history chapter 1

• WAR GUILT CLAUSE

  • Germany had to accept total blame for starting the war and the loss and damage which allied countries suffered during WW1


  Why Germany resented:

  • the Germans did not feel like they alone had started the war
• LEAGUE OF NATIONS

  • an international body to help countries resolve disputes/enforce decisions


  why Germany resented:

  • being left out of the international body felt like a further insult to Germany
• REPARATIONS

  • 6650 million pounds
  • money and goods
  • most would go to Belgium and France


  Why Germany resented:

  • Germany already had huge debts from the war effort
  • many Germans feared that the reparations would ruin the economy
• ARMY

  • to prevent Germany from ever becoming a major military power again
  • Men: army limited to 100,000 men
  • Conscription: conscription was banned, soldiers had to be volunteers
  • Vehicles: no tanks, planes, submarines, big ships
  • Battleships: navy can only have 6 battleships
  • Border: border between Germany and France, the Rhineland, was demilitarised (no German forces of fortifications allowed there)


  Why Germany resented:

  • an army of 100,000 men was very small for a country of Germany’s size
  • army was a symbol of Germany‘s pride
  • none of the allies were disarmed to the same extent
• TERRITORY

  • lost 10% land
  • lost 12.5% population
  • forbidden to make a alliances with Austria to form Anschluss (union)
  • give up its overseas empire. former german colonies now became mandates controlled by the LON


  why Germany resented:

  • losing so much territory was a major blow to German’s pride and economy
  • thousands of Germans had to live under the rule of Poland and Czechoslovakia
  • Germans in Danzig were cut off from the rest of Germany to give Poland access to sea
• STRENGTHS: SOCIAL ISSUES

  • the first time mankind has tried to improve such conditions on an international level
  • The league set up commissions and agencies
  • solved social and medical issues such as slavery, drugs, disease
• STRENGTHS: AGREEMENTS

  Kellogg-Briand Pact (political)

  • An agreement between 65 nations to not use force to settle disputes

  Dawes plan (economic)

  • Britain, USA, France and Italy helped Germany to recover from hyperinflation and restructure its reparation payments
  • Ended a crisis by removing French and Italian troops out of the German Rurh so that area can start production to generate money
  • USA loaned Germany huge amounts of money to support its economy
• STRENGTHS: CONFLICTS (part 1)

  
  

  Upper Silesia (1921)

  • in 1921, Germany and Poland had a dispute over Upper Silesia.
  • to solve this, the league oversaw a peaceful vote and divided the region equally
• STRENGTHS: CONFLICTS (part 2)

  
  

  Greek-Bulgarian border (1925)

  • in 1925, some Greek soldiers were killed on the border with Bulgaria.
  • Greece invaded Bulgaria and Bulgaria appealed to the LON for help. The league ordered for both sides to stand down. Britain and France supported the leagues decision.
  • Greece obeyed but pointed out that there seemed to be a different rule for big countries (Italy) and small countries (itself)
  • the outcome was a major success for the league and optimism for its effectiveness soared.

  this improved the security and economies of various nations
• WEAKNESSES: LIMITED MEMBERSHIP

  • in march 1920, the US congress refused to ratify the treaty to allow USA to join the league
  • USSR also not allowed to join due to being communist
  • this means 2 major powers are not involved in decision making and enforcing economic sanctions
  • this reduced LON’s effectiveness
  • Germany was also not allowed to join because of its role in causing WW1
• WEAKNESSES: DISARMAMENT FAILED

  • by joining the league, member countries were expected to disarm
  • however, countries feared that they would not be able to defend their territory and interests if they disarmed
  • 1920s: reluctant to disarm
  • 1930s: reluctance worsened
  • this caused LON to not not be able to prevent conflicts
• WEAKNESSES: COLLECTIVE SECURITY

  • although the league could take military action on an aggressor country as a last resort, it was hard to do so as the league did not have its own army, police or peacekeepers
  • this meant the league could not force strong countries to accept decisions. only had success with weaker countries
  • countries were also reluctant to stop trading with aggressor countries as they were concerned about the impact of economic sanctions
  • LON could not stop Germany, Japan and Italy from starting WW2
• WEAKNESSES: UNSUCCESSFUL CONFLICT RESOLUTION (part 1)

  Vilna (1920)

  • in 1920, Poland took control of Vilna, the Lithuania capital
  • Lithuania appealed to the league for help
  • the league was not able to make Poland withdraw
  • Britain and France were reluctant to take action as Poland was a potential ally against Germany
• WEAKNESSES: UNSUCCESSFUL CONFLICT RESOLUTION (part 2)

  Corfu (1923)

  • in 1923, 3 Italian officials were killed while surveying the Greek frontier
  • Italy demanded for compensation and attacked and occupied Greece
  • Greece appealed to the LON for help
  • Britain and France did not stand together against Italy so Greece had to apologise and compensate Italy
• IMPACT OF TOV ON GERMANY: SHORT TERM

  • Germany had a strong impression that its army had not lost the war
  • Germans felt that they had been stabbed in the back by Jews, communists and weak politicians when the treaty was signed
  • this caused a wave of bitterness against the new democratic system
• IMPACT OF TOV ON GERMANY: MEDIUM TERM

  • political and economical crisis
  • in 1922, Germany fell behind in reparation payments
  • France and Belgium invaded Germany in 1923 to get back what they owed in terms of raw materials and goods
  • this not only caused humiliation to Germany but also killed 130 civilians

  
  

  • Because the government printed a lot of money for the reparations, this caused hyperinflation.
  • prices shot up and money became worthless
  • many middle class germans had their savings wiped out overnight
  • many Germans blamed their suffering on the government and this caused political instability
• IMPACT OF TOV ON GERMANY: LONG TERM

  • the Germans hated and blamed the TOV for Germany‘s problems
  • this feeling was later exploited by Adolf Hitler’s nazi party in the early 1930s