international relations 1918-1975

paper 1 section a

Nationalism

Acting in the interest of your own country

Internationalism

International cooperation by subordinating your interest

Triple entent 1900

Britain, Russia and France

Triple Alliance

Germany, Italy and Austria-Hungary

The big 3 after WWI

David Lloyd George (Britain), Woodrow Wilson (America), Georges Clemenceau (France)

Aims of Clemenceau after WWI

Wants Germany to be treated harshly for war damage after invading Alsace-Lorraine.

Wants reparations from Germany

Wants to weaken Germany so that it cannot threaten France

Disagrees with Wilson’s 14 points

Aims of Wilson after WWI

Agrees to punish Germany but not too harshly

Wants Germany to be a democratic state

Aims of Lloyd George after WWI

Does not want all countries to have access to the sea.

Worried about self determination of British colonies

Disagrees with Woodrow Wilson’s 14 points

Wants Germany punished, but also wants Germany to recover.

Treaty of Versailles 1919

Blame - Take full responsibility for starting the war (War Guilt). Most hated part of the treaty for Germans.

Reparations - Germany had to pay reparations to the Allies for war damage. Announced in 1921. Was £6.6 billion.

Army - Army was limited to 100k men.

Conscription was banned.

No armoured vehicles, submarines or aircrafts. Navy could on have 6 battleships.

Rhineland was demilitarised

Land - Germany’s European borders changed. Lost 10% of land and 12.5% of population. Forbade Germany to form a Anschluss with Austria.

Reparation Clause Conscequences (Treaty of Versailles)

German had to pay £6.6Billion to the Allies. This caused outrage and reparations were blamed for the economic problems that devastated Germany later in the 2910s.

Collective Security

League members promised to protect one another if one of them was attacked.

Sanctions

Punishments - for example, stop trading with the country.

Conference of Ambassadors

This is a simplified version of the League that already existed.

The Founding Members of the League of Nations

Britain, Japan, France and Italy

Strengths of the League of Nations

Helped tackled international problems such as human rights commitees, and otehr commissions.

Did work in the 20s (For example, helping refugees.

Court of international justice settled disputes

Weaknesses of the League of Nations

All four of the permanent members can veto any action by the League. (More nationalism than internationalism).

No USA involvement due to Isolationist stance

Britain and France were not equally commited to Wolson’s Intrnationalist .

It took a long time for the League to come to a deicision

An alternative called the Conference of Ambassdors altready existed.

Refugee committee of the League of Nations

Humanitarian work of the League

Was seen as a success.

Experts from member countries came together and cooperated to make people’s lives better.

Helped an estimated 400k people, who had been displaced by war or were prisoners of war, return to their home.

First declaration of the rights of the child

Children must be given the means requisite for their normal development both materially and spiritually.

Special help in times of need

Priority for relief, economic freedom and protection from exploitation.

health committee of the league of nations

funded research into deadly diseases, developing vaccines against leprosy and malaria

Aaland Island dispute 1921

Finland and Sweden both claimed the Aaland islands

the league ruled that the islands belonged to Sweden

internationalism because Sweden respected the league’s purpose

upper Silesian agreement 1921

Germany and Poland disputed over upper Silesia

the league oversaw a peaceful plebiscite and divided the region between Germany and Poland

internationalism because both countries accepted the league’s decision

corfu 1923

deciding a border between Greece and Albania post WWII, Italian general Tellini was killed while inspecting the border so Mussolini blamed the invaded Corfu.

the League condemned Mussolini and ordered Greece to pay Italy compensation

Mussolini appealed to the conference of ambassadors

nationalism because Britain and France could not agree on what to do

nationalism because Mussolini agreed to the conference of ambassador ruling that Greece apologise

Bulgaria 1925

Greek soldiers killed on the border with Bulgaria and greek troops invaded Bulgaria

League demanded that both sides stand down and Greece’s forces withdrew from Bulgaria

internationalism because the league worked together and the great powers agreed

Washington Conference 1921

USA, Japan, Britain and France agree to limit the size of their navies.

This failure was particularly damaging to the League’s reputation in Germany.

Germany had to disarm because it was forced to, but no one else did to the same extent. However, the major powers did work together to reach several agreements. Factor 1 for the rise in dictatorships in Europe and potentially the cause of WWII.

Dawes Plan 1924

To avert an economic crisis in Germany the USA lent it the money it needed to honour its reparations. These loans propped up the German economy and restored prosperity to the country in the mid 1920s.

Locarno Treaties 1925

Germany accepted its western borders as set out in the Treaty of Versailles. This decision was greeted with great enthusiasm, especially in France, and it paved the way for Germany to join the League of Nations. However, nothing was said about Germany’s eastern borders with Poland and Czechoslovakia. These states remained nervous about Germany.

Young Plan 1929

Reduced the total amount of Germany’s reparations.

The Hinge Years (Economic Nationalism)

Protectionism - After the Wall Street crash, countries used tariffs on imports to encourage consumers to buy home grown goods.

Rearmament - Countries started to rearm which created jobs in the army and munitions to combat rising unemployment.

Recall of American Loans - Under the Dawes Plan. American had loaned money to Germany for reparations. These were later recalled because of the Wall Street crash. Unemployment in Germany skyrocketed and enabled the Nazis to come to the public’s attention.

Factor 2 for the rise of dictatorships in Europe and potential cause for WWII.

Germany and Hitler’s policies

Came into power in 1933.

Focused on rearmament.

Wanted to end reparations.

Planned a massive infrastructure programme.

Wanted to defeat communism

******Create a 1000 year third reich, and extended Germany to the east to create Lebensraum- means living space in German.*************

Italy and Moussolini policies

Came into power in 1922. Believed that democracies in Britain and France were in decline.

**********Build a new Roman Empire and take over territory.***************

The USSR and Stalin’s policies

Came into pewer in 1928. Suspicious of Britain and France.

Believed in spreading communism into Europe using Cominteren (Organisation that spreads communism.)

Felt threatened by the emergence of Hilter in Germany

Japanese invasion of Manchuria

1931

Why Japan became a Military Dictatorship?

After the Wall Street crash, USA and China, imposed tariffs so Japan couldn’t sell its products (slik and textiles) - Prices feel by 50%

The Japanese publicblamed the elected government and so supported nationalist politicians. These men were in league with the military commanders who wanted to build up the military and take territories for resources. And Japan became a military dictatorships (run by the military).

Why Japan invaded Manchuria (China)

In 1931, the Japanese army controlled the south Manchurian railway and claimed that Chinese troups attacked the railway, which gave the excuse to invade and set up their own government in Manchuria.

Kellogg-Briand Pact 1928

It was an agreement between 65 nations not to use force to settle disputes.

The League’s response to Japan’s invasion of Manchuria

British Lord Lytton and League officials investigated and made a report by September 1932. (It took them a year.). Decided that Japan was in the wrong and Manchuria should be returned to the Chinese. 24th Feb, 1933, the report was approved by 42 votes to 1. The 1 being Japan.

Japan’s response to the League about their invasion

Feb 1933, Japan announced that they intended to invade China and claimed that China was politically unstable. This shows that Japan didn’t respect the League’s authority. A month later, Japan resigned from the League and invaded Jehol (a province in China). The League issued no economic sanctions because Japan’s main trading partner was the USA. And so it would be useless because USA was not part of the League. No banning arms sales because the League was scared of war.

Failure of disarmament

Second disarmament conference by Herbet Hoover with an incentive where the USA would reduce the debt of any European country that disarmed. It didn’t work because no one could agree on it.

Collective Security

Countries acting together to protect each other and maintain peace.

Why Italy became Fascist

Italy lacked natural resources and so was keen to acquire overseas territories. Fascists believed everything within the state and nothing outside the state and obedience to one leader. Moussolini was desperate for Italy to have an empire to match the ancient Roman empire.

1935 Abyssinian Crisis

Italy invaded Abyssinia (Ethiopia). This violated the Kellogg-Briand Pact.

Evidence of Internationalism and the League working during Abyssinian Crisis

Hoare made a speech to the League stressing Britain’s committment to collective security. Sanctions were imposed to ban arms sales and financial loans to Italy. Banned the export to Italy of rubber, tin and other metals and prohibited imports from Italy.

Stresa Pact

Britain and France signed the Stresa Pact with Italy against German rearmament and they didn’t discuss Abyssinia. This evidence of nationalism winning over internationalism.

League’s response to Abyssinian Crisis and evidence of Nationalism

The League took 8 months to report back on Mousolini’s actions. The British government learned that 30K British coal miners would lose their jobs because of the ban on exports to Italy. The Suez Canal, owned by Britain and France was not closed to Moussolini’s supply ships for fear of starting a war with Italy.

Hoare-Laval Pact

Dec 1935, Britain’s and France’s foreign ministers, Hoare and Laval, wanted to give Italy 2/3 of Abyssinia in return for calling off his invasion. They would tell Mousolini this before the League and Haile Selassie. After this was leaked to the French press, people of Britain and France saw this as treachery and against the League. (This damaged the League’s reputation.)

Why the Hoare-Laval Pact was created

After Hitler invaded the Rhineland in 1936, France needed Italy as an ally and so sacrificed Abyssinia. (Partial internationalism and France and Italy were working together. ). Mousolini invaded the whole of Abyssinia in 1936 (Nationalism).

Consequences of the Abyssinian Crisis

Italy left the League in 1937, collective security had failed. Nationalism was now more prevalent than internationalism. In Nov 1936, Moussolini and Hitler signed the Roman-Berlin Axis.

Why was Hitlter no Challenged (Part 1)

Hilter legally left the League in 1933, claiming that his country was not being treated equally. This undermined the League’s authority.

Why was Hitler not Challenged (Part 2)

The Saar (1935) bordered France and Germany and was controlled by the League. The League forced Hitler to agree to a Plebiscite and around 90% of people in the region voted to join Hilter’s Germany.

Why was Hilter not Challenged (Part 3) Remilitarisation of the Rhineland 1936

(Illegally done)Treaty of Versailles banned German forces in the Rhineland. In Feb 1936, France and the USSR agreed to a mutual assistance treaty to protect each other in the event of an attack by Germany. In March 1936, Hitler claimed that he was being encircled and ordered troops into the Rhineland. Britain and France did nothing. The League condemned Hitler but did nothing.

Chamberlain doesn’t react. Other countries start thinking that war might be inevitable.

Anticomintern Pact 1936

Germany and Japan signed the Anticomintern Pact

In 1937, Italy joins the Anticomintern Pact. This was to stop communism.

Rearmament 1933 to 1935

This was against the Treaty of Versailles. Hitler stockpiled weapons and drafted thousands of unemployed workers and walked out of the League of Nations disarmament conference in 1933.

France is worried as France and Germany share a border. Britain is potentially worried but not as much as France, and starts thinking that the Treaty of Versailles was too harsh.

Spanish Civil War 1936

Republicans v Nationalists - Nationalists leader, Franco, was supported by Germany and Italy. Germany and Italy loaned weapons. Britain and France support the Republicans but they don’t want to get involved.

Spanish Civil War impact on German policies

Since Britain and France did not get involved. Hilter assumed they would have the same reaction to any war. This encouraged Hitler to continue to reverse the Treaty of Versailles.

Spanish Civil War impact on British policies

The terrible impact of modern weapons such as bombs convinced British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, that war must be avoided at all costs. Neville Chamberlain is more worried about Stalin and Communism rather than Hitler.

Anschluss 1938

Population of Austria is mostly German. Austrian Chancellor Kurt Schushnigg asked Britain and France to put pressure on Hitler and they did nothing. It gave Hitler access to Austria’s reserves of gold and iron ore. Germany is getting stronger and Britain and France are starting to worry.

Sudetenland 1938

Population of Sudetenland is mostly German. Britain and France agree to give Germany the Sudetenland at the Munich conference but did not consult Czechoslovakia or the USSR. Britain and France are trying to prevent war and start a policy of appeasement in the 1930s. This gives Hitler the power and position to expand Germany east to Poland and the USSR.

Appeasement 1937 to 1938

Chamberlain wanted a rearmament programme to prepare Britain for the possibility of war. By 1937 Chamberlain was in contact with French leader Edouard Daladier, and they both adopted a policy of appeasement toward Germany.

Why Hitler a union wih Austria

People who lived in Austria were mainly German. Austria had a strong Nazi party, and Hitler ordered them to campaign an Anschluss to have access to Austria’s reserves of gold and iron ore. In 1938, Hilter threatened to move troops into Austria to restore order.

The Sudetenland the Munich Agreement 1938

Czech leader Edvard Beněs was appalled by the Anschluss. Hitler got the Nazis in the Sudetenland to join with Germany. Beněs was prepared as Czechoslovakia had a modern army and Britain and France’s support.

15 September (agreement at Munich 1938)

Chamberlain flew to meet Hitler. Hilter said that he only wanted part of the Sudetenland and would only join them with Germany if a Plebiscite showed Sudeten Germans wanted to be part of Germany. Chamberlain thought that giving Hitler what he wanted would calm things.

19 September (Agreement at Munich 1938)

France and Britain put to Czechoslovakia their plan to give Hitler the part of Sudetenland that he wanted.

22 September (Agreement at Munich 1938)

Hitler increases his demands. He now wants all of the Sudetenland. Chamberlain said that he was being unreasonable.

29 September (Munich Agreement 1938)

Mussolini agreed to join Hitler, Chamberlain and Daladier at the four point summit in Munich (Chamberlain did not obtain his cabinet’s approval before going - decided to go on his own)

the other leaders agreed to give Hitler the Sudetenland but the Czechs no the UUSR (Stalin) was consulted about this

this became the Munich Agreement

the next morning Hitler and Chamberlain published a joint declaration and Chamberlain said it would ‘bring peace to our time’

terms of the Nazi Soviet pact 1939

announced on the 24th of August to the public

Germany and the USSR agreed not to attack each other

privately Hitler and Stalin agreed to divide Poland between them and Hitler allowed Stalin to take the Baltic states (LIthuania, Estonia and Latvia)

why the Nazi Soviet pact was made

neither Hitler nor Stalin had real faith in the agreement

Stalin was playing for time and to get his forces ready for when Hitler turned against him since he thought that Britain and France would not stand up to Hitler

Hitler won the guarantee he needed to invade Poland

Start of WWII

in september 1939, Britain declared war on Germany after it invaded Poland

the policy of appeasement was over

Pearl Harbour

in June 1941, Germany broke the terms of the Nazi-Soviet pact by invading the USSR

in December 1941, Japan bombed the US naval base, pearl harbour making WWII a world wide conflict

beliefs of the USA (capitalism)

business and property is privately owned

it was a democracy based on a two party system

there were extremes of wealth and poverty

Americans believed that countries should be run the American way

beliefs of the USSR (communism)

all industry is owned and run by the state

one party dictatorship (elections held but all candidates communist)

industry grew in 1920s and 1930s but the standard of living was lower than the USA

extreme poverty was rare and unemployment was rare

the big three in Yalta 1945

FDR, Churchill and Stalin

they met February 1945 at the Yalta Conference

areas of agreement in Yalta 1945

countries liberated from German occupation would be allowed to choose their government in free elections

Germany would be divided into four zones - USA, Soviet, British and French

to help ensure that USSR would not be invaded again, Eastern Europe would become a Soviet ‘sphere of influence’ (line of countries friendly to communism)

the other countries were not really sure what ‘sphere of influence’ meant

areas of disagreement at Yalta 1945

Stalin wanted the border of the USSR to move westward into Poland

Stalin argued that in turn Poland could move its border westwards into German territory

both Churchill and FDR disapproved of this plan

During WWII, the USSR suffered the most casualties.

the big three in Potsdam July 1945

Truman, Clement Attlee and Stalin

Truman was more anti-communist than FDR

Clement Attlee was a Labour PM

Potsdam lead to more disagreements than agreements

disagreements at Potsdam July 1945

USA dropped the atomic bomb on Japan without telling Stalin (he is concerned as USSR and USA are allies in the war)

Truman wanted to rebuild Germany as a trading partner for the USA

USSR established a communist government in Poland

Stalin demanded that Germany be economically crippled

Stalin demanded compensation from Germany

Speech that marked the start the Cold war

Fulton, Missouri speech 1945 - Churchill claimed an iron curtain had descended which marked the divide between Eastern Europe and the West

Poland becomes communist 1947

after the war, the communists joined a coalition government

then became outright leaders in 1947 when they forced the non-communist leader into exile

Bulgaria becomes communist 1945

a left-wing coalition won elections in 1945

the communist members of the coalition then executed the leaders of the other parties

Czechoslovakia becomes communist

a left wing coalition won elections in 1945

in 1946 communists became the largest single party but still in a coalition

in 1948, when their position was threatened, they banned all other parties and made Czechoslovakia a communist one party state

cominform 1947

communist information Bureau, the organisation headed by the USSR to co-ordinate information about the Eastern Bloc

satellite states / the Eastern Bloc

name for countries in Eastern Europe who were within the soviet ‘sphere of influence’

Bulgaria, Romania, Albania, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, East Germany

iron curtain

term first used by Churchill to describe the divide between East and Western Europe

Truman doctrine March 1947

Truman decided that the USA would provide money, equipment and advice to any country that he considered to be threatened by communism. Beginning of a policy known as containment (tried to stop the spread of communism.). This is how the USA responded to Stalin invading Eastern Europe with the Red Army.

Marshall Aid 1948

Truman believed communism prevailed in poverty and hardship. He sent military general George Marshall to assess the situation in Europe. Marshall concluded that $17billion was needed to rebuild Europe. This plan was approved in April 1948. Although the plan was generous the USA wanted a good economy in Europe in order to sell US goods and prevent another depression.

How did the USSR respond to Marshall Aid

Stalin forbade the eastern block countries from accepting Marshall Aid.

Dollar imperialism - Stalin argued that through the Marshall Aid, the USA is extending its influence into Europe.

The Allies in West Germany 1946

In 1946, the Allies (USA, Britain and France) combined their zones to make West Germany. Berlin was in Soviet Zone and was divided into 4 zones.

The Berlin Blockade 1948 to 1949

Stalin felt upset that the Allies had merged their zones into West Germany. He wanted the Allies to leave Berlin. In June 1948, Stalin blocked the supply lines, stopping the Western powers reaching their zones of Berlin.

Truman’s response to the Berlin Blockade

Doesn’t give up Berlin to the Soviets because he doesn’t want communism to win. Truman ordered that aircraft should fly supplies into Berlin. (This was called the Berlin Airlift.). Stalin never stopped the planes and lifted the Berlin blockade in 1949.

NATO

North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. Founded in 1949 by USA and the Western Powers to work together. An attack on any of them was considered an attack on all of them.

Warsaw Pact (The situation by 1949)

A Pact between the USSR and the satellite states to defend each other if any one of them was attacked. This was a respond to NATO.

Proxy wars

The USA and USSR supporting their allies in local conflicts without directly fighting each other. For example, Korea and Vietnam.

The situation by 1949

China became communist and the USSR developed an atomic bomb of its own.

The Rise of Khrushchev

In 1953, Stalin died and Cold War tensions ease a little. Khrushchev was appointed the new leader. Peaceful coexistence - Khrushchev’s desire to maintain a more stable foreign policy with the West after Stlain died.

Korean War 1950 to 1953

A civil war between North and South Korea. South Korea was supported with weapons and soliders from America. The North was supported with weapons and soldiers from the USSR and China. This is a proxy war.

Why East Germans moved or defected to West Germany in the 1950s

Low standards of living in East Germany.

They could still travel to West Berlin as a means of defecting.

Lack of freedom in East Germany.

Fear of the Stasi (Secret Police)

The brain drain - skilled or intellectual works moving from East Germany to West Germany. Khrushchev saw this as a problem because he was losing valuable human resources in East Germany.

The Berlin Wall 1961

In 1961, there was a meeting Vienna between Kennedy and Khrushchev. Khrushvhev demanded that the Allies leave West Berlin. Kennedy responds by sending 150k reservist US troops into West Berlin. Khrushchev thought that the Allies were using West Berlin as a base for spies and agents in East Germany. He responded by building the Berlin Wall.

GDR.

German Democratic Republic (East Germany)

FDG

Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany)

MAD

Mutually Assured Destruction. When two opposing countries each have nuclear weapons and there is an understanding tthat they could annihilate each other.

Cuban Revolution 1959

Cuba was considered the USA’s backyard

it was ruled by Fulgencio Batista, who was corrupt and unpopular in Cuba.

The USA supported him becuase he was fiercely anticommunist. In 1959, Batista was overthrown by Fidel Castro (communist).

Castro killed/imprisoned many of Batista’s followers and Americans were expelled. He nationalised all industries in Cuba.