WORLD WAR 1

The First World War is regarded as an important event in world history because
it involved the whole of the world
Europe got disaster because of conflict & suspicious among European countries. War
conditions were created by the prevailing social & political conditions that made war
inevitable. The War started in 1914 but the problem that led to the war date back to the
18th they were long term & short term cause of the war.

Austria Hungary (Hubsburg empire) it was an empire of two countries of Austria

and hungary.it had several nations such as Poland, Serbia, Croatia, Hungary, Germans,
and Czechoslovakia etc. Most nations wanted political independence from Austria
Hungarian rule
France –was defeated by Prussia in 1871 and lost its pride to the Germans. Was
always suspicious of German growth.it was an enemy of German
Germany- was the most powerful politically and economically. It had a large
population and always competed and challenged Britain. Had interests in building
military weapons
Italy-was a newly united states but not very much developed as Britain and Germany.
It lacked resources and suffered economic and political weakness
Russia (Romanov Empire) was ruled by TSARS .was largely agricultural and did not
have many industries. Majority of people were peasants surviving from farming
Turkey-(Ottoman Empire). Make up of many countries of central Europe, Middle
East. Most countries wanted independence from Turkish control. The area was known
for political instability and weak economy.it was nicknamed the sick man of Europe

Causes of World War 1

The causes of the can be divided into long term and short term causes. The long term
causes were events that happened over o long period of time but did no cause war
immediately. They only served as areas of conflict that created grudges and bad
relations among European powers. The short term causes are those that actually
triggered fighting

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1. Alliance System

WW1 was caused by an inherent struggle of mastery and control of Europe by the
major powers. European Imperialist realized there was strength in numbers. The signed
mutual defense & non-aggression alliances to protect and strengthen each other
therefore the whole of Europe was divided into two hostile or armed camps

Draikaiserband treaty (1872) league of three emperors

Was signed between Austria Hungary Germany and Russia after the defeat of France by
Prussia in 1871.bismark then made alliances with other countries in order to isolate
France. They agreed to cooperate and fight against socialist nations. They also agreed to
consult each other if any country was confronted by another .they

Dual Alliance

Signed between German & Austria as a secret agreement and it excluded Russia. It was a
treaty of friendship Austria had racial ties with Germany. German needed weaker power
that she could easily control it also gave Danube Valley open to German trade. The treaty
stated that in the event of an attack on either power the other Country could come to help
the attacked power. The terms had to be kept secret for 5years. They agreed to help each
other if attacked d by Russia. They also agreed that Germany or Austria Hungary was
attacked by any other power both could remain neutral

Triple Alliance (1882) (CENTRAL POWERS)

Signed between German, Austria & Italy. It was a development of the dual alliance by
including Italy to make it the Triple Alliance. The Alliance was dominated by the
principals of the co-operation & assistance in the event of one power being attacked.
Italy joined because she wanted to be protected from France because both of them had
territorial ambition in N. Africa.

If Italy & Germany was attacked by France both could remain neutrally. If Austria was
attacked by France Italy could join. It was also meant to protect Austria Hungary from
Russia, protect Germany and Italy from French attack. Turkey and Bulgaria joined in
1914and 1915.the terms were kept secret and this increase suspicion and tension in
Europe

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REINSURANCE TREATY (1887) (second draikaiserband treaty)

It was a secret treaty between German & Russia. German was afraid that Russia could
react negatively to isolation since she had been left out of the triple alliance. So German
needed assurance that Russia could not turn against her in times of war. Both countries
agreed to remain neutral if the other power was involved in a war.

Franco Russian alliance (1894)

It was an economic alliance which drew together France and Russia. French
loans were provided for Russian economic development. It was meant to protect
Russia from Germany and Austria attark.it also ended France’s fears of attark
by Germany

ANGLO- JAPANESE ALLIANCE (1902)

Britain had learnt that isolation was not beneficial to her so she sought
friendship in japan.they promised each other support if they one was attacked
by more than one power. If Russia went to war with japan Britain will remain
neutral and if France went to war with Russia Britain would assist

BRITAIN’S POLICY OF SPLENDID ISOLATION

At this time Britain was not involved in any alliances .it depended on her own
for all her resources .its island position kept her safe from invasion for
sometime
She had enough raw material and markets for her industries
Her naval strength gave her a sense of security
She did not want allies because they could use up her resources in helping them

Why Britain abandoned the policy of isolation

The policy became dangerous to follow as other countries were forming

alliances. There was need to control Russian expansion to the eastern countries
and Russia had aligned with France
German was looking for colonies close to British colonies hence the need to
protect them
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 German was building a lot of gunboats in preparation for war
Kaiser proclaimed the intention to expand politically and it threatened Britain
Britain had conflicts with German for colonies in Africa hence she needed an
ally
Britain naval supremacy was being challenged by that of USA
Britain’s economy was being threatened by Russia expansion into Persia and
afganstan.Britain was condemned for the losing the Anglo Boer war for lack of
allies

ENTENTE CORDIALE (1904)

Signed between Britain & France. It was a treaty of friendship even though it was not
an official alliance. The two Countries made an agreement strong enough to destroy
Austria.

Triple Entente (1907)

It was a development of Entente cordiale Britain and France Russia joined the make if
the triple entente of Britain, France & Russia. It was an anti -German alliance. Other
smaller powers later joined this alliance e.g. Serbia, Belgium, Romania. The support
given by Russia to France at the Algeciras conference showed that these countries were
drawing towards one another

By the end of 1907 Europe was divided into two armed camps of Triple Alliance
(Central power) VS. Triple Entente (Allied Power). The fact that Europe was divided in
two hostile camps each with formidable & diverstating powers made war likely &
inevitable. The most important part of this alliance was an agreement that if one country
in the alliance was attacked all the other powers could come to help. Even though the
alliances were said to be non-military alliance but by the time war broke out in 1914
they immediately became military alliances. The small Balkan state were not officially
part of this alliance but they took sides one of the alliances Serbia learn towards Russia
because her population was mainly slaves Bulgaria whose king was of German origin
sided with Germany together with Turkey. The alliance System meant that if any two
countries get involved in conflict all the other would be drawn into the conflict. They
also agreed to consult each other if any country was threatened. This move isolated
France and stopped the spread of socialist ideology.

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 Allied powers Central powers
Triple entente Triple alliance
Britain1914 German 1914
France1914 Austria 1914
Russia 1917 Hungary1914
Italy1915 Turkey1914
USA1917 Bulgaria1915
Portugal1916 Romania1916
Belgium1914 Russia 1914-1917

- The most important agreement in this alliances was the fact that if one country could
join to help therefore a conflict between any two countries into the same conflict.
- The alliance system increased tension hostility & enmity between major powers.
- Members of different alliance often suspect one another since the alliance were
often made secret.
- The alliance were aggressive
- The two hostile camps meant that war would not be localized between two states.
- The armed camps increased military strength & made war more likely year by year.
There was no more security within the European states.
- However the alliance was not the only cause of the war they were other such as
That they would work together in the event of conflicts. The agreement was mostly
commenced with colonial matters. They agreed to recognize each other’s interests in
Africa

2. Imperialist Competition

The major Euro powers had conflicts over colonies in N. Africa & the Balkans. The
clashed over the control & ownership & control of these areas. In Africa, Serbia, Britain
and France were rival competitors. France recognized Britain occupation of Egypt,
Britain recognized France occupation of Morocco , German a member of the Central
powers did not recognize French occupation of M morocco , German took to be a free
area that she wanted to trade with German declared to support Morocco to g….
independence from France. This increase the tension not only if France & German but
also of triple alliance & triple entente

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 EVENTS LEADING TO THE OUTBREAK OF THE WAR

2. Moroccan Crisis (1905-6) / Tangier Crisis/Agadir crisis

- This emerged from Imperialist competition between German, France & Britain.
German was to test the strength of the Entente Cordiale between Britain & France,
France recognize Britain occupation of Egypt. Britain recognizes France occupation of
Morocco, German did not recognize France occupation of Morocco. She said Morocco
was a free area that she wanted to trade with German declared to support the sultan of
Morocco to remain independence , France had imposed a puppet ruler which the
Moroccans were rebelling against France sent troops to stop the rebellion & protect the
puppet ruler. German declared support for the sultan to gain independence. German
demands a conference & be held to solve the problem. The conference was held in
Algeciras (Spain) in 1906. Britain was not successful in her plan to occupied Egypt
since this would strengthen the diplomatic position. German had not taken the Entente
Cordiale Seriously because of enmity between Britain & France. Britain, Russia, Italy
& Spain supported the colonization of Morocco this was a serious diplomatic defeat for
German who began to realize that the alliance between France & Britain was a real
force to reckon.
Kaiser William II of Germany paid a personal visit to morocco

SECOND MOROCCAN CRISIS (1911)

- Is also called the Agadir crisis. It was a development of the first Moroccan crisis.
France occupied Fez the Moroccan capital in order to stop the ongoing rebellion against
the sultan
- German sent a gunboat called the Panther to the Moroccan port of Agadir in order to
pressurize France to give Germany compensation for growth in French sphere of
influence.
- Britain got worried incase German could occupy Agadir which could be used as a naval
base
- France refused to move from Fez and the gunboat was finally removed
- Germany agreed to recognize French protectorate over morocco in return for getting
French Congo
- Although this was a victory for the entente powers it worsened relations between major
powers

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 3. ANGLO RUSSIAN AGREEMENT / BRITISH AGREEMENT WITH
RUSSIA 1907

- For many Years Britain had viewed the Russia as a major threat to the interest in the
far east Russia’s defeat by Japan in 1904 had weaken the power & she no longer
seemed to be a threat. The Russia wanted to end the long rivalry with Britain so as to
attract Britain investment in Industrial development. It was not a military agreement not
an ant German move but the Germans saw it as a confirmation that to Britain,
France ,Russia were planning to encircle her.
- Russia had signed with France & France had an alliance with Britain so the three were
friends hence German thought they were planning against her.

4. BOSNIAN CRISIS 1908

- There was a revolution in Turkey called Young Turkish revolution within the Turkish
Empire Turkey wanted to take out Bosnia out of the Turkish Empire. Bosnia was at this
time under Austrian rule. This was deliberate blow the neighboring state of Serbia
because Serbia also wanted to take over Bosnia because there were 3 million Serbs
living in Bosnia. Serbia sent her troops against Austria Serbs appealed for help from
Russia because there as slaves , nationality
- Russia called for conference expecting that France & Britain could support her.
- German supported Austria in the war. France withdrew & was unwilling to be involved
in the Balkans
- Britain did not want another confrontation with German.
- She only protested to Austria Hungary. Russia was still out of defeat in war with Japan
and did not want another war therefore no conference was held & Austria kept Bosnia.
- This Relations between Serbia & Austria become worse Serbia drew closer to Russia

To what extent did Bosnian crises contribute to outbreak of WWI

Relations between Serbia and Austria got worse, made alliance system more effective
as Serbia and Russia drew close because wanted Russian support if attacked by
Austria Hungary, enemity between Serbia and Bulgaria increased, it made war more
likely. However there were other causes of ww1…………………………

5. BALKAN WARS
It broke out when the Balkan league of Serbia, Greece, Montenegro, Bulgaria, and
Romania attacked turkey that had controlled the area for many years. The bulk and
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 league also took advantage of Turkish war o 1911-12 and captured most of her
remaining territory. Turkey was defeated and the Balkan states decided to share the
states among themselves
-Serbia wanted the coastal areas of Albania and Greece
Bulgaria got Macedonia
-The major powers Britain and Germany were not satisfied with the arrangement and
they met in London to avoid conflict spreading and to settle the Balkan problem. The
London treaty was signed as a result
-they agreed that all of turkey’s area be shared among the Balkan league
-Serbia got Macedonia; Bulgaria got Thrace and part of the Aegean coast
-Albania became independent
-Greece got Salonika, south Macedonia and Crete

Second Balkan war (1913)

It broke out because Bulgaria was dissatisfied by the London agreements and the way
the states were shared. Bulgaria wanted Macedonia which was given to Serbia
- Bulgaria attacked Serbia and Greece and Romania and turkey joined the war to support
Bulgaria
- Bulgaria was defeated and a treaty was signed called the Bucharest treaty in which
Bulgaria lost all her gains from the first settlement
- -Macedonia was divided between Greece and turkey
- Albania remained independent
- -
To what extent did Balkan contribute to outbreak of World War 1

-nationalism became intense as Serbia became stronger

- Austria became more determined to destroy Serbia
- Austria looked on to German support
-Serbia and Montenegro looked to Russian support
-alliance system became more effective
- Relations between Britain and German became worse
Relations between Austria and Russia became worse

6. Arms race – Militarism

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 There was a massive increase in the number of soldiers in Euro armies. By 1914 Russia
had 1,3 million trained military personnel France & German had about 900 000 each.
France increased the number of years of military service from 2 to 3. Italians and
Austrians had armies between 250 and 300 000 each. This increased prestige &
influence of those who created large armies. Other nations became insecure & afraid of
each other. The building up of military forces increased preparation for war. Plans we
also put aside that millions of man could be called to military duty in the event of a war.

7. Naval Race

It was the increase in the number of weapon for war. There was a massive increase in
the manufacture of weapons of mass destruction. This was facilitated by technological
development in Britain and German. AS German caught up with Britain in
industrialization She increase her worship from 31 to 62. Britain introduced the dread
naught battleship in 1906. The dreadnaught was the most powerful worship in Euro at
this time. In just a year German had built her own dreadnaught. By1914 Britain had 32
dreadnaughts German had 20.

8. Nationalism

It is the desire to be free from control of other people from other nationality. This was
particularly high in Serbia. She wanted to unite all Serbs & Croats many of whom lived
in the Hamburg Empire to form the south slave kingdom / Yugoslavia. This could
involve taking certain parts of Austria – Hungary. This could result in the fail of
Hapsburg Empire. Because of the stabs left the empire other remaining nationalities
could also demand for their independence & the empire could collapse. Austrians
wanted a preventative war to destroy Serbia before

Immediate cause of the war

9. Sarajevo Assassination (28 June 1014)

- It came the most immediate cause of the War. It happened in the Balkan city of
Sarajevo
- Archduke Ferdinand, the heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungary Empire.
- He was travelling through Sarajevo in Bosnia which was a strong are of imperialist
competition. The Balkans was nationalist & did not want to see imperialist. Ferdinand
was seen as a representative of imperialism

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- A Serbian group called the Black Hand or union of death had a man called Garvin
Principe who was given the task to assassinate Archduke Ferdinand. Princip…. Succeed
and shot Archduke Ferdinand in his car.
- This was the second time an assassination attempt was made on Archduke Ferdinand
after he had been missed by a bomb attack.
- The murder brought difference response from various powers. Austria blamed Serbia
for the death and gave an ultimatum to have investigations
- Austria Hungary informed Serbia to suppress nationalist Organization such as the black
hand
- Serbia refused any foreigners to carry out investigations
- Austria Hungary supported by German declared war on Serbia 28 July 1914
- 29 July Russia supported Serbia because she competed with Austria Hungary in the
Control of Balkan state.
- Germany demanded a stop to Russian support for Serbia and mobilisation
- Russia continued to mobilize and support Serbia
- German declared war on Russia and began to prepare an army towards France
- German invaded Belgium
- Britain came in to support Russia, Britain declared war on Germany
- Britain supported Belgium

COURSE OF THE WAR

SCHLIEFFEN PLAN
Aims
Attack and capture France 6 weeks
Attack and defeat Russia
To March freely past Belgium in 12 days
To avoid war on two fronts
To capture brusse in 19 days
To close channel ports and prevent British reinforcements

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TRENCH WARFARE

The trench warfare was a defensive strategy used by Germany on the western front after
the battle of Marne. German soldiers began to dig deep trenches where they could hide.
The trenches were taken as command centres for war and soldiers could stay in the
trenches for long periods. The trenches were a few hundred meters from enemy
territory.as time went on the trenches became muddy and difficult to walk. Soldiers
could be stuck in the mud and died on spot. Some died of diseases in the treches.the
trenches were long extending from Belgium frontiers to Switzerland. The strategy for
trenches was to facilitate counter attarkes.the trenches were later protected by barbed
wire to reduce enemy entry. Some began to use poisonous gas to kill opposition enemy
but depending on the direction of the wind the gas could backfire. There was also loss
of moral as soldiers spent time hiding in trenches

Austro Hungarian Empire – Called the Dual Monarchy had collection of races
Czechs, Serbs, Slovenes, Croats, poles, Russians, Turks, Greeks, Austrians &
Hungarians. Very explosive little individualization. Nationalism was high especially
Serbs.

Results of the war

Major result was that the central powers were defeated because of the following
reasons
-failure of the schlieffen plan
-German fought the war on two fronts
-naval blockade was decisive
-failure of German submarine warfare
-entry of USA into the war
- Allied powers political leaders were incompetent
-continuous heavy loss on Germany

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Economic effects of the war

-War debts for many countries

-German was made to pay reparations
-German lost land
-destruction of industries
-General food crisis
-European industries became manufacturing industry of war material
-India began to build own industries independent from Europe
-USA became the world’s creditor of loans and war materials
-Heavy taxes on people
-New scientific ideas emerge
-high inflation
-high taxation by government
-high unemployment

Political effects of the war

-Old empires such as Germany, Austria, and Hungary Russia were destroyed
-New political systems such as communism, fascism Nazism emerged and spread
-German was disarmed
-Creation of League of Nations
-Rise in extreme nationalism
-Peace treaties were signed
-Rise of dictators e.g. Hitler and Mussolini
-change in the balance of power, Britain was not the only powerful but USA also came
-creation of new states e.g. Yugoslavia
-peace treaties were signed

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Social effects of the war
Destruction of social infrastructure schools, clinics, hospitals
Death of many people about 10 million
Widows increased
Orphans increased
Widowers increased
Spread of epidemics TB influenza syphilis
Many people were wounded
Many people became homeless
Poverty hunger and starvation

PARIS PEACE SETTLEMENT

The meeting which began on 19 January was attended by thirty two states of the
victorious powers. The conference was dominated by the Big Four allied powers, US,
Britain, France and Italy, the rest were associated and sympathizers of the allies during
world war one. All defeated powers; Germany, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey
were not invited and so were not represented. Interestingly even neutral states were not
invited.

WILSON'S FOURTEEN POINTS

These were announced by the US President, Woodrow Wilson in January 1918 and
would later form the basis of the discussions during the Paris conference in 1919.

The first five (1-5) taken together suggested a complete change in the ways
governments should deal with each other in the future. The other three(6-8) clearly
showed Wilson's opinion that war had been caused by disregard for the right of every
man to live in his/her own national home and also to prevent Germany from hanging on
to lands she had conquered. The rest (9-14) showed that Wilson sympathized with the
principle of national self-determination and preservation of world peace.

The points were as follows:

1. Abolition of secret diplomacy

2. Free navigation at sea for all nations
3. Removal of economic barriers between states
4. Reduction of armament
5. Adjustment of colonial claims in the interest of the populations concerned
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 6. Evacuation of Russian territory
7. Restoration of Belgium
8. Liberation of France and restoration of Alsace Loraine
9. Re- adjustment of Italian barriers
10. Self-government for the people of Austria Hungary
11. Evacuation of Romania, Serbia, and Montenegro Serbia given access to the sea
12 .Self-governments for the non-Turkish people
13. An independent Poland with access to the sea
14 .A general association of nations to preserve peace

PARIS PEACE SETTLEMENT

The meeting which began on 19 January was attended by thirty two states of the
victorious powers. The conference was dominated by the Big Four allied powers,
US, Britain, France and Italy, the rest were associated and sympathizers of the allies
during world war one. All defeated powers; Germany, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria
and Turkey were not invited and so were not represented. Interestingly even neutral
states were not invited.

Aims of the conference

- To redraw the map of Europe

- To avoid resurgence of German power
- To recognize nationalism
- To satisfy the aspirations of victors
- To create a buffer against nationalism
- To create an international organization for all nations

This was a meeting of the victorious powers who met Paris France to discuss how to
deal with the defeated powers

BIG FOUR

Woodrow Wilson (US)

Was an idealist who wished for a peace without victory e believed that this had been
a war to end wars and that the world should be made safe for democracy? His aims
therefore were: to have a fair and just settlement, the right of every nation to self-
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 determination, to prevent Germany from becoming aggressive, to change
international rules that were not amenable to peace and to base the peace treaties on
the 14 points. However his compatriots wanted US non-participation and the return
to the Monroe doctrine. His major aim was to build peace .he believed that the war
was caused by national frustration and being ruled by foreigners. He aimed at
promoting self-determination; he did not believe that Germany should be punished
severely. He wanted to see co-operation of states to achieve peace

LLOYD GEORGE (BRITAIN)

His initial views were to make Germans pay heavily for the war. During the
conference changed to moderate viewpoint. His position was affected by his fear of a
communist revolution as was happening in Berlin at the splendid isolation. His aims
were to prevent a communist revolution in Germany, to keep Germany’s economy
strong, to balance power so that Germany would not seek revenge in the future, not
to make Germany aggressive and to end the German threats on the British Empire
and navy. However his countrymen wanted Germany to pay heavily and that the
Kaiser is hanged. He later adopted a neutral stance; to him it did not matter whether
Germany could be made to pay severely because he was afraid of Germany revenge.
He wanted Germany back on her feet again in order to trade with her again

GEORGES CLEMENCEAU (FRANCE)

Nicknamed the Tiger, had witnessed his country invaded twice by Germany (1870-
1871 and1914-1918) and so was extremely bitter. So as chairperson of the
conference hoped to manipulate deliberations in his country’s favor. His aims were
to make sure Germany would never invade France again, to make Germany pay for
all war damages, to seek revenge for France's suffering, to make Germany militarily
and economically weak and to punish the Germans for the results of the 1871
humiliation. His countrymen hoped for the Germans to be squeezed until all pips
squeaked and to publicly hang the Kaiser. He therefore wanted revenge and
compensation of all losses suffered. He wanted Germany to be crippled and stripped
of her wealth and economic strength. He wanted d Germany to lose the sear region,
Upper Silesia, Danzig and East Prussia. He also wanted Germany to be broken down
into smaller collection of states. He also wanted to impose naval blockade on
Germany and avoid secret treaties

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 ORLANDO (ITALY)

Was mainly interested in the fulfillment of the terms of the London treaty1915 which
persuaded Italy to fight on the allied side. His aims were to get colonies for Italy, the
redrawing of new Italian frontiers from the Austria-Hungarian Empire. His
countrymen hoped for a fair compensation economically and politically of the dead
Italians. He was later to be frustrated by the deliberations and left the conference
halfway.

At the end of the conference six treaties were eventually signed between the victors
and the defeated powers. Wilson, frustrated by the Congresses refusal to ratify the
treaties left the conference a dejected man.

TREATY OF VERSAILLES 28 JUNE 1919

Was meant to deal with Germany
TERRITORIAL TERMS
These are terms that have to do with destruction of territories
-Alsace –Lorraine went to France
-west Prussia and Posen to Poland
-Danzig was to be free
-north Schleswig to Denmark
-Memel to Lithuania
-Saar region went to the league for 15 years
-Saar region will be voted after 15 yrs. whether to go to France foreman
-polish Corridor through Germany was created to give Poland access to the sea
-Sudetenland, bohemia and Moravia were given to Poland
-Germany lost overseas territories which were placed under the league
- Upper Silesia went to Poland
-Rhineland remained part of Germany but was demilitarized
-Togo land went to France
-Tanganyika to Britain
-Namibia (Germany West Africa) to South Africa

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 NON-TERRITORIAL TERMS
-no air force was allowed
-no tanks or heavy artillery
-Germany was to hand over her navy to Britain
-Rhineland was demilitarized
-Germany armament was reduced to a maximum of 100000 troops
-no compulsory military service
-no tanks
- No heavy artillery
-no armored vehicles
-Germany was no longer allowed to manufacture weapons
-forced to sign the war guilty clause accepting responsibility for causing war
-Germany was to pay reparations of 6,6million pounds
-Germany was weakened and humiliated
-Germany war staff was reduced

Was the treaty fair (why Germany rejected the treaty?)

- It was a dictated peace
- Reparations were too heavy and unrealistic
- Military terms reduced Germany to a third rank power
- Germany was not consulted on the treaty
- Germany was forced to accept the war guilty clause
- Loss of African territories
- Other countries did no disarm
- Other countries had also contributed to the outbreak of the war
- Germany did not like the war guilt clause
WHY GERMAN IS TO BLAME
- Germany had a war plan
- She had an aggressive foreign policy which scared other p\nations
- Her support for Austria Hungary led to outbreak of war
- Here naval scheme frightened Britain and brought her into the war
- It was Germany who declared war on Russia
- German invaded France and Belgium in 1914
- Was responsible for building a strong armies
- Started the alliance system which split Europe
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 TREATY OF ST GERMAIN 1919
It was a treaty with Austria.
-south Tyrol, trentino, Trieste was given to Italy
-galaciato went to Poland
-Dalmatia, bohemia and Herzegovina went to Serbia
-bohemia and Monrovia to Czechoslovakia
-lost 4 million Germans to her neighbors
-paid reparations for causing the war
- punished for being associated with Germany
-her area was reduced from 115 to 32m2
-army was reduced to only 30000 men
Forbidden from uniting with Germany

TREATY OF TRIANON 1920

Was a treaty with Hungary
-Lost Slovakia and Lithuania to Czechoslovakia
-Croatia and Slovenia went to Yugoslavia
- Hungary was made independent from Austria
-lost three quarters of her territory
-lost one third of her population
-dual monarchy was destroyed
-punished for being associated to Austria
-was left in serious economic problems
-army reduced to 35000 men
-was meant pay reparations but no amount was stated
TREATY OF NEUILLY (1919)
Was a treaty with Bulgaria
-Lost Thrace and Greece
-Army reduced to below 20000 men
-was to pay reparations of 90 000 pounds
-Lost her access to the Aegean Sea to Greece
-lost dobrudja to Romania
- Only 10000 policemen were allowed
-not allowed to have U boats
-no air force was allowed
-forced to accept war guilty clause
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 TREATY OF SERVES(1920)
Was signed with turkey
- Adula and Rhodes went to Italy
- Syria became French mandate
- Palestine, Iraq and Transjordan became British mandates
- Armed forces were reduced
- Covenant of the league was accepted
- Lost control of Constantinople
- Many Aegean islands and Smyrna went to Greece for 5yrs and after it will be decided
by a plebiscite(vote)
- A rebellion by Mustafa was done rejecting the treaty. They chased the Greeks out of
Smyrna. Italians and French withdrew their occupation and the treaty was reversed.
The treaty of Lausanne was signed and turkey regained some of her lost territories

The treaty of Neuilly and serves were criticized because

-by dividing turkey it was thought there would be peace in turkey
-the treaty of Sevres tried to divide most of Asia Minor into spheres of influence for
the allies
-turkey lost Constantinople which was he long time capital
-Greeks began a ruthless persecution and massacre of Turkish people
-in 1920 the allied forces occupied Constantinople and carried out arrests of
nationalist leaders
-Turks felt that their national feel of self-determination was being ignored
- was forced to reduce army and to pay reparations

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 LEAGUE OF NATIONS 1920

League members
Came into existence on 10 January 1920 on the same day the Versailles treaty came
into existence. Its headquarters was in Geneva Switzerland and was a brain child of
Woodrow Wilson 14 points
Aims
-To promote international cooperation
-to maintain peace through collective security
-to retain the aggressor by economic or political means
-reduce national armament
-promote health of mankind
-assist needy territories economically
-control drug trafficking
-prevent secret diplomacy
-Supervise the administration of mandated states
-settle disputes by arbitration
-to regulate labour
-guarantee national frontiers

Members of the league by 1939

Britain 1919-1939
Italy1919-1935
Holland1919
Japan1919-1933
France1919-1939
Belgium1919
Spain1919
China1919
German 1926-1933
USSR (Russia) 1934-1939

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Organs of the league/organization of the league/structure of the league
1. League assembly
2. The council
3. The secretariat
4. Permanent court of international justice

There were 42 member states at the beginning and 45 by 1926. Germany was later
admitted and USSR became a member in 1934 when Germany left
1. The league assembly (general assembly)
It was the central body of the league .it had 42 member states at the beginning and 55 at
the end. It a representatives from all member states
They met once a year in Geneva Switzerland. Discussed international issues. Each
member state was allowed 3 delegates who had one vote each. Decisions were arrived
at unanimously. It elected members of the council, handled finances of the league,
decided on general policy, admitted new members to the league had the mandate to
raise the army when needed, supervised the secretariat and council members

2. League council
Was a much smaller body of permanent members Britain, France, Italy, japan. Four
other members would be elected by the league assembly for 3 yrs. The number of non-
permanent members increased to 9 by 1920.by 1936 there were 11 members. Decisions
on the issues were unanimous. Met 3 times a year or on emergencies.
They dealt with specific political disputes, discussed issues affecting world peace,
submit recommendations to the league, recommend impositions of sanctions or military
actions and made punishment decision on offenders. Also dealt with moral
condemnation of members, gave the sanctions to aggressors, implemented military
force

3. Permanent court of international justice

Was at the based in Holland.it had 15 judges from different countries. It dealt with legal
disputes from between states e.g. breach of treaties, frontier conflicts etc., it advised the
council, advised the assembly, non-members could not be brought before the judge,
managed to deal with 32 cases throughout its period. Settled international disputes,
frontiers and fishing rights council and assembly. Interpret treaties. Dealt with cases
brought to it therefore it was voluntary arbitration

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4. The secretariat
Located in Geneva Switzerland.membwerscame from all member states. Was headed
by secretary general chosen by the general assembly. They looked after paperwork and
administrative issues such as preparation of paperwork, writing minutes and special
reports and solutions, implementing decisions by the leagues council and league
assembly, prepare agenda for meetings, organizing meetings, and translating reports
into various languages. Prepare and Sent out reports for different agenda of the league,
arrange league meetings, keeping record,
5. Commissions and committees
The league worked through commissions and committees on various areas. These
included refugees organization, health organization, international labor organization,
child welfare organization

Successes of the league

The league was most successful in the commissions and committees

1. International labor organization 1919
It was led by the French socialist leader Albert Thomas. It had four representatives from
each member state9two government representatives, one employer, one worker it aim
was to promote the framing and applying of international rules that governed conditions
of labour.They managed to
- Fix maximum working day and week to 8 hours per day
-specify adequate minimum wages
- set conditions of labor
-introduced sick leave
-introduce unemployment benefits
-introduced old age pensions
-set functions of trade unions
-Workers rights were respected
-child labour was discouraged
-gave and published information for workers

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2. Refugees organization

Led by the Norwegian explorer frichjof Nansen. They managed to solve the problems
of thousands of refugees and prisoners of war in Russia at the end of world war 1.half a
million refugees were helped to return home. valuable help was given to people fleeing
from Nazi persecution in 1933.find home for Russians fleeing from their country,
guaranteeing stateless people passports, organized famine relief in Russia,

3. Health organization
They managed to
-investigate the causes of epidemics such as typhus flu in Russia,
Dealt with epidemics
Educated people on health and sanitation
Collected information on diseases and nutrition

4 Mandates commission
It supervised the governments of the mandated states taken from Germany and turkey.
Another commission was responsible for administering the Saar region. They also
managed to organize the 1935 plebiscite in which a large majority voted for the Saar
region to be returned to Germany. Also managed to solve conflicts between Finland and
Sweden over the Aaland Islands, German and Poland over Upper Silesia, Greece and
Bulgaria, border dispute between Albania and Yugoslavia etc.

Other small commissions

Mandates commission
Minorities commission
Disarmament commission
Slavery commission
Drugs commission
Military affairs commission
Financial organization commission

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Political successes of the league

1. Aalands island issue 1920

- It was a dispute between Sweden and Finland over the control of the about 65000
islands between Sweden and Finland. Most people wanted the island to remain part of
Sweden but Finland refused. The matter was referred to the league and the league ruled
that the islands remain part of Finland
2. Albania and Yugoslavia 1921
It was a border dispute between Albania and Yugoslavia which had been unresolved at
the Paris peace conference when Yugoslavia invaded Albanian territories. The matter
was referred to the league and the league ruled in favor of Albania and Yugoslavia
withdrew its forces in 1921.
3. Dispute between Peru and Colombia over borders which was ruled peacefully
1922
4. Memel issue
The area was placed under the league for 3yrs but the population was mostly
Lithuanians. The Lithuanian government invaded and claimed it in 1923.the league
gave the land to Lithuania but the port remained an international zone Lithuania agreed
on the issue.
5. Poland and Lithuania 1923
It was over the control of Vilna. The league ruled that Poland should take Vilna and
Lithuania accepted the ruling.

6. Conflict between Greece and Italy over Corfu island1923

7. Greece and Bulgaria1925

Greece and Bulgaria had a border dispute and Greece invaded Bulgaria. The matter was
referred to the league and the league condemned Greece and ordered Greece to
withdraw and compensate Bulgaria and the matter was solved

8. German and Poland over Upper Silesia 1926`

The Versailles had ordered a plebiscite over Upper Silesia to determine whether it
would go to Germany or Poland. Most people wanted it to go to Germany. The matter
was referred to the league and the league resolved the issue by splitting the area into
two and both parties accepted the decision

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6. Turkey and Iraq over Mosul province 1926
Was a dispute involving the control of Mosul province, the league decided that it should
be controlled by Iraq
8 also managed to solve the disputes between Colombia, Bolivia and Paraguay over
Gran Chaco region 1933

Failures of the league

The league failed to deal with disputes that involved great powers and these included
-Corfu incident
-Japanese invasion of Manchuria
-Italian invasion of Abyssinia
-Spanish civil war
-outbreak of Second World War

1. Corfu incident 1923

It started because of a boundary dispute between Greece and Albania. The Italian
officials working on the boundary issue were killed, Mussolini blamed the Greeks so he
bombarded and occupied the Greek island called Corfu. He then demanded a lot of
compensation. The Greeks appealed to the league but Mussolini refused to listen to it.
Mussolini then threatened to withdraw from the League of Nations. The committee of
ambassadors then demanded Greek to pay huge compensation to but Mussolini had not
been dealt with

2. Japanese invasion of Manchuria 1931

Japanese troops invaded the Chinese province of Manchuria. China appealed to the
league and the league ordered japan to withdraw her troops.Japan refused and the
league appointed a commission under Lord Lytton which decided that there were faults
on both sides and Manchuria was to be governed by the league. japan rejected this and
withdrew from the league of nations in 1933.The question of giving japan economic
sanctions was not raised because Britain and France had their own economic problems.
They were also reluctant to apply trade boycotts on japan in case it could lead to war
therefore japan had successfully ignored the league

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3. Italian invasion of Abyssinia 1935

Italy invaded the Ethiopian capital of Abyssinia to revenge the defeat at Adowa in 1890
The Ethiopians appealed to the league and the league imposed economic sanctions on
Italy. However the sanctions did not involve the most important areas such as export of
oil, sell of coal and steel which were vital material for war. Italy then continued with
her conquest of Abyssinia. A few weeks later the sanctions were abandoned and
Mussolini had successfully ignored the league. Britain and France did not want to clash
with Mussolini and wanted to keep her as a friend against Germany. The sanctions
annoyed Mussolini and and he began to admire Hitler. Small states also failed to trust
the league. It also encouraged Hitler to break the Versailles treaty
4 Spanish civil war

5 Hitler’s acts of aggression

Strengths of the league

-Operated on a clear constitution

-Had many nations which included Britain and France
-There was a genuine mood of cooperation among members
-Had potential to improve the political and economic situation
-League would defend the interests of all nations
-Aims of the league attracted widespread support
-It took widespread humanitarian and economic activities

Why the league failed to preserve peace (weaknesses of the league)

1. It was too closely linked with the Versailles treaty which was closely hated
2. It looked like an organization for the victorious powers meant to punish the
aggressors
3. Absence of United States of America meant that the league did not have one
powerful state.
4.other great powers were not involved e.g. Germany joined 1926 and left 1933 .USSR
only became a member in 1934 when Germany had left. Japan left in 1933, Italy left
1936

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5. Decisions of the conference of ambassored interfered with the league decisions. It
was meant to operate before the league was fully working but it continued even after
the league was in place and it made decisions contradicting with the league e.g. in the
Vilna case with Lithuania league had no army of its own. Member states would supply
soldiers when needed and it was voluntary. States would decide to participate or not.
The idea of collective security was lost. The league was seen as a toothless bulldog that
could buck but lacked the teeth to bite
6. It looked like it was an organization for Britain and France since there were no other
great powers involved
7. League was affected by the world economic crisis and it became difficult to finance
the league
8 league had no funding and depended on voluntary contributions

ITALY UNDER MUSSOLINI (FASCISM)

FEATURES OF ITALIAN FASCISM
-Extreme nationalism
-violence
-intimidation and extermination of enemies
-dictatorship (totalitarianism
- One party state
-anti communism
-propaganda
- Economic self sufficiency
-military strength
-racism
-imperialism

Political groups in Italy between 1919 and 1922

Fascists/black shirts
Nationalists/blue shirts
Liberals/greyshirts
Communists/redshirts
Republicans
The people’s party
The Christian democrats/populari
Liberal democrats (radicals)

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Life of Mussolini

Born 29 july1883 in Romagna, son of a republican socialist, his mother was a teacher,
he graduated as a primary school teacher in 1906, resigned from teaching and went to
Switzerland to join socialist leaders.1908 he became editor of Italian newspaper Avanti
meaning official voice of Italian socialist.in 1914 he deviated from socialist views. He
was expelled from the Avanti and he formed his own newspaper called the popolo
deitalia. He took part in the war and was awarded an iron cross for bravery

Problems faced by Italy after World War 1

Economic problems
High inflation
Food shortages
Poverty especially among the poor peasants
High unemployment
Land seizure by returning soldiers and peasants
Widespread strikes
Southern part of Italy remained poor
Too many economic losses during the war
Underperforming industries
War debts needed repayment
Strikes and demonstrations
Lockouts of workers
Effects of the great depression

Social problems
Violence in the state
Low standards of living
Social unrest
Hunger and starvation
Social unrest
Crime prostitution
Diseases and poor health standards

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Political problems
Too many political parties with no solution to current problems
Fear of communism
Failure by government to control the state
Failure to get desired territories after World War 1
Dissatisfaction with the Versailles treaty
Conflict between church and state
Weaknesses of the parliamentary system
Frustration by nationalist who did not get territorial gains
Need for great power status

Mussolini rise to power

Mussolini took advantage of the existing problems and promised to solve them
-1919 he supported the seizure of factories, he later abandoned it and started to support
the industrialist
-he supported the idea of industrialist and wealthy people that land belonged to those
investing on it not to those working on it
-he started to attack the socialist who believed that land is a communal resource
-he stood up as the defender of private property and he gained the support of the
wealthy people who gave the fascists a lot of money
-1921 he took part in elections after being invited by Prime Minister Giolitti. It was
characterized by violence and Mussolini won 34 seats
-giolitti invited Mussolini to the government hoping to change him, the plan failed as
the fascists became more violent. The socialists refused to cooperate with giolitti
against fascists
-1922 strikes gave the fascists more popularity as they took it upon themselves to stop
the socialist strike which the government had failed to stop. The black shirts were active
in stopping the strike
- Fascists took control of many people and cities such as millan, leghorn and genoa
-they managed to stop the strikes and got widespread popularity with business people
-1922 he threatened to march on Rome to take power by force from victor Emmanuel
111. 5000 black shirts converged on the Rome capital
1922 October the king invited Mussolini to form a government
-Mussolini demanded elections after getting into government. The elections was
characterized by violence and intimidation
Mussolini won ¾ majority seats
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 Political Consolidation

- 1923 passed the Acerbo la which changed the rules of general elections. The party that
got the majority votes in any election could automatically have 2/3 seats in parliament.
In 1924 election fascist got majority votes & got 2/3 in parliament (404 seats vs. 107)
Mussolini could now make unopposed decisions & began to structure Italy towards
fascist lines.
- Persistent opponents of the regime were exiled or murdered e.g. Giovanni Amendsla &
Gra Corno Matteotti were beaten to death by fascist thugs for corruption.
- Socialist clubs, offices, co-operatives, stores, newspapers & printing press were closed.
- All political parties except fascist were banned. Italy became one party state.
- Trade unions were suppressed & strike forbidden.
- Mussolini as prime minister was responsible only to the king.
- 1926 Prime Minister could rule by decree meaning they could make the law without
referring to parliament
- People eligible to vote were reduce from 10 million to 3 million wealthiest people.
- Ballot boxes were staffed with fraudulent votes.
- Al decisions were taken by fascist grant council although parliament still met
- Mussolini then adopted the title Duce which was a dictator.
- Elections of two council & clerks were abolished and towns were run by officials from
Rome. The local fascist party boss. Had power equal to government.
- Secret police called ovra was set up to burnt down political opponents in beer halls and
other public places.
- Mussolini slogan was war is to man what child birth is to a woman “ A minute in the
battlefield is worthy a life time of peace

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 Social Consolidation

- Strict censorship of the press anti-fascist newspaper & editors were replaced by fascist
ones.
- Radios , films , theatres were controlled
- Propaganda was upheld & what was published praised Mussolini
- Education in Schools & Universities was closely supervised
- School children were told to model themselves like Mussolini
- Teachers had to wear uniforms & children were encouraged to criticize teachers who
lacked courage & love for fascism.
- Youths were forced to join government youth organization.
- Emphasis as made on total obedience to authority. They followed the slogan believe,
obey fight.
- Banned trade unions were replaced with cooperation
- Strikes & Lockouts were not allowed workers were given benefits such as free
Sunday , annual holiday with pay social security , sports etc.
- Mussolini bridged the gap between church & state. He signed the Lateran treaty which
recognized the Vatican City as a sovereign state
- He paid Pope Pius with money for all the loses
- He accepted the catholic faith as the official state religion.
- He made religious education compulsory in school.
- Pope gave a blessing to fascism
- Women were proclaimed inferior to men

- He saw women as uncreative & ignorant and was encouraged to do home duties not
politics.
- He encourage women to have more children at least 12 per family
- He charged tax on unjustified celibacy & childless marriage
- Punishment for adultery was severe for women than men
- He intended to praise the population of Italy to get more soldiers.
- Sports were put under fascist control

Economic Consolidation
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- Mussolini believed in self sufficiency
- Industry was encouraged with government subsidies given where necessary
- Iron and steel production doubled, production of silk increased tenfold. HEP production
doubled
- The battle for wheat due to enormous shortage encouraged farmers to concentrate on
wheat production as part of the drive to self-sufficiency, By 1935 wheat import had
been cut by75%
- Land reclamation was launched useless and was claimed for farming, swampy areas
were drained irrigation was introduced
- Forest were planted in mountain areas
- Large quantities of fertilizer were manufactured to ensure self sufficiency
- Large scale public works were started e.g. construction of bridges, roads, railways,
sports stadium, schools, flats etc.
- Railway line was electrified. This reduced unemployment
- Council controlled wages % taxes
- Fascists controlled economy & Italy was divided into 22 corporations
- More power was given to capitalists less to workers
- Big business people represented themselves but workers were represented by fascist
party & trade unions

Criticism of fascist Policies

- Little was done to remedy for basic shortage of raw materials i.e. coal & iron. Iron &
steel production could not match small countries like Belgium
- Although the battle for wheat was a victory. It was achieved at the expense of diary &
arable farming.
- Agriculture remained inefficient & farms laborers remained poorest class
- Wages fell by 20 – 40%
- Dualist economy remained. The north was industrial & prosperous while the south was
agriculturally backward & poor
- Revaluation of the lira made Italian exports more expensive on the world market & led
to reduced orders especially cotton industry
- Manufacturers worked on a 3day week & suffered wages reduction
- Great depression & wall street crush in USA made exports fall , unemployment rose to
1,1 million
- Cost of living fell & workers did not strike since strikes were illegal
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- No official government health insurance until 1943
- Regime was inefficient a corrupt so that many its policies were not carried out.
- Large sums of money disappeared in the hands of corrupt official
- Mussolini had too much power in his hands & he refused to delegate so he ended up
controlling very little economic & political activities.

Fascist foreign policy

Aim

- To create an Italy great, represented & feared

- To secure a revision of the peace settlement in favor of Italy
- To create an empire in Africa
- To make Italy a bulwark against Bolshevism
- The foreign policy is divided into 2 phases 1922 – 1934 peaceful period
- 1935 – 1939 aggressive period

Phase 1 1922 – 1934 NON – AGGRESSIVE PERIOD

- In 1925 he attended the Locarno conference but was disappointed when the agreement
signed did not guarantee Italian from her with Austria.
- 1928 he signed the kellog briand pact with France(pact of Paris)
- He was friendly towards Greece, Hungary & Albania. Economic % defense agreement
were signed with the results that Albania became an Italian vassal state
- He cultivated good relations with Britain. He supported her demand that Turkey should
hand over Mosul to Iraq & in return the British gave Italy a small part of Somali land
- He crushed the revolt in Libya with the use of force.
- Italy became the first state after Britain to recognize the USSR , a non-aggression pact
was signed between Italy & USSR in September 1933
- 1933 he attended the disarmament conference
- Signed a treaty of friendship with Ethiopia
- 1934 Mussolini tried to booster Australia against threat from Nazi Germany by
supporting Dollfuss when Chancellor Dollfuss was murdered. Mussolini deployed
Italian force the Brenner Pass commission. This improved relations between Italy &
France
- In 1935 he signed the stress & front with Britain & France guarantying the eastern
French boarder against German aggression.
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-

Aggressive Period (1935 -1939)

- After 1934 Mussolini moved from extreme suspicion of Hitler to admiration of his
achievements and desires to imitate him. He believed there was more to gain from
friendship with Germany than with Britain & France
- 1935 Italy invaded Ethiopia to affect the effects of the depression to. The nationalist &
colonialist to avenge the defeat at Adowa
- 1936 Italy signed the Rome Berlin axis with Hitler & was annoyed by the league
- Mussolini supported Hitler’s takeover of Austria
- 1937 signed the Rome- Berlin- Tokyo axis. The three took a strong stance against
Bolshevism
- 1938 Mussolini attended the Memel conference
- 1937 Mussolini annexed Albania & signed the part of steel with Germany extending his
friendship with Hitler
- Intervened in the Spanish civil war
- Attacked & conquered Albania & Eastern Europe & this attack was one of the main
causes of WW 2
-

GERMANY UNDER HITLER 1919 – 1945 (NAZISM)

Features of Nazism

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 -Extreme nationalism
-violence
-intimidation and extermination of enemies
-dictatorship (totalitarianism)
- One party state
-anti communism
-propaganda
- Economic self sufficiency
-military strength
-racism
-imperialism
- Anti-Semitism
-Creation of living space (lebensraum)
-After the war German was forced to adopt a democratic government & she had a
constitution that guaranteed liberty to its citizens
-President was elected by people vote. The chancellor was appointed by President
-Proportional representation was observed
-Cabinet was elected by chancellor who was responsible to Reichstag
-All Germans over 20 Years could vote

WEIMAR REPUBLIC CONSTITUTION

President-was elected by popular vote, in office for 7 yrs., appointed the chancellor,
did not do day to day running of government
Chancellor (prime minister)-appointed by president, was a politician with support of
parliament (Reichstag), responsible for the Day to day running of the government
Proportional representation-every party had seats in parliament proportionate to the
two numbers of votes
Cabinet-selected by the chancellor
Franchise-all Germany women and men over the age of 20 were allowed to vote for the
Reichstag and president

WHY THE WEIMAR REPUBLIC COLLAPSED

It collapsed because it had a lot of problems

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 -President assumed all apolitical powers including suppression of liberties during
national emergencies
-proportional representation encourages smaller parties
-it was difficult for one party to get majority seats
-every party had members in the Reichstag hence decisions were difficult to make
-right to form private armies made state insecure

ECONOMIC PROBLEMS

- German was close to bank repay because of the expenses of the war agriculture and
industry was paralyzed
- Paid f50 million for reparation which worsened the situation by France
- Occupation of the Ruhr by France which was important industrial area
- Workers followed a policy of passive resistance & industry was paralyzed
- German prosperity depended on American loan but USA wanted her loan paid back
because she was affected by great depression.
- Germany was also affected by effects of Great Depression
- Exports were reduced
- Unemployment rose
- Middle and professional classes suffered
- Germany currency lost value.

SOCIAL PROBLEMS

- Post war distress

- Unemployment
- Hunger and starvation
- Social import of inflation
- Destruction of social classes
- Anti – Semitism
- Lawlessness and criminality
- Diseases e.g. Tuberculosis

Political Problems
Weakness of the Weimar republic

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- It had accepted the humiliating Versailles treaty and Germany nationalist could not
forgive them
- Lack of respect for democratic government against the admiration of the army. Most
Germ believed that the army had not been defeated but was stabbed on the back by the
democrats who accepted the Versailles treaty
- Weakness of the Weimar constitution which was based on proportion representation but
no party had the majority social democrats nationalist or conservatives catholic party
communist Bavarian party natural socialist
- Political parties had no experience on how to operate a democratic government
- Government was unable to solve problems e.g. the spartasist rising i.e. a Roman who
led a revolt in 1919 government had to use private forces to stop them
- The kapp putsch was an attempt by opponents to seize power back German
government did not take action because it sympathized with the opponents
- A series of political assassination took place and the courts allowed the offenders to go
free in fear of opposition
- Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party offered people an alternate and promised to rescue
people from the social , Political and economic problems
- Major political threats included the following

1. Spartacist rising 1919 -these were communists who wanted to seize power by
force .they were against democratic governments. They were led by Rosa Luxemburg.
The wanted to follow the Bolshevik revolution in Russia. Government failed to
suppress the rising .former soldiers from ww1 called friekorps stopped the rising. The
showed that the government had depended on private armies to solve problems
2. The Bavarian revolt 1919-bavaria was an independent socialist state led by Kurt
Eisner. He was murdered by political opponents in 1919 and the communists took
advantage to declare soviet republic in Bavaria. The uprising was stopped by the
friekorps
3. The kapp putsch 1920- was an attempt by the friekorps to seize power. They staged
a military coup when the government tried to seize the and disband the friekorp.5000
friekorps marched in berlin and proclaimed their leader Wolfgang as chancellor.
Government requested help from the army but the army refused because they did not
want to fight fellow servicemen. It was worsened by the strike that broke out the same
period which left berlin without water or electricity
4. Political assassinations- all political opponents were killed and this was done by ex-
soldiers

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 5. Munich putsch 1923-it happened after the French and Belgians occupied the
Ruhr .this brought poverty and misery among the people. Hitler persuaded the Bavarian
prime minister to join the Nazi and embark on a march on berlin to seize power. The
march was then blocked by the police

WHO WAS HITLER

- Born in Austrian German in a small town of Braunan Inn in 1889 son of customs
official
- Academically and socially young left school at the age of 16 & tried to become an artist
but failed
- Hitler was a failure. He joined Bavarian Regiment during WWII
- He was awarded an iron cross for bravery. He was surrounded and hospitalized and he
learnt of German defeat and lamented
- Enrolled as a servant committee member of small workers
- In 1921 he became its leader & provided it with national socialist solution
- 1923 heat tempted to serve power in Munich was arrested & sentenced for 5 Years in
prison but served only 9 months
- He used his trial as an opportunity for propaganda against the government
- He wrote a book while in prison called Main Kamph i.e. my struggle in which he
clearly stated ambitions
- The book later became Nazi bible and clearly defined nazi programmers

German under Gustavo stress man 1923-1929)

In 1923 stress man became chancellor and foreign minister and he embarked on a
programme to revive the economy
Economic recovery
- Revival of Germany currency-old Germany currency (mark0 was replaced by new one
called rentenmark. It was strong and valuable
- Dawes plan-he called off the Ruhr strike, negotiated with USA for a loan facility to
Germany called the Dawes plan led by Charles Dawes as chair person. The loan had a
comfortable repayment period, rates which were affordable and fixed reparation
payment terms. The dawes plan revived the economy greatly in the following are
-Germany industry was modernized
Coal and steel production rose by 120%
-iron coal, electrical and chemical production increased
-introduction of mass production of goods less to abundant of goods
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-infrastructure improved e.g. roads, rails, swimming pools, parks, libraries, hospitals,
schools etc.
-poverty was reduced
-wages increased
-working hours reduced
-social insurance improved
-health improved
-trade with others increased
-concentration was on heavy industries
Cultural issues improved e.g. artist’s writers and poets emerged
-architecture improved and new modern buildings were made
-Cinema improved- movie stars were produced and entertainment improved
-Education-more schools were built as well as tertiary institutions two universities were
built that is Hamburg and cologne universities
The young plan was also put in place
It led to further reduction in reparation payment.it provided for payment of reparations
for up to 59 years

Stressman foreign policy

Stressman made good relations with the international community and it boosted
Germany international status
He signed the loran treaties in 1925 which guaranteed Germany’s western boarders
with France and Belgium
He signed the kellog-briand pact and agreed not to use war to solve political disputes
Admission into the league of nations-it was stress man‘s diplomacy that led Germany to
be admitted into the league of nations in 1926.Stress man died in 1926 and this led to
fresh problems being faced by Germany.

Rise of Hitler

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 Adolf Hilter was an Austrian born Germany .left school at the age of 16due to poor
performance, went to live I Germany, and joined the Bavarian army during ww1. Was
awarded the iron cross for bravery twice. He was disappointed with Germany defeat in
war and he labeled it as an act of cowardice. 1919 he joined the Germany workers party
and in the same year the Nazi party was formed led by Anton Dexter. He was removed
from power by Hitler and he took over leadership of the Nazi. He was a great orator and
had the ability to address huge crowds. In 1923 he attempted to seize power at the event
called the beer hall putsch. He was not successful and was arrested and sent to prison
where he served for 9 months. While in prison he wrote his political ideas in his book
called the mainkampf (my struggle). It became the Nazi bible.it stated that
-all Germany problems were caused by the Jews
-Jews were an inferior race that profited while the Germans suffered
-the Versailles treaty was a dictated peace
-unification of Germans was a necessary act
-Germany was supposed to expand to the east
Hitler then took advantage of the problems that the Weimar republic face and he
promised them better life
-to the unemployed he offered jobs
-to the peasants he offered land
-to the business people he offered government contracts, private land, huge orders a
lucrative investments
-to the nationalist she promised greatness and reversal of the Versailles treaty. He
promised to end payment of the reparations as it affected Germany economy
-to the army he promised expansion and rearmament
To the youth he promised action and commitment
-to all other people he promised strong leadership and restoration of law and order
He then carried out campaign speeches rallies and put up posters on all public areas
In the 1930 elections Nazi got 107 seats out of 647 6.5 million people had voted for
him. This made then\m the second largest party. Nazi disrupted proceedings in the
government and industrialist, landowners, bank owners and other rich people joined the
Nazi because they feared communism.
In the 1932 elections the Nazi got 230 out of 608 seats and it became the largest party
in Germany hence the government could not rule without Nazi support. Hitler
demanded the post of chancellor from the president.

Factors that led to the rise of Hitler

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 -he took advantage of the weaknesses of the Weimar republic
-he and promises it various sections of the society to the unemployed he offered jobs
-to the peasants he offered land
-to the business people he offered government contracts, private land, huge orders a
lucrative investments
-to the nationalists he promised greatness and reversal of the Versailles treaty. He
promised to end payment of the reparations as it affected Germany economy
-to the army he promised expansion and rearmament
-To the youth he promised action and commitment
-he promised to make Germany great by bringing back Austria, Poland and
Czechoslovakia
- Germany middle class support Nazi to avoid inflation
-Hitler’s personal qualities, he was an able leader with the ability to address people
-used propaganda to spread his ideas
-socialist and communists refused to unite against him
-Nazi private army attracted young people and helped to terrorize opponents
- Effects of great depression. The social , political , economic effects of great depression
gave Hitler an opportunity to wage his campaign
- 1933 he prepared a military wing of Nazi called storm troopers
- 1933 the Reichstag building( government building) was burnt down
- Nazi accused communist of having done it and communists were arrested
- Used his army to stop violence
- Hitler was appointed chancellor by president Hindenburg
- Hitler passed the enabling law which gave him power to make law without consulting
government(Reichstag)
- He appointed Nazi officials to all important posts
- Banned trade unions
- Banned all political parties except the Nazi
- Made Germany a one party state nation
- It was illegal to form a political party
- When president Hindenburg died Hitler became both president and chancellor
-

HITLER’S CONSOLIDATION OF POWER (DOMESTIC POLICY

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 AIMS

- To consolidate Nazi political power through organization of Government

- To create a one party state
- To create employment
- To create national stability
- Nazification of German through rise of propaganda
- To create racial discrimination
- To eliminate Jews from Germany
- Achieve economic self sufficiency
- Bring prosperity and raise standards of living

POLITICAL REORGANIZATION/POLITICAL CONSOLIDATION

- As the chancellor he ordered fresh elections & a few months before elections the
Reichstag building was burnt down.
- Nazi blamed it on communist and Jews & most of them were arrested
- Nazi won 441 seats during elections & communist won 84 Weimar republic seized to
exist
- Hitler persuaded a Reichstag to pass an enabling act.
- This transferred political power from parliament to Hitler done for 4 years. He could
now rule by decree
- All opposition parties were banned
- Print medias & newspaper were shut down
- 1934 Hitler made a secret agreement with the army to eliminate possible enemies in the
party
- Most of them were killed in the night of the long knives
- The army took fresh oath of office
- In another harshly organized election Hitler won 90% of votes for his new position
- All non-Nazi members were replaced by Nazi in local government
- Germany became a one party state.
- All elections were banned
- He enlarged his army
- Build a navy and air force
- Communists were totally banned
- All parliamentary affairs were dominated by Hitler

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- Organized and addressed mass rallies
- All opposes of Hitler were killed

ECONOMIC REORGANIZATION/ECONOMIC CONSOLIDATION

- Germany fixed unemployment problem which was estimated at 6 million in 1932

- Ministry of propaganda (Josef Goebbels) was established to carry out the battle for
unemployment programmer
- Public works schemes were started to offer employment e.g. buildings , roads , rails ,
schools , bridges
- Intensive battle for food programs were taken in agriculture
- Rearmament also offered jobs for many people in the army and weapon manufacture
- Trade unions were banned and were replaced by national labor front. It set up price
controls, tariffs control and determined wages.
- Strikes and lockouts were made illegal
- Workers got subsidies holidays and cheap theatre
- National Social security was introduced to compensate the injured, old age pension &
unemployment benefit.
- Heavy industries were expanded
- New secondary Schools were build
- Car manufacture , allied industry & home appliances were mass produced
- The currency was revalued to stabilize economy,

SOCIAL REORGANIZATION/SOCIAL CONSOLIDATION

- Was done through propaganda. It was meant to make Nazi the opinion German opinion
- Strict censorship of the pre media
- Opposition papers were banned
- Radios and televisions were put under government control only Nazi programs were
allowed
- Books not in line with Nazi policies were burnt or banned
- New education books were given attention
- Emphasis was placed on physical education & national history
- All teachers were forced to join national social teachers and report
- Youth movement were established to produce citizens strong in body & mind
- Religion was placed under state control .he signed the concordat with the catholic pope

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- Age 6 – 14 was apprenticeship period
- For females 14 – 18 Years was military training some friends were trained to be healing
mothers
- Gestapo was infiltrated in all sectors of the society to clear with rebel
- An agreement was reached with the Catholic Church to regulate its own activities
- Protestants churches were also encouraged

ANTI SEMITISM
-Hitler had extreme hatred of the Jews
- This was a racial policy against Jews
- In an event called the crystal night Jewish shops were banned & synagogues destroyed
- Nazi was determined to wipe out all Jews
- Thousands of Jews were arrested & sent into concentrate layers 7 the whole Jewish
community was fixed billions of marks.
- Anyone who had Jewish parents or grant parents were excluded from government
posts
- Jews and their children were excluded from universities
- No Jew could work as a lawyer or a doctor
- Jews were banned from holding positions of authority
- No Jew was allowed in broadcasting, newspapers, education or entertainment
- Jewish books and composers were banned
- Jewish intellectuals were forced to leave Germany
- In 1934 a law was passed in which no Jew could be employed before being examined
as lawyers or chemists while non-Jews would not be examined
- 1935 -36 persecution of Jews increased
- Jews were not allowed to join the army under the Nuremberg laws
- The law of protection of Germany blood and honor was passed preventing marriage
between Jews and non-Jews
- Reich citizenship was passed stating that all Jews were no longer Germany citizens
- Jews no longer had basic citizenship rights egg right to vote
- Jews were banned from professional jobs
- No government contracts would be given to Jews
- Jewish schools were banned from going to school
- All Jewish companies had collapsed and were no longer making profit

Hitter’s Foreign Policy

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 Aims

- To destroy the Versailles treaty

- To unite all Germans under one flag
- To create living space
- Final reckoning with France
- To make Germany the most powerful nation
- To create employments

Germany leaves the league

- Hitler agreed that the league was part of the Versailles which he hated.
- In1993 Hitler formerly announced that he had left the league& was supported by many
people
- Germany also left the disarmament conference

Referendum in Saar 1935

- According to the Versailles France had eight to work on coal mines in Saarland for 15
years & the league could administer the area
- A referendum was held in 1935 & 90% of Germans vote in favor of incorporation with
Germany
- This gave Hitler courage to produce his policies

Disarmament 1935

- Hitler withdrew from disarmament conference His intention to re earn German % his
military equipment was produced in large quantities Britain & France protested but they
were ignored. Major Powers responded by forming the save front to sustain peace.
- Hitler persuaded Britain to sign a naval part in which he promised Germany navy will
not exceed 35% of British feet.
- This worsened Anglo-French agreement
- Hitler signed a 10 Year no aggression part with Poland

Militarization of the Rhineland 1936

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- The Versailles started that the Rhineland Western party could be occupied by Britain,
France USA and Belgium with German pay the reparation. The Other side of Rhineland
was to be demilitarized.
- In 1936 Hitler marched his troops into the Rhineland because the Stressa front was
collapsing
- Italy was involved in Abyssinia , Britannia regarded Rhineland as Germany territory &
France was to resist German occupation

Significance of the occupation

- Hitler government moral support & it encouraged him to be aggressive

- Hitler got no opposition
- League did not take away action
- France was out ….. from Russia & small state were at Hitler’s mercy

Rome berlin axis 1936

- It was signed between Italy & Germany Because Germany had helped Italy during
Sanctions Company in Ethiopia.
- Stress a front had collapsed
- Both of them had sent troops to Spain to establish fascist dictatorship. This axis became
the center of all European political future.

Anti comitern pact 1936

- Signed between German & Japan against Russia & Communism

- They agreed to keep each other informed & to fight against the spread of communism.

Rome-berlin-Tokyo axis 1937

-Italy-Germany-japan. All the states were totalitarian. Japan was a militaristic state
while others were dictators.
- All had lost respect in the league & sought glory outside the league
- All three had been denied territories of communism

Anschluss (annexation of Austria) 1938

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- Treaty of St Germany reduced Austria into a small in depended state of 6 million
people.
- A Nazi party was form inside Austria to campaign for union & Germany
- A referendum was held to decide whether Austrian wanted to join Germany
- In 1938 Austria was annexed as part of Germany territory
- 97% of the Austrians voted in favor of

Seizure of Czechoslovakia 1938-39

- Czechoslovakia created out of the Habsburg Empire had 10 million people & 3 million
were Germans.
- Germany propaganda stimulated Czechoslovakia union with Germany
- 1938 German began to move its troops towards Czech frontier
- France supported Czech & Britain assisted France
- Britain prime minister Chamberlin persuaded Hitler to maintain peace in Europe
Chamberlin draws a plan to incorporate 50% of Germans but Hitler refused &
demanded full occupation

Munich agreement 1938

- Was agreed by Hitler , Mussolini , Chamberlin & Duke Dier of France

- All German speaking district in Czech to be transferred to Germany immediately
- A plebiscite was to be held in the other areas
- Britain & France guaranteed Czech support in the event of attack by German
- October German troops moved into possession

Death of Czechoslovakia

- Hitler demanded cessation of other state , Bohemia , Monrovia via which had minority
German speaking people
- Hitler sent German troops & occupied the of Czech democrats agreed that Hitler could
only be stopped by force

HITLER’S FOREIGN POLICY SUMMARY

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1933 Hitler withdrew from world disarmament conference, withdrew from the league
of nations,1934 signed the non-aggression pact with Poland,1934 he announce
rearmament,1935 he signed the Anglo German naval agreement and began to
strengthen his army.1935 he remilitarized the Rhineland . he rejected the Versailles
treaty.1936 joined the Spanish civil war.1936 he signed the Rome-berlin axis with
Mussolini, 1936 he signed the anti-comitern pact with japan and Italy, 1937 he signed
the Rome berlin Tokyo axis with Italy and japan.1938 he took over Austria, 1938 he
attended the Munich conference in support of takeover of Germans in Czechoslovakia,
1938 he occupied Sudetenland, he attacked and took over Czechoslovakia, 1939 he
signed pact of steel with Italy, 1939 he attacked Poland
…………………………………………………………………………………………...

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