbcuzz. Accessed 27 May 2016. http://jessbcuzz.weebly.com/uploads/8/4/7/2/8472357/hitlers_master_plan.pdf
Shirer, William L. The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. New York: Simon and Shuster, 2011. http://www.tronest.cn/user/tronest/ebook/The+Rise+And+Fall+Of+The+Third+Reich.pdf
Stackelberg, Roderick, and Sally A. Winkle. The Nazi Germany Sourcebook: an Anthology of Texts. New York: Routledge, 2002. http://www.mrmichaelstuart.com/uploads/3/2/6/7/3267285/the_nazi_germany_sourcebook.pdf
Weinberg, Gerhard L. Germany, Hitler, and World War II: Essays in Modern German and World History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996.
Weinberg, Gerhard L. Hitler’s Foreign Policy 1933-1939: The Road to World War II. New York: Enigma Books, 2013.
