History Revision

Soviet Foreign Policy

Zigzags?
The two ends of the spectrum were: Ideological/revolutionary/hostile and conciliatory/pragmatic/security y 1917 o o o 1918 o 1919 o 1922 o 1924 o o o 1926 o 1927 o 1928 o o o o 1934 o o o 1936 o 1938 o o 1939 o

World revolution Decree on Peace Brest-Litovsk Civil War, War Communism Formation of Comintern Treaty of Rapallo Backdrop of power struggle, NEP Better relations with the West Needed technology/investment trade agreements with Britain Treaty of Berlin White terror in China radical Social fascism Great Turn domestic backdrop of collectivisation/FYPs Hostility to all non-Communist parties War scare conciliatory Popular Front Membership of League of Nations Threat of Hitler was paramount by now Involvement in Spanish Civil War alongside progressives in Britain and France uncertainty/vacillation Prospect of alliance with France/Britain Background of appeasement practical Molotov replaces Litvinov as Foreign Minister  Litvinov was Jew and anti-German

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Molotov was Stalin s man and someone who would be prepared to strike a deal with the anti-Semites o Nazi-Soviet Pact 1940 (starting late 1939) o Winter War with Finland 1941 ideological/hostile o Operation Barbarossa o Grand Alliance but some tensions o 1944 Race to Berlin 1945 security o Yalta o Potsdam From 1945 to 1953 increasingly radicaly o Takeover of Eastern Europe for security through ideological and revolutionary means 1947 o Formation of Cominform (Communist Information Bureau) and COMECON (Council for Mutual Economic Cooperation) 1949 o Tensions over Germany Berlin blockade and airlift 1951 1953 ideological o Korean War

Hitler s Rise to and Consolidation of Power

Rise Main Factors
y Treaty of Versailles o Anger and resentment of ordinary Germans o Could translate into a general public mood that was  Anti-Weimar associated with Versailles and the armistice because of the stab in the back by the November Criminals  Anti- West support for an aggressive revisionist foreign policy, which the Nazis promoted  Connect with the Great Depression? Reparations hyperinflation Dawes Plan Great Depression o Weimar failures o Constitutional weaknesses Article 48 sowed the seeds of dictatorship (193-1932); Hitler to exploit this o Electoral system of proportional representation  Weak, short-lived coalitions, no continuity in policy  Hitler said he would sweep away the forty Weimar parties he promised strong, decisive leadership to deal with Germany s problems o Undermined by civil service and army  Judiciary sympathetic to right wing, teachers were antiWeimar and pro-revolution, the army did little to stop the street battles between the SA and the RFFL o Assailed by forces of left and right sense of permanent crisis (most attempted putsches were in the early period, but the mood prevailed throughout) o Weimar culture  Berlin decadence, hedonism alienated traditional Germans Wandervogel Hitler Youth o Willingness to come to terms with Versailles system Locarno, Stresemann, League of Nations, Dawes and Young Plans fuelled radical right wing support Growing fanatical support base at the grassroots o Groups like HJ (Hitler Youth), NSTA (National Socialist Teachers Association), BDM (German Maidens League), SA, SS, Farmers Association o Farmers and teachers importance of blood and soil o Loyal Fhrerprinzip o Disciplined, fun activities (Nuremberg Rallies began in 1927) Perceived as the only Volksgemeinschaft party drawing support from all classes seen as unifying nation, not class (political and economic crisis) Propaganda o Very deliberate strategy o Role of Goebbels

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o Posters, leaflets, banners, songs, Nuremberg Rallies, speeches, modernity ( Hitler over Germany flying all over Germany for his campaign in 1932) o Seen as disciplined, organised, dynamic, youthful, powerful, dignified contrasted with chaos, failure, misery, division Great Depression o Hitler promised to fix the situation  Mass unemployment; Hitler promised work  Weak and directionless leadership; Hitler promised dictatorship  Germany on its knees; Hitler promised avenging Versailles and restoring pride  Terror of inflation; Hitler promised not to allow it  Economy stagnant; Hitler promised growth through rearmament o More people now willing to listen to radical message (desperate mood) o Public disorder for some (eg army), the choice boiled down to Hitler or the Communists Hitler promised to destroy the KPD and control the SA Backstairs Intrigue o Nazis rescued just as they seemed to have lost the initiative helped into power (Ian Kershaw) o Appealed to elite industrialists (Hugenberg, Thyssen head of Germany s biggest steel manufacturer), conservative nationalists (Hindenburg, Papen, Schacht), army o Miscalculation thought they could control Hitler, who would receive the economy, destroy Communism, destroy Weimar, and then they could take over

Consolidation
y Methods o Terror and coercion o Propaganda and indoctrination Legal means Illegal means Revolution from above Revolution from below Hitler s brilliance General circumstances and weaknesses of others Small Nazi minority in the Cabinet in January 1933 Hitler was the Chancellor, but his power is circumscribed because people thought they could control it, and they were both within and outside Hitler s government o Vice Chancellor Papen and the other intriguers o Hindenburg could fire him

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o The army could stop him, they were very nervous about him and the SA in particular Out of 12 senior Cabinet ministers, the Nazis had only 3: Hitler was Chancellor, Wilhelm Friek was Interior Minister and Goering was Minister Without Portfolio. This meant that Hitler could be controlled if there was a vote in the Cabinet, and even for Article 48, two of the three powerful people wanted to control Hitler The army was scared that the SA would take over their role in the country; there was also a strong class discrimination against the SA and the Nazis in general There was still a Weimar constitution and so other parties were also operating and they could get more votes from the Nazis The combined force of the SPD and KPD could defeat the Nazis Economic recovery would obviously have to keep apace as that is what he promised, and he delivered o He cut unemployment, but the cost was low wages; he disbanded trade unions The ZP and the Catholic Church also could stand up to Hitler electorally Weaknesses of the others o Catholics and Centre Party  Hitler basically bought them. Before the vote for the Enabling Act, Hitler struck a deal with them. They would vote for the Nazis, and in return Hitler wouldn t mess with the Church. Catholic affairs and organizations could continue without interference. The Catholic Church would be immune to Nazi influence. They were prepared to look after their own interests first and they were terrified of what Hitler might do to them if they went against him o Army  Scared of the SA; Hitler was the only one who could control it  They struck a deal with Hitler that he would decapitate the SA and in return, the army would declare its loyalty to him  In 1932 they realized they had to choose between the Nazis and KPD; they decided to allow Hitler into power and then use him to get rid of the SA, which is what he did  Ultimately, they approved of what Hitler was doing they liked strong leadership, law and order, armaments, etc. o Left wing  SPD was really weakened because of the Depression  Ebert s decision to use the Freikorps to crush the Spartacist Revolt back in 1921 embittered the SPD and KPD; that s why they wouldn t unite  Social Fascism Stalin had instructed the KPD that all other parties are rotten capitalists and so the SPD was no better than the Nazis. The SPD believed that the KPD wanted to  KPD welcomed the Nazi revolution because they believed they were next: After Hitler, us! o Conservatives

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They shared many of Hitler s attitudes and they approved of much of what he was doing  They secretly admired that Hitler was restoring German pride; appeasement on a domestic level o Industrialists  Hitler was crushing the Communists and getting rid of the trade unions; he was fulfilling their wildest fantasies o Hitler brilliantly took advantage of circumstances o Reichstag Fire ( Difference between the Reichstag Fire Decree and the Enabling Act o RFD suspended habius corpus allowed them to arrest someone without any rights; freedom of speech and civil liberties were suspended; allowed him to clamp down on the Communists and terrify the socialists o Enabling Act he didn t have to go through the Reichstag or Hindenburg o