War In Europe Be Described As Hitler?s War Essay, Research Paper
To what extent
can the Second World War in Europe be described as Hitler?s war? There has been much debate over
the subject of to what extent Hitler can be blamed for the outbreak of the
Second World War in 1939. Historians disagree over to what extent Hitler can be
blamed.? Different historians have gone
to opposite extremes over this issue. Hugh Trevor Roper takes the following
view: ?The Second World War was Hitler?s personal war in
many senses.? He intended it, he
prepared for it, he chose the moment for launching it.? (1953) However, A.J.P
Taylor takes a diametrically opposite viewpoint in his book ?The Origins
of the Second World War (1961) and even goes as
far as saying that: ?Little can be discovered so
long as we go on attributing everything that happened to Hitler? How much can we attribute the war to Hitler? To
what extent can Nazi Germany?s strong dictator be blamed for the commencement
of the Second World War? At the Nuremberg trials, much was
contributed to the Hossbach memorandum, and it was claimed that this proved
Hitler?s warring intentions. This document was emphasised too strongly at
Nuremberg; however, it is not a source to be ignored.? Hitler appears to give this document extraordinary importance,
even instructing those present to regard it as his last will and testament in
the event of his death.? A.J.P.Taylor
questions its importance saying that those present at this meeting bar Goering
were not Nazis but conservatives and not the people that Hitler would confide
in.? However, the memorandum does give a
vague indication as to Hitler?s intentions. As A.P.Adamthwaite says in his book
?The making of the Second World War (1979) ?The Hossbach memorandum
confirms the continuity of Hitler?s thinking: the primacy of force in world
politics, conquest for living space in the east, anti-Bolshevism, hostility to
France.? Hitler?s warlike intentions
were now explicit.? Adamthwaite takes his argument one stage too far
and certainly Hitler?s ?warlike intentions? were not made explicit in the
Hossbach memorandum, but it certainly went someway towards indicating that
Hitler did harbour some aspirations toward war. In Mein Kampf, Hitler
clearly states his expansionist tendencies. His desire for Lebensraum
for the excess German population is apparent. Hitler foresaw an Eastern Europe
populated by Arian Germans. Hitler knew that this aim could not be achieved
without a war.? In this policy alone
then, we see that Hitler is prepared to fight in order achieve his objectives.
Many of Hitler?s policies were achievable only through war; in short Hitler
knew that for him to succeed, Germany must become embroiled in a European
conflict of some sort. Hitler was prepared to take risks to achieve his
territorial gains. His invasion of the Rhineland was a high-risk gesture.? The fact that he was unopposed was due to
the British and French policy of appeasement.?
However, this policy could have been aborted at any stage had either
Britain or France decided enough was enough.?
Each knew territorial invasion was a leap of faith on Hitler?s
part.? Hitler must have realised that
the ?appeasement? policy would not last forever; therefore, Hitler must have
been prepared for war.? With each new
invasion, Germany moved one step closer to European war.? The question was not if Hitler would
engineer a war but when! Although Hitler did not intend to start the Second
World War with his invasion of Poland, he willingly took a risk and he was
prepared to fight if necessary.? He was
aggressive and his expansionist policies led to European war. Hitler simply
underestimated how long the British and French would continue to ?appease?
him.? On the other hand, the German expansionist
tendencies had existed for centuries.?
From Bismarckian times, there was a Prussian history of expansionist policies,
the unification of Germany, the search by the Kaiser for colonies and the First
World War were all examples of these policies.?
In recent modern history, Prussia and later Germany under Prussian rule
had been the instigator of European territorial war.? The German people had long wanted to dominate Europe both
territorially and politically.?
Therefore, it was not simply Hitler that wanted to expand German borders
and spheres of influence; he received support from the German people as a
whole. Furthermore, the Treaty of Versailles had
humiliated the German people and caused deep routed resentment among them. The
warring tendencies that had remained dormant since the end of the First World
War in 1918 were awoken by Hitler?s oratory skills. It was not just Hitler?s
expansion, but Hitler on a wave of public feeling that led to expansion.? Hitler cannot be held solely to blame for
Germany?s expansion in the late 1930?s as the feelings of the German nation
must also be taken into account.? Hitler
was supported by public opinion and therefore the German people must take some
of the blame for the outbreak of war. Hitler did not intend to go to
war over the Polish invasion.? He did
not plan for a full-scale war with Britain and France and indeed he still felt
that some form of understanding with Britain was possible.? Hitler was intent on preventing a war on two
fronts, and as the land he required for Lebensraum lay to the east, he
therefore looked for peace on the western front.? Hitler did not plan a war with Britain and France and indeed, had
he felt that invading Poland would lead to war; it is unlikely that he would
have done so.? The war in 1939 was
accidental on Hitler?s part and was certainly not the war that he envisaged to
take place somewhere between 1943 and 1945. ?The Third Reich was a chaotic system of government and it is
difficult to determine to what extent Hitler controlled foreign policy. As Hans
Mommsen says in his book ?National Socialism: Continuity and Change?
(1979): ?Hitler was in some respects a weak dictator? Although Hitler evidently
determined much of Nazi policy, amongst the chaos it is difficult to say to
what extent Hitler can be held responsible for the key decisions that led to
the outbreak of war in 1939.? At the
Nuremberg trials, Goering claimed a personal role in the outbreak of war.? He claimed to have planned the annexation of
Austria, and Germany?s rearmament as well as the training of the new soldiers.? This claim has been attributed to personal
vanity. However, the evidence of Goering?s testimony at Nuremberg begs the
question how many of the key decisions were made by Hitler and to what extent
the men around him like Goering made the decisions for him?? This is near impossible to determine,
however, it is apparent from records such as the Hossbach memorandum that
Hitler consulted his advisors on key decisions. Although, Hitler often had the
final word on issues, he cannot be held entirely responsible for the outbreak
of war; his advisors must share the blame. In conclusion, the Second World
War came about almost by accident.? As
A.J.P.Taylor says: ?Hitler never planned to get his end not by war ?
merely by threatening war, raising the tensions which he thought would throw
his enemies into disarray? In this statement Taylor assumes
too much, Hitler certainly did intend to go to war eventually, however, in the
late 1930?s, Taylor?s analysis of Hitler?s intentions is correct.? Hitler, spurred on by the German people,
planned territorial expansion without war initially, by abusing the appeasement
policy.? It was only when Britain and
France took an unexpected stand over the issue of Poland that Hitler was
thwarted.? Hitler can in part be held
responsible for the outbreak of war; after all it was he that gave the order to
invade Poland.? However, he did not plan
to go to war in 1939, nor did he plan to fight Britain and France.? Furthermore, Hitler can only be held
responsible for the war to the extent that it was undertaken under his
leadership.? It was the backing and
assistance that he received from the German people and the Nazi party that made
the war possible.? Therefore, despite
his warring tendencies, Hitler can only be held partially responsible for the
outbreak of the Second World War, and much of the blame must be placed elsewhere.