One of the most interesting historiographical debates about the Second

World War concerns the nature of Hitler’s foreign policy. Everyone knows

that the Second World War was horrible, even worse than the First, but it

has yet to be unequivocally decided what exactly was Hitler’s role in

bringing about such a catastrophe. The most important issue relates to the

question of whether or not Hitler had evolved a clear and coherent foreign

policy by the time he assumed office and to which he was to adhere until his

suicide in the bunker. Historical scholarship has produced two main

differing schools of thought on this subject, known as intentionalists and

structuralists. The intentionalists argue that Hitler did indeed have a

clear foreign policy program when he became Chancellor in January 1933. He

had formulated this strict set of ideas several years earlier, and he

consciously followed this plan throughout his twelve years in power. The

structuralists counter this by arguing from several angles that Hitler was

an unprincipled optimist with a central concern in “propaganda exploitation

page as fighting in Spain increased. Hitler’s ultimate power political goal

Slavic Russians that because of an accident of history possessed far too

Germany’s foreign policy.(2) The ferocity of this debate, perhaps best

France would have lost the Great War. Hitler was determined for this

French would be confronted by possible aggressors on three fronts, thus

Although Hitler’s program did possess numerous contradictions and gaps,

his racial dogma, he had long held deep respect. Despite the enmity of the

intervene in Spain and sign non-aggression pacts with hereditary enemies in

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