Conflict & Tension (1918-1939)

Who were the big three?

Woodrow Wilson (USA), David Lloyd George (UK), Georges Clemenceau (France)

what were the aims of the big three at the paris peace conference (18 Jan 1919 - 21 Jan 1920)

Clemenceau (France): Harsh punishment, weaken Germany, regain Alsace-Lorraine, security.

Lloyd George (Britain): Punish Germany but not too harshly; wanted trade; keep navy/empire supremacy.

Wilson (USA): 14 Points, self-determination, fair peace, League of Nations.

why did the big three disagree?

Different national interests:

• France wanted revenge and safety after devastation.

• Britain feared harsh terms → future war.

• USA wanted idealistic, fair principles.
  Conflicting priorities made compromise difficult.

what were the main terms of the Treaty of Versailles?

• Territorial: Alsace-Lorraine to France, Polish Corridor, Saar under LoN, colonies as mandates.

• Military: Army capped at 100,000; no conscription; no tanks, aircraft, submarines; navy limited.

• Economic: £6.6 billion reparations.

• Blame: Article 231 “War Guilt” clause → justified reparations.

why the germans hate the treaty?

• “Diktat” → forced with no negotiation.

• Humiliation from War Guilt clause.

• Economic burden from reparations.

• Military limits seen as degrading.

• Territorial losses affected industry (Saar coal, iron).

• Felt punished more harshly than other defeated nations.

what caused the ruhr crisis (1923)?

Germany missed reparations → France & Belgium invaded Ruhr to seize goods.

Germans resisted with passive resistance, leading to economic paralysis.

what caused hyperinflation?

• Government printed money to pay striking Ruhr workers.

• Mark became worthless → prices spiralled → savings destroyed.

why were the consequences of hyperinflation?

• Middle class savings wiped out.

• Wages became meaningless.

• Weimar government blamed → political extremism grew.

• Short-term chaos, but long-term memory → Germans feared instability → supported strong leaders like Hitler.

how did Stresemann stabilise Germany (1923-1929)

• Ended passive resistance.

• Introduced the Rentenmark → stabilised currency.

• Dawes Plan (1924): US loans, reduced annual payments.

• Young Plan (1929): Reduced total reparations.

• Improved international relations.

what was the significance of the Locarno Treaties (1925)?

• Germany accepted western borders.

• France-Belgium security guaranteed.

• Improved relations → “Locarno honeymoon.”

• Germany seen as peaceful → helped entry to LoN (1926).
  (No LoN detail included.)

• Germany accepted western borders.

• France-Belgium security guaranteed.

• Improved relations → “Locarno honeymoon.”

• Germany seen as peaceful → helped entry to LoN (1926).
  (No LoN detail included.)

what was the Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928)?

65 nations renounced war as a means of policy.

Symbolic → no enforcement.

Showed optimism of late 1920s diplomacy.

how did the wall street crash (1929) cause global depression?

• US recalled loans (Dawes Plan).

• German industry collapsed.

• Businesses went bankrupt.

• Unemployment soared → 6 million.

how did the depression help hitler ride to power?

• Public lost faith in Weimar.

• Extremist parties offered solutions.

• Nazis offered jobs, stability, scapegoats (Jews/communists).

• Hitler used modern campaigning & propaganda.

• Political instability → coalition failures → Hitler appointed Chancellor.

what were hitler’s key foreign policy aims?

• Destroy ToV

• Unite all german speaking people

• Destroy communism

• Expand Lebensraum

why was rearmament important to hitler?

• Broke Versailles, tested reactions.

• Boosted economy / reduced unemployment.

• Strengthened Germany’s negotiating position.

• Helped prepare for war & expansion.

how did the demilitarisation of the Rhineland (1936) help hitler?

• Directly broke Versailles & Locarno.

• France divided politically → took no action.

• Huge propaganda success; strengthened Hitler’s image.

• Encouraged further aggression.

why did the nazi soviet pact (1939) shock the world?

Germany and USSR agreed non-aggression + secretly divided Poland.

Shocking because Hitler hated communism.

Allowed Germany to avoid a two-front war → cleared path to invade Poland.

why did ww2 break out in poland?

• Hitler invaded Poland (1 Sept).

• Britain/France declared war (3 Sept).
  Fundamental causes:

• Aggressive expansion by Germany.

• Weaknesses of diplomacy & economic crises.

• Failure of appeasement.

• Opportunistic alliances.

what is collective security?

a policy when countries work together to prevent aggression by another

who were the 4 permanent members of the council?

britain, france, italy, japan

what was the stresa front?

an agreement britain and france made with italy to stand up to germany. in return, britain and france agreed to ignore what italy did in abyssinia

in which year did the usa join ww1?

1917

what did britain and its allies do in august 1918?

counterattacked against germany

by september 1918 how many german soldiers had died in ww2?

2 million

what was signed on 11th november 1918?

armistice

what is the name of wilson’s list of objectives at the end of ww1?

14 points

what begun in january 1919?

paris peace conference

what % of its territory did germany lose?

13%

how large was germany’s army allowed to be?

100,000

name one other weapon or military strategy that was banned

conscription, tanks, poison gas, military aircraft, submarines

how much were germany expected to pay in reparations?

£6.6B

what % of germany’s national income was their reparations?

7%

in which article did germany accept blame for ww1?

article 231

what does LAMB stand for?

Land, Armed forces, Money, Blame

what word sums up how many germans felt about the tov?

diktat

when was the treaty of versailles signed?

28th june 1919

to which country did the kaiser flee?

the netherlands

why did hitler oppose the ToV?

• Limited the German army to 100,000

• Banned air force and submarines

• Took German land (e.g. Alsace-Lorraine)

• Forced Germany to accept war guilt and pay reparations

What was the significance of Germany leaving the League of Nations in 1933?

• Showed rejection of Versailles

• Allowed Germany to rearm freely

• Weak response showed appeasement

What was the Anglo-German Naval Agreement (1935)?

• Britain allowed Germany a navy 35% the size of Britain’s

• Undermined Versailles

• Encouraged Hitler to push further

What happened during the remilitarisation of the Rhineland (1936)?

• German troops entered the demilitarised zone

• France and Britain took no action

• Increased Hitler’s confidence

What was the Anschluss (1938)?

• Union of Germany and Austria

• Austrian Nazis helped takeover

• Broke Versailles but was popular in both countries

What were the Sudetenland and the Munich Agreement (1938)?

• Sudetenland = German-speaking area of Czechoslovakia

• Britain and France agreed Hitler could take it

• Seen as appeasement

Why was appeasement used by Britain and France?

• Fear of another war

• Belief Versailles was unfair

• Hitler seen as a defence against communism

What was the Nazi-Soviet Pact (1939)?

• Non-aggression pact with the USSR

• Secret plan to divide Poland

• Avoided war on two fronts

How did Hitler’s foreign policy lead to WWII?

• Invasion of Poland (1939)

• Britain and France declared war

• Appeasement had failed