Global Reaction
Following a tour of the German countryside in 1936, former British Prime Minister Lloyd George had the following to say about the breach of the Treaty he had helped to formulate:
"That Germany is rearming cannot be denied. After all the victors in the Great War except England disregarded their own disarmament pledges, the Führer abrogated the agreement which bound his own country, thus following the example of the nations who were responsible for the Versailles Treaty. It is today a commonly admitted part of Hitler's policy to develop an army strong enough to resist any attack, regardless of from which side it may come. I believe that he has already reached this point of inviolability."
In a September 1936 speech before the Labour Front, Hitler explained the plan's focus, and drew a comparison between the resources at Germany's disposal and those accessible to the "incapable" Bolsheviks. The American press immediately interpreted this speech as Hitler's call for war with the Soviet Union and addressed it to the public as such. However, Hitler's proclamation actually suggested that, because of Germany's undersupplied position, a great task was set ahead for the country to "develop a form of life which higher than that existing in Bolshevist paradise of Soviet Russia."
Read more about this topic: Four Year Plan
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