“ The Years 1933-7, Hitler Made Germany The Dominant Power In Europe. It Was A Remarkable Achievement. How Far Do You Agree With These Judgements?
In this essay I shall try to establish that Germany had not become the dominant power in Europe, drawing into focus the time period given and the idea of perspective versus reality. Secondly, I shall try to establish that what was achieved was a remarkable achievement, primarily in its pace, but that hardly meant Germany had become dominant.
First to the idea that Germany was dominant. It must be noted that Germany started from a low point and thus its achievements going forward were always likely to be hailed more successful to a previously grim situation and indeed this is how Hitler celebrated them. In order to achieve anything meaningful, Hitler first had to unshackle Germany from the Treaty of Versailles that held Germany theoretically in an international straitjacket. Moreover Hitler’s fervour to take down potentially harmful alliances and create mutual suspicion and confusion amongst fellow European countries set the foundations of foreign policy. First of all Hitler had weakened Poland’s alliance with France through the 1934 Polish Pact. Also through conscription, March 1935 along with the Luftwaffe, the Anglo-German Naval Agreement (AGNA), June 1935 and the remilitarisation of the Rhineland, March 1936 Hitler had overturned all of the military restrictions in the Treaty of Versailles. These were the means by which Germany regained some of its previous strength. In addition, the AGNA & the Rome-Berlin Axis broke the Stresa Font, ensuring that France, Great Britain and Italy as a unit would not stand against Germany. Therefore this element was not so much a matter of becoming dominant but creating at least the means to go someway toward this and thus fairly significant, without it foreign policy would have been far less effective.
Hitler was also acutely aware that the period ought to be used to make gains of some sort. These gains however were certainly useful for war, but in establishing dominance were far less easy to...
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