Resumen de History Mock 2010

Chapter 4: The peace treaties after the First World War.

The Paris Peace Conference.
It was a spectacular occasion as a momentous event. It was signed on 28 June 1919. When the terms
were announced, the Germans complaint that it was too unfair.
The mood in 1919.
When the leaders of Britain (Lloyd George), France (Clemenceau), and the USA (Wilson) arrived at Paris
to draw up a Treaty, they were under pressure to deal severely with Germany. France and Britain felt it had
to be punished for starting the war, as well as paying for the damage and destruction caused by the war.
Except the USA, every country that had fought in the war was exhausted, their economy was in a bad
state, and 9 million had died. Civilians had suffered shortages of food and medicine. Villages had been
devastated.
Although no fighting had taken place in Britain, the huge casualties had left their mark in public opinion.
They also wanted to treat Germany harshly when it became public how Germany had treated Russia in
the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. The bitterness and hatred remained.
The aims of the leaders at the Paris Peace Conference.
There was a disagreement about what to do with Germany:
Some felt the aim was to punish Germany.
Others that they should cripple Germany so that it wouldnt start another war.
Others that they should reward the winning countries.
Others that they should establish a just and lasting peace.
Georges Clemenceau (France)
France had suffered enormous damage to its land, industry and people and self-confidence.
Germany seemed to many French people as powerful and threatening as ever.
Felt threatened by Germany.
Saw the Treaty as an opportunity to cripple Germany so that it could not attack France again.
Was a realist.
He demanded a treaty that would weaken Germany as much as possible.
Woodrow Wilson (USA)
He was an idealist.
Wanted to build a better and more peaceful world from the ruins of the Great War.
Germany shouldnt be punished too harshly because someday it would recover and want
revenge.
Wanted to strengthen democracy in the defeated nation so that its people would not let its
soldiers cause another war.
Nations should cooperate to achieve world peace. In January 1918 he presented his 14 points,
the fourteenth was a League of Nations.
Believed in self-determination and wanted the different Eastern Europe peoples to rule
themselves instead of forming part of Austria-Hungarys empire.
Many British and French people did not agree with the 14 points because they seemed impractical, like
self-determination, it would be very hard for peoples of eastern Europe to rule themselves since they were
scattered along many different countries.
David Lloyd George (Great Britain)
Was in the middle ground between the other two.
Wanted Germany to be justly punished but not too harshly.
Wanted Germany to loose its navy and its colonies since they threatened the British Empire.
He did not want Germany to seek revenge and possibly start another war.

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 Wanted to start trading with Germany again since it meant jobs for the British people.
Had great pressures back home for a harsh treaty.
Disagreements and compromises
It was clear that the objectives of the three wouldnt be reached. Clemenceau clashed with Wilson in many
aspects. The USA had practically not suffered, so it was generous with Germany. But it had to give way
with regards to the coalfields and the Rhineland. Lloyd George didnt agree either with Clemenceau, as the
first didnt want to treat Germany too harshly. Wilson didnt agree either with Lloyd George, as the second
didnt like the 2nd point of the fourteen points, allowing all nations access to the seas.
The Treaty of Versailles.
None of the Big Three was happy with the terms. This can be divided into 5 areas:
The terms of the treaty:
1) War guilt.
The Germans had to accept the blame for starting the war. This was seen as extremely harsh by the
Germans.
2) Reparations.
Germany had to pay reparations to the Allies for the damage of the war. It was of 6600 million pounds. The
terms were later changed with the Young Plan in 1929.
3) German territories and colonies.
Germanys overseas colonies were taken away. Former German colonies were controlled by the League
as mandates. It forbid Germany to ally with Austria.
4) Germanys armed forces.
The army was limited to 100000 men and they had to be all volunteers. Germany was not allowed to have
armored vehicles, submarines or aircraft. The navy could only build 6 battleships. The Rhineland had to
become a demilitarized zone.
5) League of Nations.
The League was introduced as an international police force.
German reactions to the Treaty of Versailles.
The terms of the Treaty were announced on 7 May to a horrified German nation. Germany had to lose:
10% of its land
all of its overseas colonies
12.5% of its population
16% if its coalfields and almost half of its iron and steel industry
Its army was reduced to 100000 men; it could have no air force, and a tiny navy. It had to accept the
blame for having started the war, and should pay reparations. The reaction was of horror and outrage.
They felt they hadnt started or lost the war. They believed that they had agreed a ceasefire. At first the
government refused to sign the treaty, and the navy sank its ships as a protest. At one point war almost
broke out again, but, reluctantly, Ebert agreed to accept the terms of the Treaty.
- War guilt and reparations.
The war guilt clause was particularly hated. They thought that the blame should be shared, but if not, this
meant that Germany was also expected to pay for all the damage caused by it. The German economy was
already in tatters. They feared the reparation payments would cripple them.
- Disarmament.
An army of 100000 men was too little for a country as big as Germany; it was a pride for them. None of the
Allies disarmed like Germany did in the 1920s, despite Wilsons Fourteen points calling for disarmament.
- German territories.
It had lost a lot of its territories. It was a blow for their pride and economy. They had lost important
industrial areas (Saar, Upper Silesia). While Germany was loosing territories, France and Britain were
gaining territories.
- The Fourteen Points and the League of Nations.

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They felt that the treatment was not keeping with Wilsons Fourteen Points. It felt insulted for not being
invited to the League of Nations.
- Double standards?
German complaints about the Treaty felt in deaf ear, but many people thought their treatment was much
better comparing to the one that they had treated Russia in the Brest-Litovsk. The problems with their
economies were bad, but it was partly self-inflicted.
The impact of the Treaty on Germany.
In 1919, Eberts government was pushed into chaos and his right-wing opponents could not bear the
Treaty and made a revolution against him, but failed. The strike that stopped the revolution paralyzed
services like power and transport. It was called the Kapp Putsch. When Germany fell behind the payment
of reparations in 1922, in 1923 French and Belgium soldiers entered the Ruhr region and simply took what
was owed to them as raw materials and goods. This was legal according to the Treaty. The government
told the workers to go on strike. 100 were killed and 100000 protestors expelled, but the worst was that
now Germany didnt have any goods to sell, therefore no income. The government solved the problem by
printing extra money, which took them to another problem, hyperinflation. This money was virtually
worthless so prices shot up. Wages were paid daily.
Verdicts on the Treaty of Versailles.
In 1919, the Treaty was not only criticized by the Germans, none of the big three were satisfied.
Clemenceau said it was not harsh enough.
Lloyd George received a heros welcome when he returned to Britain, but he felt another war
would happen.
Wilson was very disappointed with the treaty. The American congress did not approve the Treaty.
Socould it be justified?
History has shown that it helped to create a cruel regime in Germany and eventually a second world war.
But at that time, for the people outside Germany, it was seen as fair. A more generous treaty would have
been totally unacceptable to the public opinion. And the Treaty was the best that could be hoped for in the
circumstances.
Chapter 5: Russia and the USSR (1918-1980)
The new Tsar.
When Nicholas II was crowned Tsar of Russia in 1984, many people favored him, and even called him the
little father of Russia, but twenty-three years later, he had been removed from power and he and his
family were prisoners. The Tsar may have asked himself how, but commentators were expecting collapse
way before1917.
The Tsars Empire
Russia was a vast empire rather than a single country, and the Tsar was its supreme ruler.
Nationalities
The Tsars empire included many different nationalities. Only 40% of the Tsars subjects spoke Russian as
a first language. The Cossacks were loyal to the Tsar, while the Poles and Finns were not. Jews often
suffered vicious attacks called pogroms.
Peasants and countryside
They were about 80% of Russias population, they lived in communes. The wealthier peasants were called
kulaks. Living and working conditions were dreadful. Famine and starvation were common and the life
expectancy was about 40. Most land was unsuitable for farming and since the population was growing it
was in short supply. They still used ancient farming techniques. The land was divided into large fields,
organized by the Mir. Each family was given a part of that land called a plot. They had no basic education
but were loyal to the Tsar since they were very religious and the priest talked well of the Tsar. But some

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favored the social revolutionaries. The main discontent was over land, they thought unfair that the
aristocracy, the Church, and the Tsar had so much land and them so little.
Working classes
Some peasants left the land to work on the newly developing factories. This took place in the capital cities,
and here the population was growing as peasants arrived looking for a better way of life. The workers lived
in filth and squalor. Overcrowding, terrible food, disease and alcoholism were everyday facts of life. There
were no government regulations to child labor, hours, safety, or education. Trade unions were illegal. Low
pay, 12-15 hour days, unguarded machinery and brutal discipline were some of the horrible working
conditions.
Middle classes
Due to industrialization, the capitalists emerged. They were landowners, industrialists, traders and
businessmen. The capitalists increased Russias middle class. Their main concerns were the management
of the economy, although the capitalists were also concerned about controlling their workforce.
Aristocracy.
They were only the 1.5% of society but owned 25% of the land. The had vast estates, town and country
houses and elegant lifestyles. They usually acted as local officers. In the countryside they dominated the
local assemblies or zemstva. Many lived in glamorous cities and their main fear was that the peasants
would rise up and take their lands.

The Tsar and his government

The vast empire was ruled by an Autocracy. The Tsar had absolute power to rule Russia. He believed that
God had placed him in that position and the church supported him. He could appoint or sack ministers or
make any decisions without consulting anyone. Although he had some good qualities, he was not an able,
forceful and imaginative monarch lie his predecessors. He tended to avoid making important decisions.
Nicholas handled his officials poorly. He would sack or encourage conflict between anyone that he felt
threatened by. He even appointed family members and friends to the court to important positions. Many
were incompetent and corrupt.
Control
Despite everything the Tsars regime was very strong in some ways.
Peasants were controlled by the Mir.
The Mir could be overruled by the land captains (minor landlords chosen by the Tsar as his
officials in local areas).
The zemstva (local assemblies) helped control Russia. They were dominated by land captains in
the countryside and by professional people in the towns.
Local governors were appointed by the Tsar from the aristocracy. There were special emergency
laws that allowed them to:
o Order the police to arrest suspected opponents of the regime.
o Ban individuals from the zemstva, courts or any government organization.
o Make suspects pay heavy fines.
o Introduce censorship of books or leaflets or newspapers.
Local governors controlled the police. The police had 10,000 officers and had to concentrate on
political opponents of the regime.
The Okhrana was the Tsars secret police.
The army was used for rebellions.
Opposition to the tsar

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 Middle class people (cadets, liberals): wanted greater democracy in Russia and a strong
parliament, just like Britain.
Social Revolutionaries: They were a radical movement, they wanted to carve up the huge
estates of the nobility and hand them over to the peasants. They believed in violence and
revolution. They had wide support in the towns and countryside.
Social Democratic Party: were a smaller but more disciplined group led by Karl Marx. They split
between Bolsheviks and Mensheviks. The Bolsheviks (led by Lenin) wanted to create a revolution
whereas the Mensheviks believed Russia was not ready for revolution. Both were illegal and
many of its members were exiled.
By 1903 the ideas of these opposition parties and the appalling conditions led to a ware of strikes,
demonstrations and protests. Russia was getting close to a revolution.
The 1905 Revolution
The governments attempts to deal with the problems failed. When it relaxed censorship, there were antigovernment pamphlets, books and newspapers everywhere. It tried to set up government-approved trade
unions, but this lead to strikes and demands for free unions. The Tsar tried to get the country behind him
by embarking on a war against Japan but suffered humiliating defeats.

Bloody Sunday
A crowd of 200.000 protesters, led by priest Father Gapon, came to the winter palace to give a petition to
the Tsar. They took pictures of the Tsar to show that they respected him and went in peace. But the tsar
wasnt there, he had left when signs of troubled appeared. The crowd was met by a regiment of soldiers
and Cossaks. Without warning the soldiers opened fire and the Cossaks charged. The Tsar lost the
respect of Father Gapon and the ordinary people of Russia.
The Tsar did not notice the seriousness of the situation. It seemed that he was going to lose
control of Russia. In September a general strike began and paralyzed Russian industry. The
revolutionaries such as Lenin and Trotsky came back from exile to join the revolution. Workers councils\s
(soviets) were formed in the towns and, while in the countryside peasants murdered landlords and took
over their lands.
So how did the Tsar survive?
In his October Manifesto, the Tsar offered a Duma (parliament), freedom of speech, right to form political
parties and financial help for peasants. But the Tsar made peace with Japan and his best troops were
back. These troops crushed the revolt. By March 1906 the revolution had been completely crushed and
the revolutionary leaders were either killed, exiled or hiding abroad. No revolution would succeed as long
as the army stayed loyal to the tsar. After crushing the revolt the Tsar created the fundamental laws, this
agreed with the existence of a Duma, but had so many limitations that it could do nothing.
The troubled years, 1905-1914
In order to avoid another revolution, the Tsar needed to reform Russia to satisfy at least one of the
unhappy groups. The Tsar continued to rule without paying much attention to the Duma. The first and
second were very critical of him so were sent off. But later the Tsar changed the voting rules and a less
critical Duma was elected. By 1912 even this loyal Duma was becoming critical but the Tsar continued as
criticism was not a serious threat.
Stolypin
He was the prime minister elected by the Tsar in 1906. He used a carrot and a stick approach to the
problems of Russia.
The stick: he came down hard on the opposition to the regime. Over 20,000 were exiled and over 1000
hanged. This effectively killed off opposition to the regime.

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The carrot: he tried to win the peasants by giving what they wanted the most, land. Kulaks were allowed
to opt out of the Mir communes and buy up land. These kulaks prospered, and production also. On the
other hand 90% of land in fertile west Russia was still run by inefficient communes.
Stolypin also tried to boost Russias industry. There was an impressive economic growth although far
behind modern industrial powers. Wages were still low and the cost of food and housing high. Living and
working conditions were still appalling. All of the profits were going to the capitalists or French banks that
had loaned Russia money in order to grow industries. Stolypin was assassinated in 1911 but the Tsar was
going to sack him anyway, he feared that he was trying to change Russia too much with education plans
and regulations for workers, they saw these reforms as a threat to Russian traditional society, in which
everyone knew their place.
Relations between the people and the Tsar became worse as economy took a downturn in 1912, causing
unemployment and hunger.
The government tried things such as discrimination to Jews, Muslims and other minorities to get the
people behind them but discontent grew especially in the working class. Strikes were on the rise, however
the army and police dealt with these problems and the government seemed strong to its opponents.
Rasputin
The Tsars son Alexis was very ill with blood disease, through hypnosis, it appeared that Rasputin could
control it. He was considered a miracle worker by the Tsarina. Before long he was giving the Tsar advice
on how to run the country. People suspected of him, he was said to be a drinker and a womanizer. The
Tsars opponents seized on Rasputin as a sign of the Tsars weakness and unfitness to rue Russia.
War and revolution
When Russia entered the WW1, tensions seemed to disappear. The Tsar seemed popular and strikes
were abandoned, he was applauded. The good feeling however, was very short, because as the war
continued, the Tsar began to lose the support of the key sectors of Russian society.
The army
The soldiers felt good about fighting but fought more to protect their country than to show loyalty to the
Tsar. They fought bravely but were no match for the German army. They were badly lead and were treated
horribly by the aristocrat commanders. They were short rifles, ammunition, artillery and shells. When the
Tsar took personal command of the army it made little difference since he wasnt an able commander but
he was held responsible for the shameful defeats. By 1917, the army was a supporter of the revolutionary
Bolshevik party.
Peasants, workers and the ethnic minorities
In the countryside the war had killed many peasants and this left orphans needing state war pensions that
they did not always receive. The government did not have money to pay the peasants for food so planned
to take it away by force but stopped in fear of creating a revolt.
The industrial workers were unhappy due to the fact that war contracts had created an extra 3.5 million
jobs, and the wages were still horrible, overcrowding was even worse and there were fuel and food
shortages. The problem was that the railways could not cope with the needs of the army and the factories,
so they didnt deliver these things to them. Many working men cursed the Tsar in 1917.
The middle classes
They did not suffer like the peasant and workers but were appalled when they were revealed of the living
conditions of the war and the lack of supplies that they had, and they tried to set up committees to help.
This made them unhappy with the Tsar.
The aristocracy
Junior officers died in war, and these men were the future aristocrat class. Many aristocrats were appalled
at the influence of Rasputin over Russia. Also they were angry because when the Tsar went to war, he left
his wife in charge, and the fact that she was German began rumors in the capital. There were also rumors
of an affair between her and Rasputin. It got so serious that a group of leading aristocrats murdered
Rasputin in December 1916.

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The March revolution

In January 1917 strikes broke out all over Russia. They were supported and joined by the army. The Tsars
best troops were dead on the battlefields. On 7 March workers at the Putilov steelworks went on strike.
They joined with thousands of women and demanded bread. The strikers rose to 250,000 and the industry
came to a standstill. The Duma set up a provisional committee to take over the government. When the
Tsar told them to stop and the army to put down the revolt, they both refused. They marched to the Duma
demanding they take over the government and they accepted. On the same day revolutionaries set up the
Petrograd Soviet again, and took control of food supplies to the city. The Tsar issued a statement that he
was abdicating, he wanted his brother Michael to take over, but he refused: Russia had finished with
Tsars.
The provisional government
The provisional government faced three overwhelmingly urgent decisions:
To continue war or make peace.
To distribute land to the peasants or ask them to wait until elections had been held.
How best to get food to the starving workers in the cities.
The provisional government was a mixed group, they had lawyers and also angry revolutionaries who had
no experience at government at all. They promised Russias allies that it would continue the war and it
also urged the peasants to be restrained and wait for elections before taking any land. The idea was that
the Provisional Government could then stand down and allow free elections to elect a new constituent
assembly that would fairly and democratically rule Russia.
But on the other side was the Petrograd Soviet, who had the support of the workers and army, during the
crisis months, the Soviet and Provisional Government worked together.
Lenin wanted to drive the revolution even further, Lenin, the leader of the Bolsheviks. He returned from
exile and set out the Bolshevik program in his April Thesis, urging people to support the Bolsheviks in a
second revolution. His slogans were Peace, Land and Bread and All power to the soviets, which
contrasted with the message of the Provisional Government. There support increased quickly in the
soviets and in the army.
The provisional governments authority collapsed
In the second half of 1917, the Provisional Government lost power and collapsed for many reasons. The
war effort was failing. Soldiers were dropping out of the army and Kerensky became Minister for War. It
was a disaster, the army began to fall apart in the face of the German counter-attack. The peasants
ignored the orders from the government to wait. They were simply taking control of the countryside. The
soldiers, who were mostly peasants, did not want to miss their turn when land was shard out and that
made many desert the war and drop out. The problems got worse when Bolshevik-led protests turned into
a rebellion. When Kerensky proved that Lenin had been helped by the Germans, support for the rebellion
fell, Lenin fled to Finland and Kerensky took over the government after using troops to crush the rebellion.
Kerensky loses his power
The real power lay in the hands of the soviets, especially the Petrograd Soviet. It had a Bolshevik majority
and a Bolshevik chairman Leon Trotsky and had the support of much of the army and industrial workers.
When, in September 1917, Kornilov marched into Moscow intending to get rid of the Bolsheviks and
restore order, Kerensky had troops that were no match for Kornilovs and so he turned to his Bolshevik
opponents, who organized themselves in an army called the Red Guards. Kornilovs troops refused to fight
members of the Soviet so his plans collapsed.
This was hardly a victory and Kerenskys government was doomed. He had tried to carry on the war and
failed, and therefore lost the armys support. It had tried to stop the peasants from taking land and lost
their support too, and therefore failed to bring food into the towns. Therefore losing also the support of the
urban workers.
Bolsheviks were promising what people wanted most (bread, peace, land). They had removed the threat
of Kornilov. The Bolsheviks had most of Russia favoring them by the end of September 1917.

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Bolshevik revolution
By the end of October 1917, Lenin was convinced that the time was right for the Bolsheviks to rise and
take power. He convinced all the Bolsheviks to act swiftly. During the night of 6 November, the Red
Guards, lead by Leon Trotsky, took control of post offices, the bridges and the state bank. They had taken
control of almost all Petrograd when Kerensky woke up next morning. During the day, with almost no
opposition, they took over railway stations and important targets. On the night of November 7, they
stormed the winter palace and arrested ministers of the Provisional Government. Kerensky fled into exile
and on 8 November and announcement was made to the Russian people that the Provisional Government
had been overthrown.
An analysis of the Bolshevik Revolution
The Bolsheviks did not have the support of the majority of the Russian people, but were able to take
control because the Provisional Government was very unpopular and there were no massive
demonstrations wanting Kerensky back.
They were a disciplined party dedicated to revolution and had supporters in all the right places. Half the
army supported them as well as the sailors in the important naval bases. The major industrial centers were
also pro-Bolshevik. They also had outstanding personalities such as Trotsky and there leader Lenin. For
all of these reasons they were able to carry out their takeover in November 1917.
Lenin in power
The Bolsheviks had promised the people bread, peace and land and knew that if he failed to deliver he
would have the same fate as Kerensky and the Provisional Government. Lenin immediately set up the
Council of Peoples Commissars (Sovnarkon). It issued many decrees aiming to strengthen Bolsheviks
hold on power. It announced that Russia was asking for peace with Germany, the peasants were given the
Tsars and the Churchs lands. The factories and industries were put in the hands of the workers. They
were given the power to treat ruthlessly with their opponents and did.
The Bolshevik dictatorship
Lenin had promised free elections to the Constituent Assembly and did not gain the majority of the votes,
the rivals, the Socialist Revolutionaries, were in majority, so he sent the Red Guards to close down the
Assembly. This was easily forgotten and Lenin used the Congress of Soviets to pass his laws, as they
were a Bolshevik majority. Russias democratic experiment lasted less than 24 hours, but Lenin believed
that he was establishing a dictatorship of the proletariat that would, in time, give way to true communism.
Making peace
Lenin had to make good his promise of peace so he told Trotsky to negotiate a peace treaty, but to try to
wait as long as possible. He hoped a socialist revolution would break out in Germany, but by February
1918 nothing had happened and the Germans were starting to advance again. Lenin had to accept the
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. It was a severe blow to Russia; they lost 34% of its population, 32% of its
agricultural land, 54% of its industry, 26% of its railways and 89% of its coalmines. They also imposed a
fine of 300 million gold roubles. Lenin felt that he would get this back when Germany lost.
Opposition and Civil War
Lenin was bound to make enemies. In December he set up the Cheka, a secret police to crush his
opponents after being shot three times but escaping. A collection of anti-Bolshevik elements united in an
attempt to crush the Bolsheviks, they called themselves the Whites. In March 1918 the Czech Legion
seized control of a large section of the Trans-Siberian railway and pretty soon three separate White armies
were marching into Bolshevik-controlled western Russia (Bolshevik zone, stronghold).
Leon Trotsky created a new Red Army of 300,000 men, led by former Tsarist officers. He made sure that
they stayed loyal by holding their familys hostage. The Cheka made sure that nobody cooperated with the
Whites in Bolshevik territories. They treated suspects brutally and it became known as the Red Terror.
Lenin ordered the Tsar and his family to be killed since the Whites were advancing into the place where he
was staying. He could not risk the Tsar being recued and made leader of the Whites. Both sides did
horrible things and the most suffering was in the ordinary people who lived in areas where the fighting took
place.

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Through harsh discipline and brilliant leadership, Trotsky began to turn back the White forces. The Whites
were not really a strong alliance and their armies were unable to work together, Trotsky defeated them one
by one until the last in 1920. Although there were scattered outbreaks, the Bolsheviks were securely in
control of Russia.
Why did the Bolsheviks win the Civil War?
Advantages of the Reds
The Red army was united, disciplined, and brilliantly lead by Trotsky. The also kept control over their
heartlands in western Russia by:
Made sure that the towns and armies were well fed, by forcing peasant to hand over food by
rationing supplies.
Took over factories of Moscow and Petrograd so that they could supply their army with
equipment and ammunition.
The Red Terror kept the population under strict control.
They also made good use of atrocities committed by the Whites and raised fears about the
possible return of the Tsar and landlords with effective propaganda.
Another advantage was that the Reds had territorial advantages. Their enemies were spread around the
edge of Russia while they had internal lines of communication that allowed them to move troops quickly by
railways.
Disadvantages of the whites
They were not united and were made up of different groups with different aims. They were also widely
spread so could not meet to coordinate attacks. They had limited support from the Russian population and
the peasants preferred the Reds since the Whites would bring the landlords back and they caused more
suffering to the peasants than the Reds did.
War communism
It was the name given to the harsh economic measures that the Bolsheviks took during the Civil War. Its
aims were to put theories in practice by redistributing wealth among the Russian people and to help the
Civil War by keeping the towns and the Red Army supplied with food and weapons.
All large factories were taken over by the government.
Production was planned and organized by the government.
Discipline for workers was strict and strikers could be shot.
Peasant had to hand over surplus food to the government, if not they could be shot.
Food was rationed.
Free enterprise became illegal-all production and trade was controlled by the state.
This achieved its goal of winning the war but caused terrible hardship. The peasants stopped producing
food since the government just took it away. This lead to a terrible famine and 7 million Russians died,
cannibalism was reported.
In February 1921 these policies created an uprising at Kronstadt naval base. It was put down by troops but
had a deep impact on Lenin. He abandoned these policies since he found it strange that these sailors had
supported him in the beginning.
The New Economic Policy
Lenin recognized that change was necessary and announced the New Economic Policy. It brought back
capitalism for some sections of Russian society. Peasants were allowed to sell surplus grain for profit but
would pay tax on what they produced rather than giving some of it up to the government. Small factories
were handed back into private ownership and private trading of small goods was legal. Lenin made it clear
that the NEP was temporary and that the vital heavy industries would remain in state hands. Bolsheviks
were against it seeing as it betrayed Communism, but Lenin won and by 1925 there seemed to be a rise in
food production but these increases did not necessarily improve the situation of the industrial workers.
The death of Lenin and the creation of the USSR

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Lenin did not lived to see the recovery of the Russian economy. After several strokes he died in January
1924. He led Russia through revolution and civil war and supervised the drawing up of a new constitution
that turned the Russian Empire into the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).
Stalin or Trotsky?
There were many possibilities to take Lenins place, but the real fight was between two leading figures and
bitter rivals in the Communist Party, Stalin and Trotsky. In 1929 Stalin made himself secure as the
supreme leader of the USSR. He achieved this through a combination of political scheming, the mistakes
of his opponents and the clever way in which he built up his power base.
Why did Trotsky lose the leadership contest?
Trotsky was a brilliant speaker and writer, as well as the partys best political thinker. He had organized the
Bolshevik revolution and was the hero of the civil war as leader of the Reds and he had negotiated peace
with Germany. So why did he lose?
He was arrogant and often offended the senior party members.
He failed to take the opposition seriously.
He made little effort to build up any support in the ranks of the party.
He underestimated Stalin.
He unfortunately got sick with malaria when he needed to be at his most active.
He was also the victim of a trick by Stalin, who told him that Lenins funeral was to be one day, and it was
really another, and since Trotsky was away in the south of Russia, he couldnt go to the funeral whereas
Stalin appeared as chief mourner and Lenins closest friend.
How did Stalin win?
As we saw, he was a clever politician. He associated himself with Lenin and took on boring but important
jobs in the party in order to transfer supporters to important posts and even lowering those who were
against him. He was ruthless with his opponents and even took Bukharins side in a debate in order to help
get rid a Trotsky, and then opposed Bukharin with Trotskys exact argument. His policies were more
normal than Trotskys plan, he wanted to establish Communism in Russia instead of spreading revolution
worldwide. And he also appeared to be a Georgian-peasant, much more a man of the people than his
rivals, and he seemed to understand the peoples feelings.
Modernizing the USSR
Stalin was determined to modernize the USSR so that it would be able to meet the challenges that were to
come. Almost all the industry was concentrated in just a few cities and the workers were unskilled and
poorly educated. Many regions of the USSR were in the same backward state as they had been 100 ago.
Industry and the Five-Year Plans
Stalin ended Lenins NEP, and started with the Five-Year Plans. They were drawn up by a GOSPLAN,
which set ambitious targets for production in the vital heavy industries, they were complex but set out in a
way that everyone knew what they had to achieve.
The first Five-Year Plan focused on major industries and although most targets were not met, the
production doubled or even trebled in some cases. The USSR increased production and created a
foundation on which to create the second Five-Year Plan. They were rich in natural resources but they
were in remote places, so new cities were built from nothing and workers taken to knew industrial cities.
They created industries from scratch in previously undeveloped areas such as Magnitogorsk or Sverdlovsk
or in Muslim Republics.
The second Five-Year Plan was built on the achievements of the first, heavy industry was still a priority but
other areas were developed such as mining for lead, tin, zinc and other minerals found in Siberia.
Transport and communications improved as new railways and canals were built. The Moscow
underground railway was spectacular.
Stalin also wanted this industrialization to help the agriculture so the production of tractors and far
machinery increased dramatically.

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In the third Five-Year Plan, some factories were going to switch to the production of consumer goods but
this was disrupted by the Second World War.
Were the Five-Year Plans a success?
There is much that was criticized of the Five-Year Plans, such as there being a great deal of inefficiency
and duplication of effort and waste, although the Soviets learned from there mistakes in the second and
third Five-Year Plans. There was an enormous human cost. But by 1937 the USSR was a modern state
and it was this that saved it from defeat when Hitler invaded in 1941.
How was industrialization achieved?
Any plan of these was bound to carry a cost, and here, the cost was payed by the workers. They were
bombarded with propaganda and had strict targets to meet and were fined if they didnt. They were told to
be like Stakhanov, a worker that cut 102 tons of coal in one shift. The first Five-Year Plan was short of
workers so women were drafted into the industry, they built day-care centers to make this possible.
By the late 1930s, many Soviet workers had improved their conditions by acquiring well-paid skilled jobs
and earning bonuses for meeting targets. Education became free and almost nobody was unemployed.
On the other hand life was harsh under Stalin. Factory discipline was strict and punishments severe. Being
late or absent meant losing your job and probably house also. Some workers tried to escape this by
moving to other jobs but the secret police introduced internal passports that prevented the free movement
of workers inside the USSR.
Kulaks and Jews and suspects of being political opponents of Stalin worked on the great engineering
projects such as dams and canals. Others were unfortunate workers that had had accidents or made
mistakes in their works but had been found guilt of sabotage. On these projects conditions were
appalling, there were many deaths and accidents and about 100,000 workers died during the construction
of the Belomor Canal.
The concentration of heavy industry meant that there were few consumer goods, overcrowding was a
problem and wages actually fell between 1928 and 1937. In 1932 both husband and wife earned only as
much money as one man in 1928.
Stalin was ready to destroy the way of life of the Soviet in order to help industrialization.
Modernising agriculture: collectivisation
For the Five-Year Plans to be successful Stalin needed to modernize the agriculture because in 1928 the
country was already 2 million tons short of the grain it needed to feed the workers. He also wanted to try to
raise money for his industrialization plan by selling surplus food abroad.
The problem was that farming was organized under the NEP, the lots of land were divided in very small
pieces and this was not big enough to give efficient use to the tractors and fertilizers, and the peasants
had enough to eat and saw little point in increasing production to feed the towns.
The government tried to sell these ideas by offering the peasants free seeds and other perks, but soon
there were problems. The peasants disliked the fact that the farms were under the control of the local
Communist leader. They were being asked to grow crops for the industry rather than for feeding
themselves. Stalin was asking them to abandon a way of life that they and their ancestors had led for
centuries.
It was very hard to convince the kulaks, who did not want to hand over their land and produce. Soviet
propaganda tried to turn the people against the kulaks and violence was quickly implemented. Requisition
parties came and took the food that they needed and left the kulaks to starve. The kulaks were arrested
and sent to labor camps of forced on to poor-quality land. In revenge many kulaks burnt their crops and
slaughtered their animals so that the Communists could not have them.
The countryside was in chaos, in the places that collectivization had been introduced successfully; the
peasants were unfamiliar with the new ideas and methods. Peasants starved and bitterness was present
as they saw how Communist officials took food for export.
Food production fell under these conditions and there was a famine in 1932-1933. When the Germans
invaded Ukraine, they were at first made welcome for driving out the communists.
Despite the famine Stalin continued and by 1934 there were no kulaks left. By 1941 almost all the
agricultural land was organized under the collective system. Stalin had achieved his aim of collectivization.

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How powerful was Stalin?

It was impossible to do what Stalin did without making enemies, but one of his aims was to control his
people to such an extent that they would be afraid even to think of opposing him, Throughout his time in
power he used the secret police, at first called OGPU and the NKVD, to crush any opponents of his
policies.
The purges
Was the most terrifying period in Stalins rule, the purges began in 1934 as a consequence of the death of
Kirov, the leader of the Leningrad (new name for Petrograd) Communist Party. Stalin used this as an
excuse to purge his opponents inside the party. Loyal Bolsheviks such as Kamenev, Bukharin, etc. all
confessed to being traitors of the state. Around 500,000 party members were purged. In 1940, Stalins
agents murdered Trotsky while being in exile in Mexico.
Later Stalin turned to the army. He removed about 25,000 including the Supreme Commander.
As these continued, university lecturers and teachers, miners and engineers, factory managers and
ordinary workers all disappeared. It is said that every family in the USSR lost someone in the purges. They
were unpredictable, arrests could take place in the middle of the night and victims were not even told why
they were accused. Physical and mental torture would make them confess to anything after a couple of
days. If that failed, the NKVD would threaten the families of those arrested.
By 1937 an estimated 18 million people had been sent to labor camps, 10 million died. Stalin weakened
the USSR with the purges. When Hitler invaded the USSR in 1941, one of the key problems of the Red
Army was the lack of good able soldiers. He also destroyed any independent thinking, since those that
were spared knew that their lives depended on thinking exactly as Stalin did.
The new constitution
In 1936 Stalin created a new constitution. It gave freedom of speech and free elections. But only members
of the communist party could be elected and newspapers had to be approved
The Cult of Stalin
Stalin was admired by the average Soviet citizen in the 1930s, he and his lifestyle of government were
popular, the Communist Party saw him as a winner and Soviet citizens saw him as a dictator of the
people. The history of the USSR was rewritten so that Lenin and Stalin were the only heroes of the
Revolution.
The Soviet education system was geared not to independent thinking but to Stalinist propaganda.
The Soviet people were deluged with portraits, photographs and statues of Stalin. He was worshiped
everywhere. All music and other arts in the USSR were carefully monitored by the NKVD. Regular
processions were organized on the streets of Russian towns and cities praising Stalin and all that he had
achieved.
Religious worship of any kind was banned. Stalin did not want the people to have loyalty to anyone else
but him. Belief in God and the words of the priests had to be replaced by belief in Communism and the
words of its leaders.

Chapter 6: Germany 1918-1945

The Impact of the First World War
In 1914 there was great optimism of Germanys actual power and prosperity. People were proud of their country, their
army and of their Kaiser virtually a dictator. But in 1918 everything was destroyed and people were suffering
hunger and epidemic diseases.
Germany was bankrupt: many working men died, national income decreased 70% and industries
decrease 33%
German Society divided deeply: women were taken to work in factories and the richer people made
fortunes while poor people died of hunger

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Germany became an unstable democratic republic: a revolution took place and many people hated the
new democratic leader

The birth of the Weimar Republic

After German defeat in the WW I, the Kaiser refused to become democratic. These brought mutinies and revolts
which finally ended with the Kaisers abdication. The Socialist Friedrich Ebert become the new leader. He made
peace with the Allies and passed a new Constitution (freedom of speech and worship and better working conditions).
However, other politicians were not enthusiastic. They restricted what the new govt could do and many wanted the
Kaiser back. However, in 1919, he became the President of the Weimar Republic after elections.
The Republic in danger, 1919 1924
The threat from the Left: a Communist Revolution took place. The SPARTACISTS wanted to organize
Germany with soviets as well as Russia. They tried to do so in some towns but the FREIKORPS anticommunist soldiers who joined Ebert stopped them and killed their leaders. Another revolution took place
in Bavaria but it had the same end as the other one. By the 1920s there was a powerful communist antigovernment force.
Treaty of Versailles: the injustice of the Treaty appalled most Germans. These thought that Ebert was to
blame so a great source of bitterness was created.
The threat from the Right: people from the right had been proud of the Kaisers power. In 1920, the Kapp
Putsch rebellion took place. 5000 Freikorps rebelled and there was no way of stopping them. But Berlin
workers gave a general strike and the rebels suffered food and water shortage, so it failed. Political
assassinations were frequent. In 1923 Hitler led the Munich Putsch but failed. Nevertheless he received a
light sentence because he had friends in the govt.
Economic Disaster: the Treaty weakened German economy. Germany had to pay reparations to the Allies,
and then the French occupied the Ruhr industrial areas. The solution was to print money, but this caused
hyperinflation as a chain reaction.
In 1923 a new govt took over with Gustav Stesemann. He crated a new currency Rentenmark. He received loans
from the USA and solved the economic crisis.
The Weimar Republic under Stresemann
Achievements:
Economy: he built up Germanys prosperity again. Loans were asked to the USA and industry recovered. In
1928, production was the same as before the war and reparations were paid and exports increased.
Culture: a cultural revival took place. Writers, poets and architects developed as well as cinema.
Censorship was removed.
Politics: the Republic was beginning to settle and Germans were reconciling.
Foreign Policy: Stresemann signed the Locarno Treaties and Germany was accepted in the LN. He also
negotiated the Young Plan and took away all foreign troops from Germany.
Problems:
Economy: the economic boom was precarious and for a short time. Peasants and middle classes felt the
govt offered them little. They had been benefited with the Kaiser and the war. Farmers found
overproduction.
Culture: a moral decline seemed to lead that cultural change. In addition, many Americans and Jews
immigrated to Germany. Country values were lost.
Politics: Nazis and Communist built powerful party oppositions.
Foreign Policy: Nationalists and Communists attacked Stresemann after he had signed the Locarno
Treaties and accepted the Treaty of Versailles.
Hitler and the Nazis
The Nazis began as German Workers Party led by Anton Drexler. Then Hitler joined and created the Nazi Party
where he stirred nationalist passions.
The Munich Putsch: By 1923, Hitler hijacked a govt meeting and announced he was taking over Bavaria. This
brought chaos. He didnt receive people support and was arrested; although he got off very lightly.
The Nazis in the wilderness, 1924 1929: In prison, Hitler wrote a book to express his ideas. His plan was to gain
power in the democratic government so as then to destroy it. When he left prison, he tried to recruit members to his
party and created several organizations such as SS and SA. But they had not much support. So he aimed to the
peasants, farmers, middle classes and shopkeepers, where he found support. He appointed Goebbles to take charge
of Nazi propaganda. Even tough, they were the smallest minority party.
Mein Kampf:

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National Socialism: loyalty to Germany, racial purity + centralized state

Racism: Aryans were the Master Race
Armed Force: war was essential for the Nazis
Living Space or Lebensraum: German expansion to the east
The Fhrer: strength lay in loyalty to the leader Hitler

How successful were the Nazis by 1928

o Workers: FAILURE supported the Communist Party
o Peasants, farmers and middle-classes: SUCCESS they hated the Weimar govt economy.
Nazis said peasants were real Germans and promised things.
o Conservatives: SUCCESS wanted moral values back, which were lost during the Weimar
Republic
The Depression and rise of the Nazis
In 1929, USAs crash affected Germany badly which took to collapse. Meanwhile, the Nazis tried to look for support
in unemployed, elderly and middle classes. Finally, they became the biggest single party.
Why did Nazis succeed in elections?
o Nazi campaigning: Modern, generalized slogans, posters and pamphlets were used to defend traditional
values and to show that Jews, Communists, Weimar politicians and the Treaty of Versailles were the
causes of German decline. Nazis gave food and shelter to the unemployed and put emphasis in discipline.
In addition, Hitler was a powerful speaker and seemed to be the governor of the people. Support rocketed.
o Negative cohesion: people joined the Nazis not because they shared Nazis views but because they
shared Nazis fears and dislikes.
o Disillusionment with democracy: democracy was not capable of solving the Depressions issues. So many
people lost support to the democrats, specially the poorer classes.
o The Communist Threat: Communist support was increasing, so Nazis used this to gain support of anticommunist civilians, specially middle classes, industrial leaders and farmers, who were afraid of ending like
Russia under communism.
o Moral Decadence: Nazis gained support from all those who felt that traditional values where under thread.
How did Hitler become Chancellor in 1933?
Hitler demand the post of Chancellor to Hindenburg the President - , but he him. On the other hand, he gave it to
the old Chancellor von Papen. As a consequence, Nazis lost a lot of support. Hitler threatened suicide as the Nazis
started running out of funds. His appeal was again refused and von Schleicher took the charge. But he was weak
and was forced to resign. A powerful man was needed. So Hindenburg and von Papen then chose Hitler as
Chancellor after some meetings with aristocrats with the idea of limiting his power and just having him to gain
support. But they were very wrong. It was almost impossible for them to control Hitler.
Hitlers Germany
Hitlers Dictatorship
How could Hitler become the supreme dictator?
The Reichstag Fire: In 1933, the Reichstag building burnt down. The Nazis blamed the Communists for it
although it was not confirmed so as to have an excuse to kill communists.
In an election, Nazis won their largest share of votes and intimidated the Reichstag to pass the Enabling Act
allowed Hitler to pass laws without the participation of the Reichstag. After it, Communists were banned, and the
Catholic party joined Hitler. Hindenburg had very little power.
The Night of the Long Knives: Hitler tried to kill off opposition. The leader of the SS Ernst Rhm was
gaining too much power, so he decided to murder him as well as other 400 oppositors.
Der Fhrer: Hitler became the Supreme Leader (Fhrer) of Germany
Nazi control of Germany, 1933 1945
The Nazis had a powerful range of organizations and weapons that they used to control Germany and terrorize
Germans into submission.
The SS was formed and led by Himmler was in charge of killing off opposition to Nazism and carrying out
the racial policies.
The Gestapo (secret state police) was in charge of arresting citizens on suspicion and sending them to
concentration camps.

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Concentration camps were the Nazis sanction against people. Prisoners were forced to do hard labor,
food was limited and deaths became common.
The police and courts were all controlled by Nazis

Opposition to Nazis
There were four main opponents to the Nazi Party:
I. Trade Unionists: sindicates were abolished so they were disbanded. This brought revolts that were stopped
by the SS, SA and Gestapo
II. Political Opponents: other parties had different beliefs and criticized the Nazi policies. But the Nazi
disrupted the others meetings, frightened voters, etc. Thus, the Nazi Party became the biggest one by
1928.
III. Church: it was against the idea of killing and doing experiments with mentally handicapped. There were
protests and the protestant church was created. But Nazi stopped experimenting and finally stuck the
Church out of policies.
IV. Army Officers: Rhm was getting to much power in the army. Everything was solved in the Night of the
Long Knives.
However, opposition was little because:
Germans admired and trusted Hitler
Germans had fears (keep your head down)
The Propaganda machine
The July Bomb Plot: In 1944 some army officers came close to take Hitler from power. On July von Stufferbers left
a bomb in Hitlers conference room to try to kill him. But it failed. Hitler survived and the Nazis took terrible revenge
killing 5000 people.
Propaganda, culture and mass media
Newsreels and movies
Radio
Posters
Books
Newspapers
Music
Indoctrination: Hitler appointed to the children to indoctrinate and teach them Nazi views. He was able to do this by
hard physical training, Youth Camps, the German Teachers League, Performance books and Order Castles where
students were taught endurance. Nuremberg Rallies.
Youth opposition to Nazis
SWING Movement: accepted Jews and talked about sex. Listened to jazz.
EDELWEISS PIRATES: working-class teens who attacked Hitler Youths bands. Included boys and girls,
army deserters and escaped prisoners.
However, Hitler did little to stop this movements as he knew he would need their support as workers or soldiers in a
near future.
The role of women
The Nazis had clear ideas of what they wanted from women.
Women were expected to stay at home and look after the family. Women doctors, teachers and civil servants were
forced to give up their careers. Even at the end of the war, women were never asked to serve in the armed forces.
Their job was to keep the home nice for their husband and family - their life should revolve round the three 'Ks':
church
children
cooking
Goebbels said: "The mission of women is to be beautiful and to bring children into the world."
Hitler wanted a high birth rate, so the population would grow. The Nazis even considered making it law that families
should have at least four children. Girls did keep fit in the BDM to make themselves healthy for childbirth, but they
were discouraged from staying slim, because it was thought that thin women had trouble giving birth.
The Law for the Encouragement of Marriage gave newly wed couples a loan of 1,000 marks, and allowed them to
keep 250 marks for each child they had. Mothers who had more than eight children were given a gold medal.
Unmarried women could volunteer to have a baby for an Aryan member of the SS.

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Rearmament
Hitler came to power in 1933. One of his first steps was rearming. Thousands of unemployed workers were drafted
into the army, reducing unemployment. German people supported rearmament, but Hitler knew it would alarm other
countries, but he handled it carefully, because at first he did it secretly, and made a demonstration saying he didnt
want to rearm.
Economic Recovery
National Labour Service: unemployment decreased
Public Works: Railways, houses, motorways, etc were built from scratch
Rearmament & Conscription: also created jobs in factories
Four Year Plan: prepared Germany to war
Hitler also encouraged workers improving working conditions, giving them prices, etc.
Policies and benefits
Hitler's economic policy had four main ideas:
1 Full employment - the idea that everyone should have a job. By 1939, there was virtually no unemployment in
Germany.
2 Beauty of Work - the Nazis set up the SdA (Beauty of Work) to help Germans see that work was good, and that
everyone who could work should. In fact - because the Nazis had abolished the trade unions, banned strikes,
and given more power to the industrialists - real wages fell and hours were longer under Hitler.
3 Re-armament begun in 1935 - the idea of 'guns before butter'.
4 Autarky - there was an unsuccessful attempt at making Germany self-sufficient.
Nazis and the Farming Communities
The Reich Food State: gave farmers a guaranteed market but most efficient farmers were not treated as
such.
Reich Entailed Farm Law: Banks couldnt take over the peasants lands. As a consequence banks stopped
lending loans to these farmers.
Blood and Soil: Peasants were real Germans and were the backbone of German Empire. However some
policies made farmers leave their lands. This caused rural depopulation.
Who did the Nazis persecute?
The Nazis believed that only Germans could be citizens and that non-Germans did not have any right to the rights of
citizenship.
The Nazis racial philosophy taught that some races were untermensch (sub-human). Many scientists at this time
believed that people with disabilities or social problems were genetic degenerates whose genes needed to be
eliminated from the human bloodline.
The Nazis, therefore:
Tried to eliminate the Jews.
Killed 85 per cent of Germany's Gypsies.
Sterilised black people.
Killed mentally disabled babies.
Killed mentally ill patients. Euthanasia Programme.
Sterilised physically disabled people and people with hereditary diseases.
Sterilised deaf people.
Put homosexuals, prostitutes, Jehovah's Witnesses, alcoholics, pacifists, beggars, hooligans and criminals
- anti-social - into concentration camps.
How the Nazis persecuted the Jews: key dates
Boycott of Jewish businesses.
Jewish civil servants, lawyers and teachers sacked.
Race Science lessons to teach that Jews are untermensch.

'Jews not wanted here' signs put up at swimming pools etc.

Nuremberg laws (15 September) Jews could not be citizens. They were not allowed to vote or to marry a
German.

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Jews could not be doctors.

Jews had to add the name Israel (men) or Sarah (women) to their name.
Jewish children forbidden to go to school.
Kristallnacht - attacks on Jewish homes, businesses and synagogues.

Jews were forbidden to own a business, or own a radio.

Jews were forced to live in ghettoes.

Army Einsatzgruppen squads in Russia started mass-shootings of Jews.

All Jews were forced to wear a yellow star of David.

Resistance
O. Schlinder: Protected Jews by getting them as workers
R. Wallenberg: Provided Jews with foreign passports as they could escape
Some Jews groups such as Marsaw ghetto and Greek Jews rose up against the Nazis.
Hitlers actions
DATE

ACTION

1933

Took Germany out of the League of Nations

Began rearming Germany

1934

Tried to take over Austria but was stopped by Mussolini

1935

Held a massive rearmament rally in Germany

1936

Reintroduced conscription in Germany

Sent German troops into the Rhineland
Made an anti-Communist alliance with Japan

1937

Tried out Germanys new weapons in the Spanish Civil War

Made an anti-Communist alliance with Italy

1938

Took over Austria

Took over the Sudetenland area of Czechoslovakia

1939

War

Invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia

Invaded Poland

Chapter 8: The League of Nations

The birth of the League
When the WW1 ended, everyone wanted to avoid repeating the mass slaughter of the war, and a League of Nations
would help achieve this, but there was disagreement as to what kind of organization it should be.
Wilson said that it should be like a world parliament, where representatives of the entire world could meet to decide
on matters that affected them all.
The British thought it was a simple organization that would just get together in emergencies. France proposed it to
have its own army.
Wilson won. By February 1919 he had a plan for it. All the major countries should join it, and accept the decisions
taken by the League. They also promised to protect each other if they were invaded. If any member broke the laws of
it, there were certain measures taken against it for example stop trading or send troops.
But there were many critics to Wilson, because he acted as if he had the solution to all of the problems, even though,
they were ready to make a try. In 1919, hopes were high, especially with the USA in the driving seat.
A body blow to the League
Before the USA could join the League, they needed the approval of the Congress, and the idea of the League was
not popular in the USA.

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Many Americans thought that the LON suggested the USA was promising to send its troops to settle
every conflict, but after the deaths of the WW1, they didnt want this.
Other Americans opposed it because they were anti-French or anti-British, and didnt understand why
they had to fight for the British or French Empire. Americans believed in freedom they opposed the idea
of colonies and empires.
Others worried about the economic cost of joining the League. They thought it was like signing a blank
check. They had reached such prestige by isolationism staying out of European affairs, and should
continue to do so.
There were millions of German immigrants in USA who had never accepted the USA joining the war.
The Treaty was very united with the League, as the League was the one responsible to enforce it, so
they did not want any more harm done to Germany.
These four groups and Wilsons political opponents joined together against the League. Wilsons democratic party
has run for 8 troubled years and his opponents saw the league as a way to crush him. After touring the country, the
Congress did not approve the League in 1919 or in 1920. Wilson could not run for the Democratic Party in 1920 due
to being ill, but his representative favored it, but the republicans stood for isolationism and how life had been before.
The republicans won and USA never joined the League of Nations. Not only did this harm Wilson and the Democratic
Party, but also it was a body blow to the League.
How did the League of Nations work?
The aims of the League
To discourage aggression from any nation
To encourage countries to co-operate, especially in business and trade
To encourage nations to disarm
To improve the living and working conditions of people in all parts of the world.

Membership of the League

Britain and France were the most powerful members in the League. Italy and Japan were also permanent members,
but they didnt have a leading policy. Any action by the League needed the support of Britain and France. But both
countries were poorly placed to take on this role as they had suffered a lot in the war. Neither of them had the
resources to fill the gap left by the USA. Some said that if they knew that USA wouldnt join they wouldnt have
joined either. USA was the only one with resources and influence to make the League work. They felt that trade
sanctions wouldnt work if the Americans didnt apply them.
For the leaders in Britain and France the League was a problem, they had to make it work. Both had different
priorities. Britain preferred to rebuild trade and look after the British Empire than being an international police force.
Frances main concern was Germany and that without and army of its own, the League could not protect France from
Germany.
The League and the border disputes in the 1920s
The treaties signed had created some new states and changed the borders of the existing states, and this might split
communities, putting some people in one side and others in the other. It was the job of the League to sort out the
border disputes. Some problems were given to the Conference of Ambassadors, which had been set up to sort out
problems arising from the post-war treaties, it was not part of the League, but was very close to it.
Vilna, 1920 FAILURE
Poland and Lithuania were two states created by the post-war treaties. Vilna was the capital of Lithuania, but its
population was mainly Polish, so in 1920, the Polish army simply took it. Lithuania appealed for help. Poland was the
clear aggressor, and the League protested to Poland, which didnt care what the League was saying. France did not
want to send troops as Poland was a possible German ally, and Britain did not want to act alone. In the end the
League did nothing.
Upper Silesia, 1921 SUCCESS
It was an industrial region on the border of Germany and Poland. Both of them wanted it, so a plebiscite was
organized for the people to decide. The industrial areas voted for Germany and the rural areas mainly for Poland.
The region was divided along these lines. Both countries accepted it.
Aaland Islands, 1921 SUCCESS

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Both Sweden and Finland wanted the control of these islands, and were ready to fight for them. After studying the
matter closely, the League decided the islands should go to Finland. Sweden accepted.
Corfu, 1923 FAILURE
One of the boundaries that had to be sorted out was the one between Greece and Albania. The Italian Tellini was
called to supervise it. On 27 August, while supervising in Greece, they were ambushed and killed. Mussolini was
furious and blamed the Greek government for it. On 31 August Mussolini bombarded and occupied the Greek island
of Corfu. 15 people were killed. The League condemned Mussolinis actions. It suggested Greece to pay
compensation and the money to be held by the League until Tellinis killers were found. Later Mussolini convinced
the Conference of Ambassadors, and the Greeks apologized and payed compensation directly to Italy. Mussolini
withdrew Corfu boasting of his triumph, and the Conference of Ambassadors had overruled the League
The Geneva Protocol FAILURE
The Corfu incident showed how the League could be undermined by its own members. Britain and France drew up
the Geneva Protocol, which said that if two members were in dispute, they would accept the Leagues decision. But
the new conservative government in Britain refused to sign it worried that Britain may have to sign something that did
not favor them, so something that was supposed to strengthen the league actually weakened it.
Bulgaria, 1925 SUCCESS
In October 1925, Greek troops invaded Bulgaria after an incident in the border where Greek soldiers were killed.
Bulgaria appealed for help and the League condemned the Greek action. It ordered Greece to pull out and pay
compensations to Bulgaria. The Greeks obeyed, but protested that there was one rule for large states (such as Italy)
and another for smaller (such as them).
How did the League of Nations work for a better world?
It had a wider task than just to solve disputes. Through commissions and committees, the League aimed to fight
poverty, disease and injustice all over the world.
Refugees. It did tremendous work in getting refugees and former prisoners of war back to their
homelands. About 400,000 prisoners were returned in the first few years after the war.
Working conditions. The International Labor Organization was successful in banning poisonous
white lead from paint and limiting the working hours of children and adults. Improved working
conditions and it introduced a resolution for a 48-hour week, and 8-hour days, but few adopted it as it
would raise industrial costs.
Health. The World Health Committees worked hard to defeat leprosy, as well as a global campaign to
exterminate mosquitoes, which reduced cases of malaria and yellow fever for decades.
Transport. Made recommendations on marking shipping lanes and produced an international highway
code for road users.
Social problems. It blacklisted 4 large European companies that were involved in the illegal drug
trade. It freed 200,000 British-owned slaves, and fought against slavery and forced labor, prostitution
and drug trafficking.

How did international agreements help the work of the League?

Disarmament in the 1920s FAILURE
In the 1920s, the League failed to bring disarmament, although, at the Washington Conference in 1921, the USA,
Japan, Britain and France agreed to limit the size of their navies but that is as far as they got. In 1923 a disarmament
treaty by the League was accepted by France and other nations, but rejected by Britain. In 1926, plans were made
for a disarmament conference, but took 5 years to make a draft and in 1933 Germany rejected it. These problems
were damaging for the Leagues reputation in Germany, because it had been forced to disarm and nobody else had
done it, although this failure didnt seem too serious due to some other agreements seemed to promise world peace.
The Locarno Treaties SUCCESS
In October 1925 representatives of France, Britain, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Poland and Czechoslovakia met in
Locarno Switzerland. They agreed:
Germany finally accepted the borders with France and Belgium, and Britain and Italy guaranteed to
protect them if Germany violated this border.
Germany accepted the Rhineland had to be a demilitarized zone.
France and Germany agreed to settle their disputes through the League.

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The Locarno treaties were received with great enthusiasm, especially in France, which was finally guaranteed border
protection against Germany. The Treaty solved some of the problems that were left over from WW1 and paved the
way for Germany to join the League; now the only European Power out of it was the Soviet Union.
The Kellogg-Briand Pact, 1928 SUCCESS
This pact marked the highest point of international relations in the 1920s. The states agreed to have their armies only
in self-defense. The people now thought the world was a much safer place. Every dispute should be solved by
peaceful means, and they condemned war as a mean of solving international disputes and reject it as an instrument
of policy.
How did economic recovery help?
One reason for the optimism in 1928 was that the European economies were once again recovering. The Dawes
Plan of 1924 had helped to sort out Germanys economic problems and helped to start the economies of France and
Britain to move again. This helped to reduce tensions. One of the aims of the League was to encourage trading links
between the countries, because if they were trading with one another it was less likely that they would confront in a
war.
Problems with agreements
The period 1925-1929 was called the Locarno Honeymoon, though many historians say that the real attitude was of
bitterness and frightens. But there were a couple of problems, since the Locarno treaties had made Germany accept
its borders in the west, Poland and Czechoslovakia (to the east of Germany) wondered whether this meant that
Germany might feel free to change its eastern borders in the future.
Why did the league fail in the 1930s?
Almost every historian agrees that the League was a complete failure in the 1930s, but this failure had many
reasons.
How did the economic depression harm the work of the League?
In the late 1920s there was a boom in world trade. USA was the engine of the world economy and everyone was
trading with it. In 1929 economic disaster struck. There was a huge depression in the USA, which quickly caused
economic problems throughout the world, which affected relations between countries. It also lead to important
political changes within countries and much of the goodwill and the optimism of the late 1920s evaporated.
Why did the Japanese invade Manchuria? FAILURE
It was the first major test for the League, in 1931, with the Japanese invasion of Manchuria. Since 1900 Japan was
growing economically and in population. By the 1920s it was a major power.
It had a very powerful army and navy.
Strong industries, which products were exported to China mainly, and the USA.
It had a growing empire.
The Depression hit Japan badly, as China and the USA had put their tariffs up to Japanese goods, whichs economy
was in crisis due to this. The solution to this was building a Japanese empire by the force. The Japanese army
controlled the South Manchurian Railway, and an incident in 1931 gave them the chance to expand their empire, they
claimed Chinese soldiers had sabotaged the railway. Due to this they entered Manchuria and in 1932 they set up a
puppet government in Manchuria that did exactly as the Japanese army told them. Later in 1932, they bombarded
Shanghai. The Japanese government told the army to withdraw but the instructions were ignored. It was clear that
the army leaded Japan. China appealed to the League and Japan argued that it invaded in self-defense to Chinas
state of anarchy. There was a long and frustrating delay, as one year later the Leagues officials presented their
report, and showed that Japan had acted unlawfully and that Manchuria should be returned to China. However Japan
announced that it would invade more of China as self-defense, and later did it. In March 1933 it resigned from the
League after losing 42 to 1 in a vote, in which only Japan voted for itself. The League was powerless, economic
sanctions were useless sine USA, Japans main trading partner were not members of the League. Also Britain wanted
to keep good relations and the member countries were worried that sanctions would escalate the war. Only the
USSR and the USA would have been the only ones that could have been able to remove Japan from Manchuria, but
neither were members of the League.
All sorts of excuses were offered for the failure of the League, that Japan was far away, that Japan was a special
case, which Japan had a point when it said that China itself was in the grip of anarchy. This only showed that the
league was powerless if a strong nation wanted to invade others.
Why did disarmament fail in the 1930s? FAILURE

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The next big failure was disarmament. In the 1930s there was an increased pressure for the League to do something
about disarmament. The Germans were angry because they had been forced to disarm, while other nations hadnt
done the same. In February 1932, the long-promised Disarmament Conference got under way. By July, it had
produced resolutions to prevent bombing on civilian populations, limit the size of artillery, limit the tonnage of tanks,
and prohibit chemical warfare, but none of these resolutions were taken into action, for example, the attempts to
agree to abolish planes capable of bombing were defeated. It was not a promising start. But they didnt know what to
do with Germany, because it had been in the League for six years, and most people accepted they should be treated
more equally. The question was if everybody had to disarm or letting Germany arm up to an extent. This is what
happened next:
- July 1932
Germany tabled a proposal telling everybody to disarm as them, but was rejected, so they left the League
- September 1932
The British sent a note saying that they agreed to the principle of equality, but the superior tone of the letter made
Germany even angrier.
- December 1932
An agreement was finally reached to treat Germany equally.
- January 1933
Germany announced it was coming back
- February 1933
Hitler became chancellor of Germany, and started to rearm it, but secretly.
- May 1933
Hitler promised to rearm Germany if in five years every nation hadnt destroyed their arms.
- June 1933
Britain produced an ambitious disarmament plan
- October 1933
Hitler left the Disarmament Conference and soon after took Germany out of the League altogether.
By this stage everybody knew that Hitler was secretly rearming, so they began to rearm too. Due to this the
Disarmament Conference struggled on for another year but finally ended in 1914. Britain and France were divided on
this issue. By 1933 British people felt that the Treaty of Versailles was unfair and the British even signed an
agreement with Germany in 1935 that allowed Germany to build up its navy as long as it stayed under 35% of the
size of the British navy. Britain did not consult its allies or the League about this, it seemed that each country was
looking after itself and ignoring the League.
How did Mussolinis invasion of Abyssinia damage the League? FAILURE
The fatal blow to the league came when Mussolini invaded Abyssinia in 1935. There were similarities with Manchuria
such as the fact that Italy, like Japan, was a leading member of the League, and wanted to expand its empire by
invading another country. However, this dispute was on the Leagues doorstep. Unlike Manchuria, this dispute was
next door to the League, so it couldnt claim it was too far away.
Background
In 1896 Italian troops had tried to invade Abyssinia but were defeated by a poorly armed army of tribesmen, so
Mussolini wanted revenge for this humiliating defeat. He also wanted the fertile lands and mineral wealth of the
country, as well as glory and conquest. He spoke of restoring the glory of the Roman Empire. In December 1934
there was a dispute between Italian and Ethiopian soldiers 80 km inside Abyssinia, so Mussolini used this to claim
that it was Italian territory. He demanded an apology and started to prepare his army to invade. The Abyssinian
emperor Haile Selassie appealed to the League for help.
Phase 1- January 1935 to October 1935: the League plays for time
Mussolini was supposedly negotiating with the League to settle the dispute, while at the same time he was shipping
the army to Africa and creating war fever in Italy. The British and the French failed to take it seriously as they were
playing for time. They did not want to harm their relationship with Mussolini as they wanted him as an ally against

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Hitler, and they signed the Stresa Pact, which formalized a protest at German rearmament and a committee to stand
united against Germany. Most of the people in Britain wanted the use of military force if necessary to defend
Abyssinia, so the politicians had to get tough. A British Foreign Minister, Hoare, gave a speech on collective
security, there was much talking and negotiating but the league never did anything to discourage Mussolini. After 8
months, a committee informed the league that neither side could be blamed for the Wal-Wal incident and so the
league put forward a plan that would give Mussolini some of Abyssinia, which Mussolini rejected.
Phase 2-October 1935 to May 1936: sanctions or not?
In October 1935 Mussolini launched a full-scale invasion on Abyssinia, who were no match for the modern Italian
army. There was no doubt about the seriousness of the issue. The Covenant made it clear that sanctions should be
applied to the aggressor, but would only work if they acted quickly and decisively. A committee was immediately set
up to agree the sanctions. There was an immediate ban of arms sales to Italy while allowing them to Abyssinia, no
loans to Italy, no imports from Italy and exports to Italy of rubber, tin and metals. But they couldnt decide on the oil
since they were afraid that the USA would not support the sanctions, and that its members economic interests would
be harmed. In Britain, 30,000 coal miners were about to lose their jobs due to the ban of these exports to Italy. The
Suez Canal, which was Italys main supply route and was owned by the British and the French, was not closed to
Mussolinis supply ships, as they were afraid that Italy would declare a war on them. This was fatal for Abyssinia and
would have ended the Abyssinian campaign very quickly. Equally damaging to the league was the secret dealing
between the British and the French Foreign Ministers, Hoare and Laval. While sanctions discussions were taking
place, they were making a plan that would give Mussolini two-thirds of Abyssinia in return for calling off the invasion.
Laval told the British that if they did not agree, the French would not support the sanctions against Italy. This news
reached the French press and was seen as treachery towards the league, they were both sacked. Haile Selassie
demanded and immediate league debate. The real damage was to the sanctions discussions, they lost all
momentum. The oil question was delayed and when they decided to ban it, it was too late. America were disgusted
by the British and French actions and sold even more oil to Italy.
Mussolini obtains Abyssinia
On 7 March 1936 the fatal blow was delivered. Hitler marched his troops into the Rhineland. The French were
desperate to get the support of Italy and were ready to pay the price of giving Abyssinia for it. Italy continued to
march into Abyssinia and later on annexed the entire country as the league watched helplessly. Collective security
has failed. And the British and French didnt even achieve what the wanted, as Mussolini and Hitler later signed an
agreement of their own called the Rome-Berlin Axis.

Why did the League of Nations fail?

The self-interest of leading members. It depended on Britain and France, but they were not
prepared to abandon their own self-interest to support the League
The USA and other important countries were absent. Without such major powers the League
lacked authority and sanctions were not effective. Such as Germany, the USSR, Japan and the USA,
who never joined.
Lack of troops. If sanctions failed, military force was the next option, but the League had no army of
its own. Britain and France were not willing to commit troops and troops never fought on behalf of the
League.
Economic sanctions didnt work. They were supposed to be its main weapon, but they were not
used because members thought that without the USA they wouldnt work. And when they were
enforced they were easily broken
The treaties it had to uphold were seen as unfair. It became apparent that some of the terms of
those peace treaties were harsh and unfair, and the League was supposed to uphold them.
Decisions were slow. When a crisis occurred, the League met too infrequently, and took too long to
make decisions.
Chapter 9: Causes of the Second World War
From foot-soldier to Fhrer
Between 1918 and 1933 Hitler rose from being an obscure and demoralized member of the defeated German army
to become the all-powerful Fhrer, dictator of Germany, with almost unlimited power and an overwhelming ambition
to make Germany great once again.

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Hitlers plans
He was never secret on his plans, as in 1924 he said in his book Mein Kampf what he would do if the Nazis ever
achieved power in Germany.
Abolish the Treaty of Versailles!
He believed it was unjust and called the German leaders who had signed it the November Criminals. It was a
humiliation by the Allies. He promised that if he became leader of Germany he would reverse it.
Expand German territory!
The Treaty had taken Germany territory, and he wanted it back. He also wanted to unite with Austria. He wanted the
minorities in other countries to join Germany back.
Defeat Communism!
A German empire carved out of the Soviet Union would also help Hitler in one of his other objectives, defeat
Communism. He thought the Bolsheviks had helped Germany lose the WW1 and they wanted to take over Germany.
Hitlers actions
DATE

ACTION

1933

Took Germany out of the League of Nations

Began rearming Germany

1934

Tried to take over Austria but was stopped by Mussolini

1935

Held a massive rearmament rally in Germany

1936

Reintroduced conscription in Germany

Sent German troops into the Rhineland
Made an anti-Communist alliance with Japan

1937

Tried out Germanys new weapons in the Spanish Civil War

Made an anti-Communist alliance with Italy

1938

1939

War

Took over Austria

Took over the Sudetenland area of Czechoslovakia
Invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia
Invaded Poland

It seems as if Hitler had planed it step by step. But there was a new interpretation that says that he was a gambler
rather than a planner. He just took the next logical step, and he was bold, he kept his nerve. Every country gave way
to him, so every time he risked more and became bolder. Some say the League was responsible for not standing up
to him.
Rearmament
Hitler came to power in 1933. One of his first steps was rearming. Thousands of unemployed workers were drafted
into the army, reducing unemployment. German people supported rearmament, but Hitler knew it would alarm other
countries, but he handled it carefully, because at first he did it secretly, and made a demonstration saying he didnt
want to rearm. He then got out of the League. In 1935, Hitler openly staged a massive militarily rally. In 1936 he
reintroduced conscription. Many other countries were using rearmament as a way to fight unemployment, and other
nations were not ready to disarm.
Rearmament boosted Nazi support. Hitler knew that Britain didnt like much the idea of disarmament, as it was a way
to stop Communism, and they thought it was too tight. They signed an agreement in 1935 with Hitler, allowing him
increase its navy up to 35% of Britains.
The Saar plebiscite
Since 1919, the Saar region had been controlled by the League, and in 1935 they held a plebiscite to know if they
wanted to continue under the League or under Hitler. 90% voted they wanted to return to German rule.

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Remilitarization of the Rhineland

In March 1936, Hitler took a very risky move, by sending troops into the Rhineland, which was supposed to be
demilitarized. France had just signed a treaty with the USSR to protect each other against any attack from Germany,
and Hitler used this in order to say that he felt threatened. He knew many people in Britain felt he had the right to
position troops there. His gamble was over France. Hitler and his generals sweated nervously, as their army was no
match with the Frenchs. In the end, Hitlers luck held. Hitler was also lucky, as the attention of the League was at the
Abyssinian crisis that was happening at the same time. It only condemned Hitlers actions.
The Spanish Civil War
Hitler started to gain confidence with early successes. In 1936, a civil war broke out in Spain between Communists
and right-wing rebels commanded by General Franco. Hitler saw this as an opportunity to fight against Communism
and try out the new armed forces. In 1937, German aircraft made devastating bombing raids on civilian populations
in various Spanish cities. The most famous was Guernica.
The Anti-Comintern Pact, 1936-37
Mussolini was also heavily involved at the Spanish Civil War, and Hitler saw that they had much in common, also with
the military dictatorship in Japan. In 1936, Japan and Germany signed the Anti-Comintern Pact. In 1937, Hitler did
the same with Italy. The aim was to limit the Communist influence around the world, particularly aimed at the USSR.
It was called the Axis alliance.
Anschluss with Austria, 1938
Now Hitler turned his attention to his homeland of Austria, whose people were mainly German. In the Mein Kampf,
he made it clear that he wanted the two nations to belong to the German nation, and this idea was supported by
many in Austria, as their economy was very poor. He had tried to do it in 1934, but Mussolini had stopped him, but
now it was different. There was a strong Nazi party in Austria, and Hitler told them to stir up things and cause riots.
Hitler told Austrians chancellor Schuschnigg that only their union would solve this problems, so the chancellor called
for help to Britain and France, but they denied it, so he called a plebiscite to see what the Austrian people wanted.
Hitler was not prepared to lose, so he sent troops to guarantee peace, and Hitler won bi 99,75%. Germany won
Austrians soldiers, weapons and its rich deposits of gold and iron ore. Hitler was breaking another point of the Treaty.
Why did Britain and France follow a policy of Appeasement in the 1930s?
Britain signed the naval agreement with Germany in 1935. For the next 3 years Britain did what Hitler said. This is
known as appeasement.
At least Hitler is standing up to Communism. They were more concerned about the spread of
Communism. Many saw Hitler as a buffer to the threat of spreading Communism.
The USA will not support us if we stand up to Hitler. American leaders were determined not to be
dragged into another war.
The attitude of Britains Empire. It was not clear if all the British Empire would support a war against
Germany.
Hitler is right-the Treaty is unfair. Many felt it was unfair for Germany.
We must not repeat the horrors of the Great War. British and French leaders remembered the horrific
experiences of the WW1.
Britain is not ready for war. They believed the armed forces were not ready to go to war.
Our own economic problems are a higher priority. They were still suffering from the Depression.
What was wrong with Appeasement?
British leaders may have felt there was no option, but there were obvious risks to such a policy.
It encouraged Hitler to be aggressive. When his gamble succeeded, he made a greater one.
It put too much trust in Hitlers promises. Hitler went back on his promises.
It allowed Germany to grow too strong. It was not only recovering ground, but becoming more
powerful.
It scared the USSR. It sent a message to the USSR that Britain or France would stand in Hitlers way.
The Sudetenland, 1938.
The leader of Czechoslovakia, Benes, was horrified by the Anschluss, as he realized he would be the next country to
be taken-over. He asked for help to France, as they had a treaty, and Britain (Chamberlain) said it would support it
too, but before he asked Hitler what he was going to do, and this answered Czechoslovakia had nothing to fear. But
he really had. In the area of the Sudetenland, there were many Germans, and Hitler told the Nazi party in that area to
stir up things, and demand to be part of Germany. In May 1938, Hitler said he would fight if necessary, but the

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Czechs wouldnt let Hitler do what he want. In September this problem was at it highest point, and Chamberlain flew
to meet Hitler, who gave moderate demands, saying he only wanted parts of the Sudetenland. Three days later,
Hitler said that now he wanted all of it, by saying that the Czech government was mistreating the Germans and that
they would be rescued. On 29 September, they met at the Munich Agreement (Britain, Germany, France and Italy)
and decided on the fate of Czechoslovakia. They agreed to give Hitler all the Sudetenland. The Czechs had been
betrayed, and Benes resigned.
A triumph or a sell out?
Most people in Britain said it had averted war, but many were questioning the policy of Appeasement, because this
would not stop Hitler, or prevent a war, it just delayed it.
The end of Appeasement
Czechoslovakia, 1939
The British people welcomed the Munich Agreement, but they didnt trust Hitler. On 15 March, German troops took
over the rest of Czechoslovakia, without any kind of resistance. This showed Hitler couldnt be trusted, because this
was an invasion. If nobody stopped Hitler, his next step would be Poland, and France and Britain said that if he
invaded Poland, they would declare the war on Germany. The policy of Appeasement was ended, although Hitler
didnt believe they would risk themselves.
The Nazi-Soviet Pact
The next step would be invading the strip of land in Poland known as the Polish Corridor. Hitler was sure that Britain
or France would risk on this land, but he wasnt sure about Stalin.
Background
Stalin had been always very worried about the German threat to the Soviet Union ever since Hitler had came to
power in 1933, as he had said he would conquer Russian land, denounced Communism and killed Communists in
Germany. Stalins fears had grown in the 1930s, so he signed a treaty with France in 1935 saying mutual help if one
was invaded by Germany. The Munich Agreement of 1938 increased Stalins concerns, as he was not consulted.
Stalin concluded that Britain and France were happy of Hitler taking over Eastern Europe. In March 1939, Britain,
France and the USSR, but none of the two first were reluctant to commit themselves. But before they could reach an
agreement, Stalin met with the Nazi foreign minister to discuss a Nazi-Soviet pact, which was signed by Hitler and
Stalin on 24 August 1939. They agreed not to attack one another and divide Poland between them. Stalin signed this
because he didnt know if Britain and France would be strong enough so as to stand up to Hitler, he wanted to take
control of the Baltic states, and he hoped to have some time so as to rebuild his forces.
War
The pact cleared the way for Germanys invasion to Poland. On 1 September 1939, the Nazi forces invaded Poland
from the West, and on 17 September 1939 the Soviets invaded from the east. On 2 September Britain and France
declared the war to Germany. Hitler had made a bet too many.
Was Appeasement the right policy?
Chamberlain believed in Appeasement. However, it was a controversial policy at the time. There are two main views:
It was the wrong policy because it encouraged Hitler. Chamberlains critics say it
encouraged Hitlers gambling.
It was the right policy because Britain was not ready for war. Chamberlains defenders say
it was the only way abailable to him.

Chapter 11:The beginnings of the Cold War: 1945-1949

The Yalta Conference, February 1945
In February 1945 the Allied leaders met at Yalta in the Ukraine to plan what would happen to Europe after Germanys
defeat. Despite their differences, the Big Three, Stalin; Roosevelt; Churchill, agreed on some important matters:

Stalin agreed to enter the war against Japan once Germany had surrendered.
Germany would be divided in four zones: the French, British and Soviet. Also Berlin would be divided into
the four zones.
As Allied soldiers were revealing the horrors of the Nazi Germany, they agreed to hunt down and punish
war criminals that were responsible for the genocide.

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All liberated countries would be allowed to have free elections to decide the type of government.
The Big Three agreed to join the new United Nations Organization to keep peace
The Big Three agreed that Eastern Europe should be a Soviet sphere of influence as they had lost lots of
things with the war.
The only problem came with Poland. Stalin said that the border of the USSR to move westwards, and
Poland could do the same with Germany. Churchill didnt like the idea but he knew that the Red Army was
in control of Poland and eastern Germany. Roosevelt didnt like it either but was persuaded by Churchill, as
long as the USSR didnt interfere with Greece. Stalin agreed.

The Potsdam Conference July-August 1945

In may 1945, the allied troops reached Berlin. Hitler commited suicide. The war was over in Europe. A second
conference was arranged in July 1945. In the months between this and Yalta lots of things had changed.
1 Stalins armies were occupying most of eastern Europe
Lots of countries in Eastern Europe had been liberated by Soviet troops. By July, Stalins troops controlled Finland,
Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania. Stalin put a communist government in Poland and said
that it was just to take measures for future attacks.
2 America had a new president
On April 1945, Roosevelt died. Truman replaced him. He was much more anti-Communist and suspicious of Stalin.
He and his advisors saw Soviet actions in Eastern Europe as preparations for a Soviet take-over of the rest of
Europe.
3 The Allies had tested an atomic bomb
On July 1945 the Americans successfully tested an atomic bomb at a desert site in the USA.
Disagreements at Potsdam.
It finally got under way on 17 July 1945. It didnt go as smoothly as Yalta. In the middle of the Conference, Churchill
had been succeeded. In the absence of Churchill, the conference was dominated by rivalry and suspicion between
Stalin and Truman.
They disagreed over what to do with Germany. Stalin wanted to cripple Germany, but Truman didnt
want to repeat he mistake of the Treaty of Versailles.
They disagreed over reparations. 20 million Russians had died and Stalin wanted compensation for that,
but Truman was determined not to repeat the mistakes of the 1 st World War. Resisted this demand.
They disagreed over Soviet policy in eastern Europe. At Yalta, Stalin had said he would set up proSoviet governments in eastern Europe. Truman didnt like this and took a get tough attitude towards
Stalin.
The Iron curtain
The Potsdam conference ended without complete agreement about this issues. On the next months, Stalin achieved
the domination of eastern Europe he was seeking. By 1946, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Albania all had
Communist governments. Churchill described the line that divided the Soviet-controlled countries and the West as an
iron curtain.
Stalin tightens his control.
Stalin gradually tightened his control in each country. The secret police emprisioned anyone who opposed Communis
rule, or might later oppose it. In October 1947, Stalin set up the Cominform, to co-ordinate the work of the
Communist Parties of eastern Europe. This also allowed Stalin keep a close eye on them. He spotted single minded
leaders and replaced them with ones loyal to him. The exception was General Tito in Yugoslavia.
The Cold War.
It was clear by 1946 that the wartime friendship between the Allies had broken. It had been replaced by suspicion
and accusation. The distrust between the USA and the USSR, was said to be soon liberated in a war. Both of them
increased their stock of weapons. They took every opportunity they had to denounce each other. It was an
atmosphere of tension and recrimination.
Why was the USA so worried about Communism?

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It was only the war which had made them stay together. Their leaders had very different ideas and beliefs. Before the
war, they had mistrusted each other a lot. Lots of Russians remembered US troops fighting in their Civil War. They
trusted Communists less than Nazis.

The USA

The USSR

It was a democracy, and the president was chosen in

free elections.
It was capitalist.
There was a very big difference between the rich
and the poor.
Many were bitterly opposed to Communism.

It was a Communist state.

It was a one-party dictatorship. All candidates
were Communist.
Almost everyone was equal, although they
were not very rich.
Many were bitterly opposed to capitalism.

The USA and the USSR had both emerged from the war as superpowers. In the 1930s the USA had had a policy of
isolationism, but in the 1940s it had learned a lesson. They didnt want to repeat the mistakes they had made before
the WW2. Roosevelt set them firmly against a policy of isolationism. There would be no appeasement for dictators,
every Communist action would meet an American reaction.
The reaction of the West
The leaders of the western powers were alarmed by Stalins take-over of eastern Europe. Churchill, Roosevelt and
their successors had agreed that Soviet security needed friendly gobernments in eastern Europe. It was called
sphere of influence. They had not expected a complete Communist domination. By 1948, Greece and
Czechoslovakia were the only eastern European countries not controlled by communist governments. Italy and
France were vulnerable to Communist attacks.
Greece
When the Germans retreated from Greece in 1944, there were two rival groups, the monarchists and the
Communists, who wanted a Soviet republic, and the firsts wanted the return of the king of Greece. In 1945, Churchill
sent British troops to restore order, but it was really to support the king, who was elected. A Civil War quickly
developed. The British troops were begginig to retreat, because the cost was to high, but Truman told them that he
would pay for them.
The Truman Doctrine
American intervention marked a new era in the USAs attitude, known as the Truman Doctrine. Under this, it was
prepared to send money, equipment and advice to any country that was threatened by a Communist take-over. His
aim was to stop Communism. Containment. If it expanded any further, military action needed.
Marshal Aid
Truman believed that Communism succeeded when there was poverty and hardship. General Marshall was sent to
asses the economic state of Europe. He said they owed $11.5 billion to the USA, and suggested that about $17
billion would be needed to rebuild Europes prosperity. In 1947, Truman put his plan to Congress.
Czechoslovakia
Americans attitude changed when the Communists took over the government of Czechoslovakia. The Communists
came down hard in March 1948. Anti-soviet leaders were purged. Immediately, Congress accepted the Marshall Aid
and made $17billion available over a period of 4 years. It was an extremely generous act by the American people,
and it was also motivated by their self-interest. They wanted to create new markets for their goods. Stalin viewed the
Marshall Aid with suspicion, and he refused to have anything more to do with it, and forbade any eastern European
country to apply. He felt it was to make the countries dependant on dollars.
Why did the USSR blockade Berlin?
The two sides never fired each other, but in 1948, they came close to war. Germany became a headache for the
Western Allies. After the war, their zones were in complete destruction. The USSR wanted it to stay crippled. But the

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Allies wanted it to recover its industries so as to let them feed their people. In 1946, the USA, Britain and France
combined their zones and made it all one. They reformed the currency, and within months they were recovering.
Stalin believed that the USAs attitude was provocative. He could stamp his authority in Berlin, as it was deep inside
the Soviet zone. In 1948, he cut every possible rute, which left more than 2 million people without supplies. It was a
clever plan, and it was a test for the West. The only way into Berlin was by air, so they decided air-lift supplies. The
planes arrived every 3 minutes for the next 10 months bringing from clothes, food and oil. But there were great
shortages. Stalin realized it would not make the Allies give up, so he stoped.
Why was NATO set up?
During the Berlin Blockade, war seemed probable. The Western powers met at Washington and signed an
agreement. It was formed in 1949, and they would work together.
A divided Germany
As a result of the Blockade, Germany was firmly divided into two nations. The Federal Republic of Germany and the
German Democratic Republic in 1949.
A powerful symbol
German would stay divided for 41 years.
A pattern for the Cold War
The Blockade set out a pattern for Cold War confrontations. The two superpowers and their allies had shown how
suspicious they were of each other; how they would obstruct each other in almost any way they could.

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