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The leaders of the great powers met at Versailles in 1919 to discuss the terms that were
going to be imposed upon Germany. The aims of the leaders differed considerably.
What were the aims and motives of the Big Three at Versailles?
France
The French Prime Minister, Georges Clemenceau, believed that Germany must be
punished and made to pay for the cost of the War and for the humiliation suffered by
France in the past.
Clemenceau also wanted guarantees that it could never happen again. He wanted the
Rhineland to be handed over to France and Alsace-Lorraine to be returned.
He wanted to make Germany pay for all the damage caused by the War.
Large areas of France had been destroyed in the wart. Everyone knew who to blame,
and some French politicians wanted Germany to be totally destroyed.
Great Britain
Great Britain had not suffered the same degree of damage as France, but Britain had
paid an enormous cost for victory however.
In all the Great War cost £5.700,000 a day, some had been raised by increasing income
tax from 6p to 30p, but most had been borrowed; now it all had to be paid back.
The British people expected that Germany would be made to pay for the effects of the
war.
The Prime Minister David Lloyd George promised to, 'Squeeze Germany until the Pips
Squeak'.
But when Lloyd George got to Versailles he adopted a different approach. He did not
want Germany to be punished too hard, but be allowed to recover.
The USA
The USA had not suffered any damage during the war, apart from some fires started by
German agents to destroy goods going to Britain and France.
American soldiers only arrived in Europe in spring 1918, so Woodrow Wilson arrived in
Europe in December 1918 without any scores to settle with Germany.
Wilson's main concern was to try to ensure that war could never break out again. So he
came with his ‘Fourteen Points’ one of which suggested the setting up of a League of
Nations.
Wilson believed in 'Self-Determination'. This meant he wanted peoples to be able to run
their own affairs. He objected to Italy taking over the Adriatic Coast.
Italy
The Italian Government did not join the war until 1915. Britain and France signed the
secret Treaty of London, agreeing to Italy taking possession of the Adriatic coast of the
Balkans as far south as Albania and also some the islands of the coast of Greece.
Italy had suffered very badly during the War. 460,000 soldiers had been killed and the
country was heavily in debt to the USA. To most Italians it seemed to have been a
disaster.
The Italian Prime Minister Vittorio Orlando arrived at Versailles expecting the Allies to
honour the promises that they had made in the Treaty of London.
Japan
Japan had supported the Allies throughout the war and expected some sort of reward.
The Japanese wanted Manchuria, which was part of Northern China.
In April 1924 the Dawes Plan was agreed. Why was the Dawes Plan introduced?
Passive resistance was called off by Gustav Stresemann in September 1923.
France was beginning to be affected by inflation and Stanley Baldwin the British prime
minister asked US banks to support Germany.
Reparation payments were set at 1,000,000,000 gold marks per year, increasing to
2,500,000,000.
In return Germany received a loan of 800,000,000 gold marks.
What was the reaction to the peace settlement in the USA?
Many people thought that the Versailles Treaty was too severe and blamed Woodrow
Wilson for staying in Europe for too long.
The Treaty of Versailles was never ratified by Congress and the USA adopted a policy of
isolation.
Treaty of Versailles – Past Paper Questions
Political Cartoon Question – this is worth 6 marks and always has the same wording:
What is the message of the cartoon? Use details from the cartoon and your own knowledge to
explain your answer.
You MUST ensure that you say what you see in the image and relate the image to your own
knowledge, e.g. “Clemenceau is stood at the front, which shows that as one of the Big Three, he got
his way more than the others did, mainly because he represented the French, who suffered the worst
in the war and so were in charge of the demands against Germany.”
Then you must explain what the cartoonist thinks about the event, e.g. “the small naked child
weeping in the corner represents the ‘Class of 1940’, which is a prediction of the cartoonist where he
believes that the terms of peace as quoted in the cartoon will result in ‘future cannon fodder’, the
belief that these terms are so harsh that they will lead to another World War.”
A British cartoon published in 1919 after A German cartoon of 1921 about
the Peace Conference. the Treaty of Versailles. It shows a
‘Tiger’ was the nickname of Clemenceau. five-headed monster (the Allies) and
Germany on the ground.
cartoon published in a British newspaper, May 1919. It is commenting on the Paris Peace
Conference. Gas was a common anaesthetic used by dentists at the time.
What is the message of the cartoon? Use the source and your own knowledge to
explain your answer.
Treaty of Versailles – Past Paper Questions
Description Question – this is worth 4 marks and only expects a quick description of an
event, place or person. You will get one mark for each piece of description so four bullet
points will do.
Descriptions of Versailles – The only description questions that come up about Versailles
seem to be on either the aims of the Big Three or about the Terms of the Treaty. These are
some examples:
What did Lloyd George hope to achieve from the Treaty of Versailles?
What did President Wilson hope to achieve at the Paris Peace Conference?
What did Clemenceau hope to achieve from the Treaty of Versailles?
What was the reparations settlement demanded by the Allies in the Treaty of
Versailles?
What military restrictions did the Treaty of Versailles impose on Germany?
What land did Germany lose in the Treaty of Versailles?
Explanation Question – this is worth 6 marks and requires you to answer a question which
asks you why something happened. In order to answer a why question effectively you need
to be able to describe the background information and use words like because, therefore,
as a result of, this led to in order to explain as clearly as possible.
Explanation of Versailles – The only explanation questions that come up about Versailles
seem to be on the way Germany was treated, the reasons why the Big Three wanted the
type of Treaty they went in for and the effects of Versailles on Germany. These are some
examples:
Judgement Question – This is the most difficult question and is worth 10 marks. It requires
you to describe and explain more than one event or reasons for an event and, crucially, give
YOUR VIEW on which one you think is the most important and explain why you think this.
Sometimes they appear in the style of a quote and you need to judge whether or not you
agree with it and say why you think this. Occasionally a judgement question will give you
three points to discuss, you must talk about all three and decide which one is the most
important. If a question suggests a reason for something, think about what reasons are not
included in the question and write about them as well.
E.g. ‘The most important reason why Germany hated the Treaty of Versailles was the loss of
territory.’ Do you agree with this statement?
In the case of this question you need to describe which territories Germany lost and explain
why this would upset them (e.g. Saar region – losing coal mining land and therefore a loss of
income) but then also explain other things that would have led to them hating Versailles
also such as the military restrictions and reparations.
Judgement of Versailles – The only judgement questions that come up about Versailles seem
to be on how fair the treaty was, how satisfied the Big Three were at the terms and which
term brought the greatest resentment to the people of Germany. These are some
examples:
How far did Clemenceau, Lloyd George and Wilson share the same aims in the peace
negotiations of 1919? Explain your answer.
‘Germany was treated fairly at Versailles.’ How far do you agree with this
statement? Explain your answer.
‘The most important reason why Germany hated the Treaty of Versailles was the loss
of territory.’ Do you agree with this statement?
Explain your answer.
How far was Clemenceau satisfied with the Treaty of Versailles?
Explain your answer.
How satisfied were the Allied leaders with the Treaty of Versailles?
Explain your answer.
How successful was the Treaty of Versailles up to the end of 1923?
Explain your answer.
The following were all equally important reasons why Germany was dissatisfied with
the Treaty:
o The reduction in armed forces;
o The loss of territory;
o The imposing war guilt and reparations.
How far do you agree with this statement? Explain you answer referring only to the
above points.
REVISION NOTES – THE INTER-WAR YEARS, 1919-1939
Key Question 2: To what extent was the League of Nations a success?
How far did the Depression make the work of the League more difficult?
In October 1929 the Wall Street Crash plunged the world into crisis and then
Depression.
Why did Japan become more militarist in the 1920s and 1930s?
Japan failed to gain the land that she was expecting at the Treaty of Versailles.
The Washington Naval Agreement of 1922 made Japan an inferior partner.
The population began to grow rapidly and Japan needed more land and raw materials.
The price of rice fell and exports of silk were affected by the Depression.
Manchuria had vast resources of coal and iron that Japan lacked.
In 1931, Japan invaded Manchuria, which was a province of China, claiming that they
were acting in self-defence. It claimed that a railway had been blown up at Mukden on
18th September.
In 1932 the Japanese set up the puppet state of Manchukuo, with the last emperor of
China, P’u-i as its head.
Events in Italy
In October 1922 Benito Mussolini became prime minister of Italy. From 1925 he ruled as
a virtual dictator.
Mussolini began a series of 'battles' to try and tackle Italy's economic problems,
autostrada (motorways) were built, land reclaimed and public buildings constructed.
From 1929 many of Mussolini's plans began to go wrong. He rarely followed ideas
through and lacked determination.
His policy of increasing the value of the lira, the Italian currency, meant that Italian
exports became more expensive.
By the mid-1930s Italy was suffering very badly from the effects of the Depression and
Mussolini was becoming very unpopular. His solution was to begin an aggressive foreign
policy.
Italy had been denied territory in the Balkans in 1919, Mussolini’s solution was to extend
the Italian Empire in East Africa.
Political Cartoon Question – this is worth 6 marks and always has the same wording:
What is the message of the cartoon? Use details from the cartoon and your own knowledge to
explain your answer.
You MUST ensure that you say what you see in the image and relate the image to your own
knowledge, e.g. “The USA is represented by Uncle Sam who is relaxing by a bridge representing the
League of Nations, this shows that the USA was not a member and didn’t want to join in..”
Then you must explain what the cartoonist thinks about the event, e.g. “the keystone which Uncle
Sam is leaning up against suggests that without the USA being a part of the League (the bridge) then
it would be very unsteady and essentially in danger of collapse. The cartoonist is here making a
prediction about the eventual collapse of the League and blaming it on membership problems which
plagued it right from the start.”
A British cartoon
published in August 1935.
It shows British and
French politicians on roller
skates. The dog
represents Mussolini.
Descriptions of League – The only description questions that come up about the League
seem to be on the aims, structure or early successes of the League. These are some
examples:
Explanation Question – this is worth 6 marks and requires you to answer a question which
asks you why something happened. In order to answer a why question effectively you need
to be able to describe the background information and use words like because, therefore,
as a result of, this led to in order to explain as clearly as possible.
Explanation of League – The only explanation questions that come up about the League
seem to be its structure, the agencies, membership, successes and failures. These are some
examples:
Judgement Question – This is the most difficult question and is worth 10 marks. It requires
you to describe and explain more than one event or reasons for an event and, crucially, give
YOUR VIEW on which one you think is the most important and explain why you think this.
Sometimes they appear in the style of a quote and you need to judge whether or not you
agree with it and say why you think this. Occasionally a judgement question will give you
three points to discuss, you must talk about all three and decide which one is the most
important. If a question suggests a reason for something, think about what reasons are not
included in the question and write about them as well.
E.g. ‘The Manchurian Crisis of 1931 was the main cause of the failure of the League of
Nations.’ How far do you agree with this statement?
In the case of this question you need to describe what happened in the Manchurian Crisis,
explain how the League failed to deal with this and suggest how this led to its collapse, but
also explain other things that would have led to its failure such as Abyssinia and the Great
Depression.
Judgement of League – The only judgement questions that come up about the League seem
to be on the weaknesses of the League, its successes and the reasons for its collapse. These
are some examples:
‘The most important reason why the League was weak was that it made decisions
very slowly.’ Do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer.
How successful was the League of Nations at keeping peace in the 1920s and 1930s?
Explain your answer.
‘The Manchurian Crisis of 1931 was the main cause of the failure of the League of
Nations.’ How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer.
‘The Abyssinian Crisis destroyed the League of Nations.’ How far do you agree with
this statement? Explain your answer.
How far was the League of Nations a complete failure? Explain your answer.
How far can the failure of the League of Nations in the 1930s be blamed on the Great
Depression?
The following were all equally important reasons for the lack of success of the
League of Nations as a peace-keeping organisation:
o The weakness of its organisation;
o The lack of an army;
o The economic depression of the 1930s.
How far do you agree with this statement? Explain you answer referring only to the
above points.
REVISION NOTES – THE INTER-WAR YEARS, 1919-1939
Key Question 3: Why had international peace collapsed by 1939?
What were the consequences of the failures of the League in the 1930s?
The failure of the League to act in 1931 and 1935 led to the creation of the Axis.
The dictators of Germany, Italy and Japan gradually formed an alliance that the League
was unable to act against.
How far was Hitler’s foreign policy to blame for the outbreak of war in 1939?
In 1933, Adolf Hitler ordered the German delegates to walk out of a Disarmament
Conference organised by the League of Nations.
He stated that Germany was prepared to disarm if other nations did so as well. He then
left the League immediately afterwards.
In January 1935, the people of the Saar, an area that had been administered by the
League of Nations since 1920, voted by 477,000 to 48,000 to rejoin Germany.
This was a massive propaganda victory for Hitler and a reversal of the Treaty of
Versailles.
Rearmament
In 1935, Hitler began rearmament. Conscription was reintroduced and the army, navy
and airforce were all built up.
All members of the German armed forces had to swear an oath of allegiance to Hitler
personally.
The Rhineland
The Rhineland had been demilitarised under the Treaty of Versailles. The Allies were to
occupy the area for fifteen years, or for longer if necessary.
Allied troops were withdrawn from the Rhineland in 1935. The following year, Hitler
reoccupied it.
On 7 March 1936, Germany denounced the Locarno Pacts and reoccupied the
Rhineland. The crisis over the Italian invasion of Abyssinia influenced Britain not to
interfere.
Hitler later commented:
'The forty-eight hours after the march into the Rhineland were the most nerve-racking
of my life. If the French had opposed us we would have had to withdraw. Our forces
were not strong enough even to put up a moderate resistance.’
The reoccupation of the Rhineland convinced Hitler that Britain and France were unlikely
to act against further aggression
Why was Hitler able to get away with the reoccupation of the Rhineland?
Britain and France were concentrating on the Italian invasion of Abyssinia.
Britain refused to act; one politician said that it was only Hitler going into his own
backyard.
The Anschluss
Anschluss meant the union of Germany and Austria, which had been specifically banned
by the Treaty of Versailles.
Czechoslovakia 1938
On September 12 1938 Hitler demanded self-government for the German speaking
Czechs in the Sudetenland.
The British prime minister, Neville Chamberlain, had been expecting Hitler to try to seize
the Sudetenland for some time.
He had already decided that, as soon as it happened, he would go to meet Hitler face to
face and settle the matter. Chamberlain called this Plan Z.
On September 15 Neville Chamberlain flew to meet Hitler at Berchtesgaden and agreed
to his demands.
He returned to Britain and persuaded Edouard Daladier the French prime minister of the
need to support him.
The Czech government was informed of Chamberlain's decision, but was not invited to
the discussions.
On 22 September Chamberlain returned to meet Hitler at Bad Godesberg. But Hitler
now had new demands.
Hitler told Chamberlain that the Sudetenland must be handed over to Germany
immediately and that Polish and Hungarian claims for Czech territory must also be met.
Chamberlain returned to London. He believed that war was inevitable. Evacuation began
in London and 1,000,000 volunteers were called for by the government.
But at the last moment war was avoided, the Italian dictator Mussolini suggested a four
power conference.
The four powers, Germany, Italy, Britain and France, met at Munich on 28 September
1938.
They agreed to let Hitler have the Sudetenland. Hitler and Chamberlain signed an
agreement that Britain and Germany would never go to war again. This was
Appeasement.
Fears of War
In the 1930s more and more attention was paid to what future war would be like.
People became more and more convinced that bombing would be highly dangerous.
Added to this was the fear of poison gas, which had been used for the first time during
the First World War.
Bombers, high explosive and poison gas meant that the war would affect people in
Britain far more than ever before.
Rearmament
Many people saw the RAF as Britain’s main defence and by the mid-1930s the RAF had
few modern planes.
This was seen by many people as a strong argument for avoiding war at all costs. Britain
needed time to build up her defences against Germany.
Political Cartoon Question – this is worth 6 marks and always has the same wording:
What is the message of the cartoon? Use details from the cartoon and your own knowledge to
explain your answer.
You MUST ensure that you say what you see in the image and relate the image to your own
knowledge, e.g. “A large soldier is leaning on lots of small unarmed men who are knocking each
other over. The large soldier represents Germany and their strong army as they are beginning to
crush the rest of Europe in Hitler’s attempt to gain lebensraum.”
Then you must explain what the cartoonist thinks about the event, e.g. “The fact that a British man
is stood at the back looking indifferent to the events suggests that the cartoonist believes that the
British are being naïve towards the current crisis. That and the fact that he is holding a basket full of
eggs, suggesting that perhaps Britain has all its eggs in one basket – akin to the notion that Britain is
only trying one thing – appeasement, which is clearly not preventing all the people in the line from
being pushed over.”
A cartoon
published in a
British newspaper,
30 September
1938. It is
commenting on a
meeting in Munich
of Hitler,
Chamberlain,
Daladier and
Mussolini. Stalin is
shown in the
doorway.
Causes of the Second World War – Past Paper Questions
Description Question – this is worth 4 marks and only expects a quick description of an
event, place or person. You will get one mark for each piece of description so four bullet
points will do.
Descriptions of causes of war – The only description questions that come up about the
causes of war seem to be on Hitler’s foreign policy and the Munich Conference. These are
some examples:
Explanation Question – this is worth 6 marks and requires you to answer a question which
asks you why something happened. In order to answer a why question effectively you need
to be able to describe the background information and use words like because, therefore,
as a result of, this led to in order to explain as clearly as possible.
Explanation of causes of war – The only explanation questions that come up about the
causes of the war seem to be on the policy of appeasement, the take over of Czechoslovakia
and the Nazi-Soviet Pact. These are some examples:
Judgement Question – This is the most difficult question and is worth 10 marks. It requires
you to describe and explain more than one event or reasons for an event and, crucially, give
YOUR VIEW on which one you think is the most important and explain why you think this.
Sometimes they appear in the style of a quote and you need to judge whether or not you
agree with it and say why you think this. Occasionally a judgement question will give you
three points to discuss, you must talk about all three and decide which one is the most
important. If a question suggests a reason for something, think about what reasons are not
included in the question and write about them as well.
E.g. How far was the Nazi-Soviet Pact of 1939 responsible for causing war in Europe?
Explain your answer.
In the case of this question you need to describe the Nazi-Soviet Pact (e.g. the joint invasion
and division of Poland between Germany and the USSR) but then also explain how it led to
war, such as it ensured that Britain would declare war on Germany because they gave them
to ultimatum to withdraw from Poland given this was a term discussed at the Munich
Conference in October 1938, that Hitler should not take any more territory. Then don’t
forget to discuss other reasons, such as the policy of appeasement and the weaknesses of
the League of Nations which gave Hitler the confidence to invade and assimilate other
nations into the Third Reich. Of course if you want to get into real depth you could consider
that without the harshness of Versailles and the Great Depression the German people
would not have desired revenge or been in the political turmoil that they found themselves
in when they were willing to elect an extremist into office.
Judgement of causes of war – The only judgement questions that come up about the causes
of the war seem to be on what started the war. The different possible causes formed the
focal point of this – you should know what you believe started the war before you go into
the exam. Remember there is no one right reason, it’s up to you to decide but you must
make it clear why you think this. These are some examples:
How far was the Nazi-Soviet Pact of 1939 responsible for causing war in Europe?
Explain your answer.
Did the policy of appeasement during the 1930s make war with Germany more or
less likely? Explain your answer.
How far was the Treaty of Versailles responsible for the outbreak of war in 1939?
Explain your answer.
The following were all equally important reasons for the outbreak of the Second
World War in 1939:
o The aggressive nationalism of Germany, Italy and Japan;
o The weakness of the League of Nations;
o The policy of appeasement.
How far do you agree with this statement? Explain you answer referring only to the
above points.