2K International Relations and Global Conflict, c1890–1941 Part 5 Depth Study: History AQA A level Revision.

The ‘Spirit of Locarno’.

British Prime Minister Austin Chamberlain, German Chancellor Gustav Stresemann, and French statesman Aristide Briand met in Switzerland in December 1925 in the city of Locarno to sign an agreement known as the "Spirit of Locarno."

Before we explain this treaty in more detail, you should recall the Treaty of Versailles and the Occupation of the Ruhr in Germany (1923) to understand the answer. Germany, like other European countries, was economically unstable during this time period. France was angry because Germany did not have the money to pay reparations, so it was necessary to find a compromise.

Which countries were present in Locarno at the meeting?

Belgium, Britain, Czechoslovakia, France, Germany, Italy and Poland.

What seven contracts did the "Spirit of Locarno" contain?

- Mutual guarantee agreement between Germany, Belgium, France, Great Britain, and Italy (also known as the "Rhineland Pact");

- Arbitration Agreement between Germany and Belgium;

- Arbitration Agreement between Germany and France;

- Arbitration Agreement between Germany and Poland;

- Arbitration Agreement between Germany and Czechoslovakia;

- Draft collective note to Germany in connection with Article XVII of the Covenant of the League of Nations;

- Separate Treaty between France and Poland and Separate Treaty between France and Czechoslovakia.

The ‘Spirit of Locarno’: consolidation of the post-war settlement.

The "Spirit of Locarno" aimed to ensure peace in Europe and confirm the borders of European countries. Germany realised that it would have to comply with the Treaty of Versailles and that it was necessary to cooperate with Western European countries and accept it. With the Treaty of Versailles, Germany ceded Alsace-Lorraine to France, Eupen-Malmedy to Belgium, West Prussia to Poland, and Sudetenland to Czechoslovakia and Switzerland in 1925.

The western borders were accepted and marked as unchangeable, while the eastern borders of Germany with Czechoslovakia and Poland remained unresolved. Germany accepted that if it wanted to open its borders, it would have to face an attack from Western countries.

The ‘Spirit of Locarno’: attempts at disarmament and conciliation in international relations.

The Treaty of Locarno confirmed that the Rhine region would be demilitarised and that the Allied army would leave the region where they arrived in 1918.

At the same time, admitting Germany into the League of Nations in 1926 was an open question. Germany is seen through different eyes at this moment.

The ‘Spirit of Locarno’: attempts at disarmament and conciliation in international relations, including the Dawes Plan, the Geneva Protocol and the Kellogg-Briand Pact

The Dawes plan (1924) was drawn up a year earlier, after the occupation of the Ruhr in Germany. The plan of the Czech banker Charles G. Dawes allowed the Weimar Republic to repay reparations and enjoy economic growth after the US government agreed to help Germany pay off reparations.

The Geneva Protocol, from 1925, prohibited the use of harmful gases and substances as weapons and their use in war.

The Kellogg-Briand Pact was a non-war treaty signed in August 1928. The countries that signed it promised not to use war to punish the enemy but to solve problems through cooperation and communication. In addition to the League of Nations, the US participated in all the pacts above.

The Great Depression.

The Great Depression was one of the biggest economic crises in the 20th century. It started in 1929, first in the United States of America, but it also spread to other parts of the world. It lasted until the end of the third decade of the 20th century.

During the Great Depression, many people lost their jobs and were left homeless. Poverty reigned, which caused dissatisfaction among people all over the world. Companies were closing down, and states could not quickly find a solution and escape the economic crisis.

How did the Great Depression spread from America to other countries?

America was a strong country until then. In connection with the Dawes Plan, American investors lent $6 billion abroad to their former wartime allies, Britain, France, and Germany.

When the Great Depression started in America, they demanded their money back. However, European countries could not return the money, and economic instability began around the world.

Conference in Lausanne.

The Conference in Lausanne, Switzerland, in 1932 aimed to resolve the issue of reparations that Germany had to pay to the Allies. The proposal was to reduce Germany's reparations or cancel them because Germany could not send them. However, no deal was reached because all creditor countries agreed not to continue negotiations until they decided how to compensate the US for remaining war debts.

Conference in London.

The 1933 London conference's goal was to restore economic confidence, encourage the economy to return to the gold standard, increase world trade, and stop the spread of protectionism.

The Depression and its impact on international relations: the failures of the Lausanne and London Conferences on international debts and reparations.

The American government did not support these two conferences, which is why they failed.

The Nazi Party in Germany used the failure of these two conferences to win over the German population through propaganda and manipulation. Adolf Hitler, the Nazi leader, talked about how the Weimar Republic failed to deal with reparations and economic instability and how Germany still had no right to arm itself and produce weapons while other nations oppressed it.

Changing balance of power: the ambitions of Italy.

In Italy, Japan, and Germany, the leaders began to spread nationalist sentiments through propaganda. These countries did not go the way they wanted in the First World War, and the need for domination appeared in them.

In Italy, Benito Mussolini established fascism. Similar to the previous two countries, he promoted nationalistic feelings among Italians and established a dictatorship. In the early 1930s, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini was determined to expand Italy's African empire by annexing Ethiopia. Ethiopia was at war with Italy from October 1935 to February 1936. The Italo-Ethiopian war lasted several months and is considered a prelude to World War II.

Changing balance of power: the ambitions of Japan and Germany.

Japan wanted to dominate Asia and began to lead an imperialist policy even more. He is at war with China over Chinese territories. Remember the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931 and the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945).

Changing balance of power: the ambitions of Germany.

Hitler takes power in Germany, promotes nationalist feelings, and establishes a totalitarian form of government, Nazism. Hitler talks about the superpower of the Aryan white race, economic stability, and Germany as the most powerful nation that should dominate the world.

After Hitler came to power in 1933, Germany actively tried to expand its borders and take control of the territories that belonged to Czechoslovakia and Poland. After the annexation of Austria, Hitler wanted to annex the Czechoslovak region of the Sudetenland to Germany. Western countries allowed it because they followed a policy of appeasement and signed the Munich Agreement in 1938 with Hitler.

Manchurian crisis.

Imperial Japan invaded Manchuria in 1931 to gain access to its resources and establish it as a new market for Japanese industrial products. Japan conquered the entire area by the spring of 1932, and thanks to that, it got a land border with the Soviet Union and Mongolia that was several thousand kilometres long.

The Japanese wanted to dominate Asia although this bothered the Western powers and the US, they didn't bother too much at the time.

Abyssinian crisis.

The Abyssinian crisis began in 1935 due to the dispute over the city of Walvala in Ethiopia between Italy and Ethiopia.

The collapse of collective security: the reasons for and consequences of the failure of League of Nations in the Manchurian and Abyssinian Crises.

The League of Nations, an international organisation, proved incapable of solving these two crises. Many condemned her for not trying too hard because she feared another big conflict like the First World War would start. The nations of the world followed a policy of appeasement and avoided conflicts.

The League of Nations' purpose was to serve as a peacekeeper between conflicting nations around the world, promote disarmament and international cooperation, and improve global welfare and security. However, these two crises have shown that the League of Nations is powerless to stop wars of aggression, even though it condemned the war and voted for the introduction of economic sanctions.