The Inter War Period Flashcards
the period between WWI and WWII
The League of Nations
Established in 1920 bc of Wilson’s 14 points
estbalished by the US but the US never joined - it faield from the start
UK and her dominions were all founding members and stayed till the end. FR joined bc they wanted it to keep GR down. GR and USSR joined late and left early (Hitler ‘33 and Finland ‘39). Italy and Japan were founding members that left
Great Powers post-WWI
USA, UK, France, Italy, and Japan
4/5 were on board w/ the League of Nations
Japan and Italy got no spoils from WWI and wanted new territory. Japan was the 1st GP to leave the LoN witht he invasion of Manchuria and subsequent puppet state.
Post 1933 UK, FR, IT were the only GP left in LoN, so they inivited the USSR to join and help. Italy left LoN in ‘35 with Ethiopia invasion.
The Italian Invasion of Abyssina
1935 Italy invaded Ethiopia
FR and UK could not or would not stop her
the begining of politics of appeasement
turned the IR landscape into GR, IT, Japan vs. USSR, UK, FR
The Priciple of Self-Determination Post-WWI
the right of self-determination was declared as univeral, but only the victors got to benefit from it
all those on the victors side in central europe won territory.
Japan got GR territories north of the equator in the Pacific, but was made bc they promised it all and BR took those who were south
Civil War in China
1912 China Empire fell and left a vaccum for expansionist countries to fight over
Russia (Mongolia), UK (Tibet), and Japan (Korwa and Manchuria)
1st half of 20th cen- dif high appointment of mil officials seized the opportuinity to declare themselves local rulers of parts of China -> outsiders coming in
Japan was there 1st and took Taiwan in 1895 and during WWI wanted to estbalish itself on the mainland
British Empire in the interwar period
the only truely global empire
1/4 of world pop lived in BR emp ar this time (India most imp territory)
the BR empire was a naval empire
the Washington Naval Treaty meant forced the royal navy to be reduced (ships stopped construction and navy peaked in 1922.
Washington Naval Conference
12 Nov 1921 - 6 Feb 1922
About interests int he Pacific Ocean and East Asia
USA, Japan, China, FR, UK, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, Portugal - USSR not invited
resulted in 2 major treaties: the Four-Power treaty and the Washington Naval Treaty
Japan post WWI
Felt that they had been treated unfairly (racial/western discrimination)
was industrial but lacked the needed resources (coal) -> wanted China
Manchukuo puppet regiem -> turned the area into an idustrial area for japan
Did not get the South of the Pacific islands belonging to GR as promised
Washington Naval Treaty limited their navy (3)
Washington Naval Treaty
also known as the Five Power Treaty
the 5 major naval powers agreed on the ration of their naval powers
UK and USA 5 - Japan 3 - France and Italy 1.7
USA was the only one not disapointed (bc it was the 1st time they were recog as a naval power and declared = to UK). The other 4 signed it bc their econs were fucked and they needed to focus on their veterans
Nine Power Treaty
everyone agreed that the violation of the territory of China is bad
Impact of the Great Depression
Everyone was stressed out hurting the League of Nations’ ability to maintian peace
The falling apart of the League of Nations
USA never joined, than the GPs of Italy and Japan left leaving only FR and UK in it (and later briefly USSR)
1933 - Japan left LoN by violating the international order in china
1933 - GR withdrew as a poltical gesture bc Hitler
Germany in the inter-war period
Limitations + Remilitarization of the Rhineland (1938)
Army was v limited post war + remilitarization was really good for econ
GR army was so limited post-WWI: no sif air forces, tank forces, no investing innovations and industry
Conscript army helped with unemployment and invigorated the industry by requiring new equip
1936 - GR army marched into the Rhineland which was not a violation fo borders but was a violation of the Versailles treaty which was humiliating
1920s - secret collaborations with the USSR
1935- alligned with Italy
1938 - demanding the Sudentenland 1939 broke promise and invaded CZ makign BR and FR lose trust
the Anti-Comintern Pact
1936 ally agreement btw GR and Japan
1939 it was revealed that GR and USSR were secretly aligned !!!
1936 - Japan, Italy, GR (the fascists) identified the communsits / the Commintern pact as the enemy.
Japan vs USSR in their puppet states of Machuria andd Mongolia in 1939 and 38
Comintern Pact
Communsit Lenin Vision
the idea that the USSR is home of every devote communist in the world
that the interest of the USSR is more important than the interests of your home country
When Stalin took control the goal of the Comintern changed to be more about the protection of communism and the securirty of the USSR and not about the promotion of the proletariat
