The Inter-War Years : 1918 - 1949

• what was the armistice

  a mutual agreement to stop fighting signed at 5am on 11/11/1918

  • came into affect 6 hours later at 11am
  • signed by representatives from france + germany + great britain
  • signed 60km north of paris
• what were the main terms of the armistice

  • all fighting ceases by 11am
  • germany had to give up 30,000 guns + 1,700 aeroplanes + all submarines + warships
  • immediate release of all french + british + italian prisoners of war
  • immediate removal of all german troops from france + belgium + luxembourg + alsace lorraine + west of the rhine in 14 days
• how long was the treaty of versailles signed after the initial armistice

  six months later
• what was the paris peace conference

  • in january 1919 all the ally leaders met in paris
  • the defeated countries were not allowed to join
  • russia was also not allowed to join as they didnt trust communism
• who was david lloyd george + what was his attitude towards germany

  prime minister of britain

  • voted in the 1918 election as he promised to 'make germany pay'
  • wanted to stop german threat to the british empire
  • still didnt want to punish germany too far to maintain trade + not provoke feelings of vengeance
• who was woodrow willson + what was his attitude towards germany

  president of the usa

  • wanted a safe + peacful end to the war
  • wanted disarmament for all
  • feared harsh punishment would make germans bitter + encourage more conflict
• who was david lloyd george + what was his attitude towards germany

  prime minster of france

  • nicknamed the tiger
  • wanted full punishment on germany + revenge for the destruction of france
  • wanted germany to be destroyed so france would never be attacked again
• what were lloyd george's main aims through the treaty

  • revenge + reparations for the people of britain
  • retain naval supremacy
  • retain a trade relationship with germany
  • reduce germanys empire to preserve the british empire
  • reduce the risk of another war
• what were wilson's main aims through the treaty

  • self determination for all
  • start of the league of nations
  • prevention of any future wars
• what were clemenceau's main aims through the treaty

  • punishment + full revenge on germany
  • protection for france through reduction of germanys force + power
  • reccovery of losses + reparations
• how satisfied lloyd george with the treaty

  • fairy satisfied as germany was weakened so it wasnt a threat to britain anymore
  • worried that the harsh terms risked future conflict
• how satisfied wilson with the treaty

  • felt the treaty was too harsh + risked future conflict
  • may have been pleased with the creation of the league of nations ; america did not join
• how satisfied clemenceau with the treaty

  • not happy as he felt punishment did not go fair enough
  • wanted the complete destruction of germany rather than partial disarmament
• what were wilsons fourteen points

  • open diplomacy -> no secret alliances
  • free seas
  • free trade
  • all reduce no. of weapons + armies
  • fair claims for colonialism
  • russia forms its own gov + german soldiers leave
  • belgium is an independant country + no german troops there
  • france regains alsace lorraine
  • italian borders are reestablished
  • austria hungary is an independant country
  • central powers leave romania + serbia + montenegro
  • turkish people in otttoman empire have independant country
  • poland is an independant country
  • league of nations is formed
• what were the main terms of the treaty of versailles

  B -> Blame

  • germany had to accept responsibility for starting the war + causing all the damage in the 'war guilt clause'

  R -> Reparations

  • germany had to pay for all war damage
  • in 1921 it was decided germany had to pay annual instalments of £6600M

  A -> Armed Forces

  • army reduced to 100,000 men
  • no tanks, submarines or planes
  • rhineland was demilitarised
  • banned conscription

  T -> Territory

  • alsace lorraine returned to france
  • lost all overseas colonies
  • forbidden to join with austria (anschlus)
• what were the main losses of germany with territory in the treaty of versailles

  S -> Saar

  • controlled by league of nations
  • its coalfields were controlled by france for 15 years

  C -> Colonies

  • lost all oversees colonies

  R -> Rhineland

  • demilitarized so german troops could not enter

  A -> Alsace Lorraine

  • returned to france

  P -> Polish Corridor

  • strip of land given to poland
  • separated east prussia from the rest of germany
• what was the league of nations

  an organisation established through the treaty of versailles to maintain world peace

  • germany + the soviet union was not allowed to join
• how did the british public react to the treaty of versailles

  • war propaganda taught them to hate the germans as many british soldiers were killed + wounded
  • overall they found the treaty fair + it could have been even harsher
  • lloyd george was hailed as hero
  • newspapers states britain would never be threatened by germany
• how did the french public react to the treaty of versailles

  • they were angered by it + thoough it should have been much harsher
  • they wanted to inflict the suffering they experienced in the war upon the germans
  • they were disappointed by cleamceau + he was voted out of office
  • they liked some terms like the regaining of alsace lorraine
• how did the american public react to the treaty of versailles

  • america only joined the war in 1917 + no fighting took place in america
  • they there did not want the same revenge and compensation as others did + thought the treaty was too harsh
  • they then followed a policy of isolationism
  • the senate refused to approve of the treaty + allow america to join the league of nations
• how did the german public react to the treaty of versailles

  they hated it + were humiliated by it + called it the diktat

  • they felt the only person responsible was the kaiser so he should be punished rather than the people
  • they found the war guilt clause unfair as they weren't solely to blame
  • they lost 13% of their land and were split by the polish corridor
  • they couldnt unite with austria (anschluss
  • they were starved due to the british blockade + needed help
  • felt vulnerable without an army + being surrounded by their enemies
• what were the strengths of the treaty of versailles

  the main strength of the treaty was it brought the end of world war one + brought peace to germany

  • germany became a democratic country -> was a barrier to the spread of communism
  • established the LON -> a signifcant step in collective security + promoting peace for all
  • recognition of minority rights -> protected right of ethnic + religious minorities (e.g. jews + germans in poland) and encouraged cultural autonomy
  • security measures -> including demilitarized zones + military fortifications tried to prevent future conflicts
• what were the weaknesses of the treaty of versailles

  the main problem was that it angered germans + left them yearning for vengeance

  • root causes -> the treaty did not address underlying factors that contributed to ww1 + they later affected ww2 too (e.g. nationalism)
  • unstable borders -> created unstable + ethnically diverse states that included conflicting people with tensions rising
  • reparations -> crippling german economy led to the rise of extremists
  • LON -> wilson put too much faith in the league preventing future issues
• what were the terms of the treaty of st germain

  signed in 1919

  • austria had to accept large territorial losses
  • had to break up the austro hungarian empire
  • had to give land to newly independent states like poland + czechoslovakia
  • forbidden to unite with germany again (anschluss)
  • army limited to 30,000 troops
  • intended to pay reparations
• what was the impact of the treaty of st germain

  • regions in czechoslovakia that austria had to give away contained lots of their industry
  • this loss of industry led to the austrian economy collapsing in 1921
  • instability in eastern europe as it was now made up of newer + smaller states instead of an empire
  • new states formed in this treaty often contained mixes of nationality who clashed
• what were the terms of the treaty of neuilly

  signed in 1919

  • treaty essentially limited bulgarias power
  • they lost land to romania + greece + yugoslavia
  • their army was limited to 20,000 troops
  • they had to reparations of £100M
• what was the impact of the treaty of neuilly

  • bulgarians were outraged but couldnt act upon this
  • when ww2 broke out they sided with nazi germany due to the harsh reparations + reclaimed land they lost in the treaty
• what were the terms of the treaty of trianon

  signed in 1920

  • the treaty essentially limited hungarys power
  • had to accept break up of the austro hungarian empire
  • lost land to austria + romania + yugoslavia + szechoslovakia
  • lost 66% of land
  • lost 33% of population
  • intended to pay reparations
• what was the impact of the treaty of trianon

  • economy collapsed after they lost many places that fuelled their industry to other states
  • 100,000 hungarians became refugees in neighbouring states
  • alligned its foreign policies against the treaty + alligned with nazi germany in ww2
  • regained 50% of their lost territories during 1938 - 1941
• what were the terms of the treaty of sevres

  signed in 1920

  • cause of the breakup of the ottoman empire
  • control of its huge territories were given to britain + france + greece + italy
  • lost control of dardanelles strait (the black sea, meditterainean)
  • army limited to 50,000
  • navy limited + air force banned
  • too unstable to pay reparations
  • their taxes + finances + budgets were controlled by allies
• what was the impact of the treaty of sevres

  • turkish people were so angred that they overthrew their government
  • their new leader said he would fight the allies over this treaty
  • to avoid more conflict a new treaty was created -> the treaty of lauzanne
• what did the establishment of the treaty of lauzanne show

  treaties were not enforceable

  • little allies could do against protests if they did not want another war to enforce these policies
  • showed britain had found all the treaties at the peace settlement unfair
  • gave hitler + mussolini a later excuse to broke international law
• what problems did the creation of poland pose

  • poland was created from land from germany + russia
  • germans living in poland did not like this states creation
  • poland had no natural borders + was not easily defended
  • germany was split by the polish corridor -> caused more resentment
• what were the aims of the league of nations

  • to maintain peace through covenant + collective security
  • encouraging disarmament
  • enforcing the treaty of versailles
  • encouraging cooperation between nations
• what was league of nations covenant

  26 articles + laws that league members had to agree to follow

  • most important was the article regarding collective security
• what was collective security

  • members of the league would act together
  • this ensured any member threatened with war was protected by the other members
• why did america not join the league

  • many americans did not want to be involved in european affairs
  • wilson campaigned to get america to join but lost the presidential election
  • america followed an isolationist policy in the 1920's
  • america did not want their troops to be under the control of an outside power
• who were the league members

  membership changed as countries joined and left

  • main members -> britain + france + italy + japan
  • germany joined by 1926
  • ussr joined by 1934
  • america never joined due to isolationism
• how was the league organised

  • the assembly -> met once a year in LON headquarters in geneva (everyone)
  • the secretariat -> a civil service keeping records of meetings + prepared reports
  • the council -> met 5 times annually + only included 4 permanent members (britain + france + japan + italy) + included some non permanent voted members for 3 years
  • international court of justice -> based off the hague + had judges from member countries to settle disputes peacefully
  • had no army
• how did the league react to disputes

  • moral condemnation -> disputing members should talk to the league, who would condemn and aggressor
  • economic sanctions -> the league would cut off trade with the aggressor
  • military actions -> league members would join forces + take military action against the aggressor (collective security)