POLS2409 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Phoney War, Status Quo, Aryan Race
Lecture 4 - WWII
most destructive conflict in history
Part One: The War in Europe
Hitlers Challenge to the Interwar Order
The World in the 1930s - An Anglo-American World
World Order: Liberal Internationalism 1.0:
Collective Security (League, disarmament)
international law as peaceful alternative to resolutions by force
Global Economic Openness & Market Capitalism
National Self-Determination
racist hierarchy
restricted to powerful countries (Western)
National boundaries aligning with ethnic groups
was not allowed to be exploited by Germany - millions of Germans in central +
Eastern Europe - would allow expansion
Order that unequally privileges some states, particularly Britain and the United
States
Break between status quo states and revisionist states
Status quo states - happy with current order, dont seek change
deep revisionist states - not only revision of status quo but destroy it + impose
radically different vision
global economic openness breaks down with Great Depression
many countries begin to point out the inherent inequality involved in the
International order
Hitlers Triple Challenge
Geopolitical:
Lebensraum
argued Germany did not have sufficient land to sustain itself, particularly
agricultural land
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Links this with English-speaking people
English speakers used imperialism to greatly increase their territories
Großraum (greater space - Carl Schmitt)
Economic:
globalisation as Anglo-American domination
Unify Europe as a single economic entity
Ideological:
Anti-democracy
Großraum
Primacy of the German people/Aryan race
Race ultimately as the primary organising principle of Europe
Volk Law
Hitlers Attack on Versailles Order & Path to War
multidimensional attack
diplomatic as well as military contestation
commitment to re-arming
territorial revision (Austria, Czechoslovakia - very coercive diplomacy)
hitlers confidence in the ongoing failure of Britain and France to respond to Nazi
provocations
lack of their sustained political will
capacity of local wars to expand into global wars
From Sitzkreig to Blitzkrieg, 1939-40
Hitler Avoids a Two-Front War
Molotov-Ribbentrop Agreement, 1939
between Soviet Union & Germany
eliminates possibility of grand alliance between Soviet Union, France & Britain
astonishing diplomatic arrangement
split Poland
Non-aggression pact
economic and trade cooperation
Hitler and Stalin remain cynical
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
But Hitler Fails to Avoid a War With France & Britain
Gmny invade Poland on Sep 1, 1939, and by Sep 3, both Britain + France are in the
war
Surprise to Hitler, but not seen as a concern
Hitler was a big risk taker
phony war
slow strategy of strangulation of Germany
not much activity
sitzkrieg
The Nazi Blitzkrieg & the Fall of Western Europe
Blitzkrieg - lightening war
successful because it disrupted ability of conventional forces to make decisive
response
germans grossly outnumbered by West
French have one of the worlds largest armies
shock, speed and technology used to compensate when fighting a numerically
superior opponent
panzer divisions (tanks), paratroopers, Stuka dive bombers, etc
took advantage of technological advances that had occurred
paratroopers used for the first major time
Psychological and political shock in Britain
Hitler conquers western Europe in 6 weeks
Hitler, in part, wants a fast war in order to avoid disillusionment, exhaustion and
possible collapse on the home front
Blitzkrieg, the Fall of Europe & Path to Global War
Success in the West emboldens Hitler to strike East
Fall of France ensures that the European war will escalate into a global war
also allows Hitler to think he has solved the problem of the two-front war
So, Hitler turns eastwards in an attempt to carve out lebensraum for the German
people
Also, the eastwards turn is key to eliminating Bolshevism
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Lecture 4 - wwii most destructive conflict in history. The world in the 1930s - an anglo-american world. Collective security (league, disarmament) international law as peaceful alternative to resolutions by force. National self-determination racist hierarchy restricted to powerful countries (western) National boundaries aligning with ethnic groups was not allowed to be exploited by germany - millions of germans in central + Order that unequally privileges some states, particularly britain and the united. Break between status quo states and revisionist states. Lebensraum argued germany did not have sufficient land to sustain itself, particularly agricultural land. English speakers used imperialism to greatly increase their territories. Race ultimately as the primary organising principle of europe. Molotov-ribbentrop agreement, 1939 between soviet union & germany eliminates possibility of grand alliance between soviet union, france & britain astonishing diplomatic arrangement split poland. But hitler fails to avoid a war with france & britain.
