Why had the International Peace Collapsed by 1939?

Question 1

One of the most important consequences of the Peace Settlements was that it left a number of countries dissatisfied

Answer 1

.

Question 2

Japan was disappointed because their idea of racial equality clause had been rejected at the Paris Peace Conference and it had expected to receive a greater share of Germanies former trading rights in China

Answer 2

.

Question 3

Italy had hoped to receive the Adriatic port of Fiume and a greater share of the former colonies of Germany and Turkey

Answer 3

.

Question 4

Germany had objected to literally every aspect of the Treaty of Versailles which were the territorial provisions, the disarmament clause, the War guilt, and reparations

Answer 4

.

Question 5

The Stab in the back myth was that Fater the First World War the myth developed that Germany had not really lost the War but was betrayed by a group of unpatriotic socialist inclined politicians called the November Criminals who hoped to profit from Germanys surrender

Answer 5

.

Question 6

Not only did the Treaty of Versailles dissatisfy Germany but it also failed to disable them and prevent them from growing into a powerful European State

Answer 6

.

Question 7

Hitlers Foreign Policy aims were to complete the plan of destructing the Treaty of Versailles or The Treaty of Saint Germain

Answer 7

.

Question 8

The Foreign Policy aims were German Rearmament and the remilitarisation of the Rhineland, The Anschluss or Union with Austria, The Transfer of the Sudetenland from Czech, The occupation of the Prague, the seizure of Memel, and claims made over Danzig and the Polish Corridor

Answer 8

.

Question 9

The Treaty of Versailles was hated by the German people and Hitler would ensure his popularity by dismantling the Treaty clause by clause

Answer 9

.

Question 10

In the 1930s the British government and public started to feel as though the Terms on Germany were too harsh

Answer 10

.

Question 11

The French reaction to the Treaty was that it was not harsh enough as they wanted a treaty that would permanently disable Germany in order to ensure their security

Answer 11

,

Question 12

By 1930 it was clear Hitler was trying to overturn the Peace Settlement and France did not feel confident enough to stand up to Hitler on their own so they acted in partnership with Britain

Answer 12

.

Question 13

Some of the Inconsistencies that the Settelemt showed were the separation of East Prussia, from the main bulk of German territory by the Polish Corridor, the placing of Danzig which was overpopulated by Germans under the LON control

Answer 13

.

Question 14

The Great Depression, Japanese Invasion of Manchuria, and the Italian invasion of Abyssinia all essentially finished off the LON

Answer 14

.

Question 15

When Japan invaded Manchuria the eyes of the World was focused on Japan as it was the first time they had faced a challenge from a serious power

Answer 15

.

Question 16

If the LON was firm then this would act as a warning to those powers looking to expand their territory

Answer 16

.

Question 17

For Italy and Germany, the lessons on Manchuria showed that their territorial ambitions were possible

Answer 17

.

Question 18

When Italy first invaded Abysinnia it appeared to jolt the LON as they then took firm action and imposed economic sanctions however these sanctions did not consist of key events commodities such as coal and oil which made the League exposed as guilty and the Hoare Laval Pact confirmed this impression

Answer 18

.

Question 19

The LON seemed incapable of making strong action which Hitler and Mussolini loved as the LON could not put internationalism ahead of national interests

Answer 19

.

Question 20

The Failure of the LON affected the thoughts and actions of Britain and France although they never had much confidence in the LON it was now clear that collective security was dead and that alternative ideas had to be found to keep World Peace

Answer 20

.

Question 21

This now meant that Britain and France had to rearm to make sure Germany and Italy did not take further action

Answer 21

.

Question 22

Rearmament had not previously happened before because Britain and France both did not spend what they should have on defense

Answer 22

.

Question 23

France and Britain both used collective security as an excuse for not spending enough on rearming

Answer 23

.

Question 24

The Public held strong views on major arms not spending because the public placed more faith in the LON than the Politicians did

Answer 24

.

Question 25

It was clear rearmament was a top priority but it was unlikely to keep World peace on its own which is why they brought in the policy of appeasement which to a large extent was the result of the failures of the LON

Answer 25

.

Question 26

Appeasement involved making Pacts and deals with the dictators in order to satisfy their demands without going to War

Answer 26

.

Question 27

The Munich agreement was a huge example of Appeasement

Answer 27

.

Question 28

Hitlers early foreign policy aims were not clear to show that he wanted to go to War and it looked as though he wanted to achieve equality with the Western powers such as Britain and France

Answer 28

.

Question 29

The Rhineland had been declared a demilitarized zone by the treaty of Versailles which also authorized an army of occupation on the West Bank for 15 years

Answer 29

.

Question 30

From Germanies perspective, a demilitarised Rhinlenad was a constant reminder to them of Humiliation and disadvantage

Answer 30

.

Question 31

General Franco started the Spanish Civil War against the Republican government

Answer 31

.

Question 32

Hitler alongside Mussolini decided to support their fellow fascist Franco whilst the leader of Soviet Russia decided to support the Republicans

Answer 32

.

Question 33

The Anti Comintern Pact was a pact signed by Germany and Japan in 1936 and Italy joined in 1937. This agreement was directed against the Soviet agency for promoting the communist revolution abroad. The purpose of the treaty was to make sure neither Germany nor Japan would help Soviet Russia

Answer 33

.

Question 34

The Anschluss was one of Hitler’s main foreign policy aims which were to include all German Speaking People with Austria to form a greater Germany. The Union of Germany and Austria reuniting was forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles however the majority of the Treaty was laid in pieces. However, the main problem for Hitler was Italy as they had authorized military movement in 1934 to prevent the Union from happening but Hitlers relationship with Mussolini had improved and Hitler was in a stronger military and diplomatic position

Answer 34

.

Question 35

In February 1938 a meeting took place between Hitler and the Austrian Chancellor Shushnigg to discuss the ill-treatment of the Austrian Nazis by Austrian government forces. Shushnigg was Bullied by Hitler during the conference and suspected that he wanted to destroy Austrian independence which made shushnigg hold a plebiscite on the 13 March. Hitler forced Seyss Inquart to be chancellor and he reluctantly agreed. Seyss Inqaurt immediately requested for German support in restoring order. Hitler by securing Mssolinis support ordered the German army into Austria on 12 March 1938 to proclaim the Anschluss. A plebiscite was held with an overwhelming number of people wanting the Union to happen.

Answer 35

.

Question 36

It is easy to criticize the policy of appeasement as it is claimed the policy was morally wrong and ked directly to the sacrifice of Czech. Appeasement definitely boosted his confidence as it encouraged him to make further demands and providing him with additional territry and resources. whilst Britain and France were using this time to strengthen their defenses Germany was using it to also strengthen their army, navy, and air force. In the years following the Second World War, appeasement was regarded as a policy of weakness and cowardice that made war less likely to occur.

Answer 36

.

Question 37

The Nazi-Soviet Pact privately contains clauses relating to the future of Poland. At first, this agreement seemed highly unlikely as it was two states representing opposite ideological states fascism and communism making a deal with one another. Hitler never hid his hatred for communism and wanted the destruction of Russia and Stalin was very aware of this and expected an invasion at some point. However, the pact had made sense as Hitler wanted to ensure that after having defeated Poland he was not attacked by Soviet Russia whilst he sorted out Britain and France. Stalin hoped that the Anglo-French/German War would last years so he could strengthen his defences and his military as Stalin also feared a war on two fronts given the current behaviour of Japan

Answer 37

.