International Relations

• -World trade boomed in the 1920s.

  -The USA was the richest nation in the world and American business was the engine driving the global economy

  -This economic recovery helped to reduce international tension, eg when the USA provided loans to stabilise the German economy after 1924
• -1929 Wall street crash

  -The US stock market crashed, wiping out the saving of millions of Americans and causing the collapse of US banks and businesses

  -Marked the start of the Great depression - a long period of economic decline
• Protectionism- some countries (britain, france, USA) tried to protect their own industry by introducing TARRIFS to limit imports
• Rearmament- many countries (germany, japan,italy,britain) began the process of rearmament as a way of bossting industry and finding jobs for the unemplyed
• America recalls loan- ask European banks to pay back the money they had borrowed in the 1920s

  -Britain and France suffered great hardship

  -Effects in Germany and other European states were disastrous

  -Unemployment rocketed
• 1922: Control by Benito Mussolini, leader of the Fascist party (aggressive political nationalism)

  -used the depression to tighten his grip on the country by taking over its banks and industries

  -rebuild Italian empire

  -alliance with Hitler
• 1929: Stalin takes control of USSR

  -threatened by Germany and Italy (strongly andti-communist)

  -built up USSRs industries for future war
• 1933: Emergence of Hitler

  -Germans felt the government had let them down because of the great depression

  -People began to turn to extremist politcal parties

  -By 1933, The nazis were running germany (aggressive politcal nationalism

  -massive rearmament programme

  -getting rid of the Treaty of Versailles (reclaim land)

  -destroy communism in Germany and anywhere else it was found
• Failure of the LONs in Manchuria

  
  

  -1931: Japan invades Chinese region of Manchuria after an incident including trains

  -China appeals to League of Nations

  -League took a cautious approach as Japan was a powerful member

  -Took a year to report Japan had acted unlawfully

  -1933: Japan ignored and announced intention to invade more

  -March: Japan resigns from League of Nations

  -Discussed economic sanctions and banning weapons but worried of retalliation

  -Excuses were given but the league had proved itself powerless

  -Mussolini and Hitler looked on in interest
• Failure of disarmament 1930s

  -The disarmament conference

  -The league of nations tried to calm international tension by setting up talks on disarmament

  -however many countries had used rearmament to boost their economy + few trusted their neighbours enough to disarm

  -in 1933 HItler was rearming + pulled out the conference, and accordingly other countries began to increase their armed forces

  -Hitler publicly announced his rearmament programme in 1935
• Failure of the League of Nations- Abyssinia (phase 1)

  -In 1935 Italy invades Abyssinia (Ethiopia), Britain France and Italy all had colonies in Northern and Eastern Africa

  -Haile Selassie appeals to the league for help

  -Britain and France wanted to keep on good terms with Mussolini as possible ally against HitlerS

  -Stresa Pact- Britain and France met with Mussolini and agreed the pact which was a formal statement against German rearmament and to stand against Germany (abyssinia not mentioned)
• Abyssinia phase 2

  -mussolini rejects proposals to give italy some land in abysinnia

  -invades in 1935

  -League delays but finally sanctions Italy.

  -Suez Canal owned by Britain and France was not closed to Mussolinis ships

  -the canal was italys main supply route to Abyssinia + closing it would have brought a swift end To mussolini's Abyssinian campaign

  -both britain and france were afraid that closing the canal might result in war
• The Hoare-Lavel Pact

  -Britain and France aimed to give 2/3 of Abyssina in return for calling off invasion

  -Leaked to press and it was regarded as treachery

  -Damage to reputation of the League

  -Hitler marches troops into Rhineland in 1936 - all support for france's sanctions against Italy was now dead

  Italy took control of Abyssinia
• The Rome-Berlin Axis

  -Hitler and Mussolini signed in 1936
• Hitlers beliefs:

  -strongly nationalist

  -hated treaty of Versailles

  -Nazi ideology

  -destroying communism

  -racial theory- germany was the master race and Jews were inferior

  -militarism- regarded war as a measure of the health and strength of a nation
• Hitler's actions:

  -Leaving the league of Nations 1935 - undermined the league's authority

  -1933-35: began rearmament- forbidden by the treaty of versailles, he drafted thousands and stockpiled weapons. increased arm to 950,000

  -The Saar 1935: 90% voted in favour of re-joining Germany

  -1936: Remilitarisation of the Rhineland- against Treaty of Versailles
• Spanish civil war 1936

  -spanish republics vs nationalists

  -USSR supported republicans

  -Britain and France didnt intervene; because of this Hitler assumed they take the same attitude to any war, encouraged him to reverse the Treaty of Versailles

  -Hitler and Mussolini helped Franco (nationalist leader)

  -the terrible impact of modern weapons convinced Chamberlain war must be avoided at all costs

  -USSR became increasingly suspicious of Britain and France because of their reluctance to oppose HItler and Mussolini
• The anti-comintern pact and the axis alliance 1936-37

  -Germany, Japan and Italy signed this pact against communism

  -Group of countries became known as the axis alliance
• Policy of appeasement:

  -Britain did not want a world war

  -The USA had isolated itself, they did not think they would get help, they had to give in to Hitler's demands

  -More concerned with USSR and Stalin- communism

  -He had the right to rearm- Treaty of Versailles was too harsh
• Chamberlain:

  • became prime minister in 1937
  • began policy of rearmament to prepare for possibility of war
  • discussions with french leader, Daladier, sharing concerns about Hitler
• The Anschluss 1938:

  • Germany reunites with Austria
  • Forbidden by Versailles
  • Hitler threatened to send troops, king of Austria requested assistance
  • Vote was organised
  • France and Britain did nothing
• Sudetenland & Munich Agreement 1938:

  -Hitler wanted Czechoslovakia

  -Benes asked Britain and France for promises that he would be protected

  -This time they gave their promises

  -Hitler threatened to invade

  -World braced itself for war
• Crisis talks- agreement at Munich 1938

  • Chamberlain & Hitler meet- Hitler moderates his demands -Chamberlain finds this reasonable
  • France & Britain put to Czechoslovakia their plans to give Hitler his desired parts of the Sudetenland
  • Hitler increased demands (whole of Sudetenland) -Chamberlain thought unreasonable, war seemed imminent
  • Mussolini, Hitler, Chamberlain, Daladier met in 4 power summit -> give hitler sudetenland
• The end of appeasement:

  -Hitler invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia (he had no claim to this land)

  -His next target most likely Poland

  -Britain & France tell Hitler they will declare war if he invades Poland
• Stalin's concerns

  • his concerns about Hitler have grown throughout the 1930s
  • The USSR had joined the League of Nations in 1934 and agreed the Mutual assistance pact with France in 1936
  • but he watched Britain and France do nothing to stop Hitler rearming or seizing territory in Europe
  • Munich agreement made him suspicious - not consulted about it
• The Nazi- Soviet Pact

  • Stalin tried to arrange an alliance against HItler with Chamberlain and Daladier in March 1939
  • Stalin opted for an alliance with Nazi-Germany - agreed to divde Poland. Reasoned France and Britain were too weak
• The Second World War:

  • Hitler invaded Poland on 1st September 1939
  • War on 3rd September 1939
• Interpretation: Popular Majority View 1937-38

  • Chamberlain had managed to keep out of war with Germany as long as he could
  • his policy was seen as a success + his popularity increased- seen as heroic
  • influenced by the idea that the public did not want war
  • this interpretation did not last long as the events at the start of the war undermined the idea that Chamberlain made a heroic choice
• Interpretation: Popular and political view 1939-48

  • dominant view during the war
  • appeasement seen as cowardly and immoral
  • argued that Britain should have stood up to Japanese invasion in Manchuria, Italy's invasion of Abyssinia and Hitler's expansion
  • criticised the British government for underestimating the dictators and for failing to properly prepare for the war
  • Influenced by the fact the war was going badly in the first few months with Hitler ignoring the Munich agreement
  • people were afraid the germans might invade britain
• Interpretation: Churchill (orthodox view) 1948-60s

  • appeasement was a mistake but based on the right motives
  • less critical than the Guilty men interpretation, Churchill argues that Chamberlain had good intentions and 'moral courage'
  • written by Churchill in 1948- heavily influenced by the fact that Churchill had lost the 1945 election and wanted to improve his reputation
  • he also wanted to express that appeasing expansionist dictators was not the best way to deal with them - fight the USSR expansionism
• Interpretation: Academic revisionist view (1960s-1990s)

  • Chamberlain made a mistake and he did the best he could in difficult circumstances as he was not in a position to go to war in 1939
  • Historians had a better idea at what Chamberlain was dealing with:
  • Britain struggling economically- couldnt afford to go to war
  • He tried to increase armed forces but was blocked by the treasury
  • Public opinion not in favour of war, military commanders not confident to go to war against Germany, particularly as they couldn't count on the USA to join
• Academic counter-revisionist view (1990s-2000s):

  • Chamberlain part of the problem
  • his personality was a problem, & he did have options, but he chose not to explore them
  • he did not follow advice and underestimated Hitler because he overestimated his own abilities and importance
  • misunderstood HItler because he was unable to change his way of viewing international relations
  • betrayed Czechoslovakia in 1938 + he should be held accountable
  • influenced by new Soviet Sources which came available in 1990s -German documents that Soviets had taken - gave historians new insights into appeasement