Hitler's Accession to Power

Hitler's Accession to Power

Hitler's foremost intention was to make Germany a great power. He planned to do this by demolishing the Treaty of Versailles, which Hitler considered to be too harsh and an insult to Germany's pride. This would allow Germany to regain their lost territories such as the Polish Corridor and Rhineland. But Hitler's intentions went way beyond the destruction of the Treaty of Versailles; he wanted to bring all Germans under his rule. He thought that Germans were a superior race, and therefore deserved extra "living space" which became known as expansionism. Britain and France decided to deal with this by a policy that is known as appeasement, which granted concessions to most of Hitler's demands. This policy has been harshly criticized because it seems as though Britain and France gave Hitler too much, and it just fed his appetite for more.

However, appeasement was justified under the circumstances that existed at this time, the British and French were just trying to delay the inevitable- - going to war with Germany.

Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini in Munich, Germa...

Mussolini (left) and Hitler sent their armies to N...

Britains Floral Garden ~ memories from my childhoo...

This was a good idea because Britain was not ready to go to war; they needed a few years to remilitarize. Moreover, France did not want to go to war, and Britain could not defend her empire and fight a war alone. Nobody wanted to go to war with Germany and they would avoid war at any cost. This kept the people happy and it also kept Chamberlain popular. Britain and France allowed themselves to believe Hitler's promises of good intentions because they were so desperate for peace. Hitler knew this, and he mercilessly used this against them. All of the other countries thought that Britain and France were "lick[ing] the boots of the Nazis" (document 9) which may have been true, but nobody...