Hitler’s Foreign Policy Aims

Hitler detailed his foreign policy aims in his book Mein Kampf. He was clear about his aims as to what Germany should focus on internationally. Those aims can be summed up in three key areas.

Destroy the Treaty of Versailles

Hitler and many Germans detested the Treaty of Versailles. They called those who had signed the treaty the November Criminals and believed that they had betrayed Germany. They felt that the Treaty of Versailles was humiliating to Germany and that it needed to be destroyed. Hitler promised exactly this.

Destroy Communism

Hitler and the Nazis hated Communism, they saw it as a way a country could be destroyed. He blamed the defeat of Germany in the First World War on communism both in Russia and within Germany. It was Hitler’s belief that communists wanted to take over Germany, which would ultimately bring about Germany’s downfall.

Increase Germany’s Size

Hitler wanted to conquer territory to the East, and provide Lebensraum for German citizens. Lebensraum was living space for Germans. Linked to this Hitler wanted to unite all German speakers together, which meant Austria, parts of Czechoslovakia, and parts of Poland, being united into the Reich. This together with the Lebensraum would result in a German Empire across Eastern Europe.