GCSE: International relations 1900-1939
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- Marked by Teachers essays 8
- Peer Reviewed essays 2
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To what extent was the Treaty of Versailles fair to Germany?
5 star(s)The army was a symbol of German pride and an important political source of nationalism. Having almost half of it taken away ruined Germany's Great Power status, and made her an easy target for other countries. In addition, the Rhineland became a demilitarised zone, meaning that Germany was open to attack by France. On the other hand, some groups believe that the military clause was fair, as it punished Germany as well as giving the smaller countries of Europe a chance to establish themselves.
- Word count: 913
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Why did the Germans hate the treaty of Versailles?
5 star(s)There are many more reasons that the Germans hated the treaty of Versailles. When the treaty was announced on the 7th May 1919, Germans were horrified. One of the reasons why they were horrified was Germany had been blamed unfairly for starting the war. However, the allies could blame Bosnia for killing Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, in Sarajevo. Germany was not allowed to join the League in 1919. As Germany had started the war, according to the Treaty of Versailles, one of her punishments was that she was not considered to be a member of the international community and, therefore, she was not invited to join.
- Word count: 930
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Why Did The First World War Break Out in 1914?
5 star(s)Germans argued that 'an overseas empire was needed not only for prestige but because the German economy would atrophy if it did not acquire colonies that could provide raw materials and markets for finished products'. This all caused competition between the European powers to grow extreme in the years up to 1900. In Africa there was a scramble for territory between the European forces. In 1900, nearly everyone agreed that 'a large empire was important not only for trade but also for prestige', which was a statement made by a French politician.
- Word count: 4337
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Was The Treaty Of Versailles Justified?
5 star(s)In the East, Germany was literally split into two parts. The Allies decided that the nation of Poland should be given access to the sea, so they formed the "Polish Corridor." Poland gained a lot of territory from Germany, including a port on the Baltic, Danzig (Gdansk in Polish.) This isolated the region of Germany known as Eastern Prussia, which includes the city of K�nigsberg. In the Western part of Germany, more changes were made. France gained the much sought after region of Alsace-Lorraine.
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Why was the Treaty of Versailles so in Germany?
5 star(s)This massive bill caused the German economy to go into a stage of Hyper-inflation were the value of one German mark dropped from 4 marks being equivalent to $1 an 1914 to an all time low of 4.2 billion marks being the equivalent to $1 in 1923. This meant that Germany's economical stability was destabilising and Germany couldn't see why they had to pay for all the damage and that the countries that they were forced to give money to were as guilty as they were and therefore should pay as well.
- Word count: 841
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WHICH ALLIANCE SYSTEM WAS THE STRONGEST IN 1914
4 star(s)As a whole, The Central Power's soldiers in army count of 3.76 million (approx. 60% from Germany) exceeded that of the T.E's (Triple Entente) 3.25 million- securing victory for The Central Powers on that front. Furthermore, Germany, itself, had an impressive amount of warships (85 and 23 submarines) in naval rivalry to Britain (122 warships and 64 submarines) proving a harsh contender with a vast and dynamic military. From a defence view, the geographical position of the members of T.C.P (The Central Powers)
- Word count: 854
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Was the treaty of Versailles too harsh on Germany?
4 star(s)The Germans went to the treaty of Versailles expecting to be treated as equals but they were treated the opposite ways because the allies thought they had won the war and were now superior to Germany. So the Germans had no other solution but to sign the treaty. They called the treaty of Versailles a 'Diktat'. The treaty was devastating for Germany it had to surrender their biggest glory, their army. The German army had to be reduced to 100,000 men (all men had to be volunteered)
- Word count: 624
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Were the peace treaties of 1919 - 1923 fair?
4 star(s)Were the peace treaties of 1919 - 1923 fair? Argument agreeing with the fairness of the Treaties of 1919 - 1923: I think that the peace treaties of 1919 - 1923 were fair. The Treaty of Versailles made Germany pay for the terrible damage it had caused. France had suffered devastating losses due to Germany's actions in World War I - millions of pounds worth of damage had been caused, much of France was in ruins. Millions of innocent French and British young men lost their lives in World War I, understandably France wanted to weaken Germany and stop it from ever being powerful and in a position to hurt and damage France again.
- Word count: 1157
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Who was to blame for the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914?
4 star(s)This was an assassination but who was the one to blame? Some historians believe that it was due to poor security. Others say that it was a planned plot by well-trained assassins. In this essay I will analyse all of the sources related to the topic and state, what key factor was their to blame for the assassination of Franz Ferdinand. First of all Source A gives a detailed account on what happened moments before and after the assassination, which also agrees with three of the four potential blames.
- Word count: 1234
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Why did the treaty of versailles provoke widespread hostility among Germans?
4 star(s)Firstly, an important reason why the Treaty of Versailles provoked widespread hostility among Germans was that they felt the treaty was a 'Diktat' forced on them rather than a negotiated settlement. As A.J Nicholls argues, the Germans were not treated as equal participants during the peace conference. This also lead to the German people believing that they would have got better terms without the Kaiser and Imperial Government. However, with Germany in a near state of civil war the allies put the final nails in the coffin, either Germany signed the treaty as it stood or war would begin again.
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What was the most important cause of the First World War?
In western Europe, France had lost land (Alsace Lorraine) to Germany after a war in 1870; most Frenchmen wanted it back. In eastern Europe, the Turkish empire was falling apart. The people who lived in the Balkans (those countries of eastern Europe which had been ruled by the Turks) wanted to be independent. Russia and Austria, however, both wanted to gain power in the Balkans (and to stop the other doing so). Britain and Germany added to the tension by having a 'naval race'. They both spent vast sums building the new superweapon, battleships called Dreadnoughts.
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The blame for the sinking of the Lusitania should be shared equally between the Germans, the British and the USA. To what extent is this justified?
They are prohibited from sinking boats not in government service, as apparently the Lusitania was, and therefore, by sinking it they were not committing an act of war but just killing innocent lives. Also historians can place the blame on the Germans for the sinking purely because it was a German torpedo that hit the ship, whether it was justifiable or not. Secondly the British are to blame for the sinking of the Lusitania. This is because the Britain's wanted the boat to be sunk and consequently made no effort to defend the ship when it crossed U-boat inhabited waters.
- Word count: 613
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How effective was the League of Nations in maintaining peace?
In the first decade after the First World War, the League of Nations did work well in keeping peace. However, after the Great Depression, the League of Nations did nothing to stop the aggression from ambitious powers. In the 1930s, it could not stopped the Japanese invasion of Manchuria, the Italian expansion in Abyssinia (1936) and Albania (1938), the German expansion in Austria, and the Sudetenland (1938), Czechoslovakia and Poland (1939), the Soviet expansion in Poland, Baltic states, and Finland (1939).
- Word count: 611
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War led to totalitarianism, and totalitarianism in turn led to war. Comment on the validity of this statement with reference to the history of Germany and that of the Soviet Union in the inter-war period.
This was considered as a great insult and humiliation to the Germans. The Republic's acceptance of the Versailles Treaty made the Germans disappointed, resulting in numerous attempts to overthrow the Weimar government, such as the Kapp Putsch in 1920 by the extreme nationalists and the Munich Putsch in 1923, which brought political instability to Germany. They hoped for a new and strong government and leader which could revive their national glory. The political instability, vehement hatred and indignation of the Germans provided a fertile ground to the rise of totalitarianism in Germany.
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Colonialism and the experience of Singapore.
Rather than letting the colonies have peace and security, the British forced them to work for their own benefit. Often, they disrupted the natives' peace by forcing them to do something. They also were not concerned about their colonies' security. During World War Two, when Japan attacked Singapore, the British decided to surrender Singapore and focus their forces on their homeland.
- Word count: 516
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Why did war break out in 1914?
This then made it much more likely for a world war to start. If an Ali started a fight you would have to join in. It won't even matter to you but in the end it will turn out to be a war of power. The other main trigger was the Schleiffen Plan as this also made the alliances come together and fight. A world war is different to a normal war as it includes the whole world attacking each other with at least two or more sides. If it was just a war it wouldn't have such a big impact on the rest of the world but if it is a world war you have no way but to end the war.
- Word count: 741
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Describe The Nazi-Soviet pact. Explain why relations between Britain and Germany changed in 1939
Another key feature was that the Soviet Union needed time to prepare their army for the oncoming war with Germany. The Pact meant that Germany would form an alliance with the Soviet Union; this ensured that there would be no war between the two countries and the USSR's economy would not be affected. In addition the Soviet Union could count on the fact that they would, initially, not have to defend their own border. A final Key feature of the Nazi Soviet Pact was that Germany wouldn't have to face a war on 'two fronts'.
- Word count: 644
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My newspaper report on the Archduke's assassination. Ferdinands Generosity kills him.
After the speech, Ferdinand insisted that he go and visit his men in the hospital. His driver agreed but was not educated in the route to the hospital, he managed to take a wrong turn near the hospital, once realising his mistake he stopped to turn around, when a young terrorist named Gavrilo Princip stepped forward and fired two shots.
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The Effects of World War I on the USA.
The Lusitania was a passenger ship but since Germany did not want America to have any trade with Europe, Great Britain and France, America could not stop the business interest, so the United States used a passenger ship to ship war materials and food supplies. But during May 1915, the Germany U-boats found out and sunk the Lusitania, 1300 people were killed and 128 of then were American.
- Word count: 565
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To what extent was Hitler to blame for WW2?
and a latent desire for revenge, which was eventually fulfilled by Hitler when he invaded France in 1940, escalating World War II by opening a Western Front. The significance of economics in contributing towards World War II only increased in the 1930s, as the Great Depression caused huge unemployment and economic decline in Germany. The significance of this was that Hitler used these problems as an excuse to rearm Germany and reintroduce conscription into the army on the pretext that it would boost German manufacturing and solve unemployment, but in fact he was preparing Germany for war.
- Word count: 1380
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What was the impact of the other 4 Paris Peace Treaties?
Several small, weak states now existed where there had previously been on large state. It was impossible to give every national group self-determination. Most of the new states contained dissatisfied minorities who continued to create problems. Britain and France didn't gain anything from the treaty of St Germain, but Italy gained land. Italy got Trentino, South Tyrol, Trieste, Istria and several Dalmatian islands. Austria accepted the breaking up of the Austria-Hungarian Empire and didn't rebel against any of the terms of the treaty.
- Word count: 639
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How did the Depression lead to the rise of authoritarianism/militarism?
An example of this rise is the Manchurian Crisis of 1931. Japan's main trading partner was USA. When USA was hit with depression, they stopped trading internationally. This was a disaster for Japan, a country with no raw materials of its own. The Japanese army then decided to invade Manchuria (part of Northern China), which had a lot of valuable raw materials. Additionally, all big European powers were following the 'Appeasement Policy'. This was when they ignored or turned a blind eye against aggressors, in this case Japan.
- Word count: 619
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How far was the policy of appeasement the most important cause of WW2?
If the Appeasement policy had been abandoned by 1935, ww2 probably could have been avoided. Britain was economically damaged and knew that war was impossible to avoid, so they tried to buy time. The production of arms was stepped up. What Chamberlain brought back from his talks was time and it proved the balance between winning an unprovoked war. Britain had not the economy or manpower to risk and survive a full-scale war with any country. I think Chamberlain made a wise decision to appease Germany, who was in great debt after signing the Treaty of Versailles. Chamberlain also believed that peace and diplomacy was the answer in dealing with a leader such as Hitler.
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The League of Nations in Action - successes and failures.
This suburb contained the most valuable coal mines and the Poles refused to accept this decision. Though no more wholesale violence took place, the two countries continued to argue over the issue for the next twenty years. Success or failure? _Failure __________________________________________________ 2. Vilna 1920 What happened? This area was claimed by both Lithuania and Poland. It was included in the new state of Lithuania set up at the end of the war but it had a majority Polish population. Taking action against Poland would have required armed forces, but League members were not was not willing to supply them. Success or failure? Failure 3. Upper Silesia 1921 What happened?
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What were the causes of the First World War and who was to blame?
France was in a treaty with Russia and therefore against Austria-Hungary and Germany. Britain entered the war as an ally with France and to protect Belgium. Britain's entrance gained the resources of all of the British colonies and territories as well. Many other countries eventually entered during the war because of threats. However, the above is the direct chain of events that caused World War 1. Almost the entire chain reaction shares the common feeling that triggered war. This feeling is suspicion and tension. That is what ultimately caused World War 1 to break out was the fact that tension and suspicion has been around for a while, imperialism, nationalism, militarism and the alliance system.
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