Conflict and Tension Flashcards
When did Germany request an armistice
October 1918
Why did Germany request an armistice
- they were beaten and retreating
- Germany was political chaos
- sailors losing morale - German navy sailors mutinied on November 3rd triggering revolts
What did Germany want an armistice based on
Wilson’s 14 points
Woodrow Wilson main points
- LON set up
- Self determination
- No secret treaties
- Colonies has say in their future
- Disarmament
Why did Allies accept armistice
- countries like Belgium/France devastated by fighting
- spent much money on war
- would have been costly to reject armistice and force German army back to central Germany
When was the armistice signed
11th November 1918
Armistice terms
- German troops to evacuate France + Belgium within 2 weeks
- naval blockade to remain in place on Germany
- Germany to accept blame and pay reparations
- Germany to evacuate Rhineland
Life after war before peace conference
- people suffered after war
- food shortages months after
- people pressuring for Germany to pay
Paris Peace Conference
- began January 1919
- pressure from people to make Germany pay
- conference lasted 6 months
- 32 countries
Which countries weren’t invited to the Paris peace conference
- Germany
- Austria-Hungary
George Clemenceau TOV Aims
- wanted be very harsh on Germany
- wanted to make Germany pay and never be a threat by weakening defences
- wanted Alsace-Lorraine back
- wanted empire back
- motivated by France being most seriously damaged and on border with it
- didn’t support Wilson’s points - wanted to keep treaties + keep naval blockade on Germany
Lloyd George TOV Aims
- punish Germany to please public (just won election) but not be too harsh (may lead to another war)
- strengthen British trade
- reduce German empire/navy
- maintain strong trade with Germany
- disagreed with Wilson’s points - self-determination would be threat to empire, wanted to keep German blockade, wanted to make private deals with nations
How many terms in TOV
440
How many TOV terms about LON
First 26
TOV Territorial Terms
- Lost 10% of land and 12.5% of population
- Alsace-Lorraine returned to France
- 11 overseas colonies given as mandate to LON and controlled by Britain and France
- Polish corridor split Germany + cut off East Prussia
- Danzig made free to be controlled by LON
- Anschuluss between Germany + Austria forbidden
- Poland made independent with free sea access
- West Prussia and Posen to Poland
TOV Economic Terms
- article 232- £6.6 million in reparations to France
- Saar put under control of LON for 15 years - important industrial area for Germany
TOV Military Terms
- army limited to 100,000 men without conscription
- Rhineland (bordered France) demilitarised
- navy limited to 15,000 men and 6 old battleships
- not allowed tanks, submarines, or air force
TOV Blame Terms
- article 231- War guilt clause, Germany took full responsibility for WW1
- LON Created and Germany not allowed to Join
Signing of TOV
- June 28th 1919
- President Ebert originally refused, generals warned Germany couldn’t face another war
Which leader was soon voted out after signing TOV
George Clemenceau
Why couldn’t USA join LON
- US Senate didn’t ratify TOV
- adopted isolationist policy
Diktat
Imposed without choice
German reaction to TOV
- felt vulnerable and due to army limits
- complained about disarmament double standard
- feared high payments would cripple them, suffered hyperinflation, loss of industrial areas led to higher tax
- loss of colonies hurt pride, worried about loss of land on border, many Germans lived outside Germany, had to become new nationality
- didn’t feel Germany completely lost war, still considered troops heroes
- protesting outside the Reichstag in 1919
British TOV reaction
- concerned about economic stability following treaty, reparations hurt trade with Germany
- Britain was hesitant to join the LON but did
- some wanted treaty to be harsher
- pleased with expanding empire, naval superiority
- worried Germany might become disillusioned, causing communist revolution
French TOV reaction
- pleased with Alsace-Lorraine and military reductions, felt secure
- some dissatisfied Germany wasn’t weak enough
- some still concerned for national recovery
- Clemaenceau wanted higher reparations, paid forever
USA TOV reaction
- people wanted to remain isolationist, didn’t join LON, thought it would control their military and force them into wars
- Wilson unhappy with treaty- too harsh
- Wilson faced domestic disapproval from Republicans
- wasn’t happy with Germany strengthening their empires (believed in self determination)
- created their own peace treaty with Germany on August 1921
Isolationism
Not getting involved in affairs of other nations
Problems with self-determination
- new countries had different nationalities/ethnicities put together, some unstable due to resentments after war
- countries like Britain didn’t want to give up empire
LON covenant
Set of moral guidelines to help keep the peace
Aims of LON
Maintain peace
- disarmament
- arbitration
- collective security
Encourage cooperation
- solve social and economic problems
- improve working and living conditions
Parts of LON
- assembly
- council
- secretariat
- special commissions
- permanent court of international justice
- international labour organisation
LON Assembly
- met once a year to discuss and vote on matters - first Monday of September
- each countries delegate had 1 vote
- all countries’ votes equal
- vote must be unanimous
LON Council
- created as council was too big to act quickly
- 4 permanent members - Britain, France, Japan, Italy
- met at least 4 times a year
- could veto any motion from assembly
LON secretariat
- in charge of admin + carrying out any decision taken by LON, except military issues
- body of experts from different areas - e.g- finance
LON special commissions
Group put together to tackle issues LON was worried about
- disarmament commission
- health organisation
- slavery commission
- refugee commission
- commissions helping underdeveloped countries with economic issues and
- commissions supporting minority groups like women
LON permanent court of international justice
- court of law (made of 15 judges from different countries) that settled international disputes
- only gave advice
- not compulsory rulings
- LON had no army so was difficult to make countries agree unless they wanted to
LON International labour organisation
- discussed + made suggestions to improve working conditions
- made up of government officials + employers + workers from different countries
How many countries initially in LON
42
How many countries became members of LON
63
Significant countries not initially members of LON
- USA- wanted to remain isolationist and stay out of other countries affairs
- Germany- was not allowed to join as a blame term of TOV
- USSR- communism wasn’t trusted
Countries that joined LON
- Germany - 1926
- USSR - 1934
Countries that left LON
- Japan - 1933
- Germany - 1933
- Italy - 1937
LON punishments
- economic sanctions
- moral condemnation
- mitigation
Economic sanction
Penalties designed to damage economies of misbehaving countries
Moral condemnation
Telling off a country and demanding they ceased action they were taking
Mitigation
Getting countries together to talk through problems
Humanitarian work of LON
- labour - 77 countries set up minimum wage (1928), suggested 8 hour work limit (little support), suggested banning under 14s from work (little support)
- slavery - freed 200,000 slaves in Burna + Sierra Leone, allowed Ethiopa in LON if slavery abolished
- refugees - sent 400,00 prisoners of war home after WW1, set up camps for those fleeing Turkey/Greece
- health - worked on malaria + leprosy + plague, set up hospitals, campaigned for wearing of masks
Work of LON in 1920s
- Vilna
- Upper Silesia
- Aaland Islands
- Corfu
- Bulgaria
Work of the LON - Vilna
Failiure
- 1920
- chosen as capital of newly formed Lithuania after WW1 with mostly Polish population
- Poland seized Vilna and refused to give it up
- LON powerless to stop military aggression
Work of LON - Upper Silesia
Success
- 1921
- region with valuable industry of German-Polish border with German/Polish population
- referendum held to decide which country to be part of - 60% Germany
- Poland said vote was rigged
- LON decided to divide between Germany/Poland, most citizens accepted
Work of LON - Aaland Islands
- Success
- 1921
- half way between Finland & Sweden
- belonged to Finland but wanted to be ruled by Sweden
- LON decided islands should remain Finnish but should respect Swedish cultures, both sides accepted
Work of LON - Corfu
- Failure
- 1923
- Italian dictator ‘Tellini’ sent to decide boundaries of Greece/Albania, was assasinated
- Italy blamed Greece
- Musollini demanded compensation, Greece refused
- Italy bombed/invaded Corfu
- LON morally condemned Italy + told to withdraw, they refused
- LON sided with Italy, Greece had to pay and apologise, Italy withdrew
- LON looked hypocritical + showed could be pushed around
Work of LON - Bulgaria
Success
- 1925
- Greek soldiers killed on Bulgarian border
- Bulgaria apologised + investigated
- Greece invaded
- LON helped evacuations, forced Greece to withdraw + compensate
- Greece said league was being hypocritical
- damaged LON reputation
Locarno treaties
- 1925
- 7 treaties proposed by German foreign minister (Stresemann)
- Germany’s western borders set at Versailles should be permanant
- Germany accepted TOV
- Germany seemed to be moving on from resentment
- Germany could join league in 1926
Kellogg-Briand pact
- 1928
- 65 counties
- agreed not to use aggression
- suggested countries were committing to prevention of future wars
- USA signed despite isolationism
- no definition of ‘aggression’
- no punishment for using it
Significance of Locarno Treaties and Kellogg-Briand Pact
Weakened credibility/necessity of LON by undermining it and showing treaties could be sorted without it
Washington Conference
- 1921
- USA, Britain, Japan, France reduced navies
- showed some countries keen on disarmament
- Japan became most dominant in Pacific
Geneva protocol
- 1924
- tried to make countries use LON for disputes
- strengthened LON
- Britain refused to sign after government change
Dawes plan
- 1924
- USA lent Germany money to help reparations
- helped Germany’s trade recover
- wiped out by Great Depression
Young plan
- 1929
- reduced German reparations by 75%
- helped Germany’s trade recover
- gave them 59 years to pay
- wiped out by Great Depression
USA economy in 1920s
- most prosperous country in world
- wages high
- mass production of goods
- USA lent billions to European countries to help them recover from war
- companies doing well so people borrowed money to buy shares
Wall Street crash
- 1929
- companies doing well so overproduced - too much supply and not enough demand
- people saw them doing badly so sold their shares
- shares lost value
- businesses collapsed
How did Great Depression affect USA
- stopped lending money and asked for loans to be paid back
- 2000 banks collapsed by 1930 as people rushed to withdraw savings
- 12 million unemployed 3 years later
How were other countries affected by Great Depression
- banks failed, trade halted, industries struggled
- 2.5 million unemployed in Britain
- 30 million unemployed across west
- Germany relied on American loans, banks failed, 6 million unemployed by 1932
How did Great Depression affect league
- people supported right wing leaders like Hitler - nationalist parties prioritised country
- countries like Britain and France concentrated on domestic problems not resolving conflicts
Why did Japan want Manchuria
- to expand territory after Great Depression
- wanted more resources to rebuild and expand economy
- controlled territory of South Manchurian Railway since 1905, easier target
What happened in Manchurian crisis
- September 1931 - Japan staged Mukden incident with rail explosion, blamed Chinese, used as excuse to capture Mukden and send troops to take over rest of Manchuria
- Japanese put controlled weak puppet leader in Manchuria to pretend to give it independence
Response to Manchurian crisis
- sent Lord Lytton to investigate, blamed Japan
- morally condemned Japan and asked them to withdraw, they took no notice
- reluctant to economically sanction, Japan important trading partner
- Britain + France occupied with domestic + depression + Hitler problems
- USSR closest nation to send troops from but not in league
- Manchuria far from Europe so not priority for many
- some LON members thought invasion was good as China was weak/disorganised
Aftermath of Manchurian crisis
- Japan left LON in 1933, so did Germany
- Japan + Germany signed treaty with Germany in 1936
- Japan further invaded China in 1937, including Jehol Province, LON did nothing
- showed dictators like Hitler/Mussolini that LON was powerless to stop aggression
Why did Italy invade Abyssinia
- Italy defeated by Abyssinia 1896, wanted revenge
- divert attention from domestic problems (depression)
- boost Mussolini’s popularity
- make Italy’s empire great again
- Abyssinia had mineral deposits and fertile land for livestock
What happened in the Abyssinian crisis
- December 1934 - Italy placed troops on Abyssinian border, Abyssinia asked LON for help
- October 1935 - Italian troops invaded Abyssinia
- Haile Sellasie appealed in person to LON
- May 1936 - Addis-Ababa (capital) captured
- May 1939 - all of Abyssinia conquered
Response to Abyssinian crisis
- Britain and France were saving resources for Hitler so didn’t go to war
- LON used economic sanction, didn’t sanction oil+iron+steel
- Britain and France didn’t close Suez Canal so weapons could get to Italy
- secret Hoare-Laval pact gave Italy 2/3 of Abyssinia
Aftermath of Abyssinian crisis
- Italy left league in 1937
- showed 2 permanent members within LON were more focused on personal interests
- Hoare-Laval pact leaked by newspapers in December 1935 - public outrage, covenant broken
- showed permanent members were willing to disobey covevant
- Hitler became more confident that LON wouldn’t stop him
- league’s reputation ruined
Reasons for collapse of LON
- not achieving original aims - failed to prevent another war (WW2 - 1939)
- doomed from start - had to defend TOV which many members disagreed with, lacked powerful countries for long time
- bad decisions - couldn’t show strong response to aggressors, let old alliance system creep back
- had to deal with issues it couldn’t control - deppression weakened countries so had to deal with domestic problems not international ones
Hitlers foreign policy
- overturn TOV
- rearmament
- unite all German speaking people
- expand Germany’s territory
- destroy communism
- eradicate Jews
- anschluss with Austria
- lebansraum in east
British reaction to Hitler
- Hitler’s speeches worried some Brits
- some thought TOV was too harsh so ignored overturning
- Chamberlain/Halifax favoured appeasment, trusted Hitler
- minority warned against him - Churchill/Low
French reaction to Hitler
Mostly unable to focus on Hitler due to domestic problems caused by deppression
US reaction to Hitler
- remained isolationist
- 70% Americans said they regretted being in WW1, didn’t want to get involved and risk another war
USSR reaction to Hitler
- scared of Hitler as he aimed to destroy communism and Russia
- joined LON out of fear but made no alliances
Dollfuss affair
- 1934
- Hitler wanted Anschuluss with Austria
- Austrian leader Dollfuss did not
- Austrian Nazis killed Dollfuss and attempted to take control in badly organised way
- Italy moved to border and Austrian Nazis backed down
- Hitler denied connection
Saar plebsite
- January 1935
- 90% voted to return to Germany
- Saar to Germany returned in March
- showing people willing to live under Hitler + Nazis
- first step of Hitler to WW2 - more confidence + territory
- army still weak - threatened to invade, backed down when Britain threatened sending troops
German rearmament
- Hitler withdrew Nazis from Germany from LON’s disarmament conference after France refused to cooperate, giving Germany excuse
- March 1935
- Hitler showed off secretly built weapons + vehicles + Luftwaffe (airforce) at 1935 Freedom to Rearm Rally
- expanded army to 1 million men with conscription
Stresa conference / front
- April 1935
- Britain, France, Italy
- worried about threat of German rearmament/conscription
- Mussolini worried about threat to his Northern borders if Hitler united with Austria
- Stresa Front aimed to keep peace in Europe and Austrian independence + stop Hitler breaking more of TOV
Anglo-German naval agreement
- June 1935
- Germany could build navy 35% strength of Britain’s
- 45% submarine strength
- undermined Stresa Front
- weakened Britain and France’s relationship
- broke TOV
Rhineland remilitarisation
- March 1936
- LON busy with Abyssinia
- USSR + France signed pact which Hitler said threatened Germany so put troops on borders
- appeasement - Hitler thought Britain wouldn’t get involved, didn’t
- Germans had orders to retreat if given French resistance
- French having election campaign
Rome-Berlin Axis
- Hitler invited Mussolini to Germany to show off military
- Mussolini sided with Hitler
- signed in 1936 - officially linked countries
Anti-Comintern pact
- 1937
- Italy joined Japan and Germany against communism, specifically USSR
Hitler making Anschluss
- wanted to unite Germans + use Austria’s armed forces + raw materials
- Hitler encouraged Austrian Nazis to protest for Anschluss
- February 1938 - demanded Austrian Nazi Seyss-Inquart be made minister of the interior
- threatened to invade if chancellor Schuschnigg and cabinet didn’t resign, they did
- Seyss-Inquart became chancellor, invited Nazis to ‘restore order’
- 12th March 1938 - invaded to proclaim Greater German Reich
- Britain didn’t stop him - appeasement
- France government had resigned 2 days earlier
- April - referendum held with 99% voting for Anschluss - rigged by threatening Nazis
Reasons for appeasement
- avoid war as not in good position for it - didn’t have guaranteed support of France/USA, armed forces not ready for another war
- some politicians admired Hitler’s success
- Britain feared communism
- Hitler was originally too weak to be a threat
Reasons against appeasement
- Hitler became more demanding
- Hitler proved he couldn’t be trusted to keep promises
- politicians like Churchill were against it
Sudeten crisis
- Sudentenland on Czechoslovakian border with 3 million Germans
- Hitler claimed government was discriminating against Nazis
- Nazis demanded it should be part of Germany
- May 1938 - moved troops to border
Chamberlain’s negotiations with Hitler
- 15th September - went to Hitler’s home in Berchtesgarden, said it was his last territorial request, Chamberlain believed him
- 22nd September - went back, says Czechoslovakians will give him Sudetenland, Hitler changes demands (wants all non-Germans to leave), Chamberlain calls this unreasonable, prepares navy for war
Munich conference / agreement
- 29th September 1938
- Hitler, Chamberlain, Daladier, Mussolini
- Mussolini poses plan, really written in German Foreign Office
- Sudetenland given to Germany but Hitler wouldn’t invade rest of Czechoslovakia
- Chamberlain claimed to have made ‘peace for our time
Who wasn’t invited to Munich conference
- Czechoslovakia
- USSR
Czechoslovakia reaction to not being invited to Munich conference
Not happy they weren’t being consulted on their own future and were open to possible German invasion
USSR reaction to not being invited to Munich conference
Worried about Hitler’s hidden intentions so horrified with agreement
How did Hitler take Czechoslovakia
- Czechoslovakia in anarchy after losing Sudetenland, Slovakia demanded independence
- Hitler persuaded Czechoslovakian president to allow German troops in to and ‘restore order’
- 15th March 1939 - Nazis marched into rest of Czechoslovakia
Why did Britain abandon policy of appeasement
- Hitler had broken promises
- Hitler took non-German land so many countries risked invasion
- abandoned policy after Germany took rest of Czechoslovakia
Britain/France agreement with Poland
- April 1939
- Britain/France would support Poland if Hitler invaded
- Chamberlain prepared military for war + made arrangements for public safety
Pact of steel
- May 1939
- Germany and Italy would support each other in war
Nazi-Soviet Pact
- Stalin suspicious of Hitler/Nazis
- Britain/France wanted USSR to help protect Poland (they were far away, USSR close)
- USSR didn’t trust Britain/France after being left out of Munich conference
- Stalin negotiated with Hitler to protect USSR
- signed Nazi Soviet pact in August 1939
- secretly planned to divide Poland between Germany and USSR, Hitler didn’t intend to keep promises
- gave Stalin time to prepare for war
Hitler’s invasion of Poland
- 1st September 1939
- Britain and France ordered him to leave, Hitler ignored
- Britain declared war on Germany on 3rd September 1939
