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The Hossbach Memorandum

The Hossbach Memorandum. 5th November, 1937 Hitler’s War Timetable?. At the meeting were Hitler, his adjutant( a kind of personal assistant) called Hossbach, who took notes, and all the heads of the armed forces and foreign policy advisors. . What was the meeting about?.

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The Hossbach Memorandum

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  1. The Hossbach Memorandum 5th November, 1937 Hitler’s War Timetable?

  2. At the meeting were Hitler, his adjutant( a kind of personal assistant) called Hossbach, who took notes, and all the heads of the armed forces and foreign policy advisors.

  3. What was the meeting about? • The meeting was about allocating resources to the various armed forces, but during the meeting Hitler outlined what his foreign plans were for the future. Hossbach took notes and these were typed up. The Hossbach Memo was found at the end of the war and used at the post-war Nuremberg Trials of key Nazis to prove that the Nazis deliberately intended to go to war. The memo made Hitler’s ambitions and targets very clear.

  4. Take over Austria – why? • “Anschluss” (the joining together of Austria and Germany) had been banned by the Treaty of Versailles, so the Nazis were keen to break another term of the hated Treaty. • Help create a “Greater Germany” by uniting Austrian German-speakers into the Third Reich.

  5. Take over Czechoslovakia – why? • Also smash another part of the Treaty of Versailles. • Help open a route to Russia and achieve Lebensraum. • Racism – conquer the “inferior” Slav peoples of Czechoslovakia. • Help create a “Greater Germany” by reuniting the German speakers living in the Sudetenland with the Third Reich.

  6. Defeat Poland – why? • Smash a key element of the Treaty of Versailles. • Further open the route to Russia to help achieve Lebensraum • Racism – the vast majority of Polish people were Slavs (untermenschen/sub-human). There was also a substantial Jewish population. • Unite the German-speakers in the Polish Corridor with the Third Reich.

  7. Take over Russia – why? • Help achieve Lebensraum – Russia had massive reserves of oil, coal, minerals, etc needed for German industry. The huge plains of the Soviet Union could also provide food for the growing German population. • Racism- the Slav peoples of the Soviet Union were untermenschen, who deserved to be conquered and enslaved.

  8. Defeat Britain and France – why? • Revenge for defeat in the Great War • Remove any final block to Hitler’s ambition to rule the whole of Europe. Hitler felt they were the only two countries likely to put up effective opposition to Hitler’s imperial ambitions.

  9. Why is the Hossbach memorandum important? • It gives a clear picture of Hitler’s plans following the remilitarisation of the Rhineland. • It shows that Hitler’s basic goals have not changed since “Mein Kampf”. • Hitler said at one point “Germany must be ready for war by 1938 and at the latest by 1943-45.” This shows that he was determined to go to war at some point, and would not necessarily try to avoid war. • The memo DOES NOT give a clear timetable as to exactly how and when Hitler and the Nazis intended to achieve their goals. Hitler was an OPPORTUNIST ie he was happy to take chances to get what he wanted as and when they came up. It can be said that the policy of APPEASEMENT followed by countries such as GB and France helped give him some of those chances.

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