Hitler's Three Main Aims

Part of Hitler's Foreign Policy · Section 2 of 13

Deep DiveUnit: Conflict and Tension 1918-1939GCSE

This deep dive covers Hitler's Three Main Aims within Hitler's Foreign Policy for GCSE History. Revise Hitler's Foreign Policy in Conflict and Tension 1918-1939 for GCSE History with 8 exam-style questions and 15 flashcards. This topic appears regularly enough that it should still be part of a steady revision cycle. It is section 2 of 13 in this topic. Use this deep dive to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.

🧠 Hitler's Three Main Aims

▶ Hitler Part 1 - OverSimplified ▶ Hitler Part 2 - OverSimplified

1. Destroy Treaty of Versailles — Hitler called it a "Diktat," a "stab in the back." He wanted to reverse ALL its terms: rearm, remilitarise Rhineland, unite with Austria, take back lost territory.
2. Create "Greater Germany" (Grossdeutschland) — Unite all German-speaking people: Austria (Anschluss), Sudetenland (Czechoslovakia), Danzig (Poland). Volksdeutsche = ethnic Germans abroad.
3. Lebensraum ("Living Space") — Expand eastward into Poland, Ukraine, Russia. Room for German people to grow. Slavs were "inferior" in Nazi ideology — could be enslaved or removed.

Key point: Aims 1 & 2 could arguably be justified as "undoing injustice." Aim 3 was pure aggression and made war inevitable.

Practice questions for Hitler's Foreign Policy

What did Hitler mean by 'Lebensraum'?

  • A. The right of Germany to leave the League of Nations
  • B. The unification of all German-speaking people into one state
  • C. The expansion of Germany eastward to gain new territory for settlement
  • D. The reversal of the military clauses of the Treaty of Versailles
1 markfoundation

In which year did Hitler remilitarise the Rhineland?

  • A. 1936
  • B. 1933
  • C. 1938
  • D. 1935
1 markfoundation

Quick recall flashcards

What is Lebensraum?
"Living space" — expansion eastward into Poland/USSR for German people
Hitler's 3 aims?
1. Destroy Versailles, 2. Greater Germany, 3. Lebensraum (living space)

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