1.1 the treaty of versailles and internationalism

Question 1

when was the paris peace conference and what was it?

Answer 1

• 1919-20
• where the treaty of versailles was drawn up, amongst other treaties that would decide how germany’s allies would be treated

Question 2

what is internationalism?

Answer 2

nations working together in everyone’s interest

Question 3

what is nationalism?

Answer 3

countries working in their own interest

Question 4

what is disarmament?

Answer 4

reducing the amount of weapons a country has

Question 5

what is the league of nations?

Answer 5

an organisation of countries who work together to resolve disputes between countries

Question 6

who was woodrow wilson?

Answer 6

• he was pro-internationalism and disarmament
• he proposed the league of nations
• was elected to be president of the US in 1912 and 1916
• he was an idealist and reformer: “the day of conquest and self-interest are gone”

Question 7

what were wilson’s 14 points?

Answer 7

• disarmament
• league of nations
• open dealings between countries
• international cooperation

Question 8

what were the aims of the treaty of versailles?

Answer 8

• blame - germany had to accept the full blame for the war according to the ‘war guilt clause’
• reparations - 6.6 billion in reparations to the allies for the war
• army - germany were made to keep their army small and limit their weapons (100,000 men and six vessels)
• territory - they had to give back all the land they had taken, they lost 10% of its land and 12% of its population

Question 9

who were the big three?

Answer 9

• britain - david lloyd george
• france - georges clemencleau
• USA - woodrow wilson

Question 10

why did lloyd george and georges clemenceau doubt a peace treaty?

Answer 10

• they felt that wilson was being naive and not idealistic
• they were worried about the self-interest of their own countries and their overseas empires

Question 11

what did each of the big three want?

Answer 11

wilson:
- wanted germany to be punished ‘democratically’
- wanted global peace as per his 14 points

clemenceau:
- wanted to punish germany so that france would be secure from any threat in the future
- the french people demanded that germany would be harshly punished

lloyd george:
- wanted germany to recover swiftly from the war and pay reparations
- wanted an economically strong britain so that it could compensate for war damages
- thought that germany would be a valuable trading partner during peacetime

Question 12

why was the treaty of versailles unpopular in germany?

Answer 12

• many didn’t believe that germany had lost and rather believed they had signed an armistice so they shouldn’t be treated like the defeated country
• they disagreed with the war guilt clause because it unfairly blamed germany
• the huge reparations to be paid were thought to have caused economic problems for germany in the 1920s
• people were worried it would give rise to further conflict in the future

Question 13

what were the strengths of the league of nations?

Answer 13

• all members committed to maintaining peace and to protect
• the court of justice was a higher power that couldn’t be biased
• they tackled international problems eg. helping refugees and improving healthcare
• they could impose economic sanctions

Question 14

what were the weaknesses of the league of nations?

Answer 14

• the US never joined despite the fact that it was wilson’s idea
• there were 4 main members who had the most power as they could veto any action taken by the league
• every decision taken had to be unanimous -> if one country disagreed then it wouldn’t take place so little was achieved
• couldn’t enforce rules on invasion because they had no army

Question 15

what is collective security?

Answer 15

league members promised to protect one another if one of them was attacked

Question 16

what is a sanction?

Answer 16

punishments - economic canctions are a punishment countries can use on one another eg. means that they stop trading with them to damage their economy

Question 17

what were the most influential countries in the league?

Answer 17

• france
• britain
• italy
• japan
• germany

Question 18

what are some examples of the league’s humanitarian work?

Answer 18

• refugee committee -> helped an estimated 400,000 people who had been displaced by war or helped prisoners of war to return to their homes
• international labour organisation - successfully campaigned for worker’s rights - especially women and children - in all countries
• health committee - funded research into diseases and helped develop vaccines against leprosy and malaria

Question 19

why were some sceptical about the league of nations?

Answer 19

• the US congress prevented the country from joining despite it all being wilson’s idea
• lloyd george sought a simpler organisation that only came together during international emergencies and he wanted britain to be free to make decisions in their own interest, as did clemenceau

Question 20

what was the aaland dispute and how was it resolved?

Answer 20

• 1921 - both finland and sweden laid claims on the aaland islands.
• the league ruled that the islands should belong to finland and this was accepted by sweden
• succcess for internationalism because sweden accepted the ruling, which demonstrates the LoN’s authority

Question 21

what was the upper silesian agreement?

Answer 21

• 1921 - both germany and poland wanted upper silesia
• the league oversaw a plebiscite and divided the region between the two countries, which was accepted

Question 22

how did the league of nations deal with corfu?

Answer 22

• 1923 - dispute regarding the border between greece and albania. mussolini blamed greece for the killing of general tellini and demanded compensation. greece refused to comply so corfu was invaded
• the LoN condemned the actions of mussolini but asked that greece pay a compensation
• not dealt well by the LoN because they didn’t reach a unanimous decision and it was deferred to the CoA instead - a win for mussolini

Question 23

how did the LoN deal with bulgaria?

Answer 23

• 1925 - some greek troops were killed on their border with bulgaria so greece invaded them.
• the league told both countries to back down and they obeyed. -» they should’ve done this with corfu
• the league’s decision was obeyed but it beame known that the league were lenient towards italy because of mussolini and his power

Question 24

what happened in the washington conference?

Answer 24

• 1921 - disarmament -> the league should make sure that all nations started to disarm
• this failed because all the countries did were limit their navies + some even developed their armies further
• this damaged the league’s reputation in germany as they were only ones being forced to disarm; making them vulnerable

Question 25

what was the rapallo treaty?

Answer 25

1922 - the USSR and germany re-estbalished diplomatic relations

Question 26

what was the dawes plan?

Answer 26

1924 - to avert an economic crisis in germany, US lent it the money to prop up its economy and recover

Question 27

what were the locarno treaties?

Answer 27

• 1925 - germany accepted their western borders as suggested by the treaty of versailles but they said nothing about their eastern borders with poland so tension remained

Question 28

what was the young plan?

Answer 28

• 1929 - the overall reparations burden was decreased

Question 29

what was the kellogg-briand pact?

Answer 29

1928 - (aka pact of paris) a pact signed by 65 countries promising to never go to war or use force to settle disputes