Interwar years (1918-1936)

Treaties
1. Versaille Treaty
  1. germany lost territories in Europe: Alsace Lorraine, the Saar, west prussia
    1. collonies taken away
      1. Demilitarized (rhineland) (100,000 troops max.)
        War guilt
        Reparations
        creation of league (1920 -> same day as Versailles Treaty came into operation
  2. Genoa Conference 1922
    1. war debts to USA
      1. reparations to france
        attempts to diminish tensions created by German reluctance to continue to pay reparations
        failed: 1923 Germany did not pay its reparations ; France militarized the Ruhr
    2. Dawes Plan 1924 London
      1. attempt to break deadlock
        Americans chaired by US rep. Dawes
        800m marks to Germany from US
        France removed military presence from Ruhr
        German economy rebuilt; reparation payments continue to France
      2. Locarno Treaty 1925
        Germany, France and Belgium promised to respect borders
        No guarantees for German borders with Poland and Czechoslavakia
        France would help Czech. and Poland if Germany attacked
        Western boundaries protected; eastern boundaries not guaranteed
        Mussolini was anoyed that their border with austria was not guaranteed
        Kellogg- Briand Pact 1928
        Proposal from French:France and USA sign pact denouncing war
        expand to international community = 65 countries signed
        utopian = no sanctions against breaches included; Japan attacked China in 1931
        League of Nations weakened by individual initiatives
        Young Plan 1929
        aim: settle remaining issue of payment of repapartions during a period of great ecomic growth
        reduce reparations to 2000 million; Keynes proposal at Versailles proved correct: reparations were punitive
        Wall Street Crash = economic instability; economic situation changes = 6million Germans unemplyed = political instability
        World Disarmamnent Conf. 1932 - 33 Geneva
        aim: scale down armaments
        League's Covenants: all would reduce arms but only Germany had complied {stressman]
        rise of Nazis worries France
        Germany wants to rearm; wants to build army to equal France's forces; UK and Italy sympathises so Germany leaves conference
        Germany withdraws from the League of nations
        How the interwar period was a time of tension and growing confrontation threatening peace
        1. so many different treaties weakens the power of diplomacy=no core; no unified response to violations of the Covenant = League failed in its mission to restore peace
        2. Germany's economic situation weak; reparations punitive; unemployment excessive = leads to te rise of nazi policy = coming topower of a leader who promises an end to he suffering and the humiliation
        3. Hitler blamed Allied powers for economic situation = justifying war; pretext for war = presents them as germany's enemy
        4. The USA's refusal to join the League of Nations = isolationist policy = positions itself as a player in the European stage: Kellogg-Briand; Dawes; Keynes economic policy = ? factor in weakening the League and in the failure to maintain peace.
League of Nations
1. Success
  1. The establishment of new orgs. ie. Int'l Labour Org which improved labour conditions, the halth org cobatted typhus and the refugee org POW return home
    1. Political disputes resolved. ie. some minor quarrels
2. Failure
3. About the league
  1. Considered Woodrow Wilson's Brainchild however it was the result of multiple statesmen coming together to discuss post-war
    1. Two main aims
      1. Maintain peace through collective security
      2. Encourage International co-operation

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Interwar years (1918-1936)

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	Created by Sebastiaan Maliepaard about 10 years ago