International Relations

ToV date signed

• 28^th June 1919

• In the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles Palace

Versailles settlement terms

War guilt

• Germany had to accept the blame for starting the war

• The Germans felt this was unfair

Reparations

• Germany was forced to pay reparations to the Allies for war damage - £6.6 billion

• Germany did not pay this off until 1984

Land

• Germany’s European borders were changed, so it lost land to neighbouring countries

• The treaty forbade Germany from forming a union with its former ally Austria

• Germany lost its overseas empire

• Germany lost 10% of its land and 12.5% of its population

• Former German colonies became mandates controlled by the League of Nations

Armed forces

• The size and power of the German army were a major concern, especially to France

• The treaty reduced German forces to well below their pre-war levels

• The army was limited to 100,000 men, and conscription was banned

• Germany was not allowed armoured vehicles, submarines or aircraft

• The navy could only have 6 battleships

• The border between Germany and France was demilitarised, meaning that no German troops were allowed there

League of Nations

• Previous methods of keeping peace had failed, and so the League of Nations was set up as an international 'police force

• Germany would not be allowed to join the League of Nations until it had proved its peaceful intentions

ToV - Georges Clemenceau

• President of France

• Wanted to reduce Germany's armed forces and demilitarise the Rhineland = more security for France

• He wanted the reparations to be even higher

ToV - Woodrow Wilson

• American President

• Brought the US into the war in 1917

• Didn’t want Germany to be punished too harshly, as otherwise they would retaliate later on

ToV - David Lloyd George

• British Prime Minister

• Pleased that Britain had been given some German colonies as it was expanding the British empire: to enhance trade, resources and military power

• Worried about repercussions, but had to show that he represented British public opinion or risk losing political support: needed to make sure that Germany was punished

ToV - Germany

• Many Germans believed Germany had signed an armistice, but had not lost the war

• They saw the ToV as betrayal

• The War Guilt clause was unfair as it only blamed Germany

Paris Peace Conference - Treat of St. Germain

1919

• Austria was not allowed to unite with Germany

• Their army was limited to 30,000

• The Austro-Hungarian Empire was broken up, leading to lots of new states in central and eastern Europe

• Lots of the states contained large minority groups. For example, the Germans who found themselves living in the Sudetenland area of Czechoslovakia

Paris Peace Conference - Treaty of Neuilly

1919

• Bulgaria lost land to Greece, Romania and Yugoslavia

• The Bulgarian army was limited to 20,000 men

• They had to pay £10 million in reparations

Paris Peace Conference - Treaty of Trianon

1920

• Hungary lost territory to Czechoslovakia, Romania and Yugoslavia

• They were supposed to pay reparations, but they never did because their economy was too weak

Paris Peace Conference - Treaty of Sèvres

1920

• Turkey lost land to Italy and Greece

• Their armed forces were minimal

• Turkey lost lots of its empire, mostly to France and Britain (which gained oil-rich Iraq)

• They used force to reverse some of the terms as they didn't like the treaty.

• These changes were put in a new agreement, the Treaty of Lausanne, in 1923

Aims of the League of Nations

Avoid future war

• To prevent the mass devastation economically and physically to the countries, so that it doesn’t happen again

Improve living and working conditions

• To improve the countries and make everyone happier after the war, it would boost the economy after the expensive war

Cooperation between nations

• To help each other recover and to prevent future conflicts, they could avoid war with debates and treaties, saving the country lots of money

Disarmament

• Preventing war from occurring again would therefore make people feel a lot more secure

• Also reduces the power meaning there is more space to negotiate

Strengths of the LoN

• Had a number of commissions or committees to tackle international problems

• There was a court of international justice to help settle disputes between countries

• The assembly voted once a year on issues such as budget or letting new members in

Weaknesses of the LoN

• Decisions had to be unanimous

• The four could veto everything

LoN successes in the 1920s

Displacement of people because of WW1

• The refugee committee helped 400,000 people return to their homes, no other organisations were involved

Poor working conditions

• The international labour organisation campaigned for workers’ rights in all countries

Lack of rights for children

• The League brought in the Declaration of the Rights of the Child

High mortality rates from leprosy and malaria

• Research was done developing vaccines funded by the health committee

Drug trafficking and slavery

• The League freed 200,000 slaves in Sierra Leone

Collapse of the Austrian and Hungarian economies 1922-23

• The League's financial committee came up with an economic plan to help their economies recover

Aaland Islands 1921

• Finland and Sweden both claimed the islands and threatened to go to war

• Sweden accepted the League's ruling that the islands should belong to Finland

Upper Silesia 1921

• Germany and Poland both claimed Upper Silesia

• The League oversaw a peaceful vote and divided the region between Germany and Poland

• Both countries accepted the decision

Bulgaria 1925

• In October 1925, some Greek soldiers were killed on the border with Bulgaria

• Greek troops invaded Bulgaria, and Bulgaria appealed to the League for help

• The League demanded that both sides stand down and told Greek forces to withdraw from Bulgaria

LoN failures in the 1920s

Vilna 1920-29

• Poland took control of the Lithuanian capital, Vilna, and Lithuania appealed to the League

• The League protested to Poland, but the Poles did not pull out

• France and Britain were not prepared to act because Poland was a potential French ally against Germany

Corfu 1923

• The border between Greece and Albania needed to be decided. Enrico Tellini was killed, and Mussolini wanted Greece to pay compensation to Italy

• Mussolini also attacked and occupied the Greek island, Corfu

• The League condemned Mussolini's actions. They also suggested that Greece pay Italy the compensation

• In the end, Mussolini got his way, and Greece had to pay Italy compensation

• Mussolini then withdrew from Corfu

Washington Conference

1921

• Japan, France, Britain, and the US all agreed to limit their navy's

• This wasn't effective because no ones navy's were limited

• Damages the League of Nations, they failed

Rapallo Treaty

1922

• The USSR and Germany

• Diplomatically ties are built

Dawes Plan

1924

• The US decided to give loans to Germany to ensure their economy survived having to pay the reparations

Locarno Treaties

1925

• Germany agreed to new western borders

• France was very happy

• They were allowed to enter the League of Nations, but chose not to

Kellogg-Briand Pact

1928

• An agreement between 65 nations that said that they would report violence to solve disputes

Young Plan

1929

• German reparations were reduced by 75%

• Germany was given 59 years to repay them

• The plan was made to strengthen the German economy and make the payments more realistic

• However, British people thought this was unfair

Wall Street Crash

1929

• Collapse of the US stock market causing an economic depression

• The USA demanded repayment of loans from Germany, Czechoslovakia and Poland

• The volume of international trade fell by 70% as countries such as the USA, Britain and France introduced import tariffs in the 1930s

• By taxing foreign imports, countries sought to prevent cheaper foreign goods undercutting their own domestic industries

Consequences of the Great Depression - Rise of extremism in Germany

• Led to the rise of extremists like the Nazis, who gained popularity by opposing the Versailles Treaty

• Initially a fringe party, they became the second-largest party in Germany by September 1930

Consequences of the Great Depression - Japan and Militarism

• Japan's economy suffered from the collapse of the silk trade

• The Depression encouraged militarism, leading to the invasion of Manchuria in 1931 to secure resources and trade routes

Consequences of the Great Depression - US bank loans called in

• US banks ran out of money and demanded repayment of loans from Central European countries, including Poland and Czechoslovakia, worsening their economic situations

Consequences of Great Depression - Collapse of the US economy

• Between 1929 and 1932, the US national income halved

• Industrial production and exports (e.g. cars and wheat) plummeted, severely impacting farmers and factories

Consequences of the Great Depression - Impact on Britain

• Britain devalued the pound and left the gold standard

• The Depression split the Labour Party and led to a coalition government

• Defence spending was slashed, and foreign policy became more cautious, especially towards Germany

Consequences of the Great Depression - LoN weakened

• Due to economic strain, countries were unwilling to impose sanctions and prioritised maintaining trade relations, weakening the League of Nations' authority

Consequences of the Great Depression - Colonial ambitions and risk of war

• The economic crisis drove countries to seek new markets and raw materials through colonization or annexation, which increased the likelihood of conflict

Consequences of the Great Depression - US isolationism under Roosevelt

• Elected in 1932, President Roosevelt emphasized domestic recovery over international involvement

• His administration adopted a more isolationist foreign policy stance

How did the depression allow dictatorship to emerge in Germany?

• The economy collapsed, meaning that people felt that the government had let them down

• People turned to extremist political parties, the Nazis who were running Germany in 1933 and the depression helped to destabilise Germany meaning that Hitler was able to come to power

• Hitler believed in aggressive political nationalism

Impact on international relations

• Hitler was a nationalist, meaning that he wanted to reclaim the land lost under the Treaty of Versailles, carve out living space for Germans in eastern Europe and also destroy communism in Germany and anywhere else it was found

How did the depression allow dictatorship to emerge in Italy?

• Mussolini used the depression to tighten his grip on the country by taking over its banks and industries

• His vision for Italy was a potential threat to international peace 

Impact on international relations

• Mussolini was a nationalist, meaning that he wanted to build an Italian empire, gain territories in Africa and also believed that the power of Britain and France was in decline, meaning that he started to discuss an alliance with Germany

How did the depression allow dictatorship to be consolidated in the Soviet Union?

• WW1 caused a revolution in Russia, which brought communists to power

• A harsh dictatorship clamped down on the opposition

• The communists turned the Russian Empire into the USSR

Impact on international relations

• Other countries were suspicious of the USSR, including Britain and the USA

• International relationships were strained when Stalin prepared for a future war, meaning people were suspicious

Manchurian Crisis

1931-33

• In 1931, the Japanese army, which controlled the South Manchurian Railway, claimed that it had been sabotaged by the Chinese soldiers at Mukden

• Japan invaded Manchuria, establishing a puppet state called Manchukuo that obeyed the Japanese military

• In 1932, Japanese forces bombed Shanghai, despite the Japanese civilian government's request for the army to withdraw; the army refused

• China appealed to the LoN for help

• USA said Japan’s actions directly contravened the Kellogg-Briand Pact of 1928

LoN response to Manchuria

Inaction on Sanctions:

• The League considered imposing sanctions but did not, fearing it would be ineffective since Japan’s government was weak

Reluctance to Act:

• The League hesitated because Japan was a key member

• Doing nothing sent a message that the League didn’t care about non-Western nations, undermining its global credibility

Investigation:

• A commission led by Lord Lytton (UK) was sent

• It took a full year to report back

• The Lytton Report concluded that Japan acted unlawfully and should return Manchuria to China

Conclusion:

• A Special Assembly of the LoN held a vote on the issue and approved the Report by 42 votes to 1 (Japan)

• Japan left the League - and a week later invaded Jehol

Why did disarmament fail?

Yalta

Potsdam

Truman Doctrine

Marshall Plan

Berlin Blockade and Airlift

Warsaw Pact