SS20-1 The interWar period: 1919-1939

1. SS20-1 The interWar period: 1919-1939

2. Issues to discuss: • What is the relationship between nationalism and the pursuit of national interest? • How does the pursuit of national interest shape foreign policy? • What is the relationship between nationalism and ultranationalism?

3. Topics: • Treaty of Versailles • League of Nations • German Resentment • France’s False Sense of Security – Maginot Line • International Agreements • The Great Depression • Challenges to the League • US Isolationism • Appeasement • Nazi-Soviet Pact

4. The Versailles Treaty • Most controversial of all WW1 Treaties • Britain, France, Italy and the US sought their own interests • Germany blamed entirely for WW1 • Harsh penalties for Germany • Provided the foundation for German resentment and the growth of • ultranationalism

5. The Versailles Treaty

6. The League of Nations • President Wilson’s idea for European cooperation • An attempt for the nations to have a forum to discuss issues and problems • Really just a “club” for the victorious nations in the beginning • Germany, USSR not allowed to join until later • League was a good idea, but was powerless to enforce its will – no military power • Aggressor nations took advantage - Italy, Japan, Germany

7. The League of Nations

8. The Ineffectiveness of the League of Nations • No control of major conflicts. • No progress in disarmament. • No effective military force.

9. The “Stab-In-The-Back” Theory German soldiers are dissatisfied.

10. Decadence of the Weimar Republic

11. Dissatisfaction Leads to Resentment in Germany • Weimar Gov’t widely blamed for agreeing to terms of the Versailles Treaty • A number of political factions grew while feeding on the anger of the public • One such group was the National Socialist German Workers’ Party – leader – Adolf Hitler • His fiery speeches blaming the government, communists, Jews and the Versailles Treaty gained a following

12. France – False Sense of Security? The Maginot Line was a heavily fortified defense line designed to protect France from German aggression. It failed because the Germans eventually just went around it!

13. France – False Sense of Security? The MaginotLine

14. International Agreements – Success or Failure? • Locarno Pact – 1925 • France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy • Guarantee existing frontiers • Establish DMZ 30 miles deep on East bank of Rhine River • Refrain from aggression against each other • Kellogg-Briand Pact – 1928 • Makes war illegal as a tool of diplomacy • No enforcement provisions

15. The Great Depression

16. The Great Depression • The collapse of the North American economy began in Oct. 1929 with the Stock Market Crash • 2 years later, 25% of U.S. work force was unemployed • Industries failed, international trade stopped • The U.S. had been financing Germany’s war reparations, but the Depression ended that • All of Europe was hurt because they were depending on North America to help rebuild Europe after WW1 • Fear and unrest in Europe lead to the emergence of extremists and ultranationalists who promised their countrymen quick fixes to economic, political and social problems • The result - dictatorial gov’ts rise in Italy, Germany, Spain, and Japan (Fascism), and the USSR (Communism)

17. Challenges to the League • EXPANSIONISM! – Japan invaded Manchuria (1931), Italy invaded Abyssinia (Ethiopia) (1935), Germany reoccupied the Rhineland (1938) • League was powerless to stop them • European nations also re-militarizing – the League had been created to prevent this!

18. The Manchurian Crisis, 1931

19. Japan Invades Manchuria, 1931

20. Italy Attacks Ethiopia, 1935 Emperor Haile Selassie

21. Germany Invades the RhinelandMarch 7, 1936

22. U. S. Neutrality Acts:1934, 1935, 1937, 1939

23. And Just Where Was the U.S. In All of This? • Not directly involved! They adopted a policy of ISOLATIONISM in order to stay out of European affairs • U.S. was embroiled in the Depression and wanted nothing to do with problems in Europe • Although they suggested creation of the League of Nations, they never joined it. • Isolationism would continue until the bombing of Pearl Harbour, Hawaii in Dec. 1941

24. Rome-Berlin Axis, 1936 The “Pact of Steel”-Germany & Italy as allies

25. The Spanish Civil War:1936 - 1939 The National Front[Nationalists] The Popular Front[Republicans] • Anarcho-Syndicalists. • Basques. • Catalans. • Communists. • Marxists. • Republicans. • Socialists. • Carlists [ultra-Catholic monarchists]. • Catholic Church. • Falange [fascist] Party. • Monarchists.

26. The Spanish Civil War:1936 - 1939

27. The Spanish Civil War

28. The Spanish Civil War: 1936 - 1939 Francisco Franco

29. The Spanish Civil War:A Dress Rehearsal for WW II? Italian troops in Madrid

30. “Guernica” by Pablo Picasso

31. The Japanese Invasionof China, 1937

32. The “Problem” of theSudetenland “Appeasement” in action!

33. Why Appeasement? • Germany’s aggressive move to reoccupy the Rhineland, rebuild its military, and annex Austria sent fear through Europe – no one wanted another world war! • France and Britain persuade the League of Nations to accept a “policy of appeasement” allowing Germany to take over (annex) part of the Sudetenland – a part of Czechoslovakia – Hitler promised not to move any farther • This move secretly allowed France and Britain to build up their militaries in preparation for war

34. Appeasement: The Munich Agreement, 1938 British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain Now we have “peace in our time!” Herr Hitler is a man we can do business with.

35. All of Czechoslovakia Becomes Part of the Third Reich: March 1939

36. The Dictators Make a Deal! • The Nazi-Soviet Pact caught the world by surprise! • Fascists and Communists never got along – each hated what the other stood for! • Hitler and Stalin made a deal to never attack one another • They also secretly agreed to invade Poland together – then each take a half! • The last check on German aggression had been removed!

37. The Nazi-SovietNon-Aggression Pact, 1939 Foreign Ministers von Ribbentrop & Molotov

38. The WarBegan with the invasion of poland!