History 1900s

What was the situation in Europe in 1914?  Using this as a base, explain how the “Shot in Sarajevo” sparked the First World War.

Kaiser William II was very keen to build up the German army. In the years leading up to 1914 had spent a lot of money on their army and navy. The German army was the biggest one in Europe since they had a lot of land to protect. The Kaiser also wanted a navy as big as his cousin who was the king of England. The Germans had also created the Scifiellen plan to conquer France and Russia in just over 6 weeks. The military build up caused tension across Europe. 

In the decades leading up to WW1 many European countries had been forming alliances with one another to protect themselves. In the case of war, they promised to protect each other. The plan was to create a balance of power where the two sides would be equally matched to prevent war. But in reality, the alliances contributed to the escalation of WW1. For example, when Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, Russia started mobilising its forces because of its alliance with Serbia.

Nationalism can be defined as a deep sense of patriotism. Nationalists hold their country in high regard and place their countries interests first over other nations. British nationalism led the British empire to rapidly expand their territory by colonising nations across Africa and Asia. German nationalism was as a result of the unification of Germany in 1871. Germany was obsessed with imperial expansion and trying to copy the British empire. German nationalists were resentful of the British and their empire. Nationalism was also experienced in countries like Serbia and Bosnia, where ethnic minorities wanted more autonomy and freedom.

Imperialism is when a country expands its power and influence to become a bigger empire. Some European countries, like Britain and France, had created big worldwide empires and become very rich. Much of this land was in Africa and there was very little land left to take from there. Other European countries, such as Germany and Russia also wanted to create their own empires. This caused competition and conflict between European nations. Germany in particular looked towards France. They had already taken Alsace-Lorraine from them after the Franco-Prussian war.

The role of awful governments mismanaging international relationships and failing to prevent the escalation of tension was significant. The rigid alliance system combined with aggressive foreign policies and failure to resolve conflicts diplomatically all played a part in the outbreak of WW1.

These factors all all connected. For example, imperialism fueled nationalism and the perceived need for military strength. Alliances, intended to prevent, instead made it more likely to cause a domino effect when different nations joined the conflict. The underlying tensions and alliances between European nations created a volatile situation where a single event, in this case the assaination of  Archduke Franz Ferdinand, could escalate into a full blown world war.

What were the conditions in Russia at the time of the October 1917 revolution? How did Russia’s participation in WWI encourage the Bolsheviks to seize power?

Russia had a lot of problems in the beginning of the 20th century. Russia performed poorly in WW1. In the first month of the first world war, Russia fought better than expected. But in 1915, the Tsar took command over the Russian army, this was a risky decision since all potential future losses would be blamed on Tsar Nicholas II. The Tsar was a poor commander and the army gradually lost faith in him after a string of defeats. Many soldiers were forced against their will to fight in the war, and they were ill equipped and poorly trained. Because of the above factors, many men decided to desert the army. Without the support from the armed forces, the Tsars position became increasingly unstable.

In 1905, Russia lost a war against Japan which deeply humiliated the nation. There were many demonstration in Russian cities and the Tsar almost lost control of his position. Because of this, Tsar Nicholas II offered to call a parlament (duma) with free elections. When the Duma met, they started criticising the Tsar and his way of ruling the nation. The tsar didn’t take kindly to this and dismissed the Duma. Instead, the Tsar called new elections that were controlled by him.

Tsar Nicholas II was a poor leader. In the beginning of the Russian revolution Russia was a total monarchy, meaning the Tsar had full power. The Tsar was a weak and stubborn man. He had the secret police execute his enemies for him. Lack of social and economic change were caused by the Tsar refusing to change the ways things were, even if there were ways to improve societal struggles. His government was also very undemocratic, the Tsar wasn’t elected but instead inherited the role.

Many people, mainly workers, communists and peasants, opposed the Tsar. Many people started to demand better quality of life and more rights. People were rioting about the food shortage, poor performance in the war and poor working conditions. The Tsar demanded the army shoot at the demonstrators to stop them, but the army refused. Tsar Nicholas II had lost the respect of the army long ago, and the army joined the demonstrators instead of following his orders. This eventually led to the Tsar admitting defeat and resigning in march of 1917.

After Tsar Nicholas II resigned, a provisional government Tsars place. Vladimir Lenin was opposed to the new government and believed it was weak. This led to an uprising against the provisional government in October 1917. Lenin led a communist party by the name of Bolsheviks. Lenin’s aim was to take control of the country and turn it in to a communist nation.

Explain the effects of the peace treaties on the Ottoman Empire; how and WHY did the peace treaty redraw the map of the Middle East? And discuss short and long term consequences with references to The Treaty of Sévres, The Treaty of Lausanne, The Sykes-Picot agreement and the Balfour declaration. 

The peace treaties had great affect on the ottoman empire, eventually leading to its dissolution and the creation of new political boundaries in the middle east. The reason for redrawing the map of the middle east was because European powers, mainly Britain and France, wanted to have influence over the oil resources and to have control over the trade routes.

The Sykes-picot agreement took place on May 16th, 1916. The agreement was a secret one between Russia, Britain and France. The agreement was about what to do with the won territory in the middle east after WW1. The agreement was secret because the above mentioned nations had promised the territory in the middle east to the Arab nations, they didn’t want anyone to know that they were taking the land for themselves before it was done. The result of this included betrayal of Arab inspirations, arbitrary borders, mandate system and colonial exploitation. More long-term consequences are fragile states, civil wars and regional rivalries that can still be seen to this day.

The Balfour declaration took place on November 17th, 1917. The declaration was a confirmation from the British government in support of the zionist movement. Zionism is a group of people that are in favour of a jewish state. This led to the British mandate of Palestine (1920-1948), the British struggled to balance jewish and Arab interests. The consequences of this declaration were tensions with the Arab population since their land was being take, Palestinian loss of land and escalating conflicts (the Arab revolt etc.) Many of the consequences of the Balfour declaration can still be seen today.

The treaty of Sevres was a peace agreement between the Allied powers and the ottoman empire. It aimed to dismantle the Ottoman Empire, and harsh conditions were put on them. These terms including the recognition of Armenia, the establishment of several Kurdish and Arab states as well as significant territorial losses to Greece, France and Britain. The treaty was never fully implemented due to the Turkish war of independence. Consequences include the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, military restrictions and rising nationalism in some of the new nations. Some longer term consequences are ethnic and religious tensions as well as growing Turkish nationalism.

The treaty of Lausanne was signed on July 24th, 1923, it was a peace agreement that ended the Turkish war of independence and recognised The Republic of Turkey as an independent state. It replaced The Treaty of Sevres and it set the Turkish border recognising the territorial integrity of the Turkish state. Unlike the Treaty of Sevres, this treaty was widely accepted by Turkey and asked the end of the Ottoman Empire. Consequences include recognition of Turkey as an independent state, end of the Turkish war of independence and a large population exchange between Turkey and Greece because of religious reasons. Whilst this treaty led to regional stability in the short term, after some time it led to regional tensions with former Ottoman territories. The treaty settled the territorial disputes in Turkey, it failed to address the many other colonial mandates in the middle east.

Discuss gender expectations and roles during World war 1. How did World war 1 change these roles and how did the war change women’s social and political status in UK?

World war one changed the expectations of women drastically. Before the war, women’s role was to stay at home and focus on caretaking. The war necessitated a drastic change to these gender roles.

During the early 20th century, women started entering the workforce in masses, filling positions in factories, agriculture and other positions that were left vacant by men that had gone off to fight in the war. Women also joined the women’s land army and worked as nurses, ambulance drivers and other support roles near the front lines.

Women’s widespread participation and sacrifice during WW1 gave significant momentum to the women’s suffrage movement. This eventually led to the passing of Representation of the people act in 1918, granting women over the age of 30 to vote. This act also allowed men that didn’t own any property to vote, but they only had to be 21 years old. It took another 10 years for women to be able to vote at the age of 21.

Young single women also gained more social independence during WW1. Single women were now allowed to visit public places without being accompanied by men. Many women also experienced financial independence for the first time since they were now able to work, but the financial independence was often short lived. Women's fashion became more practical, with looser clothing and tied up hair becoming socially acceptable.

Despite these advances, the end of the war came with challenges. For starters, many women lost their wartime jobs when the men returned from war. This led to women loosing financial independence and more emphasis being put on motherhood. The restoration of pre-war practices act ensured that men returning from war would get their old jobs back, this displaced many women. Within a few years of the end of the war, 25% of all working women were back in domestic fields. WW1 did not completely change women’s lives, but it challenged gender norms and paved the way for future achievements for women’s rights in the UK.

1. Explain how the Versailles treaty affected Germany in the inter-war period.  How did this, the great depression and other relevant events/issues help the rise of the Nazis in 1933? 

The treaty of Versailles ruined Germany, economically, politically and finically. These conditions made it easier for the nazis to rise to power.

Germany was forced to pay £6.6 billion, leading to hyperinflation (1923) and economic collapse after the great depression. Key regions like Allsance-lorrain and the Saarland were taken, this reduced germanys industrial capacity.

Germany’s army was capped at 100,000 troops. Naval forces were also minimised, this humiliated the previously powerful army. Germany did not want to take responsibly for the damage her army caused during the first world war. They were forced to accept it and many Germans were outraged, viewing the terms of the Versailles treaty as unjust. These conditions weakened the weimar republic, fostering distrust in democracy and creating a fertile ground for extremist beliefs.

The “stab in the back” was a myth that claimed that Germany lost the war because of its “enemies”. The targets of this myth was mainly jews, socialists and liberals. The higher ups in the military spread this lie to deflect blame from their own faults. Hitler and the NSDAP used the myth to vilify the weimar republic as corrupt.

Post WW1 nationalism merged with racial ideology. The nazi vision of a “greater germany” sought o unite all ethnic germans, echoing pre WW1 Alldeutsche ambitions. Nazis also promoted aryan supremacy, framing slavs and jews as “subhumans” that threatened German purity. Nationalists viewed the treaty as a humiliation to be overturned, driving demands for rearmament and territorial expansion

2. How did World War I and the inter-war period affect Japanese militarism/imperialism? Why did Japan attack Pearl Harbor December 7^th, 1941?

The early 20th century marked a transformative period for Japan, as it shifted from a growing regional power to an aggressive imperialist nation. This was shaped from expansionist ambitions and economic struggles. These factors also led Japan to attack pearl harbour on December 7th 1941, drawing the US in to WW2.

World war one allowed Japan to expand its influence by seizing German territories and asserting control over China through the Twenty one demands (1915). Most of these demands were withdrawn because of international pressure, but it marked Japans aggressive position in Asia. However, the great depression in 1929 led to economic instability, leading to increased support for military expansion. The great depression deeply affected Japan, leading to mass unemployment, declining exports and increased social unrest. Any in Japan saw territorial expansion as a solution, believing that acquiring new resources and markets in East Asia would stabilise the economy.

The Civilian government, that had proposed a more diplomatic approach lost influence to the army, especially after the Manchurian incident. The Manchurian incident (1931) was when the Japanese Kwangtung Army staged a false attack to justify the occupation of Manchuria, and the second Sino-Japanese war (1937) marked an aggressive shift for Japan, alienating themselves from western powers (due to condemnation from the league of nations) which increased their need for support.

By the 1930s, Japan had become a militarised state, the army and navy had gained significant political power. The invasion of china in 1937 also marked significant commitment to expansionism. The Sino-Japanese war had drained Japan of resources which increased their need for raw materials, especially oil, rubber and steel.

Japans occupation of China led to U.S sanctions in, including an oil embargo in 1941, that threatened its war efforts. Due to other withdrawals from countries like Britain and the Netherlands, Japan was faced with a dire choice: Withdraw from China or secure new resources through force. To secure resources in southeast Asia without U.S interference, Japan launched a strike on pearl harbour on December 7th 1941 to cripple the pacific fleet.

This would give Japan free rein to secure resource-rich territories in Southeast Asia without immediate American retaliation. Japan believed the U.S was not interested in a long war, this was why Japan though the U.S would want to negotiate peace rather than entering the war.  However, this miscalculation dragged the U.S in to the WW2, leading to a full scale war. One of the major flaws of japans attack on pearl harbour was that they failed to destroy U.S aircraft carriers.

1. Explain why the peace following World War II was problematic. How did it create issues for the Allies? How did the situation worsen in the late 1940s and the beginning of the 1950s with focus on Germany and Korea?

The peace following WW2 was problematic in many ways.

It created issues for the allies because the only reason they were allied was because they had a common enemy, and the alliance fell apart once the enemy was eliminated. The US and the USSR also had different views on many things. Mainly what they believed in (ideology), aims, resentment about history and events.

The cold war started soon after WW2 ended. Although tensions were high, war never broke out. The war was between 2 superpowers, the U.S and the USSR, with nuclear capacity. In a way, the nuclear capacity stopped the two nations from going to war, since they knew that if one of them attacked the other one would retaliate. Both the U.S and the USSR knew that nobody wins in a nuclear war.

After WW2, the allied powers couldn’t agree on what to do with Germany. This was mainly because what the regions wanted to with Germany depended on what Germany had done to the respective regions. 3 main conferences were held for the allied powers to try to come to an agreement on what to do with Germany. Germany was divided into four occupation zones (British, French, American and Soviet)

The Soviet union dismantled industrial infrastructure in its zone (east germany) and shipped the dismantled parts back to the soviet union. This was done as a form of payment, called “reparations” for the damage Germany had caused during the war. The USSR also took valuable resources, like machines and entire factories, which weakened the East German economy and made it harder for the region to recover. In contrast, the western allies in west Germany focused on rebuilding the nation through initiatives like the Marshall plan. They stopped taking reparations and instead focused on rebuilding west Germany. This strengthened west Germany’s economy and helped it grow much faster than the east.

On June 24 1948, Soviet forces blocked off rail, road and water access to western controlled areas of Berlin (Berlin was located far in to the Soviet controlled area of Germany, but the allied powers controlled western parts of the city. The Soviet Union blocking off access to gods was called the Berlin blockade. The Berlin blockade led to the allied powers organising the Berlin airlift, where the UK and the US responded by airlifting food and fuel to Berlin from western airbases. The crisis ended on May 12 1949 when Soviet forces lifted the blockade on land access to western Berlin.

After the end of WW2 (1945) Korea, which had been a Japanese colony for 35 years, was divided at the 38th parallel by the soviet union and the US with plans for an independent state. The Soviet Union backed North Korea and the US backed south Korea. By 1948, the respective states had formed opposing governments. North Korea, under the rule of Kim II-sung, sought to unify the peninsula by force, with Stalin’s approval and Chinese support. Soviet aid equipped North Korea with tanks and aircraft, while the south’s forces were poorly equipped for conventional war. Guerrilla insurgencies in the south (1948-1950) further destabilised the region. In June 1950, the North Korean army that was trained and equipped by the Soviet Union, launched an attack on the south. As a response to the attack, the UN sent troops to help defend South Korea. The fighting went back and forth; first North Korea pushed deep in to the south, the then the UN and south korean forces pushed the north koreans back almost to the Chinese border.

At this point, China got involved because it didn’t want a US-led army so close to its border. Chinese troops entered the war and helped North Korea push the UN forces back down to around the original dividing line, the 38th parallel.

After that, neither side could win, and the fighting became stuck in a stalemate, with both sides holding roughly the same territory as before the war started. This situation lasted until a ceasefire was agreed in 1953, and Korea remained divided into North and South, just as it had been before the war.