Interwar Years (1918-1939) PDF

THE INTERWAR YEARS (1918- 1939) EQ: What was the aftermath of the Great War and why did this set the scene for WWII? LHS: QUICKWRITE What do you remember about the end of WWI? Armistice – 11th Nov 1918 11am The Spanish Influenza Deadly flu pandemic Lasted...

THE INTERWAR YEARS (1918- 1939) EQ: What was the aftermath of the Great War and why did this set the scene for WWII? LHS: QUICKWRITE What do you remember about the end of WWI? Armistice – 11th Nov 1918 11am The Spanish Influenza Deadly flu pandemic Lasted approximately 1 year Began in 1918 Spread around the globe by returning soldiers Death toll = over 30 million  What: a series of meetings to solve problems and answer questions after WWI ended The Paris Where: Held in a French Palace in Versailles, in a room Peace known as the ‘Hall of Mirrors’. Conference When: June 1919 Who: Only the victors of the war were to be allowed to s participate (the allied powers) The defeated central powers (Germany, Austria– Hungary and Turkey) could attend but were not allowed to participate The “Big Three” The ‘BIG THREE’ of France, Britain and the USA came to the meetings with very different aims and ideas. Agreeing upon the 5 treaties formally ending the war was not easy. RHS: Treaty of Versailles Economic Military Territory and Guilt Reparation Army limited to Alsace and Lorraine – s to be 100 000 men given to France paid to the Compulsory Saar – French control victors and service banned under League of Nations ‘victims’, No air force, ‘Polish Corridor’ – land number tanks, heavy given to Poland not set artillery or Danzig – League of until 1921 submarines Nations to control on Saar Limited navy, behalf of the Polish (sea resources only 6 battle port) would help ships Other asst land pay Demilitarised confiscated reparation Rhineland Colonies taken s Military schools Anschluss forbidden with War Guilt: closed Signed on 28 June 1919 Austria th Clause 231 GLOSSARY TERMS Anchluss: a German word that means 'union' or 'connection’ e.g. Anschluss of Germany and Austria was forbidden after WWI Demilitarisation: the removal and prevention of weapons and military forces form an area e.g. demilitarization of the Rhineland between France & Germany Reparations: payments made by a defeated country to make amends for damage done by the war E.g. Germany paid reparations to France for damage caused in WWI Territorial Losses RHS: LEAGUE OF NATIONS Formed at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 Job: to maintain world peace and prevent wars by encouraging negotiation Power: order countries to come to meetings to discuss problems, punish with economic sanctions, threaten with military power and warn aggressor countries. 42 countries joined America did not DISCUSSION POINT “We will have to fight another war in 25 years and at three times the cost.” - Lloyd George, 1919. Why did Lloyd George think there was going to be another war? Marking the Text – reactions Remember, good readers: 1. Number the paragraphs 2. Circle key terms Repeated words, glossary terms, words defined by the author, dates & places 3. Define words they don’t understand (vocab list) 4. Underline key ideas Information that helps answer the EQ  EXTENSION: HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES Much criticism has been made of the Treaty because it was too harsh on Germany. On the other hand, historians have pointed out that Germany could have been treated a lot more harshly for several reasons: Germany only accepted the Fourteen Points when it was clear they were losing the war. In the harsh Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, the Germans took away 34% of Russia's population and 50% of its industry and made them pay 300 million gold roubles in reparations. Clemenceau wanted the Treaty to be much harsher, with Germany broken up into smaller states, but Wilson stopped this happening. The reparations payments cost Germany only 2% of its annual production. Germany's main economic problem was not reparations but war debt, which it had planned to pay by winning the war and making other countries pay reparations. In 1924, Germany received huge loans from the USA to help its economy recover. The years 1924-29 were fairly prosperous for Germany. For example, Germany produced twice as much steel as Britain in 1925. Some historians believe that the peacemakers did the best job they could, given the difficult circumstances they were in. Other historians believe the Treaty was a disastrous half measure. It damaged Germany enough to cause resentment. However, it left Germany strong enough to seek revenge.