History Revision Notes

Treaty of Versailles Key Clauses

Article 231: Germany recognizes the war guilt. Article 119: Germany is to lose all here colonies which will be placed under the authority of the allies. Article 42: Germany is not to construct any fortifications on either sides of the Rhine for the next 50 years. Article 428: As guarantee that the treaty will be carried out the west part of the Rhine will be occupied by allied troops for 15 years. Article 160: The German army is to be reduced to 100.000 men, also the construction of tanks submarines and airplanes was forbidden. Article 45: The Saar land will be given to France as part of the compensation for the war. Article 80: Germany is not allowed to allay never again with Austria .

League of Nations Roles

It was based on the Fourteen Points of the US President Woodrow Wilson. It was created to ensure that there would be no repeat of the First World War. It was supposed to keep the peace by encouraging nations to negotiate (talk) over disputes rather than resorting to war. Members of the League agreed to 26 Articles in a Covenant (list of rules). Article 10 promised collective security whereby members agreed that if one member were attacked all other members would come to their protection. Initially 42 members joined which later grew to 59 members by the 1930s. The defeated countries like Germany were not allowed to join. The Soviet Union (Russia) was not allowed to join because it was Communist.

League of Nations Structure

The Assembly. Met once a year in their headquarters in Switzerland. Each member of the league sent a representative to the assembly. Decisions were passed by a VETO(unanimous decision) system . It would recommend actions the council such as the addition of new members and the use of budget. The Council It met several times a year and for emergencies. Italy, France, Britain and Japan ere permanent members. It included non-permanent members which were elected by the assembly for 3 year periods. The Secretariat This as the Leagues administrative civil service for keeping record of meetings and preparing reports.

The Permanent Court of International Justice It was intended to keep peace between countries peacefully but had no way to enforce its rulings

League of Nations Powers

To settle disputes the League could: Start an enquiry by the council Provide a hearing by an impartial but neutral country Ask for a ruling by the Permanent Court of International Justice

Enforcement powers of the League of nations included: - Moral Pressure - Economic Sanctions

League of Nations Strengths & Weaknesses Strengths

It had the goodwill of governments and ordinary people towards it. Most of the major countries had joined the League. Defeated countries were later allowed to join the League. It provided a forum to end disputes peacefully.

Weaknesses
The USA did not join it. The Soviet Union (Russia) did not join until 1934. It had very little power and no permanent army. It failed to encourage disarmament. International suspicions and rivalries between countries continued. Countries left the League when they disagreed with its decisions. Economic sanctions especially without US support proved very ineffective.

League of Nations - Successes

Teschen 1920 Poland and Czechoslovakia Aaland Islands 1921 Sweden and Finland Upper Silesia 1921 Germany and Poland Bulgaria 1925 Greece and Bulgaria

League of Nations Failures

Vilna 1920 Poland and Lithuania

Invasion of Ruhr 1923 France and Germany Corfu 1923 Italy and Greece Memel 1923 Lithuania and Germany

Causes of WWII Hitlers Aims Abolish Treaty of Versailles Expand German Territory Defeat Communism Causes of WWII Hitlers Steps to War (Remember Rudolph and Santas Christmas Pud)
Rearmament Began in secret Took Germany out of League of Nations. 1935 Introduced conscription Increased spending on arms Huge rearmament rally. Naval agreement with Britain allowed German navy of 35% of British navy. Increased airforce to 8,250 by 1939. Rhineland 7 March 1936: moved troops in, breaking Treaty of Versailles and Locarno Treaty. Justified it by claiming that USSR + France agreement threatened Germany. German army (only 22000 soldiers) had orders to withdraw if opposed. France and Britain did not stop him/ League of Nations powerless, didnt want to risk war. Anschluss 1934: Failed attempt. Feb 1938 Hitler encouraged Austrian Nazis to stir up trouble. Austrian Chancellor Schuschnigg sought British and French help, but was refused. 9 March 1938 Schuschnigg called for a plebiscite on union. 11 March 1938 Hitler sent in troops, then held a plebsicite

10 April 1938: 99.7% voted for union. Sudetenland April 1938: Many Germans Nazis lived there they stirred up trouble,. 15 Sept 1938 Berchtesgaden: Hitler promised that the rest of Czechoslovakia was safe. 27 Sept 1938 Bad Godesberg: Hitler demands immediate control of Sudetenland. 29 Sept 1938 Munich Agreement: Britain, France and Italy gave the Sudetenland to Hitler. 30 September Chamberlain calls Munich: Peace for our time.

Czechoslovakia 15 March 1939: German troops took over the rest of the country. No Czech resistance. Britain and France abandoned appeasement.

Poland 23 August 1939, Nazi-Soviet Pact shocked world; frees Hitler to attack Poland. 1 Sept 1939 Hitler invaded Poland Britain and France declared war on Germany.