The First World War

Origins

 The rise of Germany: unification in 19th century, 1870-71 a war with france,
france looses, Alsace and Lorraine are taken, Bismarck assures good
relations with Russia and Britain
 Wilhelm the 2nd: Germany should have a powerful navy and colonies,
aggressive foreign policy
 The arms race: Britain and Germany compete in the size of their navies
( british: Dreadnought and superdreadnought), france increases army and
russia invests in military railways
 Alliences: 1) Central powers: 1879:allience between Germany and Austria-
Hungary
2)Allied powers: 1892; Russia and France,Britain originally thought
about joining Germany but decided for an
entente with the allies and joined France in 1904
and Russia in 1907
 Sarajevo: 28th of June 1914, Franz Ferdinand is assasinated , AH wants
revenge, pretext to crush Serbia but Serbia allied to Russia and Russia to
France and great Britain and AH to Germany
 The german support the Ah in the war and urge them to start it soon
 The British make it unclear whether they will fight Germany

The War

 Stalemate, trenches, tanks. New weapons, gas, new allies, aeroplanes

 Bulgaria joins war with Central powers and Italy on the side of the allies
 Usa enters the war in april 1917 and Russia aleaves in March 1918
 Germany defeated, armistice signed on the 11 th 11 1918

The Peace treaties

 The Problems to face: Communisn in Russia, German strenght in the war

( amost defeated the allies single handed), new countries in Europe, War
ended faster then anticipated, central and eastern europe in chaos, secret
treaties
 The Big three: Woodrow Wilson, Georges Clemenceau, Lloyd George

 The fourteen points:

1. No secret treatties
2. Free navigation upon seas
3. free trade
4. Arms Reduction
5. Withdrawal of armies from Russia
6. Germans should leave Belgium
7. Invading armies should leave Balkan states
8. a League of Nations should be set up
9. Alsace Lorraine shold be returned to France
10. The Italian Borders hould be adjusted so that Italian people live in Italy
 11. The Future o colonies should be reviewed and the wishes of locals
considered
12. The people of Ah should be given their freedom
13. An independant Poland should be set up and have access to sea
14. Non turkish peopel living in the Turkish empire should be free to set up
their own governmets

 The Europeans disliked the 14 points ( eg: Secret traties, fre navigation,
colonies) and disagreed on points of Treaty
 Clemenceau: hars peace, reparations, rhineland, buffer zone, gain territory
and colonies, make sure Germany never rises again, Strong Poland so
Germany cannot rise
 Lloyd George: moderate treaty, not too weak germany so it can resist
Communism and prevent France from dominating Europe, not too hars not to
provoke need for revenge
 Woodrow Wilson: fair peace, jan 1918: the fourteen point, not a harsh treaty
 The colonies of France and Britain remained colonised so no self-
determination and the German and the Turkish Colonies were turned into
mandates: looked after on behalf of the league of nations

 The 14 points:
1. Succesful: Germany to leave Belgium, return of alsace and lorraine,
Independant Poland, Independance of the peoples of AH
2. Partiall Achieved: League of Nation, Italian borders, balkan states to be
left alone
3. Failed: Ban of secret treaties, free trade, Free navigation, greater
independace of the colonies, non-interference in Russia, independance
for the non-turkish people of Turkey, General disarmament

 The Versailles Treaty:

1. Germany forced to disarm : 100 000 army, no tanks or airforce,
demilitarised Rhineland, 6 warships no submarines
2. Loss of territory: To Poland: posen, west prussia so east prussia
separated from Germany by the Polish Corridor, North Schelswig to
Denmark, alsace and lorraine to France, Some land to Lithuania and
Belgium, Danzig to the league of nations,Saarland controlled by the
league of nations and used by France for 15 years, colonies lost
3. Reparations
4. War Guilt Clause 231

Assesing the VT
1. Wrong to blame one nation of war guilt
2. Wrong to punish people and not leaders
3. Army reduced but generals left so they could rebuild army when needed
4. Weakening German economy would not help Europe
5. German Economy revived
6. Little land lost
7. Germany mocked 14 points and was hars when winning (eg Brest Litovsk0
8. germany was tricked: expected 14 points treatment that didnt talk about
reparations or loss of territory
The other peace treaties:
1. 1919 Saint-Germain : treaty with Austria: loss of territory to Yugoslavia,
Czechoslovakia and Poland, no anschluss, 30 000 army
2. 1919 Neuilly: Bulgaria: land lost to greece, romania and yugoslavia, 20 000
man army
3. 1920 Trianon: Hungary: loss of territory to Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and
Romania, 35 000 army, no acces to sea, after communist putch failed,
General Horthy came to power
4. 1923 Lausanne: Turkey – reviewed from 1920 sevres treaty: no reparations,
took back land from greece that it gave to it under sevres traety

Consequences of the Peace

 Weimar Republic has problems, inflation,reparations, unrespect, seen as

Stab in the back of the German people, the treaty was a dictat and Weimar
the November criminals, clause 231 disliked,loss of land hated
 Poland: wars and a revolution in 1926, conquered Part of ukraine and
belarus, took Vilna of Lithuania
 Czechoslovakia: Ethnic tensions
 Hungary: Problems, tension, want to get back land

League Of nations:

 League covenant: the rules

 Started in January 1920
 Commissions: deals with particular problems: eg disarmament, mandates,
 Commitees: WHO, ILO,
 Conference of Ambassadors: insight into putting peace traties into practice
 League Assembly: discusses
 League Council:decides, veto, Most be unanimousm led by Britain, france,
Italy and Japan
 Problems:
1. European Club: caused war and should lead?
2. Racial Discrimination: Japanese request againt it, put down due to
colonies
3. Lack of members: no loosing powers so no Hungary, Austria or
Germany, No Us due to senate decision, No Russia due to communism
4. Tension between France and Britain causes Problems

 Collective security: all for one and one for all, one attacked tha same as all
attacked
 Means of supporting decisios:
1. World Public Opinion but not in dictatorshps, varies in world, can be
ignored
2. Reducing armaments but cannot be imposed or checked and how to
define minimum level
3. trade Embargos but Usa can fill the gap
 4. Force but will countries take the risk

The achievement od the League:

1. Refugees and homes ( The refugee Organisation)
2. Fridjof Nansen helped War prisoners return home
3. Ilo improved some working conditions
4. Health org reduced cases og illnesses and leprosy
5. 1920: settles the dispute over Aland islands between Finland and Sweden
6. 1920s: Led Danzig and Saarland fairly
7. 1922: Austrian Economy helped
8. 1925: Stopped a conflict between Bulgaria and Greece
9. 1926-Germany becomed member of league
10. 1934- The USSR becomes member

The Failures of the League

1. 1920: unable to settle dispute between Poland and Lithuaninia
2. Did not take part inthe settlement of the dispute over corfu
3. 1931-Manchuria
4. 1933-Italy leaves the League?
5. 1934- Germany leaves the League
6. 1936-Abyssinia

Why did the League Fail?

1. Some countries were not members ( USA, USSR till 1934, Germany 1926-
1934, )
2. Britain and Francce quarelled
3. Depression weakened the League ( less concern for faraway places,
4. The League lacked teeth: Collective security did not work

Gemany, the dawes plan and the youngs plan

The terms of the dawes plan

 Reduce the level of reparations
 Freeze on the payement for a period of 2 years
 The usa borrowed money to Germany
 The french agreed to get their forces out of the Ruhr
 Agreed in April of 1924

The Young plan:

 1929
 Was to reduce the levels of payement
 Depression and the opposition of the extremists caused it to never take
place

Locarno

 1921-1922-The Washington conferences: limit the tensions in the Pacific

ocean and sizes of navies on a to b to J in the ration 5:5:3, showed that the
League s influence is limited
 Genoa 1922: meeting between F and G over the disagreement concerning the
reparations and the disarmamne, failed
 Rapallo 1922: Soviet-German treaty, Friendly terms, co-operation on military
planning, shocking, against the rules of the league so reduces its authority
 1925- Locarno treaties: Germany (streseman), France(Briand) and Britain
(chamberlain) agree that
1. Germany, Belgium and France agreed to to accept their existing
borders as set up by the VT
2. Italy and Great Britain were to quarantee the main agreement and take
action if one of the countries attacked each other
3. The traety did not talk about the eastern borders of Germany as set up
by the VT
4. Germany was to join the League
5. France promised to defend Belgium, Poland and Czechoslovakia
should they be attacked by Germany
 Seen as the beginning of a period of stability and peace but humiliated the
Leagues colective secutiry system
 German view of Locarno: Eastern borders not included in discussions o can
be overrun, beginning of the end of VT, Streseman wants more
 French view of Locarno: limits possibility of intervention in Germany like in
1923,feel insecure since Rhineland will be returned to Germany one day
making it stroger, build Maginot line in 1927
 August 1928: the Kelogg-Briand pact: countries agree that they will not use
warfare to get what they want, irrelevant , useless, broken by Japan and Italy

The Rise of Hitler

 Hitler was born in Austria in 1889, he served in the army and dislike the
treaty of Versailles
 He took and lead the German Workers Party and renamed it to the
National Socialist German Workes party and organised the paramilitary
into the SA (sturmabteilung)
 1923- Problems, the Ruhr invasions, strikes, inflation, value of money
collapsed,
 November 1923; the Beer Hall Putch, Fails and Hitler arrested but gains
publicity
 Mein Kampf: Jews are wicked, Communism is wicked, Tv is unjust,
Weimar are criminals, Lebensraum needed
 1924-Streseman comes to power, dawes plan, new curency, trade,
economic recovery
 October 1929- Depression, higher import taxes to protect local industry
increased so trade falls, USA becomes isolationist, this encourages Hitler,
more support for Hitler and the communists
 1933-Hitler claims that only he can stop the communists, made chancellor,
reichstag fire an excuse to crush opposition and threw elections, won ,
passes enabling act and bans other parties and closes newspapers, leaves
League of nations and rearms

The depression In Britain

  Industry hit very badly
 Pound no longer a key curremcy in internatuional trade and not linked
to price of gold, reduces spending on defence and is cautious towards
Germany since it cant defend its colonies against Japan and fight
Germany at the same time

The depression in France

 Crushes industry and national income
 Rise in support of communists and right wing extremists

Manchuria
 Attacked in Septembre 1931, need for an empire, at the time of the depression
 Lytton Commitee send by the League, Slow to carry out its work
 Japan leaves the League in 1933 for being criticised, the League itself is
criticised

Rise of Mussolini and Fascism in Italy

 VT seen as mutilated peace, did not get all the land that they wanted
 Unstable, Parliaments keep changing ( 5 between 1919 and 1922)
 1922- Formes fascists, alters policies to please, march on Rome to gain
publicity, king asks for help against commnists, Mussolini ascednds to power,
 1925 Mussolini becomes dictator
 1929-agreement with the pope
 1935-1936- Italy attacks Abyssinia
 1936- The Rome Berlin axis, The anti-comintern Pact
 1943-Italy invaded by allies
 1945-Mussolini overthrown
 Key Ideas of Italian Fascism: War is good for a country, a country should be
self-sufficient, Empire in Africa should be set up, Communism is the enemy of
fascism,Democracy is useless

Abyssinian War

 1896- First war against Abyssinia

 1935- The stresa front: the grouping of Italy, France and Britain, anti-German
 1935- Stresa Front weakened by the Anglo-German naval pact, breached the
VT
 1935-Italy attacks Abyssinia, he Hoare-Laval pact planned but not put into
practice, a ban finally imposed on Italy but to late and Italy won

Results of the Crisis

1. The League was discredited
2. Mussolini and Hitler drew closer together ( axis, the anti-cintern pact)
3. Hitler able to get away with agression
Appeasement and The Road to war

Appeasement: the countries refused to use force to stop aggression and often
made deals and gave in to the agressor states

 1936- Hitler sends troops to the Rhineland, risky, Germans cannot afford a
war, France reluctant to intervene, British think the move rightful, Hitler makes
propositions: 25 year non-agression pact, Germany rejoin the league,
demilitarised zones in France and Germany along the borders
 The Anschlus with Austria, March 1938, Schusnigg, local nazis cause trouble,
Hitler threatens invasion and use of force, Schusnigg organises a plebiscite,
Hitler invades Austria before itis carried out
 Czechoslovakia: Sudetendland, 3 million Germans, Konrad Henlein ( sudeten
German Party) claims these are treated unfairly, Impossible demands, Hitler
furious, France reluctant to fullfill Locarno, britain refuses to helt, pushes
Czechoslovakia to make concessions and send Lord Runciman, Hitler is ready
to go to war, The KH organises unrest and leaves Czechoslovakia,
Chamberlain appeals for a deal to be made, Hitler agrees later refuses,
agreement n the Munich Treaty, decision taken on September 29 th of 1938
 October 1938- Sudetenland land taken

Appeasement
1. Chamberlain : believed that Hitler is a reasonable man who wil hold his
promises ank satisfy with Czechoslovakia the last of his territorial
demands
2. The Empire: The dominions were unwilling to help, colonies may be
taken away, Japan and Germany cannot be fought at the same time
3. The Missing powers:
 The USA was isolationist, army was small and poorly equipped
due to cuts in military spending , the Senate passed a Neutrality
pact in 1935
 The USSR was seen as unreliable ( Purges)

4. Playing for time : Camberlain needed time to re-arm and prepare Britain
for a potential war

The nazi-Soviet Pact 1939

 Stalin is perfectly happy to do a deal with either the Allies or Germany, to him
they are all capitalists, wants to avoid them from joinig against USSR
 Tries for a deal with Germany in 1934 but fails, joins League and turns to
Allies, They are slow, Litvinov+Stalin despise apeasement, distrust france and
Britain, suspect they want a war between Germany and the USSR
 The deal with Allies April 1939: took 6 weeks to reply, cannot quarantee right
of passage through Poland and Romania,promise to protect East European
Countries from Germany and help each other when attacked, no senior to sign
a treaty
  The deal with Germany: In moscow, Molotov and Ribbentrop, High level
taslks, proposals, Secret Protocol-gain land of Baltic states,Ukraine, part of
Poland and Belarus

The second World War’

 March 1938- the rest of Czechoslovakia is taken

 Hitler demands Danzig, Allies see Appeasement failed, ready to go to war
over Poland
 Allies not worried by the Nazi –soviet pact, Japan and Italy dislike it and
refuse to suport Hitler, Dominions agree to help GB
 Hitler s advisors say Gb and F will not fight, they have no reason and
nothing to gain

Causes
1. The treaty of Versailles
2. The Failure of the League
3. The Depression ( Isolationism , protectionism, Extremists
supported,Political turmoil in F and GB, Ital + Jap want to diverge
the minds of the people from thei suffering)
4. The Appeasementv
5. The Nazi Soviet Pact

The development of the war

 The Blitkrieg in Poland, the use of overwhelming force, Poland taken

 The USSR invades Poland and the Baltic states, Fights Finland and
wins
 The Phoney war October 1939- April 1940: the Alies try to block the
Scandinavian Iron ore from reaching Hitler, Stop trade completely,
Hitler invades denmark and Norway, Chamberlain and Daladier have to
resign ( April 1940)
 May 1940- Belgium , Netherlands and France are attacked and fall, the
British leave in Dunkirk evacuation, Italy joins the war in june 1940
 The Battle of Britain: The RAF vs the Luftwaffe, the RAF wins
 Italy defeated in Africa and fails to invade Greece, needs help form
Hitler
 June 1941- Hitler invades the USSR, succesful at first, invasion slowed
down
 December 1941- Pearl Harbor attacked, the USA joins the war but
Japan still controls most of the Pacific
 1942-Germans attack Stalingrad, Japan pushed back by USA, Allies
recapture Africa, 1943- Allies push G+J+I back
 1943- Italy Invaded
 1944- Germans retreat across USSR
 D DAY- June 1944
 April 1945- War ends in europe
 August 1945- atomic bomb used, Japan surrenders
The loss of the Colonies

1. The impact of the Depression

2. The Europeans suffered losses in the war- not infaillible
3. The European powers couldnt afford to pay for the colonies
4. There was a rise in nationalism in the colonies and a fall in imperialism in
Europe

Consequences
1. Weak economy
2. Turmoil
3. Decline of European powers

The Cold War

Who to blame?
1. The USSR was to blame
2. The USA was to blame
3. Neither was to blame, the situation was beyond their control

The Origins
1. The USA and the USSR had different believes
2. Bot the USA and the USSR thought they were right and other counrtires
should follow their example
3. They both envisaged a different future for European countries

The Yalta Agrement Feb 1945

 Discussions over post war development, mailnly Poland, its government

 Churchill: no communism
 Roosevelt: ill , wants deemocracy, but insists on maintaining good realtions
between USA and USSR
 Stalin: worried for the USSR security, wants to keep occupied territory and set
up friendly governments
 Lublin Poles
 London Poles: exiled government, Landowners and catholics, dislike
communism and the pact with Hitler, anti communist, dislike Katyn, crushed in
Warsaw uprising in 1944

Decisions taken
1. Declaration on Liberated Europe: each liberated country will have an
emergency government composed of all non-fascist parties and will
hold free elcetions as soon as possible
2. Poland will be given German land in exchange for giving land to USSR
3. Polish government will include some London Poles and free elections
will be held as soon as possible
4. The USSR prisoners of war are to be returned to the USSR
5. Germany will be divided into occupation zones
6. USSR will help to fight Japan in exchange fo gaining some islands
 7. United Nations will be set up

Weaknesses of the agreement

1. Stalin and Rossevelt interpreted democracy and free elections differently
2. The USA expected Stalin to enable western like governments to be set up, this
did not happen
3. Compromise over Poland was not possible, Stalin could only achieve what he
wanted by destroying free speech as Polish people did not want communism

April 1945- Truman becomes the US president

 Truman takes an aggresive approach to the USSR , he is aggressive
towards Molotov and shouts at him to carry out the Yalta agreement,
unfair since USSR suffered more then the USA and Poland served as a
corridor for the invasion of USSR 3 times
Potsdam Conference July - August 1945
 Attlee, Stalin and Truman
Agreements
1. Reparations to be takne form zones of occupation, USSR to receive
equipment form the west
2. Polish and German borders fixed
3. Nazi Party stamped out
4. USSR wanted an occupation zone in Japan-put down
5. USSR wanted to help the running of Ruhr –put down
6. GB + USA wanted a say in the development of the Eastern countries- put
down
Churchill supports hard line approach to the communist and talks of the iron curtain

The soviet takeover of Eastern Europe

 Set up coallition of anti-fascist governments, communists undermine

opposition, nationalisation,rigged elections
 Poland: Government of lublin Poles accepted by allies, rigged election,
london poles flee Poland 1947
 Bulgaria and Romania: abolished monarchy and communists acsend to
power 1946+1947
 Hungary: rigged elections 1947
 Czechoslovakia: 1948, harvest risis, milicias, Benes, Gottwald and
Masaryk
Russian view
1. Russia triumphed, contributed to victory more then other allies, Communism
beaten german capitalism
2. The level of losses and suffering should never repeat
3. USSR should not be threatened byt the anti-soviet leaders of neighbouring
countries
4. American Capitalism should not conquer Europe

1946- the relations deteriorate

1. Council of foreign ministers: every soviet proposal blocked by US
representative
2. Black Sea straits base: forbidden by us, threats to use force
 3. US forced USSR to withdraw form Iran

1947:Problems in Europe: poor harvest, shortages, extreme winter, support for

communism grows

The Truman Doctrine feb 1947

 The USA support was available to any people that decided to fight
communism
 The USA would use its wealth and power to stop or contain the spread
of communism
The Marshall Plan 1947
 Economical rebuilding of Europe to help it resist Communism and buil up
American markets
The Berlin Blockade
The Berlin Airlift
Creation of Western germany
Nato
Cominform
Comecon
Creation of Estern germany
China becomes communist
Warsaw pact
USSR gets atom bomb