IB History Year 1 Paper 1 Review

• • Impact of Fascism on the foreign policies of Italy:
  • Desire to restore the Roman Empire -> Mediterranean & African expansion -> Invasion of Albania & Abyssinia
  • National superiority -> Issues with the treaty of Versailles -> Attempt at revisions to Treaty of Versailles
• Impact of Nazism on the Foreign Policies of Germany:

  • Lebensraum i.e “Living Space” -> Expansion into Eastern Europe
  • Aryan Supremacy -> Desire to reunite German people -> Anschluss & Sudetenland
  • Loss of land in TOV -> Perceived injustice -> Re-occupation of the Ruhr & the Rhine
• Impact of Domestic Economic Conditions on the Foreign Policy of Germany:

  • Failure of the Dawes Plan + Great Depression + Hyperinflation -> Desire for “Autarky” (self-sufficiency) -> Occupation of the Rhineland
• • Changing diplomatic alignments in Europe; 
  • Franco-Soviet Treaty of Mutual Assistance (1935)
  • German Rearmament + Withdrawal from League of Nations = France and Soviet Unions felt threatened -> Franco-Soviet Treaty of Mutual Assistance
  • Anglo-German Naval Agreement (May 1935):
  • Allowed creation of German navy in relation to the British navy
  • Anti-Comintern Pact (1936):
  • Breaking of Italian and German diplomatic isolation
• • The end of collective security:
  • Failure of the League of Nations 
  • Absence of the United StatesDeparture of Japan (1933) and Germany (1935)
  • Inability to prevent Manchuria (1931) and Abyssinia (1935)
  • Geneva Disarmament Conference (1924-34)
  • Lack of international cooperation -> German withdrawal
• • Appeasement:
  • Great Depression + Memories of WW1 = Reluctance for War -> Appeasement
  • Distrust of the Soviet Union + Misjudgment of Hitler= Siding with Hitler against the Communists
  • Reoccupation of the Rhineland (1936): Violation of TOV, No action from Britain & France
  • Anschluss (1938): Unification with Austria, 
  • Munich Agreement (1938): Agreement regarding German annexation of the Sudetenland, emboldened Hitler
• • German challenges to the post-war settlements (1933–1938) 
  • Treaty of Versailles:
  • Territorial Losses + Disarmament + Reparations + War Guilt Clause = Hatred against the Treaty of Versailles, facilitated Nazi activities to overturn the treaty
  • Rearmament (April 1935): Violation of TOV
  • Anschluss with Austria (1938): Violation of TOV and Treaty of St. Germain-en-Laye (1919)
  • Sudetenland (1938): Violation of the creation of Czechoslovakia
• • Causes of Italian Expansion:
  • Fascist Ideology -> Desire to create a “New Roman Empire”
  • Anger towards lack of territory gain after the TOV
  • Resources for Italian Economic development
• • Impact of Domestic Economic Conditions on the Foreign Policy of Italy
  • High employment during the war effort -> high unemployment post-war -> need to recreate the war effort
  • Need for oil -> Invasion of Abyssinia
• Italian expansion into Abyssinia:

  • October 1935-May 1936
  • Italian troops had much more advanced weaponry than Abyssinian troops
  • Utilized chemical weapons and cruelty
• • Italian Expansion into Albania (1939)
  • Positioning in the Balkans -> strategic importance + ideological value for “Neo Roman Empire”
  • Significant Italian influence & diplomatic pressures on Albania (June 1935 Durres Demands)
  • Invasion lasted from April 7th to April 10th
  • Lack of a response emboldened both Mussolini and Hitler
• • German expansion (1938–1939)
  • Anschluss with Austria (March 1938)
  • Sudetenland Crisis & Munich Agreement (October 1938)
  • Occupation of Czechoslovakia (March 1939)
  • Memel Region from Lithuania (March 1939)
• • Pact of Steel (1939)
  • Italy and Germany both diplomatically isolated after their expansions
  • Established a mutual military alliance
• • Nazi–Soviet Pact (August 1939)
  • Exclusionary diplomacy of Britain & France, pushed the Soviets towards the Nazis
  • Divided up Eastern Europe between the Nazis and the Soviets
  • Enabled Nazi invasion of Poland knowing that Soviets would not intervene
• • Outbreak of War:
  • September 1st, 1939: German blitzkrieg invasion of Poland
  • September 3, 1939: Britain & France declare war on Germany
  • September 17th, 1939: Soviet Invasion of Poland
• • International response to German aggression (1933–1938) 
  • Britain: Attempt to prevent another war through appeasement
  • France: Wanted to appease Germany, political turmoil, 
  • USSR: Exclusionary Diplomacy of Britain & France, Nazi-Soviet Pact
  • USA: Isolationist policies
• • International response to Italian aggression (1935–1936)
  • League of Nations: Economic Sanctions, major powers reluctant to challenge Italy,
  • Britain + France: Saw italy as a potential counter to Germany, Hoare-Laval Pact to partition Abyssinia
• • International response to German and Italian aggression (1940)
  • USA: Neutrality Acts
  • LON: Economic Sanctions, Trade Embargoes, 
  • Britain & France: Massive Remobilization
• Impact of Domestic Economic Issues on the Foreign Policy of Italy:

  • Economic policy −→ Plan to boost industries and modernise military
  • Lack of oil and natural resources -> Expansionist sentiment