Should Adolf Hitler, Why Should Germany Go To War?

According to Hitler, why must Germany resort to war, and under what circumstances should Germany go to war?

Adolf Hitler was the Chancellor for Nazi Germany. Under his regime the world entered the era of history known as World War II and the signs of this war were first shown in this document known as the “Hossbach Protocol”. This document showcased the ideas Adolf Hitler had for the future of Germany as noted by Colonel Friedrich Hossbach. In this document Adolf Hitler outlines the idea of the need for war and its justification for the German nation from the point of view of Germany’s economic and social wellbeing not only for the present generation of the time but also the future generations of his ideal Germany.

Adolf Hitler’s logic
as to why Germany must resort to war first lies in the state of Germany in terms of economy and social occurrences during the time this document was made.
Hitler stated, “With the general rise in the standard of living compared with that of 30 to 40 years ago, there has gone hand in hand an increased demand and an increased home consumption even on the part of the producers, the farmers,” after which he proceeded to outline the repercussions of such economic growth on the farmable land in Germany as well as the growth population1. Hitler proceeded to add to this, “The establishment of Germany 's position on a secure and sound foundation was obstructed by market fluctuations, and commercial treaties afforded no guarantee for their actual execution. In particular it had to be remembered that since the World War, those very countries which had formerly been food exporters had become industrialized,”2. Hitler established in this that in order for Germany to grow as an economic power within the European continent it could not solely be dependent on its own nation and had to engage in trade with the other powerful nations of the world, which was not something Hitler desired. He counters the idea of the need for international trade with the idea of taking natural resources of other European nations when he states, “areas producing raw materials
can be more usefully sought in Europe, in immediate proximity to the Reich,”. Aside from the economic issues which Nazi Germany was facing at this time Hitler also indicated to the generals of this meeting that the growth of German presence on a global level was being impeded by the “hate-inspired antagonists, Britain and France,”. He describes England and France’s obstruction to German well-being in the quote “to whom a German colossus in the center of Europe was a thorn in the flesh, and both countries were opposed to any further strengthening of Germany 's position either in Europe or overseas; in support of this opposition they were able to count on the agreement of all their political parties. Both countries saw in the establishment of German military bases overseas a threat to their own communications, a safeguarding of German commerce, and as a consequence, a strengthening of Germany 's position in Europe,”3. From this quote once derive the immense dislike which Hitler possessed for England and France, who he believed felt threatened by the presence of German forces all over the world. This quote also shows Hitler’s confidence in regards to how effective his military was as well as his confidence that the European powers of France and England did in fact fear German economic and military power. From this quotes it can be concluded that Hitler’s idea of Germany needing to resort to war stemmed from the fact that Germany could not support a population boom with its land mass post World War I and the fact that for it to become an economic power it would need to ensure that England and France be in fear of Germany, which was something that could be achieved through military means against the two nations.
Hitler clearly outlined the circumstances in which Germany should proceed to go to war with the other European powers.
The first situation would be when the years 1943-1945 came to being, as a war after this time would leave German forces somewhat under equipped. This is made evident when Hitler stated, “The equipment of the army, navy and Luftwaffe, as well as the formation of the officer corps, was nearly completed. Equipment and armament were modern; in further delay there lay the danger of their obsolescence. In particular, the secrecy of 'special weapons ' could not be preserved for ever,”4. Hitler continues addressing this concern by adding that rearmament of the other nations would result in the lack of modern weapons for Germany, which would result in a weaker German army. The next situation was the potential of domestic strife within France which would result in the French army being distracted long enough for an invasion of Czech nation5. Hitler adds that “the situation thus created by the elimination of our most dangerous opponent must be seized upon whenever it occurs for the blow against the Czechs,”6. It is quite evident that Hitler’s priority in this case is to go to war and eliminate the Czech and French targets as fast as possible for the initial phase of German expansion. The last situation in which Hitler stated that Germany should go to war was if France were to go to war against another nation, which in Hitler’s opinion was considered to be highly
likely due to the tensions already rising in the Mediterranean7. From these excerpts from page 5 & 6 it is made evident that Hitler’s main focus is on attacking within a very specific period of time and that France are taken out very quickly along with the Czech forces. These quick attacks on the surrounding nations became the very backbone of the German military strategy for World War II: “The Blitzkrieg” or lightning attack8. Hitler also equated the fall of the Roman Empire to ancient Germany as similar to the situation of Modern Germany and England (with England being Rome in this simile). Hitler outlined the similarities by stating how England had in its own Empire of the time had to put down struggles of Ireland, India, the Far East against Japan, and fight against Italian interests in the Mediterranean. With these struggles happening to England and only having a population at the time of 45 million people, England’s population and its colonial population outnumbering them 9:1. France also faced its own problems in that although it was positioned better then England in terms of its proximity to the colonies, politically France was far less stable as “about 10 percent of its span is taken up by parliamentary forms of government and about 90 percent by authoritarian forms,”. Hitler also added that Russia and smaller states were also joining in this union and thus possessed a great threat to German national interests and that these issues could only be solved by force9.

In conclusion, this document noted down by Colonel Friedrich Hossbach clearly gives its reader the insight of how Adolf Hitler mentally functioned pre-World War II and what his key motivations were from a national point of view. During this time in the late 1930’s it was in Adolf Hitler’s opinion that a German military conquest was a feasible opportunity with the state of international and domestic relations of the time as well as the fact that any attempts to be made after this by Germany would be effective in his interests for Germany and its people. Hitler expressed his concern over the welfare of the German people in regards to the lack of resources in the nation which could not support the population increase Germany was experiencing. The need for resources throughout history has been one of the most common needs for wars to be fought between nations and in Germany’s situation, England as well as France stood in the way of Hitler’s end objective for Germany. This resulted in the many nations partaking in the conflict of World War II.

Bibliography
Hossbach, Col. Fredrich. Summary of Hitler’s Meeting with the Heads of the Armed Services on November 5, 1937. Germany 1937.