Nazi Germany (1933-35)

• A naval program aimed to produce a moderate-sized German fleet was underway, planning for 8 battleships, 3 aircraft carriers, 8 cruisers, 48 destroyers, and 72 submarines by 1949.
• Britain accepted Germany's offer to limit its fleet to 35% of the Royal Navy's strength, without consulting the Stresa powers.

The Reaction of Great Powers to Nazi Germany (1933-35)

• During 1933-35, the great powers had to acknowledge the rise of Nazi Germany
• By 1933, Germany's potential strength was greater than in 1914.

France and Germany

• By 1934, France's diplomatic influence in Europe had waned.
• The French economy was weakened by the Depression, and social unity was threatened by rioting after financial scandals in February 1934.
• French society was divided on how to respond to Hitler and Mussolini.
  • The right preferred negotiation.
  • The left wanted to fight fascism and looked to Russia for alliance.
• The Locarno Treaties prevented France from reoccupying the Rhineland.
• France's response to Nazi Germany was hesitant and contradictory.
• France sought to contain Germany through alliances and pacts but also tried to negotiate with Hitler, like the British.
• Britain was not ready to fully commit to an alliance with France.
• France tried to strengthen ties with eastern European states and negotiate agreements with Italy and Russia.

Franco-Italian Negotiations and the Rome Agreement

• France attempted to negotiate an alliance with Italy. -This was facilitated by the unsuccessful Nazi coup in Vienna, which convinced Mussolini of the necessity of a military agreement.
• In January 1935, France and Italy signed the Rome Agreement, agreeing not to interfere in Balkan affairs.
• Direct Franco-Italian military staff talks began in June to discuss joint military action in the event of German rearmament or a threat to Austria.

Franco-Russian Negotiations

• Talks occurred between France and Russia to involve Soviet Russia in an eastern European version of the Locarno Treaty.
• Plan involved Russia, Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and the Baltic states.
• A separate Franco-Russian agreement was proposed to associate Russia with the Locarno Agreements.
• The plan failed because Germany and Poland refused to join.
• Poles mistrusted Russians more than Germans.
• France had to negotiate with Soviet Russia alone.
• The Franco-Soviet Treaty of Mutual Assistance was signed in May.
• Paris hesitated to conduct detailed military staff talks with the USSR because of French public opinion.

Franco-German Negotiations

• France was willing to negotiate with Hitler due to economic weakness and social divisions, aiming to guarantee the Versailles system
• Hitler was willing to engage in cordial diplomacy when it suited him.
• However, he did not want to tolerate restrictions from French and British diplomacy.

Great Britain and Germany

• Due to economic issues and the costs of defending its empire, Britain was more inclined to negotiate than to actively oppose German rearmament.
• In 1933, Britain faced growing threats from Germany and Japan.
• Britain aimed to moderate Hitler's aggression by modifying the Treaty of Versailles peacefully.

Italy

• Mussolini tried to mediate between Germany and Britain/France to gain concessions.
• The Nazi putsch in Vienna (July 1934) and German conscription (March 1935) led Italy to align with Britain and France at the Stresa Conference to preserve the Versailles settlement.
• Italy's hopes for British and French backing for colonizing Abyssinia were not realized.
• The League, Britain, and France opposed Italy's invasion of Abyssinia.

Soviet Russia

• Stalin reacted cautiously to the Nazi takeover, distrusting the West.
• Stalin negotiated a defensive agreement with France and joined the League of Nations in September 1934.
• He attempted to maintain good relations with Germany despite the German-Polish Non-Aggression Pact.
• Soviet negotiations with France in 1935 were paralleled by secret talks with the Germans.

The USA

• The USA had a foreign policy of non-involvement in European wars.
• In 1933, the USA felt sympathetic towards Germany's economic hardships, due to the Depression.
• Public opinion in the USA became hostile to Germany due to the persecution of Jewish people.
• The main concern for the US government was the Far East, not Germany.
• The USA was alarmed by Japan's occupation of Manchuria and responded with diplomatic protests.
• The Temporary Neutrality Act of 1935 empowered President Roosevelt to ban arms supplies to belligerents to strengthen the US policy of non-involvement.

Summary

• The reaction to Hitler's rise showed that other powers were unlikely to unite against him.
• Lack of opposition to Hitler stemmed from fear of public opposition to war, economic problems, concerns about defense costs, and unease about the fairness of the peace settlement.
• Few statesmen understood Hitler's long-term aims; most assumed he could be negotiated with rationally.