The+Foreign+Policies+of+Hitler+and+Mussolini

Nate Zimpher

The Foreign Policies of Hitler and Mussolini Throughout history there have been few men who have been as instrumental in the 20th century as Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini. Both Mussolini and Hitler, who were dedicated fascist dictators, acted against the League of Nations and any person or country that attempted to get in their way. Nonetheless Hitler and Mussolini also had differing foreign policies, and in fact, it was Mussolini who attempted to stop the rise of Nazi Germany and Hitler in the early 1930s. Despite the fact that they were both aggressive fascist dictators and strong World War II allies, Mussolini and Hitler had just as many differences as similarities in their foreign policies. Even though Hitler and Mussolini were great allies and partners in World War II, before the Spanish Civil War Germany and Italy disagreed and conflicted on many different issues regarding foreign policy. Before the Spanish Civil War Germany and Italy were hardly allies, and “Hitler’s increasingly powerful position as leader of Germany allowed him to drive events forward in a way that Mussolini could only envy”(Tarr). An example of this is Hitler’s rise to power, and Hitler being able to revise parts of the Treaty of Versailles with Britain. Throughout the 1920’s and early 1930’s Italy and Germany realized it would be to their benefit to become allies with Britain. As an enemy of Germany in WWI Italy capitalized on Britain’s fear of a resurgent and powerful Germany by joining Britain and America through imposing the Treaty of Versailles on Germany. Hitler’s policy was to manipulate British fears of The Soviet Union, which Britain heavily distrusted, in order to revise parts of the Treaty of Versailles. In the early 1930’s Mussolini did not trust Hitler, and it was his goal to make sure Hitler’s Germany would not overpower Italy. The Locarno Conference in 1925 was a success for Mussolini because Germany agreed to recognize the Western Borders given to Germany by the Treaty of Versailles, and as a result Germany was accepted into the League of Nations in 1926. Another powerful victory for Mussolini occurred in 1934, when Mussolini stood up to Hitler and sent Italian troops to the border of Italy and Austria. This forced Hitler to end his plans of making an Anschluss with Austria. Mussolini and France then arranged the Stresa Conference of 1935 between Italy, France and Britain; this conference considered what action to take to guarantee the independence of Austria. Under the Stresa Pact, these three countries agreed, “To stand shoulder to shoulder against any further instances of German expansionism, especially in Austria” (Tarr). Hitler’s main foreign policy objective in the early 1930’s was to lessen the sanctions imposed on Germany under the Treaty of Versailles in order to rebuild and rearm Germany. When Hitler came to power in January 1933, Germany was an ally with Russia; however, Britain feared the aggressive Communist Russia. Hitler used this to help soften the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. Germany and Russia had become allies when they signed the Rapallo Treaty of 1922, after both had lost territory to Poland and had been denied entry into the League of Nations. Immediately after coming to power, Hitler rejected the Rapallo Treaty and signed a treaty with Poland, Russia’s biggest enemy. By doing so Hitler impressed Britain with his hard stance against communism, and this led to the Anglo-German Naval Agreement which allowed Germany to have a navy 35% the size of Britain’s. This naval agreement contradicted the Treaty of Versailles and therefore damaged Britain’s relationship with Italy. It was not until the Spanish Civil War that Mussolini and Hitler became great allies and started to share similar foreign policies. Germany and Italy both joined the rebel, or fascist, side of the civil war, which was fighting against the left-wing Republican side because they did not want a major communist nation in Western Europe. 1936 was a major turning point in the foreign policies of Hitler and Mussolini because they became increasingly expansionist. Most importantly; however, they started to support each other’s expansionism as a result of their alliance in the Spanish Civil War. The first sign of cooperation between Hitler and Mussolini was in 1936, when Italian foreign minister Galeazzo Ciano initiated the ‘Rome-Berlin Axis’. The goal of this foreign policy was to block the threat of Communist Russia but more importantly, Hitler agreed that the Mediterranean Sea belonged to Italy and in turn Mussolini agreed to let Hitler have the first rights for land in Central and Eastern Europe. In November of 1937 Italy left the League of Nations and joined the Anti-Comintern Pact with Japan and Germany, which would ultimately lead to the Pact of Steel with Germany. A major similarity between the foreign policies of Hitler and Mussolini was that they both wanted to expand their empires. Two key examples of this are the Abyssinian Crisis and the Anchluss, or annexation, of Austria by Germany. The annexation of Austria was a major victory for Hitler because it showed the weakness of the League of Nations for not stopping Germany, and it also showed how easily Hitler could manipulate the outcome of the Treaty of Versailles. The union of Germany and Austria was clearly prohibited by the treaties of Versailles and St. Germain; however, France, Britain, and Italy never got involved in trying to physically stop Germany. The Abyssinian Crisis was the Italian invasion of Abyssinia (Ethiopia) in 1935 following the Wal Wal incident. The Wal Wal incident was when “Some Italians in the border of Wal Wal were fired on and killed in December 1934” (Wolfson 184). Soon later it was revealed by the League of Nations that neither side was to blame because both believed they were on their own territory. The Abyssinia Crisis was ultimately regarded as a major triumph for Italy, not because they successfully invaded Abyssinia but because they were able to outmaneuver the League of Nations, which strongly disfavored Italian occupation in Ethiopia. Both of these events show the similarities between the foreign policies of Mussolini and Hitler because it proves that they were both opportunists, whose main goals were to become more powerful by expanding their empires. Hitler and Mussolini both aspired to become extremely powerful and prestigious; however, in the end the foreign policies of these men were ultimately and undoubtedly a failure. Despite the similarities, there are also many differences in their foreign policies. Up until the mid 1930’s Italy was the lone nation in Europe to try to stand up against Nazi-Germany. It was not until the Spanish Civil War in 1935 that both nations started to cooperate and share similar foreign policies. Although both men failed in their goals, their foreign policies were not always similar or mutual in interest.

Footnotes

Layton, Geoff. "The Third Reich 1933-45." Access to History. 3rd ed. London: Hodder Murray, 2005. N. pag. Print. Tarr, Russell. "The Foreign Policies of Hitler and Mussolini." History Today: Web. 9 Dec. 2009. . ibid Wolfson, Robert. "Italy: 1890-1945." Years of Change: European History. 157-189. Print. "Stresa Front." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 10 Dec. 2009 . Russell Tarr ibid ibid ibid "Anglo-German Naval Agreement." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 10 Dec. 2009 . Russell Tar "Rome-Berlin Axis." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 10 Dec. 2009 . "Anglo-German Naval Agreement." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 10 Dec. 2009 . Russell Tar Robert Wolfson ibid "Italo-Ethiopian War (1935-36)." Encyclopedia Britannica (Nov. 2008): n. pag. Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. Web. 7 Dec. 2009. . Russell Tar

Works Cited “Adolf Hitler.” Encyclopedia Britannica (2006): n. pag. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Web. 3 Dec. 2009. . “Benito Mussolini .” Encyclopedia Britannica (July 2009): n. pag. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Web. 7 Dec. 2009. . “Italo-Ethiopian War (1935-36).” Encyclopedia Britaanica (Nov. 2008): n. pag. Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. Web. 7 Dec. 2009. . Layton, Geoff. “The Third Reich 1933-45.” Access to History. 3rd ed. London: Hodder Murray, 2005. N. pag. Print. “Munich Agreement.” Encyclopedia Britannica (2006): n. pag. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Web. 3 Dec. 2009. . Tarr, Russell. “The Foreign Policies of Hitler and Mussolini.” History Today: n. pag. History Today. Web. 9 Dec. 2009. . Wolfson, Robert. “Italy: 1890-1945.” Years of Change: European History. N.p.: n.p., n.d. 157-189. Print.