Rearmament

Hitler's Rearmament

• Hitler's policy not only increased Germany's armed forces it;
• made him very popular at home
• destroyed the Treaty of Versailles
• undermined the principle of collective security of the League and
• drove wedges between his enemies

Withdrawal from the Disarmament Conference 1933

• Hitler, had no intention of having anything to do with disarmament, and in October 1933 he withdrew from the Conference and the League, blaming the French.
• The British delegation made number of attempts to try to persuade Germany to return to the conference, but these only angered France (who saw them as an attempted ‘sell-out’), ending in April 1934 with the so-called ‘Barthou note’ in which French Foreign Minister Louis Barthou announced that France would no longer play any part in the Conference, but would look after its own security in whatever way was necessary.
• All this was a success for Hitler because a it ruined the conference b it left him free to rearm however he wanted c it drove a wedge between the French and the British.

Non-aggression Pact with Poland, 1934

• Hitler liked the ‘bi-lateral’ treaties between himself and another power; this arrangement:
• left his eastern border safe and gave him time to rearm undermined the principle of collective security of the League – after the treaty Poland actively neglected the League.divided the countries allied against him when he was ready, he simply invaded Poland anyway.

Rearmament Video


Lessons Learned: Hitler's Rearmament of Germany