Post on 27-Dec-2015
Origins of World Origins of World War Two 1919-War Two 1919-
19411941
What attempts were made to What attempts were made to establish a permanent peace after establish a permanent peace after
World War One?World War One?
The 14 Points Regarded as very ideological – it had
no ‘teeth’ Disarmament was not generally
followed up it took the League until 1932 to meet to discuss general disarmament
France wanted security before disarmament
Failure to agree gave Hitler an excuse to withdraw Germany from the League
The 14 Points contd.
The delegates at the Paris Peace Talks considered President Wilson’s 14 Point Plan for Peace
These points included setting up the League of Nations and addressing some of the causes of WWl such as secret diplomacy, arms and freedom of the seas
The Treaty of VersaillesThe Treaty of VersaillesThe Treaty of Versailles had over 400
articles Article 42-demilitarisation of the Rhineland Article 45-cession of the Saar coalfields to
France Article 49-Governance of the Saarland to be
given to the League of Nations and a plebiscite to be held after 15 years
Article 80-Anschluss with Austria forbidden Article 82-over 3 million Germans to be left
inside Czechoslovakia’s borders Article 102-Danzig to be a Free City under the
League and a Polish corridor to separate East and West Prussia
The Treaty of VersaillesThe Treaty of Versailles Article 119- All Germany’s overseas
lands confiscated Articles 170-198-Germany to be
disarmed – no submarines, no military instructions, no air force, no importation of war materials, army limited to 100,000
Article 231-Germany to accept responsibility for causing WWl and War Guilt
Article 232- Germany to pay reparations of ₤6.6 billion
Article 428-Allied army of occupation to be stationed in the Rhineland for 15 years
The Treaty of Versailles The Allies felt more secure Germany was enraged and sought
revenge Hitler often cited the unfairness of the
Treaty in his speeches German President Streseman often
spoke out against the Treaty in the 1920s
Germans particularly resented the ‘war guilt’ clause
The Treaty up to 1930 Only Germany and its allies were disarmed
by the Treaty Germany fell behind in its reparation
payments in 1923 France occupied the Ruhr until Germany
began to repay the reparations. German workers went on strike as a protest and the German economy collapsed under hyper-inflation
The US loaned money to Germany to help with repayments
Treaty of St Germaine – Austria September 1919
No Anschluss with Germany Sudetenland went to Czechoslovakia Hungary to be independent Austrian Empire to be reduced Bosnia-Herzegovina given to
Yugoslavia Army limited to 30,000 To pay reparations
Treaty of Neuilly -Bulgaria November 1919 Lost land to Yugoslavia Lost Western Thrace to Greece
which meant that Bulgaria lost the coastline that lead more directly into the Mediterranean
Treaty of Trianon-Hungary June 1920
Hungary lost some border districts to CzechoslovakiaTransylvania was given to Rumania which doubled Rumania’s size
Treaty of Sevres- Turkey August 1920 Gave up most of its empire Retained only a small part of its
European land Egypt became independent
The League of Nations 1920 A League could be used to deal
with problems that may arise out of the treaties
The League had a Covenant which established procedures for dealing with future problems
The League’s Covenant: Article 10 - territory and independence of all
League members was to be respected Article 11 - any threats of war were to be
drawn to the League’s attention Article 12 – any disputes were to be dealt with
by the League who would make recommendations
Article 16 – sanctions could be imposed on member nations who did not comply with the League’s recommendations and the League was to inform countries what sort of armed forces they would have to supply to the League
Germany and the The League of Nations 1920 Germany lost its former colonies to
the care of the League Germany lost 13.5% of its territory Germany lost 7 million people Germany lost its merchant marine
Some British officials such as Harold Nicholson, felt that the final treaty was unjust
Lenin regarded it as unfair
The League up to 1930 Initially the League had some successes:
Aaland Islands dispute between Sweden and Finland, the division of Upper Silesia between Germany and Poland and a border dispute between Bulgaria and Greece.
A major problem was the US refusal to ratify its own membership
Germany was initially refused membership as a punishment
Germany was invited to join the League in 1926 after the Locarno Treaties were signed
Communist Russia was not invited to join
How people and How people and countries reacted to countries reacted to
attempts to restore and attempts to restore and maintain peace up to maintain peace up to
19301930
Era of Reconciliation Generally goodwill prevailed in the 1920s 1925 the Treaty of Locarno – Germany
agreed with Belgium and France accept its borders and never attack each other again
1926 Germany joined the League of Nations 1928 the Kellogg-Briand Pact to never
have war again – signed by 64 countries including Germany and Russia
Treaty of Locarno Aristide Briand Frank Kellogg
Organisation de la Paix France still felt insecure in spite of the
Treaty of Versailles During the 1920s France signed a
series of agreements with countries that surrounded Germany:
1920 Belgium 1921 Poland 1924 Czechoslovakia 1926 Rumania 1927 Yugoslavia
Treaty of Rapallo 1921 Germany and Russia felt left out after the Paris
Peace Talks They signed the Treaty of Rapallo with each
other It was a treaty of friendship and co-operation It allowed Germany to build military equipment on
Russian soil in defiance of the Treaty of Versailles
1922 The Washington Treaties Britain met with Japan and the USA to
discuss naval policy and the tensions in the Far East
The establishment of an inter-nation ratio for the construction of warships and an agreement to consult over disputes in the Pacific region
The Dawes Plan 1924
The Dawes Plan was an attempt following World War One for the Allies to collect war reparations debt from Germany. When after five years the plan proved to be unsuccessful, the Young Plan was adopted in 1929 to replace it
The Maginot Line
In 1927 the French built the Maginot Line which was a series of fortresses along the Franco-German border