InNo+annielo822+1.12.11

p. 1-9 January 13, 2011
 * An Uneasy Peace, 1929-35 **

**The Awesome Part** the League of Nations. This was held in London in 1931. ||
 * [[image:peace_demonstration_london_1931_annielo822.jpg width="354" height="274"]] ||
 * This is a photograph of of a peace demonstration organized by

__**The ‘New Era’: Hopes for Peace In 1929**__
- 1929, people thought world was in peace

**Locarno and the ‘New Era’**
- hopes for lasting peace raised in 1925 - European statesmen met for conference in Swiss town of Locarno - Discussed problems not settled after the Great War - Most difficult problem was Germany and France were still on bad terms after fighting in Great War - The hostility deepened in 1923 when French and Belgian armies occupied Germany’s Ruhr Valley after German gov’t said it couldn’t pay damage to France and Belgium - Result of conference were agreements known as the **Locarno Treaties** - First was between France, Germany, and Belgium, agreeing to respect borders - Germany would never attack France and Belgium as done in 1914 - France and Belgium would never use force against Germany as done in 1923 - Britain and Italy agreed to make sure terms never broken - France promised to support Poland and Czechoslovakia if Germany quarreled with them - All countries involved agreed they would never go to war if there were disputes - Locarno Treaties removed suspicions between Germany and neighbors - Gustav Stresemann, Germany’s Foreign Minister at Locarno, said after signing Treaties, this day is the beginning of a new era

**Friendship Between Nations**
- ­1929, seemed ‘new era’ had begun - Only two nations weren’t at peace - Paraguay and Bolivia, but quickly over - Many countries signed agreements of peace with each other - Most important was the **Kellogg-Briand Pact** - Agreement thought up by Foreign Minister of US and France, Kellogg and Briand - Not use war as a way of settling disputes - July 1929, came into force, 65 countries signed Kellogg-Briand Pact - Many other peace agreements made in 1929 - USSR signed **Eastern Pact** with 6 of its neighbors agreeing not to use war to settle disputes among them - Many pacts of friendships were made between countries that recently had disputes: Yugoslavia & Greece, Chile & Peru, Arabia & Turkey, Iran & Iraq, settled long-standing quarrels in 1929

**The League of Nations**
- 1929 was 10th anniversary of world’s first peace-keeping organization, the League of Nations - League of Nations created in 1919 by peace treaties ending the Great War - Two aims: keep peace between nations, make the world a better place for everyone - To achieve aims of keeping world peace, countries joining the League had to sign a promise not to go to war with any other member of the League - Agreed if any member did attack another, other members would join forces to defend country under attack - This idea was called **collective security** - Rules of League stated it would take ‘any action’ to keep peace - Only 3 peace-keeping actions that League could realistically consider - Deal with disputes by legal means, in League’s Permanent Court of International Justice - Impose economic **sanctions** on an attacker, all League members refuse to trade with them, threatening to ruin their economy if kept attacking - Most extreme: impose military sanctions against attacker - Meant forming a League of Nations army from armies of League members, used to fight off attacker - During first 10 years, asked to deal with 9 disputes between members - Only 2 cases didn’t settle without sanctions - Special departments by 1929, did valuable work to improve international relations - **Disarmament Commissions** persuaded members to reduce weapon stocks and rely on collective security for defense - Hopes rose when Commission announced 60 nations would meet in Geneva in 1932 for world’s first disarmament conference

**The limitations of the League**
- ­League achieved much in first 10 years, but had some serious limitations - Most important: not all nations belongs to the League - The US wasn’t a member, gov’ts of 1920s followed a ‘policy of isolation’ from affairs of Europe, didn’t involvement in unnecessary foreign affairs - USSR wasn’t member because communist leaders saw League as ‘capitalist’ countries opposed to communism - Only 10 non-members in 1929, lack of two major powers was a serious weakness - Second: some members lacked enthusiasm for League - Germany was excluded until 1926, even after Germans viewed them as ‘club of victors’, countries that beat them in 1918 - Third: League’s ability to keep peace never fully tested - Solved disputes, but never involved world’s major powers and none required sanctions - No proof that League could settle dispute between major powers and no proof sanctions could stop war - Despite this, League was established feature of world scene, highly regarded by everyone - Britain had 400,000 people showing support by joining League of Nations Union, body which promoted League’s work in the country

**The Great Depression**
- 1929, start of breakdown in world economy - Great Depression, 1929-33 - October 1929, share prices on Wall Street fell to all-time low - Thousands of American firms were bankrupt - Millions of share-holders ruined - US economy in deepest slump in history - Began in US, spread to other countries - Trade dwindled, profits fell, factories and businesses closed, millions lost jobs - Affected prospects of world peace - Gov’ts of countries hit hardest tried protecting people with new economic policies - Raised customs duties on foreign goods coming in - Called **protectionism**, aimed to boost demand for goods made in own countries by keeping out foreign goods - Gov’t hoped would create more jobs - Some tried keeping out imports entirely, becoming self-sufficient - Long run, policies harmed international relations - More selfish, more forgetting idea of world cooperation - Caused unrest among people - Social unrest from mass unemployment - Germany, 6 mill lost jobs by 1933 - Half of Japan’s factories ere idle - Millions of peasants starved when prices of crops plummeted - Eastern Europe, peasants total poverty when wheat price fell - People blamed gov’t - Gave support to extreme political parties promising help - Led to collapse of democratic gov’ts - Anti-democratic gov’ts came to power - Started to act aggressively towards other countries to improve own

**The problem of empires**
- countries envied French and British empires, wanted to enlarge own - Italians wanted more colonies in Africa - Thought unfair they weren’t given German colonies - Japanese had German islands, but small and little value - Wanted to add their empire with land near home - Germans were angered by loss of entire empire - Depression increased resentment of Italy, Japan and Germany - Britain and France increased trade with empires and avoided worst effects - Soldiers and politicians in Italy, Japan, and Germany thought adding colonies would also help - Large empires caused problems - Native people wanted to govern themselves - Demands for independence led to violence - Britain and France kept large military forces in colonies - Expensive, and couldn’t fully support aim for world peace and disarmament

**The attraction of Manchuria**
- Japan had taken over 4 areas of China - Wanted Manchuria more than others - Area is three times larger than Japan - Population a third of Japan’s - Lots of forestry, minerals and agricultural products - Created South Manchuria Railway Company - 1931, Japan controlled most of Manchuria’s economy - owned important mines, railways, factories and ports - kept large army in Kwantung to protect possessions - Depression ruined Japan’s trade, factories closed and peasants starved - Gov’t couldn’t help, widespread unrest - Unrest spread to army, officers began talking about conquering foreign land - New colonies: raw materials, trade, more jobs

**Japan invades Manchuria**
- Acted against orders of Japanese gov’t - Officers of Kwantung army planned to take-over Manchuria - Night of 18 Sep, 1931, soldiers blew up a section of South Manchuria Railway - Blamed on local Chinese people and used as an excuse to occupy Shenyang - China asked League of Nations for help - League ordered Japanese gov’t to withdraw troops - Japanese delegate agreed and claimed invasion was of ‘military hot-heads’ - Gov’t agreed, but Kwantung army continued - End of 1931, occupied entire province, made into semi-independent state called Manchuoguo (Manchukuo) - Gov’t had lost control of Kwantung army - Officers acted against orders

**The League and Manchuria**
- 1931-32, no one in League wanted to use sanctions against Japan - Depression already damaged trade between nations - Didn’t want to damage further by refusing trade with Japan - Most powerful member doubted if they could enforce sanctions - League tried persuasion - Commission of Enquiry sent to Manchuria to investigate - October 1932, report tried to satisfy China and Japan - Suggested Japanese should leave Manchuria, region continue as semi-independent country instead of returning to China - Approved by League in 1933 - Japan resigned League before further progress - Occupied Chinese province of Jehol, mountainous area Japan claimed vital for military defense of Manchuria - Manchuria affair damaged reputation of League - Leading members gone to war with another - League couldn't stop it

**__The Revival of Germany, 1933-35__**
- elections in Germany held between 1930-1932, extreme right-wing Nazi Party increased share of vote - their leader, Adolf Hitler, became Chancellor of Germany, Jan 1933

**Hitler’s foreign policy aims**
- Hitler and Nazis had strong view about Germany’s place in the world - Nazi Party set up in 1919 - Refused to believe German army was beaten - Blamed defeat on gov’t ministers, accusing them of cowardice - Angrier when Allies forced Germany to sign **Treaty of Versailles**, July 1919 - Treaty blamed Germany for starting Great War, and received harsh punishments - Germans felt it was unfair - People like Poles were allowed to form own nations - However German speaking people of Austria couldn’t unite with Germany - Transfer of German land to neighboring states meant many Germans lived under foreign rule - Hitler had three basic aims for his foreign policy - Aimed to tear up Treaty of Versailles - Intended to unite all German-speaking people in one country - Aimed to give Germans ‘**lebensraum’**, “living space’ - Said Germany was overcrowded, not enough food or raw materials - Take over land east of Germany to get thing, USSR and Poland - Aware aims only achieved if conquered much of Europe

**Re-armament**
- aims couldn’t be achieved without large armed forces - had to conquer land that Hitler wanted - armed forces weak when Hitler became Chancellor - Treaty limited army to 100,000 men, abolished air force, navy to have submarines, allowed 6 warships of over 10,000 tonnes - Hitler had to build up forces in defiance of treaty - Secret meeting, Hitler announced to army generals plan to increase army - Trebled in size to 300,000 men - New Air Ministry build 1000 aircraft and secretly train pilots - Barracks, airfields and fortifications would be built - Later in 1933, Hitler withdrew form Geneva Disarmament Conference and League of Nations - Next two years, German army re-armed in secret - March 1935, new air force had 2500 aircraft, army had 300,000 men - 16 March 1935, Hitler decided didn’t need to keep re-arm secret - announced in public compulsory military service for all men, army was to increase to 550,000

**Reactions to German re-armament**
- Germany crippled by Depression - Military weak, country in political turmoil - 1933-35, Germany re-armament could have been stopped by major powers - didn’t happen - British had problems with own empire, didn’t want to be involved in European affairs - Depression meant British gov’t didn’t want to spend scarce money building up army - French were unwilling - Put efforts in defending France with **Maginot Line** - Heavily armed concrete forts built along French and German border - Italy only country came close to taking action - 1934, Nazi in Austria tried to overthrow Austrian gov’t killed Austrian Chancellor - many people though Hitler would try to take control of Austria and unite with Germany - to prevent, Mussolini placed army in threatening positions on border between Italy and Austria - clear warning to Hitler he wouldn’t allow union - Hitler abandoned plans he might have had to take over Austria - Announcement of compulsory military service alarmed other European powers - No one took military action - Prime Ministers of France, Britain, and Italy met to form the **Stresa Front** - Issued protest against Hitler’s re-armament plans, but no other action - April 1935, ‘new era’ of peace was a very uneasy peace - Events in Manchuria and Germany showed two of world’s leading nations weren’t prepared to abide by international law - Nobody tried to make them

Summary
In 1929, people believed there would be a lasting peace, since there were Locarno Treaties, friendship between nations, and the League of Nations. The Great Depression struck in 1929, causing many countries' economy to fall to an all-time low, and this affected the world peace. Protectionism hurt international relations, there was unrest among the people due to mass unemployment, and people blamed the government for this. Countries believed having more colonies could help their economy, which led to the Manchurian affair, where Japan took over Manchuria against the orders of the League of Nation and the Japanese government. This hurt the League's reputation, supporters doubting their ability to maintain peace. Germany's new Chancellor, Hitler, had three aims: tear up the Treaty of Versailles, unite German-speaking people, and give Germans more 'living space'. He decided to re-arm the armed forces in secret in order to reach his aim. When he announced this in public, no one tried to stop them.

**Questions** > > > >
 * 1) What were Hitler's three aims?
 * 1) Why did people believe the world was entering a long-lasting peace?
 * 1) What were limitations of the League of Nations?
 * 1) Why did the Kwantung army in South Manchuria disobey the Japanese government and the League of Nations, conquering Manchuria?
 * 1) What could have been prevented if Germany's re-armament was stopped?