GAP work

Question 1

Who were the ‘Big Three’?

Answer 1

David Lloyd George (Britain)
Georges Clemenceau (France)
Woodrow Wilson (USA)

Question 2

Wilson’s 14 points:

Answer 2

1. Open covenants of peace, openly arrived at
2. Freedom of the seas
3. The removal so far as possible of all economic barriers
4. The reduction of national armaments to the lowest point consistent with domestic safety
5. Impartial adjustment of all colonial claims
6. The evacuation of all Russian territory
7. The evacuation and restoration of Belgium
8. The liberation of France and return to her of Alsace and Lorraine
9. Readjustment of the frontiers of Italy to conform to clearly recognisable lines of nationality
10. The peoples of Austria-Hungary should be accorded the freest opportunity of autonomous development
11. Evacuation of occupation forces from Romania, Serbia and Montenegro; Serbia should be accorded free and secure access to the sea
12. Autonomous development for the non-Turkish peoples of the Ottoman empire; free passage of the Dardanelles to the ships and commerce of all nations
13. An independent Poland to be established, with free and secure access to the sea
14. A general association of nations to be formed to guarantee to its members political independence and territorial integrity (the genesis of the League of Nations)

Question 3

What were the aims of the Big Three

Answer 3

Britain: to punish Germany, but keep them strong enough to trade with them (middle ground)
France: Seeking revenge on Germany, disband the military and make them suffer (extreme punishment)
USA: Let Germany off the hook and promote peace. Set up the LON so it can never happen again (no punishment)

Question 4

What is the meaning of the word: Abdicate?

Answer 4

Give up the crown and flee the country

Question 5

Who is Clemenceau?

Answer 5

The leader of France in 1919

Question 6

What is the meaning of the word: Demilitarised?

Answer 6

An area of land where troops and weapons are not allowed

Question 7

Who is David Lloyd George?

Answer 7

The British Prime Minister in 1919

Last liberal PM

Question 8

Who is Freidrich Ebert?

Answer 8

German Chancellor in 1919

Question 9

What was the Paris Peace Conference?

Answer 9

The conference where the Treaty of Versailles was created and signed in 1919

Question 10

What is a Republic?

Answer 10

A country without a monarchy

Question 11

What is the meaning of the word: Treaties?

Answer 11

Formal agreements between countries

Question 12

Who is Woodrow Wilson?

Answer 12

President of the USA in 1919

Question 13

What percentage of land did Germany lose?

Answer 13

10%

Question 14

Allied reaction to the Treaty of Versailles

Answer 14

Britain: Fairly satisfied, Germany had been punished possibly too much, but they would recover to trade with Britain again
USA: Not satisfied: the League of Nations was set up, but the senate voted not to join, harsh punishments would lead to another war.
France: Not satisfied: not harsh enough, as Germany still had an army and an economy

Question 15

German Reaction to the Treaty of Versailles

Answer 15

Article 231 or the War guilt clause was a humiliation, as they thought that they were not the sole cause of the war. Large economic repairations were also crippling the German economy, and causing mass unemployment. They also saw it as a diktat, as they had no choice in the creation of the treaty, or a choice as to sign it or not.

Question 16

Terms of the treaty of versailles

Answer 16

See mural

Question 17

Was the Treaty of Versailles fair or too harsh?

Answer 17

Fair:
Germany started and lost the war, hence they should be punished. The repairations are expensive, but not completly crippling for the rest of Europe. Germany needs an army, but should never be able to wage another war like the pervious one

Too harsh
Germany may never recover from the economic damage caused by the war or the Treaty, which may cause Europe’s economy to fail. It may also cause another war later that could be more expensive than the last war.

Question 18

Treaty of St Germain-1919

Answer 18

Austria:
Separated Austria from Hungary
Stopped them allying with Germany
Took away land e.g Bosnia
Created new countries

Question 19

Treaty of Trianon -1920

Answer 19

Hungary:
Took away land
Reduced army
Created new countries

Question 20

Treaty of Neuilly-1919

Answer 20

Bulgary:
Lost land
Denied sea access
Reduced army

Question 21

Treaty of Sevres-1920

Answer 21

Turkey:
Lost Land
Lost control of the Black sea
Lost land to LON mandates

Question 22

Treaty of Lausanne-1923

Answer 22

After a revolution in Turkey, the British reconsidered the treaty after war was threatened. It reduced the land lost, and cancelled repairations

Question 23

How were the Treaties similar?

Answer 23

All of the treaties involved losing land, and often the formation of new countries. Another similarity is between the reduction of armies in all of the treaties, designed to prevent another war from happening again.

Question 24

Write an account of how the Versailles Treaty caused problems Germany? (8)

Answer 24

8 marks=4 points

Hyperinflation due to repairations
Weakened military led to unemployment
Germany became dependent on the USA to continue to repay their loans
Political unrest from extreme political groups

Question 25

Aims of the League:

Answer 25

``` Prevent wars Tackle Disease Improve global health Improve working conditions End slavery ```

Question 26

Structure of the League

Answer 26

The Assembly- where representitives from every member state met to discuss issues and problems in the world The Council- 4 permenant members, and 4 non permenant members. After a bill was passed in the Assembly, it could still be stopped or put forward by the council The Secretariat- The civilian section of the League. Sorted any sanctions passed out by the League. Special commissions- Special divisions of the League, financial advisers, the health organisation

Question 27

How did the League 'police the world'

Answer 27

The League intended to police the world by economic sanctions and moral condemnation. This proved to be effective in the cases of small countries such as Grecce and Bulgaria, but when powerful countries like Italy and Japan were invilved, lacking an army prevented the League from doing anything meaninful

Question 28

Strengths and Weaknesses of the League:

Answer 28

``` Strengths: Proportional representation Good structure All the commissions are helpful Can disuade smaller countries from causing disputes ``` Weaknesses: Lacked an army Council members could veto decisions if it was an inconvenience to them Larger powerful countries could just ignore them

Question 29

Successes of the League in the 1920s:

Answer 29

Greece and Bulgaria incident. As Greece invaded Bulgaria, the League stepped in and forced them to withdraw their troops. This was a success. Aland Islands: Both Sweden and Finland claimed the Aland Islands. this could have caused a war. The League stepped in and awarded the islands to Finland, but on the rules that they couldn't build military implacements on the islands. The League also successfully returned hundreds of thousands of POWs back to their homes.

Question 30

Failures of the League

Answer 30

Corfu 1923: Mussolini invaded Corfu after Italian Surveyors were killed. The League was powerless to stop this as they had no military strength to back up their orders for Italy to withdraw. Vilna: Poland annexed the capital of Lithuania, ignored the League and claimed the city in the end Wall Street crash: completly crippled the League, they were not adaquetly equipped to deal with such an economic crisis.

Question 31

'The League failed more than it succeded in the 1920s' how far do you agree?

Answer 31

3 major failures, 2 minor successes. Agree to a large extent Compare Greece and Bulgaria to Corfu. Aland islands to Vilna, they Use WSC to finish

Question 32

Washington Conference 1921

Answer 32

The USA, Britain, Japan and France agreed to reduce the size of navies Strengths: Proved powerful countries were willing to disarm their militaries Weaknesses: Further disarmerment was not on the table, and hence Japan dominated the Pacific.

Question 33

Geneva Protocol 1924

Answer 33

This was an attempt to ensure countries use the League of Nations to settle disputes Strengths: Strengthened the position of the League as an international peace keeping institution. Weaknesses: Britain refused to sign the treaty after a change in government.

Question 34

Dawes Plan 1924:

Answer 34

The USA lend money and increase the time between repairation repayments. Strengths: Help the German economy by increasing trade and cooperation among nations Weaknesses: made Germany dependant on the USA for funding, so when the deppression hit, it wiped out both economies

Question 35

Young Plan 1929:

Answer 35

This reduced the total German repairations by 75% and gave it 59 years to pay it. Strengths: This further strengthened the economy in Germany and allowed it to increase trade with other nations. Weaknesses: further led Germany to be dependant on the USA, crushing its economy when the deppression hit.

Question 36

Locarno Treaties 1925

Answer 36

Germany accepted its western borders set out by the Treaty of Versailles, and agreed that they would be permenant This suggested that German people were willing to accept the Treaty. It was proposed by German foreign minister Gustav Stressemann, and were signed voulentarily by Germany. This suggested they no longer resented the Treaty, and hence could be treated as equals/ The treaties allowed Germany to join the League in 1926. Germany said nothing about eastern borders, this concerned Poland and Czechoslovakia.

Question 37

Kellogg-Briand pact 1928

Answer 37

65 countries agreed not to use aggression to settle disputes. The pact did not define aggression, so countries could bend the rules and not be guilty of it. Similarly, no consequences were set out by the League for if this agreement eas broken. This was seen as a large step towards world peace, it showed that countries were committed to preventing future wars It was also signed by the USA, despite their isolationism

Question 38

Wall Street Crash:

Answer 38

After Stresemann had taken loans from America to solve the hyperinflation crisis in 1923, the German economy was heavily dependent on the Americans for the economy rto continue functioning. When the Wall Street crash hit in 1929, America called back in the loans they let in the early 20s. This caused the economy to collapse, and unemployment to begin spiralling. After unemployment was rife in Germany, democracy was unable to rescue it, as laws could only be passed by presidential decree, and hence the desperate people of Germany turned to extreme political groups for the answer. This led to the rise of the Nazis and other extreme groups, with the eventual election of them in 1933

Question 39

Manchuria Crisis

Answer 39

After the depression, Japan's economy had also started to shrink, as the silk trade vastly declined. Hence they needed a new way to make money in the global economy. As they had a large foothold in Manchuria, a province in NE China, they were concerned that their industry there would be expelled. An explosion on a Japanese train supposedly commited by the Chinese, and the Japanese marched into Manchuria. After the Japanese had captured Manchuria, they installed the puppet eader Pu YI. The LON failed to act, because many nations felt that Japan already owned the area, there had been an act of agression towards Japan, although it was rumoured to have been set up because a permenant member of the LON couldn't violate its own rules. Some thought that Japan's invasion could provide protection from communism. The League was powerless to stop Japan, after moral condemnation failed. China appealed, but nothing could be done as none of the members could afford to fight a war far away for little benifit to their own people. The Lytton report began, and took 1 year to complete, in 1933, the LON heard that Japan was at fault for the invasion, but by that point there was nothing the League could do. This was the League's first major failure, with one of its own permenant council breaking its own rules for economic gain.

Question 40

Abyssinian crisis

Answer 40

After a failed invasion in 1922, Mussolini felt confident he could capture Abyssinia in 1935. After growing in confidence since the Corfu incident in 1923, and the League's failure to deal with Manchuria. SImilarly, he knew Britain and France would do anything to keep him on side incase there was war with Germany, especially after the Stresa Front of 1935. In December 1934, a border clash at Wal Wal gave Mussolini his excuse to invade. The League attempted to step in, but was too late as Mussolini was already intent on war. The Hoare-Laval Pact was signed in 1935 secretly, were France and Britain agreed to support Italy as long as they helped them against Germany. He Invaded in 1935 with 250,000 troops. The League placed moral condemnation and economic sanctions on Italy, but didn't sanction oil or steel, two resources key to the war effort. Similarly, Britain and France didn't close the Suez canal, leaving Mussolini free reign over Abyssinia. This was also seen as a major failure as another of the League's members had started an agressive war. It was the last nail in the coffin for the League also as other powerful nations were signing deals outside of its sphere of influence.

Question 41

Argument 3 Argument 4 Argument 2 Argument 1

Answer 41

Argument 1- The League didn't achieve its original aims: The aim of the LON was to prevent further wars through encouraging disarmerment, it sorted minor disputes in the 1920s, and helped improve worker's lives globally, but these were not the main aims. Argument 2- The League was doomed from the start: The LON was constantly associated with unpopular diplomacy because of the Treaty of Versailles. The lack of USA left Britain and France alone, and the structure of the League made it difficult to act swiftly. Argument 3- Bad decisions: The League needed to show a strong face to aggressors, but didnt have the strength to do so. Members didn't follow the rules, and the LON allowed alliances to creep back in, sidestepping the system completly. After Manchuria, many countries lost faith in the League and expected war. Argument 4- Issues out of the League's control: Countries were weakened by the depression, so they were in no fit state to act against Hitler or Mussolini peacefully let alone through military action . International problems were shifted to the back seats for many countries after the depression