Was the desire to abolish the Treaty of Versailles the main reason for Hitler to pursue an aggressive foreign policy? Explain your answer. [12]

The abolition of the Treaty of Versailles was certainly one of the reasons for Hitler to adopt an aggressive foreign policy. Firstly, the military restrictions were unacceptable to Hitler. With no offensive weapons, Germany was militarily weak. Without military might, Hitler realised that the other aims of the his foreign policy could not be achieved. Secondly, the treaty caused Germany to lose a lot of territories in Europe, especially to Poland and Czechoslovakia. Thus, Hitler wanted to regain these territories. Finally, Hitler wanted to restore German pride, which had been destroyed with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. All these made Hitler determined to free Germany from the terms of the treaty through an aggressive foreign policy, such as the remilitarisation of Rhineland and the takeover of Austria, both of which were forbidden under the Treaty of Versailles.

Another reason had to do with Hitler's desire to achieve a Greater Germany. Hitler hoped to unite all German-speaking people under the rule of Germany and maintained the purity of the Aryan race. As such, he needed to take over those lands with substantial German-speaking populations, especially those areas given to Poland and Czechoslovakia by the Treaty of Versailles. This explained his takeover of Austria and his willingness to fight over Czechoslovakia and Poland.

The third reason was the desire for living space. This had to do with Hitler's theory on races. Believing that the Aryans belonged to a superior race, he reasoned that they deserved more land than other races, such as the Slavs in Eastern Europe and Russia. Therefore, he wanted Germany to take over the lands in Eastern Europe and Russia. In addition, attacking Russia would also serve to wipe out communism, which Hitler strongly detested. All these naturally would lead Germany to become more aggressive in its foreign policy, especially towards countries in the east.