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In March 1939 Hitler seized the Czech capital, Prague.

World War One Aftermath: Hitler's Foreign Policy, 1936-1939

Follow Hitler’s bold moves from the Rhineland to Czechoslovakia and Poland, and see how his foreign policy pushed Europe towards the outbreak of the Second World War.

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Fascinating Fact:

In March 1939 German forces occupied the rest of Czechoslovakia. This proved that Hitler’s aims went beyond self-determination and made appeasement much harder to justify.

In GCSE History, Hitler’s foreign policy from 1936 to 1939 shows how rearmament, bold diplomatic gambles and territorial expansion steadily undermined the peace settlement and increased tensions across Europe.

Key Terms

Appeasement: A policy of giving concessions to a potentially aggressive power, in the hope of avoiding war and keeping international peace.
Anschluss: The political union of Germany and Austria, achieved in 1938 when German troops entered Austria and the two countries were brought together under Nazi rule.
Nazi–Soviet Pact: A 1939 agreement between Germany and the USSR in which both sides promised not to attack each other and secretly agreed to divide parts of Eastern Europe.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

What were the main steps in Hitler’s foreign policy between 1936 and 1939?

Key steps included the remilitarisation of the Rhineland, forming the Rome–Berlin Axis, Anschluss with Austria, taking the Sudetenland after Munich, occupying the rest of Czechoslovakia and then pressuring Poland.

Why was the occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1939 important?

The occupation showed that Hitler wanted more than uniting German-speaking peoples. By seizing a non-German state, he proved he was willing to use force for wider expansion, not just self-determination.

How did appeasement help Hitler’s foreign policy before the Second World War?

Appeasement meant Britain and France accepted several of Hitler’s demands, such as rearmament and the Munich Agreement. This encouraged him to take greater risks, believing they would not stop him firmly.

Try These Related Quizzes

1 .

In March 1939 Hitler seized a major European capital city and its hinterland, in breach of undertakings he had freely entered into the year before. What city was this?

Prague

Bratislava

Warsaw

Budapest

Hitler never intended to observe international agreements to which he had been a party. His determination to press towards the east was paramount

2 .

In 1936 civil war broke out in Spain. Hitler decided to support the rebels under General Franco, and sent a military unit to Spain consisting of bombers and fighter 'planes, tanks and artillery, and a contingent of troops under General Sperrle. What name was given to this military force?

The German Expeditionary Force

The German Intervention Force

The Condor Legion

The Eagle Division

Hitler was keen that Franco should win this war, and - in any event - supplying military assets to the Nationalists was an excellent way of testing weapons in actual warfare - and in mainly good weather with little risk to German lives, as mostly Spanish service personnel were involved

3 .

By 1939 Hitler was in a formal alliance with Italy, and with one other power. Which state was this?

Japan

Hungary

Spain

Portugal

All of these states had authoritarian regimes, and could be useful in the event of the outbreak of world war. However, Hitler only added one of these to his formal alliance with Mussolini's Italy

4 .

In August 1939 Hitler sent his foreign minister, Joachim von Ribbentrop, to Moscow to sign a non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union. Which of the following names is sometimes used to describe this deal?

The Hitler-Stalin Accords

The Litvinov-Hitler Agreement

The Nazi-Soviet Pact

The Molotov-Hitler Treaty

Hitler ultimately intended to take over the USSR, but he preferred to take one step at a time. He would like to invade Poland, but this operation would be easier if Russia refrained from supporting its western neighbour

5 .

In September 1939 Hitler did indeed invade Poland from the west, while a few days later Stalin's forces attacked Poland from the east. The two dictators' forces met roughly along the line delineated between Poland and Russia back in the 1920s by a British diplomat and statesman. What name had been given to this line?

The Chamberlain Line

The Halifax Line

The Curzon Line

The Irwin Line

In 1920 Poland, a newly restored power, moved beyond this line to take advantage of a temporary Russian weakness. In 1939 Germany and Russia agreed that the original 1919-20 line would now mark the border between Germany and the USSR

6 .

In the spring of 1938 Hitler's forces marched into a neighbouring state, having bullied its ruler at Berchtesgaden a short while before. Which state was this?

Poland

Austria

Czechoslovakia

Luxembourg

This move breached no less than two of the treaties which Germany had been compelled to sign in 1919-20

7 .

In 1937 Hitler held a meeting of his senior officials to discuss the next moves in foreign policy. A Wehrmacht colonel took a written, shorthand record of the proceedings. This document was used at the Nuremberg Trials to incriminate several of the defendants, including Hess, Goering and von Ribbentrop. What was the colonel's name?

Jodl

Keitel

Hosspach

Rommel

1937 was a kind of "year off" in Nazi foreign policy. Hitler wanted to absorb the gains from 1933-6, and to discuss with his closest aides a programme of further aggression for 1938, 1939 and beyond

8 .

In the spring of 1936 Hitler sent his troops into the demilitarised Rhineland - a flagrant breach of Versailles. The Western Allies failed to resist this move, as Hitler had predicted. Some of his generals had cold feet, but Hitler argued simply that he was merely moving troops from one part of the country to another. But in order to appease his general staff, Hitler gave certain orders to his army if it encountered resistance as it moved into the demilitarised zone. What did these orders say?

To halt at once and to dig trenches to confront the opposition

To avoid opening fire, and to retreat to the right bank of the River Rhine

To continue to advance and to engage the enemy vigorously

To retreat, and to hold the position on the left bank of the River Rhine

France was weak and divided, while its close ally Belgium would only follow a clear French lead. Britain was most reluctant to become involved, and believed that Hitler had the right to station his armed forces in all parts of German territory

9 .

What argument did Hitler use in public to justify the annexation of Austria?

It was the country of his birth

It would be useful to control this state, as it bordered on his next victim, Czechoslovakia

It had a significant armaments industry, which Hitler would utilise in future conquests

It was almost entirely inhabited by ethnic Germans, whom Hitler wanted to incorporate in the greater German Reich

Hitler was prepared to use any argument to justify his moves, but he was unlikely to be deflected from his plans for eastward expansion

10 .

German aeroplanes carried out frequent air raids in Spain, hoping to destroy civilian morale in areas controlled by the elected government. The capital, Madrid, was regularly bombed. Which other major Spanish city was especially targeted on a regular basis?

Barcelona

Valencia

Seville

Burgos

Spanish civilians in the Republican zone were the first Europeans to experience the kind of bombing that Hitler unleashed against Rotterdam in 1940, and against London and other British cities from 1940 to the end of the Second World War. Raids were regular, and citizens became used to diving into air raid shelters when the sirens wailed

You can find more about this topic by visiting BBC Bitesize - Life in Nazi Germany, 1933-45

Author: Edward Towne