“Intention” and “Structure”; an Historiographical Analysis of Nazi Foreign Policy
Historians have taken a particular interest in understanding the course of Nazi pre-war foreign policy.[1] Historical debate has primarily been focused on determining whether such policy was guided by a consistent programme or if it was affected by various “structural determinants”. Concurrent debate has centred on Hitler’s role in the course of foreign policy. According to “intentionalist” interpretations, Hitler not only espoused ideologically-based expansionist aspirations before his rise to power, but he actively directed foreign policy in order to achieve his aims. Most historians have taken some degree of an “intentionalist” interpretation; however, whether Hitler relied on an explicit stage-by-stage programme, or whether he was primarily opportunistic, remains a subject of debate.
