HST 504 Lecture Notes - World Disarmament Conference, Stresa Front, Lebensraum
21 Sep 2012
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Document Summary
When adolf hitler became the fuhrer (i. e. , supreme leader) in 1933, he immediately initiated a new foreign policy for germany. Like stresemann, he was interested in eliminating all the financial, military and political constraints of the treaty of versailles. Unlike stresemann, he would not be content with germany restoring its prestige, influence, great. Hitler"s vision involved racial and continental (perhaps even global) domination. Both an ideologue and an opportunist, hitler showed great diplomatic skill in international relations, hiding his true intentions and effectively exploiting attitudes of and divisions amongst the great powers. First and foremost, hitler wanted to destroy the versailles settlement. This involved rearmament and the remilitarization of german territories, reunification of all. German-speaking peoples, and breaking out of diplomatic isolation and acquiring reliable allies. Yet, his long-term plans were much more ambitious, aiming for continental and perhaps even global domination. This aggressive foreign policy was driven by the objective of acquiring living space (i. e. ,
