AQA History Conflict + Tension

• Aims of George Clemenceau (France)

  French people wanted revenge due to suffering caused by WW1.Wanted to make sure Germany was never powerful enough to attack.Reduce armed forces and eastern border to be pushed back to the rhine.Wanted compensation- reparations.
• Aims of David Lloyd George

  -Wanted revenge but wary of Germany's response -Needed strong German economy to trade with -Wanted Germany's colonies for the British empire -Reduce size of Germnay's navy to stop it rivalling Britains.
• Aims of Woodrow Wilson

  -Idealist (fair treatment for every country) -Suggested setting up LofN -Self-determination -14 points and freedom of the seas
• Why did the LofN fail

  -No army -Overly ambitious plans -Structure -Missing countries -Economic sanctions didn't work -Power countries not afraid of moral condemnation -Great depression leads to extremist dictators and self interest
• Acronym to remember terms of treaty of Versailles

  LAMB
• Terms of TofV: Land

  -Loss of 12% population -Loss of 13% land -Alsace Lorraine returned to France -Overseas colonies given to league as mandates -Saar occupied -Polish corridor given as Danzig (free city)
• Terms of TofV: Army

  -Military reduced to 100,000 men -6 submarines -No air force -Rhineland demilitarised -No conscription
• Terms of TofV: Money

  -£6.6 billion reparations -Loss of 16% steel -Loss of 48% coal -Saar occupied 15 years
• Terms of TofV: Blame

  Article 231: War guilt clause
• Structure of LofN: ASSEMBLY

  -Decisions had to be unanimous -Only met once a year -Initially 42 countries -Decided who could join the league.
• Structure of LofN: PERMANENT COUNCIL OF INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE

  -Settle international arguments -Only advised
• Structure of LofN: SECRETARIAT

  -In charge of organisation actions taken by the league -In charge of administration
• Structure of LofN: SPECIAL COMMISSIONS

  -Committee for refugees -International labour organisation -Health committee -Slavery commission
• Slavery commission:

  +Set 200,000 slaves in Sierra Leone free -Unable to ban slavery universally
• Commission for refugees:


  +Sent over 500,000 prisoners of war back home +Resettled 1.5million refugees from Russia
• International labour organisation:


  +Helped Greece set up social insurance +Advised limiting working hours -Didn't stop under 14's -Failed to limit working hours to 8 hours
• Health committee:

  Dealt with leprosy, malaria and plague. 1948- renamed WHO (World health organisation) still used today.
• Vilna

  Capital of Lithuania. 1920: Majority of the population were Polish which lead to Poland invading with an army and taking control. Lithuania asked LofN for help, they told Poland to leave but they refused and kept control.
• Upper Silesia


  Border of Germany and Poland. 1921. Both countries wanted it for iron & steel. Plebiscite held- 60% voted Germany, rural areas given to them, Poland got the industrial. Germany lost 3/4 coal mines, leads to 1922 appeal where they win the right to import coal at a discounted rate.
• Aaland islands

  1921 -Finland & Sweden both thought they were threatening war -League gives island to Finland -No forts allowed -Both countries agree
• Corfu

  -Italian surveyor Tellini and his team were murdered on the border between Greece and Bulgaria. -Mussolini blamed Greece and demanded compensation, invaded Corfu. -League made Greece apologise and pay compensation. -Showed how certain countries had more influence over the LofN.
• Bulgaria


  1925. -Greek soldiers killed on Bulgarian border. Greece invaded but the LofN condemned them. -Made to withdraw and pay compensation -Opposite to Italy when they invaded Corfu.
• Causes of WW2

  HitlerTreaty of VersaillesGreat depressionAppeasementNazi-soviet pact 1939Failures of league of nations
• Causes of WW2: appeasement

  -Gives Hitler what he wants to avoid going to war -Previous attempts to stop him failed (remilitarisation of Rhine 1936) -Used in Munich conference 15sept 1939 , Oct 38 Hitler given Sudetenland -Gives Hitler confidence March '39 invaded whole of Czechoslovakia. -Stalin felt alienated, leads to signing of Nazi-soviet pact 1939
• Causes of WW2: Nazi-soviet pact

  -1939 Hitler and Stalin decide to split Poland between them -Allows Hitler to avoid war on 2 fronts -Gives Stalin time to rearm -Hitler invades Poland Sept1939, which Britain and France promised to protect.
• Causes of WW2: Hitler

  Foreign policy:

  -Overturn TofV

  -Lebensraum

  -Destroy communism

  -Volksdeutsche

  -Rearmament
• Causes of WW2: TofV

  -Hitler promised to 'right the wrong of the treaty' -Countries like Britain thought it was too harsh -Hitler allowed to proceed with Anschluss in March '38 and wasn't stopped. -Volksdeutsche in countries such as Czeckoslovakia and Poland
• Causes of WW2: Failures of the LofN

  -No army -Failure in Manchuria= league ineffective -Failure in Abyssinia= Br+Fr undermine the league -Hitler grew in confidence because of the failures: Rome-Berlin Axis signed 1936
• Rome-Berlin Axis

  1936; close cooperation between Italy and Germany, and soon Japan joined (anti-comintern pact) ; resulted from Hitler; who had supported Ethiopia and Italy, he overcame Mussolini's lingering doubts about the Nazis.
• Causes of WW2: Great depression

  -Desperate times = need for extremist dictators -League impacted by depression, economic sanctions costly -France preoccupied with own problems -Hitler rearming and solving unemployment through rearming Germany
• Causes of Manchurian incident: 1931-1933

  -Japan had railway in Mukden blown up in 1931 -Japan wanted to expand empire -Japan wanted natural resources after Wallstreet crash 1929
• Events of Manchuria: 1931-1933

  -Jan'31: Japan claim China sabotaged railway -Feb'32: Japan conquer Manchuria -March'32: Japan invade and take control of Shanghai -April'32: Lord Llyton sent to delegate -October'32: Japan asked to leave using moral condemnation -Feb'33: Japan leave, not sanctions.
• Consequences of Manchuria 1931-1933

  -League looked weak, slow to react, no army, no sanctions -League loses council member (Japan) -Britain and France looked hypocritical due to their large empires -Italy + Germany watch as league fails to solve dispute
• Causes of invasion of Abyssinia

  -Mussolini wanted to expand empire & get resources due to impact of the great depression -Revenge for failed 1936 invasion -Italy got their way with the league over Corfu -Stresa pact (1935) meant he thought Fr and Br wouldn't stop him
• Events of invasion of Abyssinia

  -Dec'34: Italian troops with Abyssinians in Wal Wal do nothing -April'35 Stresa pact -Dec'35 Hoare Laval pact -May 1936: Italian troops take capital
• Hoare-Laval Pact

  British French agreement in 1935 to appease mussolini and to prevent Italian-German alliance- 1/3 land goes to Abyssinia, 2/3 to Italy
• Consequences of Abyssinia


  -Mussolini leaves LofN after their attempt of economic sanctions that failed after no ban on oil, steel and coal. -Br + Fr sent interest with Hoare Laval pact undermined TofV -Didn't close Suez canal, meaning Italy could transport in troops. -Rome-Berlin axis gives Hitler and Mussolini an ally.
• Causes of remilitarisation of Rhineland:

  1936. Lebensraum, reverse TofV
• Event of remilitarisation of Rhineland:

  -Used French-soviet pact 1935 to remilitarise Rhineland as he felt threatened. -March 1936 welcomed when troops entered. -Fr preoccupied with elections + misjudges size off German navy.
• Consequences of remilitarisation of Rhineland


  -Gave Hitler confidence -Missed opportunity by Br + Fr -Rome-Berlin axis signed with Italy -Anticomintern pact with Japan