Hitler's aims and the Saar vote

Hitler wanted to tear up Versailles and win land in the east; the Saar came back by an agreed vote, not by force.

Hitler had three main aims. He wanted to overturn Versailles. He wanted to bring German-speaking people under German rule. And he wanted more land and resources, especially in eastern Europe. The Nazis called this Lebensraum, or living space. It meant conquering and controlling land where other people already lived.

These were different aims. Changing a treaty limit, uniting German speakers and conquering neighbours are not the same thing. Rearmament gave Hitler force to back his demands, while promises of peace reassured other governments and reduced their resistance.

The Saar was an industrial region on Germany's western border. The peace settlement put it under League control for 15 years, then gave its people a vote on their future. This kind of vote is called a plebiscite. In January 1935, voters chose to return to Germany, and it was handed back in March.

The result boosted Hitler's prestige, or standing, and returned an industrial area to Germany. But it followed the procedure already agreed in the peace settlement. It was not an invasion. When explaining Hitler's gains, separate what he gained from how he gained it: a vote, a threat and an attack are different methods.

Lebensraum

Living space: Nazi aim to take land in the east.

Plebiscite

A public vote on a region's future.

January 1935

Saar votes to return to Germany.