ABSTRACT
Hitler was determined from the start of his rule to achieve several major aims in foreign affairs: reversal of the Treaty of Versailles, creation of a greater Reich of all German-speaking peoples, conquest of Lebensraum in the east, and establishment of a new order in Europe dominated by the "Germanic race." He had stated these aims quite openly in the two volumes of Mein Kampf. Many of them had the full support of the military and economic elite. These aims could only be achieved, however, by stages, and then only if Germany's potential enemies failed to take measures to forestall German rearmament and aggression. For a number of reasons the leaders of the victorious nations of the First WorldWar failed to take such measures while there was still a chance of avoiding war. They believed that the responsibilities of power would moderate the Nazis' radical aims. They thought that the best way to ensure peace and stability in Europe was through a policy of compromise and appeasement.
