International Relations - Interwar

Question 1

David Lloyd George profile

Answer 1

British PM 1916-22
Experienced politician with a realist outlook on life and politics - acted as the balance between Clemenceau and Wilson

Question 2

Georges Clemenceau profile

Answer 2

French PM 1906-09, 1917-20
Very determined character, and wanted to severely punish Germany so that they would never try to attack France again

Question 3

Woodrow Wilson profile

Answer 3

US President 1912-20
Idealist, and wanted Germany to be able to recover from any punishment they were given, so that they could be economically stable again, and become a trading partner

Question 4

Clashes between the politicians at the Paris Conference

Answer 4

Wilson + Clemenceau on how harshly the German population should be treated
Lloyd George + Clemenceau on how Lloyd George was making decisions. Although they agreed that Germany should be treated more harshly than Wilson thought, Lloyd George’s approach to who he agreed with was extremely nationalistic
Wilson + Lloyd George on Wilson’s idea of self-determination - it would be dangerous to British rule, and one of Wilson’s 14 points would also cost Britain control of the seas

Question 5

Wilson’s 14 points

Answer 5

• Open covenants of peace, openly agreed upon
• Freedom of the seas
• Removal so far as possible of all economic barriers
• Reduction of national armaments to the lowest point consistent with domestic safety
• Impartial adjustment of all colonial claims
• Evacuation of all Russian territories by opposing forces
• Evacuation and restoration of Belgium
• Liberation of France and return to her of Alsace and Lorraine
• Readjustment of the frontiers of Italy to conform to clearly recognisable lines of nationality
• Peoples of Austria-Hungary should be accorded the freest opportunity of autonomous development
• Evacuation of occupation forces from Romania, Serbia and Montenegro; Serbia should be accorded free and secure access to the seas
• Autonomous development for the non-Turkish peoples of the Ottoman empire; free passage of the Dardanelles to the ships and commerce of all nations
• An independent Poland to be established, with free and secure access to the sea
  A general association of nations to be formed to guarantee to its members political independence and territorial integrity (League of Nations)

Question 6

Clauses of the Treaty of Versailles 1919

Answer 6

Guilt - Germany had to accept full responsibility for the war
Compensation - Germany had to pay reparations to other countries to pay for damages. It was set at £6,600 million plus interest. This could be paid in goods.
Disarmament - Navy restricted to 6 small battle ships, 6 cruisers, 12 destroyers and no submarines. No air force. Army no more than 100,000 men, and conscription, tanks and heavy guns were banned. Demilitarised Rhineland. Anshcluss with Austria forbidden.
Peace - League of Nations created.
Loss of territory - German colonies taken and ruled as mandates by the League. Alsace Lorraine was returned to France, Eupen and Malmedy given to Belgium. Schleswig and Upper Silesia’s future were to be decided by a plebisicite. ‘Polish corridor’ created to give Poland access to the sea. Danzig became a free city. Saar land given to France for 15 years, after which the inhabitants could choose which government they wanted to be placed under.

Question 7

German reactions to the Treaty

Answer 7

Felt it was unfair - they had agreed to an armistice, not lost. They were the only nation who had to decrease their military. They felt all countries were to blame for the war.
Angry - they had not been represented during the peace talks at Versailles. Loss of land was inconsistent with Wilson’s self-determination ideas.
Humiliated - Were not invited to join the League, which was supposed to be for all nations, so the big 4 (Britain, France, Italy and Japan) were being extremely hypocritical.

Question 8

Treaty of St Germain 1919

Answer 8

Austrian army limited to 30,000 men, forbidden to unite with Germany. Austro-Hungarian Empire was broken up to form new states.

Question 9

Treaty of Neuilly 1919

Answer 9

Bulgaria lost land to Greece, Romania and Yugoslavia. Army limited to 20,000 and had to pay £10 million in reparations.

Question 10

Treaty of Trianon 1920

Answer 10

Hungary lost territory to Romania, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia. Supposed to pay reparations, but its economy was so weak it never did.

Question 11

Treaty of Sevres 1920

Answer 11

Turkey lost land to Italy and Greece, and a lot of its empire to France and Britain. Severe limitations of armed forces. Turkey dismayed at Treaty, and used force to reverse some clauses, which were set out in a new agreement in 1923, called the Treaty of Lausanne.

Question 12

KEEPP

Answer 12

Keep world peace by discouraging aggression from any nation
Encourage co-operation between countries to boost trade and commerce
Enhance living and working conditions
Persuade nations to disarm
Peace Treaty of Versailles - uphold its terms

Question 13

The council

Organisation of the League

Answer 13

The real power in the League lay with the permanent members of the council - Britain, France, Italy and Japan. Any of these nations could veto any action by the League. The council met 5 times a year or when there was an emergency, and made all the important decisions.

Question 14

The assembly

Organisation of the League

Answer 14

Acted as the League’s parliament - met once a year to vote on issues such as new members or the budget. Decisions had to be unanimous.

Question 15

The Court of International Justice

Organisation of the League

Answer 15

Settled disputes between countries, in the same way as normal courts - listening to both sides and making decisions

Question 16

Commisions / Committies

Organisation of the League

Answer 16

Tackled international issues such as helping refugees or improving health

Question 17

Disputes and the Leagues responses (2)

Answer 17

• Aaland Islands: 1921 Finland and Sweden threatened to go to war over the Aaland Islands. The League ultimately ruled that the islands should go to Finland, which Sweden accepted.
• Corfu: Mussolini invaded Corfu after one of his generals was killed by Greeks, and his conditions of revenge were not met. This attack violated the covenant and killed 15 people. Greece appealed to the League for help, who condemned Mussolini’s actions, but suggested Greece pay the compensation. If Britain and France had backed Greece, they could have condemned Mussolini, sending a message of intolerance, but instead they allowed the attack, reinforcing their nationalistic motives.

Question 18

International League successes

Answer 18

Refugee committee helped around 400,000 people return to their homes after fleeing or being taken as prisoners of war.
International labor organisation successfully campaigned for workers’ rights - especially for women and children.
Health committee funded research into deadly diseases and developed vaccines against leprosy and malaria
Financial committee helped Austria and Hungary when their economies collapsed in 1922-23, coming up with an economic plan to raise loans to help the economies recover.
All sorts of experts met in the League and shared ideas. Cultures also mixed.

Question 19

Washington Conference

Answer 19

1921-22
Discuss naval disarmament and a way to ease growing tensions in East Asia. League not involved, but followed the League’s ethos.
Very successful, as it was popular with people of all nations, and took their votes into account - every vote counted. However, there was suspicion over whether countries would actually disarm (no-one wanted to be in the vulnerable position of being the first without an army)

Question 20

Dawes Plan and Young Plan

Answer 20

Dawes 1924, Young 1929
Both aimed to reduce the total amount of German reparations by either the USA loaning Germany money to get back on its economic feet (Dawes) or appealing to the Bank of International Settlements to deal with reparation transfers.

Question 21

Rapallo Treaty

Answer 21

1922
Re-establish diplomatic relations between Germany and USSR - renounced all territorial and financial claims, held open friendly diplomatic talks.

Question 22

Locarno Treaties

Answer 22

1925
Settled disputes over German territories, and made them agree with the Treaty of Versailles. Formed alliances - Britain and Italy would protect France in Germany attacked, France and Germany would settle further disputes in the League. League involvement to reassure other nations that France and Germany were not going to war

Question 23

Kellogg-Briand Pact

Answer 23

1928
Aimed to get countries to settle disputes in a non-violent way: through the League. involved the League and 65 countries, but did not involve disarmament, as all countries vowed to keep armies as defense. ‘The General Treaty for Renunciation of War as an instrument of National Policy’

Question 24

Case study 1: Manchurian Crisis

Answer 24

When the Great Depression hit, Japan was hit hard, as worldwide economic problems made it almost impossible for Japan to sell products, and the prices for Japanese goods fell by 50%.
The government began to take more control of the industries and the economy as a whole. However, people began to blame the elected government for the problems, and support more hard-line politicians, who were in line with the military. Japan essentially became a military dictatorship.The military decided the solution to Japan’s problems would be to gain more territory.
In 1931 Japan claimed China had attacked the Manchurian railway, and they attacked in retaliation, taking over the city of Manchuria and setting up their own government there.
China appealed to the League, who took a cautious approach, and created a report that took a year to put together, but was very balanced and detailed, stating that Japan had acted unlawfully and Manchuria should be given back to China.
In 1933 Japan announced that they intended to invade more of China, and when the report was voted on in 1933, Japan was the only country that voted against it, withdrawing from the League and invading Jehol a month later.
Economic sanctions were discussed but were useless without the support of the USA, which was Japan’s main trading partner. There was also the threat of war escalation if arms sales to Japan were banned. There was no prospect of Britain or France risking a war with Japan.
Overall, the failure of the League was passed off as a special case, but they had proved powerless if a strong nation attacked a weaker one, and Hitler and Mussolini watched with interest.

Question 25

The Wall Street Crash

Answer 25

People thought they were living in the age of invention, where there were no limits, and there was a ‘new level of prosperity, never going to go back’. However, in 1929 unemployment rates were rising, automobile sales falling, and delirious optimism ran rampant in Wall Street.
27 August 1929 Dow Jones average reached an all time peak, sparking speculation.
The Wall Street economy was disconnected from the actual economy (speculative bubble fueled speculation). The stock market dipped, rose, then lurched downwards.
In September, Roger Babson warned Wall Street about the crash in on October 23 1929, stock prices plummeted, and people began selling in a panic. In less than 2 hours nearly 10 billion invested in stocks was wiped out.
On the Friday, banks withdrew stabilising funds, on Tuesday there was a second tidal wave of selling, with 16 million shares traded, and 14 billion dollars worth lost, totalling 30 billion dollars worth lost in the week, which was 10 times more than the annual budget.
Small investors had it worst.

Question 26

Case study 2: Abyssinian Crisis, ‘The Dark Valley’

Answer 26

In 1935, in an attempt to gain glory for Italy, Mussolini invaded Abyssinia. Prior to this, in 1934, there was a dispute over the Wal-Wal oasis, and Italy became aggressive, leading the Abyssinian Emperor to appeal to the League.
Phase 1: The Stresa Pact (agreement to stand against Germany rearmament). League investigation concludes that both parties blameless in the Wal-Wal dispute, suggests Abyssinia gives some land to Italy. During the Stresa Pact meeting, no mention of Abyssinia made, Mussolini takes this as a sign that Britain and France will turn a blind eye to the invasion.
Phase 2: The invasion: Mussolini rejects League’s proposal, invades Abyssinia but the Suez canal - which provided provisions and weapons to Italy - was left open by Britain and France, due to a secret agreement between the 3 (Hoare-Laval Pact, which proposed a partition of Abyssinia if Mussolini called off the invasion. Met with outrage by British and French citizens, leading to the pact never happening)

Question 27

Hitler’s beliefs

Answer 27

Attitude to war - War was a measure of the health and strength of a nation. He quickly prepared Germany for conflict after his rise to power, possibly with the intention of going to war.
Political ideas - Communism had to be destroyed. Strongly nationalist. Wanted to reclaim lost territories. Believed in Germany’s destiny to become a great empire. Rejection of internationalism, aggressive foreign policy. Autarky - The Nazi nation should be economically self-sufficient. Propaganda - ‘One people, one nation, one leader’.
Attitude to race - Aryans ‘master race’, Jews / Slavs ‘inferior’, Aryans would rule over the ‘inferior’ races in Lebensraum. Social Darwinism: Evolution = superiority.

Question 28

Hitler’s actions 1933 - 1936

Answer 28

1933 - Hitler left the League claiming that his country was not being treated equally, undermining the League’s authority.
1933-35 - Hitler began to rearm Germany, which was specifically banned by the ToV. He drafted thousands of unemployed workers into the army to reduce unemployment rates, and he began to stockpile weapons. It was secret at first, but by 1935, after walking out of a disarmament conference in 1934, he didn’t bother to hid it any more. He instead held a ‘freedom to rearm’ rally, again boosting his popularity, with the military as well this time.
1935 - Hitler claimed the Saar region should be part of Germany. The League forced Hitler to agree to a plebiscite, in which nearly 90% of people in the region voted to join Hitler’s Germany, boosting his prestige in his country.
1936 - Hitler remilitarised the Rhineland, which was banned by the ToV. When France and Russia made an agreement to protect each other if Germany invaded, Hitler claimed he was surrounded and felt the need to protect his borders. He was condemned by the League, but no further action was taken, due to the Abyssinian Crisis, which everyone was too involved with.

Question 29

Why did the League of Nations fail?

Answer 29

• Self interest of leading members: League depended on Britain and France to provide firm support in times of crisis. However neither government was prepared to abandon its own self interest to support the League in these times.
• Absence of USA and other important countries: When major countries such as the USA and USSR were not in the League, it lacked authority and sanctions were not effective.
• Economic sanctions did not work: These were supposed to be the League’s main weapons, but due to the lack of the USA, members would not willingly impose these, as they might not work without the USA’s support. When they were imposed, they were easily broken: the League lacked the muscle to enforce its decisions.
• The Treaties it had to uphold were seen as unfair: The League had to uphold the Treaties that formed it, but these were generally seen as unfair or unjust, further undermining the League.
• Lack of troops: Military force was the next option after economic sanctions, but the League relied upon the co-operation of its members, as it had no military force of its own. Britain and France were not willing to contribute forces, so at no time did troops ever fight on behalf of the League.
• Slow decisions: When a crisis occurred, the League was meant to act quickly and decisively, but in many cases the League met too infrequently and took too long to make decisions. This slowness again undermined the League.

Question 30

The Spanish Civil War

Answer 30

1936
2 rebel groups in Spain (Republicans and Nationalists) went to war with each other, and this spiralled until it became international (USSR supported the republicans, Germany and Italy supported the Nationalists)
Britain and France refused to intervene.
This refusal to join in encouraged Hitler, as it told his that because they didn’t want war, they wouldn’t intervene.
The Spanish Civil War was like a rehearsal for WWII, as it was a chance for Germany to test its military power.

Question 31

Anti-Comintern Pact

Answer 31

1936-7
Axis alliance formed between Germany, Italy and Japan: Anti-Comintern pledged they would oppose communism.
Britain did not react to this pact (appeasement policy, and disagreement with Italy over Abyssinia), France did not react (government in shambles after uncovering of Hoare-Laval pact, and saw Britain was reluctant)
Tension between USSR and Axis powers

Question 32

Appeasement Policy

Answer 32

The policy of making concessions to the dictatorial powers in order to avoid conflict.
Britain was in a weak position. They tried to recruit Mussolini, but he was unreliable and sided with Hitler. Neville Chamberlain more worried about Stalin than Hitler. Agree with Hitler about disarmament, and that they ToV was unfair.

Question 33

Stepping stones to appeasement

Answer 33

Sudetenland - Nazis in Sudetenland to cause trouble. Czechoslovakia got promises from Britain and France that they would protect it if it came to conflict, so the Czech refused to back down from Hitler’s threat to invade.
Anschluss - Germany and Austria unite, forbidden by the ToV. Hitler threatened to move troops into Austria to restore peace, so the Austrian Chancellor asked Britain and France to intervene; they did nothing. 99.75% of Austrians voted for Anschluss in 1938.
Munich Agreement - Mussolini, Hitler, Chamberlain and Daladier meet at Munich, but Czech not allowed in. Agreed to give Hitler what he wanted, as long as it was his last demand.

Question 34

Nazi-Soviet Pact

Answer 34

Hitler was deeply concerned that Stalin would oppose him in his invasion of Poland, and Stalin had seen that Chamberlain and Daladier were happy to point Hitler eastwards towards the USSR.
Stalin held discussions with Chamberlain and Daladier in 1939 to arrange an alliance against Hitler, but at the same time Stalin was meeting with the Nazi foreign minister about a different alliance.
In the end he decided on an alliance with Nazi Germany, in which both parties agreed not to attack each other, and divide Poland between them. Hitler also allowed Stalin to have the states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.
Neither leader had true faith in the agreement: Stalin was playing for time to rally his forces for when Hitler turned against him. He had decided that Britain and France were probably too weak to stand up to Germany, and they could not be trusted to, even if they were strong enough.
In return, Hitler won the guarantee he needed to invade Poland.

Question 35

Interpretations

Answer 35

Churchill (orthodox) view, 1948-60s: Appeasement was a mistake, but based on good motives.
Academic revisionist view, 1960s-90s: Chamberlain did the best he could under difficult circumstances.
Academic counter-revisionist view, 1990s-2000s: Chamberlain did have other options. His policy of Appeasement ws based on his own personality and assumptions.