Date Approved

2008

Degree Type

Open Access Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department or School

History and Philosophy

Committee Member

Robert M. Citino, PhD, Chair

Committee Member

Pamela Graves, PhD

Committee Member

Ronald Delph, PhD

Abstract

The nations of East Central Europe have traditionally been portrayed as “victims” of Nazi German expansionism. In this work the foreign policies of Poland, Lithuania, Hungary, and Romania from 1933 to 1939 were examined through the paradigm of Hitler's major foreign policy achievements to explore this prevalent notion and to discern why the foreign policies of these governments failed. These included his rise to power in 1933, the remilitarization of the Rhineland, the Anschluss with Austria, the dismemberment of Czechoslovakia, and the invasion of Poland. Specifically, the reactions of these four nations to German action and their relationships with each other were examined. It was found that their foreign policies ended in failure due to their inability to substitute shortsighted national objectives that focused on regional revision at the expense of their neighbors for regional security directed against German expansionism.

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