AQA GCSE History - the interwar years

Where was Upper Silesia?

On the border between Germany and Poland

what year was the locarno treaty signed?

1925

Which two countries was the locarno treaty signed by?

Germany and France

Why were the Locarno treaties significant?

the represented an end to the German resentment of the treaty of Versailles.

Signed voluntarily, unlike the diktat of 1919.

Marked a failure from the league of nations, as it should have been at the forefront of any international agreements, but wasn't

How did other countries see germany after the locarno pact?

As a nation trying to make peace - they were even allowed into the league of nations later on.

What year was Germany allowed into the League of Nations?

1926

What were the events of the Corfu crisis?

Tellini - mussolini's general was murdered whilst deciding the border between Albania and Greece.

Mussolini blamed the Greek government, who didn't know who the killers were.

Mussolini wanted compensation.

On the 31st of August 1923, mussolini invaded corfu, killing 15 people

Greece appealed to the League of Nations

How did the League of Nations respond to the corfu crisis?

They told Greece that they could pay the LoN the compensation, instead of it being directly to Italy.

The league would hold the money until the killers were found, and then give it to italy. They also condemned Italy for it's actions, but no further action was taken in defence of Greece.

Mussolini complained to the conference of ambassadors, who overturned the LoN's decision, and required greece to apologise and give the compensation directly to italy.

What year was the corfu crisis?

1923

What happened between Greece and Bulgaria in 1925?

Greek soldiers were killed on the border of bulgaria

Greece invaded

Bulgaria appealed to the League of Nations

Greece was ordered to withdraw troops and pay compensation.

What year was the Great Depression?

1929

What was the first dispute the League was asked to settle, and what happened?

the issue with vilna. They did nothing, as the key members were unwilling to compromise their own interests

Which year did the issue in Vilna arise?

1920

What happened in Vilna?

Was supposed to be the capital of Lithuania, but majority of people were polish, and therefore wanted to be part of Poland.

A Polish army took control.

Lithuania asked the League for help

The LoN told Poland to remove their troops, but they refused

Why didn't the League do anything about Vilna?

France saw Poland as a potential ally against Germany, and refused to help.

Britain would not send troops without the support of other countries

What happened in upper silesia? What year was this?

1921-1925.

Both Germany and Poland wanted the area, as it was an industrial area.

Germany won the vote but Poland claimed that the people that had voted for Germany were no longer living there.

What year was the plebiscite for Upper Silesia held? Who won?

1921. Germany with 60% of the vote

What did the League of Nations decide to do with Upper Silesia?

They split the area according to how each area voted.

Germany received most of the rural areas, and Poland got most of the industrial areas.

Was either side happy with the compromise over upper silesia?

No - Germany had lost 3/4 of the mines they had before, and Poland got half of the population of Upper Silesia, but only 1/3 of the land.

What did the German government do in 1922 in response to the Upper Silesia settlement?

They complained to the LoN, and was awarded the right to import coal at a heavily discounted rate

Which countries were disputing the Aland Islands? When?

1921. both Sweden and Finland had claimed the Aland Islands, and threatened war on each other

What happened with the Aland Islands?

the league investigated each country's claim, and gave it to Finland, but it was not allowed to build forts on the islands, so it could not be used as a military base to attack Sweden from.

Did the League handle the Aland Island situation well?

Yes. They successfully avoided war

What did the International Labour Organisation do?

77 countries agreed to minimum wage

reduced death rate of slaves in Africa building a railway from 50% to 4%

helped greece set up social insurance

What did the commission for refugees do?

helped free around 420,000 prisoners of war still imprisoned from WW1

helped 1.5 million russians find new homes after civil war caused them to flee

Created the Nansen passport, which could be used as documentation for refugees

What did the Slavery commission do?

Helped abolish slavery in Sierra Leone

What did the Health Committee do?

sent doctors to look after refugees in Turkey, and helped improve living conditions in the refugee camps

Started an international campaign to kill mosquitoes

when did the assembly of the league of nations meet?

Once a year on the first monday of september

who was in the council of the league of nations?

4 permanent members - Britain, France, Japan, Italy

4 other non-permanent members chosen every 3 years

What was the secretariat in the League of Nations?

it was the civil service of the league- in charge of admin, and putting the league's words into reality - organising the actions the league wanted to take.

What was the Kellogg-Briand Pact?

An agreement between nations not to use war to settle their differences

how many nations signed the kellog-briand pact?

65 countries

Who were the first countries involved in the Kellogg-Briand Pact?

Germany, USA and France - wasn't involved with the League of Nations

What year was the Kellogg Briand Pact signed?

1928

What was the Washington Naval conference? When and Where was it held?

Organised by the USA, LoN not involved.

1921-22 - Britain, France and Japan attended as individual countries, rather than sending representatives from the LoN

Discussed how big navies could be

how did the Great Depression cause problems for the League of Nations?

Made countries very desperate, and made countries such as Germany and Italy turn to dictatorships, and extremism. This was the opposite of the league's aims,

Also countries became more isolationist in a bid to protect their own interests.

The league could no longer impose economic sanctions as countries didnt want to stop trade, and couldnt impose military sanctions as countries didn't want to deal with a war in the economic crisis

Why did Japan want Manchuria?

1. Geographically close to japan

2. already had a foothold in the area - railway and kwantung army in the area

3. annoy russia, and distract japanese citizens from their problems

4. Scared china would kick out Japanese industry

5. The area was ruled by a chinese warlord, whose power was weakening

6. the japanese army was getting stronger, and even murdered the prime minister, and started to infiltrate the government

How did the Manchurian crisis start?

1. Explosion on the South Manchurian Railway

- japanese army claimed that the train has been attacked by chinese soldiers, who had also shot at railway guards

2. the chinese denied his - said that their soldiers were asleep at the time

3. the Kwantung army uses this as an excuse to take over Manchuria

4. Japan renames manchuria to Manchukuo, and put Pu Yi, a puppet ruler. in charge of the area

When did the Japanese invade Manchuria?

on the 18th of September 1931.

when did japan launch an invasion of the rest of china?

july 1937

Why was the league reluctant to react to the manchurian crisis?

- did not want a big fight, many people thought that Japan owned manchuria anyways

- china and japan were far away from the league's headquarters in geneva, switzerland - too far to be of concern to them

- japan was a powerful member of the league.

- china's politics were disorganised - people thought it was a good thing that Japan was introducing order into the area

What did the league do about the manchurian crisis?

issued a moral condemnation of Japan, and told them to withdraw troops from china.

They set up a 'commission of inquiry' led by Lord Lytton.

Why couldn't the league do much about the manchurian crisis?

- members of the league couldn't afford to send their troops so far away - Britain and France were still facing the depression

- japan's main trade partner was the USA, so economic sanctions wouldn't work

- the USSR was the nearest powerful country, but because it wasn't allowed into the league, it couldn't be called upon to help.

What did Lytton do?

He went to the area, investigated what had happened, and put together the Lytton Report.

When was the Lytton report published?

October 1932

What did the Lytton report find?

That Japan was in the wrong. Even if there had been an attack on the South Manchurian Railway, Japan had vastly overreacted, and should not have invaded

What did Japan do in response to the Lytton Report?

They left the League of Nations, and ignored the findings. They carried on to invade the whole of china by 1937.

When did Mussolini invade Abyssinia?

On the 3rd of October 1935

Why did Mussolini want Abyssinia?

-Rebuild ancient roman empire

- thought that it would be easy - italy already owned colonies on the border - eritrea and somaliland

- good for the italian economy - rich in natural resources

- italy had already tried to invade abyssinia in 1896 and wanted revenge as they hadn't succeeded

- M thought that he could invade A without consequences from the LoN - Corfu crisis

- Stresa front meant that Britain and France wouldnt want to stop or anger him, Mussolini would pull out of the agreement

When had Italy invaded Abyssinia before?

1896

What was the Stresa Front?

An anti-Hitler alliance signed in 1935 by Britain, France and Italy

How did Mussolini invade Abyssinia ?

- dec 1934 - wal wal incident

- french foreign minister (laval) made secret agreements with Mussolini - laval promised mussolini that he could deal with the incident in whatever way he wanted and France wouldn't intervene

- League morally condemns mussolini

- italy invades abyssinia, and bombed the tribal villages, used chemical weapons and terrorised the people into surrender - they couldn't fight back, as they didnt have the technology

- Haile Selassie appeals to the LoN

- League did nothing

- 5th may 1936 Mussolini took over the capital - Addis Ababa

When did Mussolini take over the capital of Abyssinia? What is the name of the capital?

5th May 1936 - Addis Ababa

Why did the League fail in Abyssinia?

- Failure to close the Suez canal

- Hoare-Laval pact

- Imposed Trade Sanctions against both Abyssinia and Italy - Abyssinia couldn't defend themselves

- italy's trade sanctions were not strong enough to actually make any impact whatsoever.

What did Mussolini say about the Trade Sanctions, after the war on Abyssinia?

If coal and oil had been banned, he would have had to stop his invasion of Abyssinia - he needed them to fuel his war machines

When did Italy leave the League of Nations?

May 1936

What were Hitler's aims? TRAGLC

- Treaty of Versailles (overturn)

- Rearm Germany

- Anschluss

- German speaking people reunited

- Lebensraum

- Communism (destroy)

What was Lebensraum?

- "Living Space"

- Hitler's want of more living space for the Germans in the East

What was Chamberlain's overall policy towards Hitler until 1939?

Appeasement

What was Neville Chamberlain's stance on Hitler?

- Germany should be allowed to reclaim some of the land that they had lost

- would help them become strong and would be a buffer against communism

What did Winston Churchill think about appeasement?

He thought that it was a mistake

When was the Stresa front agreement signed? By which countries?

1935, Britain, France and Italy

What did the French think of Hitler's foreign policy aims?

Daladier (PM of France) found it hard to concentrate on Hitler, as they had so many problems of their own to deal with.

France wouldn't have been able to afford to act on Hitler without Britain's help

When was the USSR allowed to join the LoN?

1934

What was Stalin's view on Hitler?

relationships towards western countries had been improving since 1934, and he signed a treaty with france for 'mutual assistance'

Stalin thought that it was worth cooperating with capitalist states if it meant that Hitler's expansion into the East could be stopped

What was Roosevelt's view on Hitler?

Promised to keep america out of war in the election

Not much FDR's government could do, as the people didn't want to go to war, so they quietly started to prepare their armed forces

What 6 things were on Hitler's road to war?

- Hitler leaves League of Disarmament Conference

- Dollfuss Affair

- Rearmament - announced that he was openly defying the Tov and showed off weapons and troops he had been building

- The Saar Plebiscite - voted to rejoin Germany

- Anglo- German Naval Agreement - britain admitted that the ToV was unfair and allowed Germany to build it's navy to 35% of the British one.

- Stresa Front Agreement

What allowed Hitler to send troops into the Rhineland?

The Franco-soviet pact which was signed in 1935 - used the pact to claim that Germany was under threat.

Why did Hitler have to remilitarise the Rhineland?

If he was going to invade more countries to achieve Lebensraum, he was going to have to have secure borders. He did this by sending troops into the western border of the Rhineland

When did Hitler remilitarise the Rhineland?

7th March 1936

Why didn't Britain stop Hitler from remilitarising the Rhineland?

Felt that Germany had a right to protect their borders

British troops dealing with Abyssinia

Depression hit Britain hard

Reclaiming what was rightfully theirs - like stepping into their own backyard

Why didn't the French stop Hitler's remilitarisation of the border?

Politicians - general election, no one wanted to be responsible for plunging France into a war

French army in Tunisia - in case Abyssinia needed intervention

Generals believed the German army entering the Rhineland was much larger and better equipped than it actually was - not prepared to risk their men.

What did the remilitarisation of the Rhineland show Hitler?

- realised that he could do as he pleased

- turned his attention to getting around other terms of the ToV

What was the Dollfuss Affair?

The Austrian chancellor, Dollfuss, banned the Nazi Party in Austria. Hitler ordered Nazis to cause havoc in Austria and they murdered Dollfuss. Mussolini moved his army to the Austrian border in support of Austria. Hitler wasn't ready so backed down.

How did Anschluss happen?

- dolfuss replaced by Schuschnigg - made a deal with the Nazis - he would give them key positions in Austrian govmt if they supported him

- Police discovered plans to overthrow schuschnigg in the Austrian Nazi Party headquarters

- Schuschnigg meets with Hitler - Nazis would basically control Austria, otherwise hitler would invade - all restrictions on the Nazi Party lifted, Nazis to take control of the Austrian police.

- Schuschnigg held a plebiscite for Austria

- Hitler demands the plebiscite be postponed. Forced Schuschnigg to resign, and Seyss-Inquart took over as chancellor

- Seyss Inquart said that Austria was in chaos, and they needed german help to restore peace

- Troops invaded Austria - no blood spilt

- hitler held the plebiscite - 90% voted in favour of Anschluss

What year did Anschluss happen?

1938

How did Austria react to Anschluss?

Delighted - 90% of people voted in favour

However, the Austrian Jews knew that it marked an era of danger and uncertainty for them -

Thousands left Austria as quickly as they could.

How did Britain react to Anschluss?

most people felt that Germany and Austria were basically the same country anyways.

Churchill thought that Germany should have negotiated rather than sending in troops

There were a lot of anti-war and anti-versailles sentiments, so they didnt want to get involved

How did France react to Anschluss?

Had it's own political problems - more pressing

Whole french govmt had resigned, due to unrest caused by economic issues

How did Czechoslovakia react to Anschluss?

Scared. Knew that Hitler wanted Lebensraum, and thought that they might be the next country to come under Nazi pressure. Turned to Britain and France. Both agreed to support Czechoslovakia if invaded.

What were the consequences of Anschluss?

Hitler had access to the East for Lebensraum

Austrian Army of 100,000 added strength to the German one

Austrian resources such as steel and iron helped fuel Hitler's rearmament programme

Germany now bordered Czechoslovakia on 3 sides - started plotting his next invasion.

What was the Sudeten Crisis?

- Hitler made it clear that he would fight for the region - german speaking people were being treated badly by the Czech, and needed protection

- Chamberlain flew to Hitler's holiday home in Germany, to meet with him - he said the crisis could only be resolved if he was allowed the Sudetenland

- Chamberlain was desperate to avoid war, and agreed.

- Chamberlain met with the Czech and forced them to agree to Hitler's terms.

- Chamberlain returned to Germany, and met with hitler again - he had changed his demands - he wanted the Sudetenland handed over by the 1st of October, and thought that Poland and Hungary should also recieve czech land

- Chamberlain and Daladier accepted Hitler's demands at the Munich Conference

- Hitler took over the sudetenland on the 10th of october 1938

when did Hitler take over the Sudetenland?

10th Oct 1938