Silvapages
Aggressive Policies of Hitler and Mussolini
Hitler
- Germany wanted to regain lost German territories and to redraw
the map of Europe--especially Eastern Europe. The Germans also
wanted to humiliate France and to regain their status as the
greatest power on the continent. Hitler also wanted Germany to have
full sovereignty once again--to have a normal military and to
conduct diplomacy as he wished.
- Germany's real aggression was toward the Czechs, Pole and
Russians. This was in keeping with Hitler's goals of using the
Slavic regions of Eastern Europe for Lebensraum.
- Hitler hoped that after the quick defeat of Poland, Britain and
France would recognize German dominance of Eastern Europe--much as
Austria-Hungary and Germany had done before WWI.
- Hitler's deal with Stalin on the eve of WWII was considered
temporary by both sides. Stalin hoped Hitler would be bogged down
against France and weakened so badly that Stalin could move into the
heart of Europe. However, Hitler easily defeated France and drove
Britain into a completely defensive posture of no mortal threat to
Germany.
- With France defeated and Britain impotent, Hitler could then
take care of Russia and its threats to Hitler's dominance of Eastern
Europe. Germany also coveted the Ukraine with its great farmland
and anti-Communist population.
Mussolini
- Italy badly wanted to avenge the defeat of Italian troops at
Adowa, Ethiopia in 1896. Doing so would open the door to the
conquest of all of Ethiopia--something no European power had managed
during the Scramble for Africa.
- Italy also wanted to consolidate and expand its colony in Libya.
- Mussolini also had designs on Yugoslavia especially the cities
of Fiume and Trieste. The Dalmatian coast with its Adriatic islands
also drew the gaze of Italy.
- The nation of Albania was viewed as too weak to be a real
state. Its weakness cried out for dominance by a Great Power.
- Italy also held grievances of the provinces of Nice and Savoy in
France. Napoleon III had received the provinces in exchange for
land Italy never got from Austria in the mid-1800s.
- A new and powerful Italian navy threatened French and British
interests in the Mediterranean. Mostly built while Italy was still
friendly to both powers, it later became a top target for the
British navy during WWII.
- Mussolini's goals could not be easily reached under the League
System. As a result, Italy abided by the League. However, when
Germany seized Austria and nothing happened, Mussolini saw that the
League was not as powerful as he suspected.
- Mussolini tested the league with his invasion of Ethiopia in
1935. He bagged another colony and avenged the humiliation at
Adowa. France and Britain initially tried to give their blessings
to this attack through the Hoare-Laval plan. However, when word of
the plan was made public, it smacked of the old Balance of Power
practice of granting spheres of influence. The plan was shot down
and weak sanctions were threatened against Italy. Mussolini said
sanctions would be an act of war and sanctions were dropped.
- After Ethiopia, Mussolini learned that none of his goals could
be attained through the League system, but that Germany and Italy
together could defy the League and reach their goals together. As a
result, Mussolini went from an opponent of Hitler to an ally.