Hitler’s Ideologies in Mein Kampf

on his one goal, making the rearmament scheme very much a Nazi one with war being foremost on his mind.

In 1935, the Anglo-German naval agreement was established as part of Britain's appeasement efforts, coinciding with their expensive rearmament process.The objective was to supply Germany with a navy fleet that is only 35% the size of Britain's, as well as an equal number of submarines, to deter potential attacks from Germany. Despite this, Hitler had once expressed his intentions of conquering the world with the participation of Italy and Germany. For him, the agreement was a means to step towards this goal, which made it a distinctly "Nazi" move. However, from an outsider's perspective, it may have seemed like a nationalist effort to enhance their country's naval strength instead.

Despite the loss of its overseas territories and the Polish Corridor following the Treaty of Versailles, Germany did not seek to regain these areas under Hitler's rule, which is unusual for a nationalist agenda. Although regaining the Polish Corridor would have given access to East Prussia and cut off Poland from the Baltic Sea, Hitler did not pursue this. He also had no interest in the lost German colonies. Instead, Hitler surprisingly formed a non-aggression pact with Poland, even though they had been long-time enemies. This pact left Poland vulnerable and further isolated France, as it broke the Little Entente and cut off relations between Poland and France. Hitler greatly benefited from this turn of events.

Hitler's intentions with the pact were not honest, as he viewed Poland as a way to advance towards the East and considers it a subordinate ally against the USSR, similar to

Austria's purpose. This decision was not nationalistic and did not benefit the Gross Deutschland concept nor other nationalist ideas. The move was unexpected given the previous hostile relationship between both countries. Although Hitler may have sought to act as a peacemaker, it becomes evident this was not his true intentions and that the pact served the Nazi agenda. The remilitarisation of Rhineland in 1936 further demonstrated Germany's rejection of Versailles and was easy to conceal as a nationalistic act.

Therefore, reoccupying the Rhineland would be advantageous for the Eastward expansion, similar to other territorial pursuits, as it would create stronger defenses against France through the construction of the Siegfried Line. It appears that this is the primary motive behind remilitarizing the area. When the Nazis came to power in 1933, their relationship with the USSR significantly deteriorated. Hitler referred to Mein Kampf and talked about taking over Russia for Lebensraum, accusing communists of "demolishing a great nation."

Hitler never denied his hatred for communism. To defend against it, the anti-comintern pact was created between Germany, Italy, and Japan. Germany occupied the Sudetenland in October 1938 after the Munich agreement was made, which Czechoslovakia and Russia did not attend. This move brought Germany closer to Russia. Although the annexation of the Sudetenland was passed off as a nationalistic policy since it was occupied by around 3 million German speakers, it provided opportunities for Germany. The Sudetenland contained most of Czechoslovakia's raw material resources and industrial activity. This proved wholly beneficial to Hitler's aim of autarky, another distinctly Nazi aim likely intended to maintain the economy in wartime. Without the Sudetenland, the rest of Czechoslovakia was defenceless, potentially

providing yet another step eastwards.

It was improbable that Hitler would accept only the Sudetenland since he was aware of the benefits that the remainder of Czechoslovakia could offer him, which was later demonstrated by the fall of Prague. The Hossbach memorandum, which summarized a meeting held in November 1935 between Hitler and his military and foreign policy leadership, marked a clear shift towards radical German foreign policy and toward Nazism. The memo contained plans for expanding into Eastern Europe to gain more living space and Hitler's advocacy for small wars to support Germany's economy while striving for autonomy.

It was acknowledged that certain aspects of autarky were unattainable at the time, making war in the East necessary to achieve them. Hitler aimed to reach autarky in the next 5 years and sought war with Britain and France in 1941-44/45. Despite appearing nationalistic, Hitler's policies and goals paved the way for more radical Nazi plans. German territorial gains aided the economy and brought the country closer to autarky as preparation for war.

The territorial movements in areas with German speakers, such as Sudetenland and Austria, were disguised as nationalist efforts to unite and create Gross Deutschland. The remilitarization of the Rhineland and excessive rearmament were perceived as attempts to overturn the harsh terms of the Versailles Treaty. However, it wasn't until the release of the Hossbach Memorandum that it became evident that these actions were paving the way for more radical and Nazi agendas.