Lessons Learned: Hitler’s Rearmament of Germany
Videos

Lessons Learned: Hitler’s Rearmament of Germany

March 13, 2012 9:23 am (EST)

Lessons Learned: Hitler’s Rearmament of Germany
Explainer Video

On March 16, 1935, Adolf Hitler announced that he would rearm Germany in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. Hitler revealed that Germany had begun to construct an air force, and unveiled plans to reinstitute conscription and create a German army of more than half a million men. Britain, France, Italy, and the League of Nations all issued statements condemning Hitler’s decision, but did little else to penalize Germany.

More From Our Experts

James M. Lindsay, CFR’s senior vice president and director of studies, notes that it was only on September 1, 1939, when Germany invaded Poland, that "the rest of Europe confronted, rather than appeased, Hitler." This four-year delay, he argues, points to a basic difficulty in international relations. "Aggressive, expansionist states are most easily stopped early on when they are weak and vulnerable," he says, but "precisely because their capabilities are limited at that point--and their intentions can only be guessed at--it is often hard to persuade other countries to act."

This video is part of Lessons Learned, a series dedicated to exploring historical events and examining their meaning in the context of foreign relations today.

More From Our Experts

Top Stories on CFR

United States

The Trump administration’s deportations of undocumented immigrants are accelerating as part of a broader crackdown on unauthorized immigration. The focus so far has been on hundreds of flights, mainly to Latin American countries.

Trade

President Donald Trump’s trade war with China that began in his first administration has snowballed into greater tensions between the world’s biggest economies, but experts say completely decoupling from one another is likely impossible.

Iran

The two countries held their first meeting in seven years to discuss Iran’s contentious nuclear program. Here’s what could come next.