History: Conflict & Tension 1918-1939: The Inter-War Years

Paris Peace Conference 1919

Meeting held at the palace of versailles in France at the end if WW1 to decide how to punish the countries that lost the war.

League of Nations

Formed under the terms of the treaty of versailles after WW1 - a group of countries that worked together towards global peace and cooperation

Self-determination

Idea that countries have the right to govern themselves instead of being ruled by an empire

Armistice

an agreement made by opposing sides in a war to stop fighting.

Reparations

payment for war damages.

Rhineland

A region in Germany, bordering France

Communists

Left wing political group where everyone is believed to be equal.

Tsar

A Russian emperor

Allies

A group of countries joining together to fight.

(Britain, France, and the USA)

Diktat

A forced treaty; Germany called the Treaty of Versailles a Diktat.

Anschluss

Union of Austria and Germany

Mandates

A nation governed by another nation on behalf of the League of Nations

Demilitarize

Removal of military (weapons & troops) from an area

Conscription

compulsory military service

Provenance

Information about a source - when/where it was made to decide how accurate or useful a source is.

Proporganda

Using the media to persuade people to think a certain way.

Isolationism

A policy where a country does not get involved in foregin affairs.

Ratify

To approve

Abdicate

To give up a position, right, or power

Weimar Republic

The democratic government set up in Germany in 1919

Weimar Constitution

The rules setting out how Germany would be governed during the Weimar era

democratic

A system of government where people vote for their leader.

Hyperinflation

When money becomes worthless

Nazi

National Socialists - right wing political party led by Adolf Hitler

USSR

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics - the name given to communist Russia

Naval Supremacy

British policy that its navy should be the biggest and the strongest

Economist

Someone who studies money, trade and industry

What did Clemenceau want & why?

• much of the fighting that took place during the war was in France

• The Germans destroyed railways, bridges and farmland.

• Clemenceau and the French people wanted revenge

• Clemenceau wanted Germany to pay reparations

• he wanted to reduce their armed forces so they weren't powerful enough to attack France again

What did Lloyd George want & why?

• Britain suffered many deaths therefore Lloyd George and his country were eager for revenge

• however Lloyd George was concerned if Germany was treated too harshly it could lead to them starting another war.

• he wanted to keep Germany fairly strong so Britain could trade with it.

• he wanted to gain German colonies as the British Empire was an important source of income.

What did Wilson want & why?

• During the war no fighting took place in America and they made lots of money selling weapons, therefore they didn't feel the need for revenge

• Wilson was an idealist and believed in self-determination

• he had any ideas for a better world (The 14 points)

• he suggested a world parliament called league of Nations

Terms of the Treaty of Versailles

• Territory, Pride, Military, Money

• The German Navy army and air force was limited

• Germany had to take full responsibility for the beginning of the war

• Germany had to pay reparations which estimated around 6.6 million

• The Rhineland was demilitarised

• Germany's colonies in Africa were given his mandate to the league of Nations

• Germany was not allowed to join the league of Nations

• Anschluss between Germany and Austria was forbidden

• Germany lost 10% of its land

German's reaction to the Treaty of versailles?

• The kaiser was blamed for the start of the war and was forced to abdicate

• The German's were shocked with the severity of the Treaty, however they didn't want to reject it and risk starting another war.

• A new democratic government was introduced, the Weimar Republic.

• The Germans hated the war guilt clause, article 231

How were Germany's allies delt with?

The big three made treaties for the allies of Germany, limiting their land, restricting their military, and making them pay reparations.

• The treaty of st. Germain, for Austria

• The treaty of Neuilly, for Bulgaria

• The treaty of Trianon, for Hungary

• The treaty of Sèveres, for Turkey

• (The people of Turkey hates the harsh terms of the treaty, they threatened to fight, however the British didn't want another war, so they made a new treaty, The treaty of Lausanne)

Why was the League of Nations created?

• To stop war from breaking out

• To encourage disarmament

• To improve working conditions

• To tackle deadly diseases

• All to achieve world peace.

Strengths & weaknesses of the League of Nations?

Strengths

• The league had a few successful commissions

• It had a vast membership, which also meant economic sanctions were daunting punishments for many countries

• The league was written into all peace treaties, so all nations involved recognised the organisation

Weaknessess

• Many countries wouldn’t join, USA, this undermined the league as a "global organisation"

• The league had no army, they couldn't force people to obey.

• The structure was complicated and slowed down action.

• Decisions had to be unanimous, so decision making was slow

What happened in Vilna 1920?

• After WW1 new countries were made, including Poland and Lithuania.

• A polish army took over Vilna, the capital of Lithuania.

• Lithuania asked the league to help

• when the league asked Poland to remove its army, they refused

• France or Britain wouldn't help

• The league did nothing

What happened in upper Silesia 1921-25

• Upper Silesia was on the border between Germany and Poland, however both Germans and polls wanted to claim the area

• In 1921 a plebiscite was organised Germany won 60% of it but Poland complain

• The league decided to split up the area into regions, Germany received rural areas and Poland received industrial zones

• In the end neither country was satisfied, The poles only received a third of land, while the Germans lost a big source of income

What happened to the åland islands 1921?

• Sweden & Finland both claimed the Aland islands

• To avoid war, the league gave the islands to Finland but said they were not allowed to build forts in which to attack Sweden.

• Both Sweden and Finland agreed, meaning the league successful avoided war.

What happened in Corfu 1923?

• An Italian general and his team were murderd

• The dictator of Italy, Benito mussolini was furious and blames the Greek government

• He demanded the murderers of tellini were to be executed and he should be paid compensation.

• on the 31st of August Mussolini invaded corfu

• Greece appealed to the league but agreed that they should pay compensation

He could look after this money and it would be awarded to Italy once the killers were found

• however Musalini was still not satisfied, he complained to the conference of ambassadors and persuaded them to undermine the league

• Greece was forced to apologise and pay compensation directly to Italy

• The league failed

What happened in Bulgaria 1925?

• when Greek soldiers were killed on the Bulgarian border Greece invaded

• Bulgaria appealed to the league for help in the league told the Greeks to withdraw troops and pay compensation

• Greece thought the league was being hypocritical as Mussolini got away with similar actions in corfu.

• however Greece was on willing to risk poor relations with the members of the league so they Obeyed.

What was the Wall Street crash 1929?

• in 1929 the American economy crashed

• America trade with countries across the world and had lots of money, so global economies were affected.

• some people tend to extremist parties such as the Nazis he promised to make Germany strong again

-The league was powerless to do anything to help people

Locarno Treaty

An agreement signed in 1925 which allowed Germany to join the league of Nations

Economic sanctions

The punishment to a country by stopping trade with them

unanimous

showing complete agreement

Plebiscite

When the people of the country, not just politicians, vote on a matter

Clemenceau

French premier during World War I; he was the French representative at the Versailles Peace Conference in 1919

Wilson

28th president of the United States, known for World War I leadership, Treaty of Versailles, sought 14 points post-war plan, League of Nations (but failed to win U.S. ratification), won Nobel Peace Prize

Lloyd George

British prime minister, although he was re-elected for his popular campaign of making Germany pay for the war, he ended up fighting the most for German interests in the Versailles Treaty because he feared communism

Idealism - Wilson

pursuit of noble goals

Article 231 (War Guilt Clause)

Germany takes full responsibility for the war, and has to pay reparations

Reperations Article 232

payments to cover war damages 6.6 BILLION

Land loss

Lost 13% of total land

Population loss

6 million Germans living elsewhere

SAAR

The Saar, an important German coalfield, was to be given to France for 15 years, after which a plebicite would decide ownership.

Military restrictions

• Limits set on the size of the German army

• 100,000 men

Diktat

Forced peace, too severe

November Criminals

Those in the German government that signed the Armistice ending the war. They were known as criminals because the population believed that had been betrayed by them.

Starvation

763,000 people

Treaty of Saint-Germain

Treaty that formally ended the war with Austria-Hungary

Treaty of Serves (Turkey)

Reperations cancelled. Fair?

League of Nations

an international organization formed in 1920 to promote cooperation and peace among nations

Isolationism- America

A national policy of avoiding involvement in world affairs

Mitigation

the action of reducing the severity, seriousness, or painfulness of something- talking through

Economic sactions

Blocking trade with an offending nation

Moral comdemnation

A 'telling off'

Permenant court of international justice

Highest court in the world

Locarno Treaties

A series of treaties that settled Germany's disputed borders with France, Belgium, Czech, and Poland. AWAY FROM THE LEAGUE.

Kellogg-Briand Pact

Agreement signed in 1928 in which nations agreed not to pose the threat of war against one another including AMERICA

Rapallo Treaty

This was a treaty between Germany and the USSR formed in 1922, at a time when both countries were international pariahs. It provided for economic and military cooperation. Germany gave the USSR much-needed technical expertise and equipment, and the USSR let Germany design and train with forbidden weapons such as tanks on its soil. Although the exact terms of the treaty weren't known, its existence made Britain more willing to compromise with Germany for fear of driving Germany into a closer relationship with the USSR.

The Great Depression

the economic crisis beginning with the stock market crash in 1929 and continuing through the 1930s

Unemployment - America

1.5 MILLION unemployed

Effect of depression

More people willing to turn to extremist parties

Manchurian Crisis

Japan wanted some of China's natural resources and space. in 1932 Japan annexed an area in Manchuria after an alleged attack by the Chinese in 1931. League of Nations did nothing

Army problems

The league have NO ARMY can't enforce rules

Why did the League of Nations ignore the Manchuria Crisis

Too far away, war weariness, Japan was powerful, entitled

Abyssinian Crisis

Mussolini wanted an empire, one of the last free countries was Abyssinia, he wanted it. The Corfu crisis made him think that he could do anything

Stressa Front 1935

Agreement between Britain, France and Italy

Hoare-Laval Pact

British French agreement in 1935 to appease mussolini and to prevent Italian-German alliance by accepting Italian annexation of land in Abyssinia. Offered 2 thirds of land!!! Undermining league for self interest

Suez Canal

A ship canal in northeastern Egypt linking the Red Sea with the Mediterranean Sea. Britain and France allowed Mussolini to pass through despite being part of the leaugue

trade sanction against Italy and Abyssinia

Abyssinia would have been able to defend itself but the were banned also Mussolini was banned but most his fuel came from the United States! Sanctions didn't make a difference

Foreign Policy

A nation's overall plan for dealing with other nations

France at the time of interwar uears

Political instability

Chamberlin

English prime minister, appeased Hitler @ Munich, believed treaty was too harsh