International Relations: Revision Notes (1929-39)

by fangricky1gmailcom (student)

International Relations

Road to War, 1929-1939:

The Wall Street Crash 1929 saw America’s economy collapse, and led to economic depression in America
America called back loans given during WWI to other countries, bankrupting them, especially Germany who had suffered from reparations
Economic depression is likely to lead to political extremism as the public begin to look for stronger leadership, more likely to become isolationist and co-operate less on the international scale
Consequences of WSC: high unemployment, essentials became more expensive, reduced business, other countries pulled into the depression due to loans

The League of Nations:

Set up in 1919 as one of Wilson’s 14 points, calling for international co-operation, disarmament, better social conditions and less aggression by countries
Early successes include settling land disputes in 1920s with Aaland Islands and Vilna, as well as helping refugees and increasing overall social conditions

Manchurian Incident:

Manchurian incident: Japan invades Manchuria on September 1931, citing Chinese aggression as the reason for invasion
The League did little to help China, but appointed a commission months later in December 1931, and this took until October 1932 to be completed
Report suggests that Japan was in the wrong, but Japan instead leaves the League, and continue by invading the Jehol province next to Manchuria
No economic sanctions or sales bans placed on Japan as the League could not agree (Britain and France still openly traded with Japan)

Abyssinian Crisis 1935:

Manchurian Incident:

Manchurian incident: Japan invades Manchuria on September 1931, citing Chinese aggression as the reason for invasion
The League did little to help China, but appointed a commission months later in December 1931, and this took until October 1932 to be completed
Report suggests that Japan was in the wrong, but Japan instead leaves the League, and continue by invading the Jehol province next to Manchuria
No economic sanctions or sales bans placed on Japan as the League could not agree (Britain and France still openly traded with Japan)

Abyssinian Crisis 1935:

Italy was also suffering from economic depression, prompting Mussolini to invade Abyssinia to distract the public, and build Italy’s empire on October 1935
Italy used machine guns, artillery, planes and mustard gas which violated the Geneva protocol, compared to Abyssinia’s out of date arms
The League placed economic sanctions (arms, rubber and metal) but did not include oil
Italy was still free to trade with other countries such as the USA
Britain left the Suez Canal open for Italy to use to reach Abyssinia
Hoare-Laval pact made outside of League: Most of Abyssinia given to Italy, but Italy alienated from the Stresa Front alliance, and sought to begin diplomacy with Germany
Sanctions were in the end overturned as they had no effect on Italy, and Italy leaves the League in 1937

Germany- the Treaty of Versailles & Hitler’s Uprising:

After losing WWI Germany was forced to accept the ToV, and pay reparations of £6600 million
Germany also lost land, had limited military, as well as being forced to demilitarise key areas of land
Germany was not allowed to negotiate with these terms
Hitler became chancellor in 1933
1935 Luftwaffe air force rebuilt, conscription introduced, Saar region reunites with Germany
1936 Rhineland remilitarised

Austria:

Hitler believed in creating a ‘Grossdeutschland’ and more ‘lebensraum’ for the German people, and that all German speaking people should be united into a German Reich (empire)
In 1938 Hitler demanded that a Austrian Nazi be placed in government, and threatened to invade if this did not happen
German army eventually enters Austria and Hitler enters on March 1938 to proclaim the ‘Greater German Reich’

Czechoslovakia & the Sudetenland:

Czechoslovakia was Hitler’s next target, as its borders had been set up by the League
Sudetenland had 3 million Germans living in, and were encouraged to protest against discrimination against Germans
Hitler threatened to go to war, and invites Britain, Italy and France to the Munich conference
Sudetenland given to Germany, with the promise that Germany would not touch other parts of Czechoslovakia
Start of the policy of appeasement in order to buy time for Britain to rearm and improve Britain’s economy, as well as using Germany as a barrier against communism spreading from the east, many dominions in the British Empire also did not support a war, and war was not supported by other major countries including the USA/USSR
Appeasement can be seen as putting too much trust into Hitler’s promises which were broken constantly, encouraged Hitler to be aggressive , and gave Hitler time to improve his military
1939 Hitler invades Czechoslovakia after anarchy starts, and Pact of Steel signed with Italy
1939 Nazi- Soviet pact, Germany and USSR agree not to attack each other, and carve up Poland
Hitler invades Poland September 1939, and ignores Britain and France’s ultimatum, leading to war being declared on Germany