IGCSE History

Successes and failures of the league in the 1920's Area of dispute What the League of Nations did… 1919 Teschen - a small on the border between Poland and Czechoslovakia, which both countries wanted for its valuable coal mines. In January 1919, polish and Czech soldiers fought for a week in Teschen, killing many people. In 1920 the League arbitrated on the dispute, splitting the area between the two countries. Although neither country was happy about the decision, they accepted it and stopped the fighting. 1919 Fiume – a port on the Adriatic Coast. Italy had hoped that she would be given it in the Paris Peace Treaties, as a reward for WWI. Instead it was given to the new country of Yugoslavia. A group of Italian nationalists weren’t willing to accept this, and occupied the town. The league did not intervene 1920 Vilna - in 1919 Lithuania had regained its in...

Why did the USA not join the League? The USA did not join the league as congress voted against joining the league as they did not want to get involved in European politics. The public and congress wanted the USA to be an isolationist country and not get caught up in European politics or problems. Republicans opposed Wilson because he was a democrat. US public opinion against being part of European affairs How did this weaken the League? This weakens the league as The sanctions were less effective as they were not as much of a threat without the US as the US controlled lots of trade so the sanctions would not work if the us did not apply them. The loss of French and British trade was not as much of a threat as the loss of US trade as this would have more of an effect on the economy. Also France and Britain were poorly placed to lead without the US as they did not have the resources, and economic power to lead effectively and were more focused on rebuilding their...

The structural and membership weaknesses of the League? Point Evidence Explanation – this made the League weak because… Type of weakness – structural/ membership/ other The League relied on collective security – every country acting together to defend the lands and interests of all nations. Not needed here. If you were a member you were guaranteed security from the other members, this relies on a lot of trust from the other countries. An army is required so the countries relied on others for security rather than having their own army  structural Membership The USA did not join. Congress didn’t allow the US to join the league of nations because they didn’t want to get involved in European politics  Britain and France were then the most powerful leading countries but they did not have the resources after the war to fill the gap that the USA left. So...

What were the aims of the League Of Nations? A = aggression reduced Its important so that there is no more conflict between and inside the countries C = cooperation So that the countries get along and there is no more conflict or wars I = improve living and working conditions To make the population happier which will result in less conflict in the future D = disarm So that there is less violence and killing which would reduce wars and conflict 

What work did the League need to do? The league needed to re-evaluate the treaty    T he peace was forced upon Germany and they had to accept it but this has left them bitter and humiliated and has made them resent the other countries and he doesn’t believe the terms of the treaty will last and currently stand as a short-term solution. The league needs to not let into the aggressive countries  Lots of countries were not satisfied as they were not given the land they were promised The countries have become aggressive. The league needed to look after health  There are wider problems, such as the influenza epidemic.

Why did the aims of the big three at Versailles differ? (6 Marks)  The aims of the big three at Versailles was different because each of them had a different experience of the war and so hopes to achieve different things from Germany. France very heavily wanted Germany to pay for the damage they had caused to the country, as over 8000 miles of farmland was ruined and over 1 million lives lost. France hoped to achieve revenge and to weaken Germany. They had this strongest view as they were closest to the action and therefore experienced the worst damage as a result. Whereas America was more focused on achieving peace, they may have had a different mindset as they were more distant from the action and did not experience anywhere near that much destruction. As well as this the distance meant that the population of the country was not as involved and did not have as strong of an opinion as those who suffered more during the war. Britain  ...

Why did the Treaty of Versailles cause so much bitterness in Germany? 6 marks. The treaty of Versailles caused so much bitterness because the German people felt that the victors were being greedy and demanding too much, that the Germans would never be able to pay back.  As part of the treaty, German would have to pay £6.6 billion in reparations, this massive amount caused many economic problems in Germany and was one of the main causes of the hyperinflation of 1923. This left the Germans bitter as it left the country in ruins, as a way of dealing with the problem the government simply printed more money which made the situation worse, the German people blamed the treaty for the problems the country was facing. Another reason why there was so much bitterness was that the Germans felt embarrassed and humiliated as they felt that their country had been stripped of its once high position among the nations. As Germany was forced to take the blame for the war the Germans did not f...

How satisfied were the big 3 by the treaty of Versailles? Clemenceau was largely satisfied by the terms of the treaty of Versailles as he achieved most of his aims such as making Germany too weak to attack again. Germany was forced to pay huge reparations of £6.6 billion and was forced to limit its army to 100,000 soldiers. These pleased Clemenceau as it meant that Germany's economy was significantly weakened and France was being given the money they need to repair the country and the limited army mean they were not able to fight back and so the country was easier to control from the outside.  However, France was hoping to gain more; and from Germany to increase its own empire and although they did not gain the land it was still taken away from Germany which weakened the country.  Overall Clemenceau achieved most of his aims at the treaty of Versailles and was mostly satisfied by the terms. David Lloyd George was greatly satisfied by the treaty of Versailles as he man...

Aims of the big 3: In short : Clemenceau: Wanted Alsace - horraine back Border protection Prevent Germany from attacking again David Lloyd George : Did not want to punish Germany too much Start up trading relationship Reparations Navy to be disbanded Woodrow Wilson: Self-determination League of nations Slight punishment not much Wanted to avoid being involved in European affairs

Advantages and Disadvantages of the treaty of Versailles for the big three: France   The treaty satisfied a number of Clemenceau's demands and they were also likely to become the major recipient of Germanys reparations Advantages  Received some of Germanys former colonies France was secure on her eastern frontier Germany was deprived of a significant part of her land and wealth which weakened her economy and military capacity Disadvantages Clemenceau was worried this was still not enough and Germany would regain her power She still felt dangerously exposed  The united states President Wilson had mixed feelings about the settlement Advantages Wilson had successfully convinced his partners to include the league of nations in the negotiations - this would help to make the new peacekeeping organization a reality Satisfied that the defeated powers should disarm - moves towards his aim of disarmament for all countries Relieved that Rh...

The different treaties (table) : Name and date of treaty Country it dealt with War guilt? Reparations? If so, how much and any other details? Loss of territory? If so, what and to whom did it go? Loss of colonies? Which and who to? Reduction of armed forces? What and how? Other?  treaty of Versailles November 1919  Germany  yes  £6,600 million to be paid (not decided until 1921)  10% of the land to Europe All overseas colonies 12.5% of its population 16% of coalfields Almost half of its iron and steel industry  all overseas colonies to Britain and France  army reduced to 100,000 men with no conscription No armoured vehicles or heavy artillery No air force Tiny army  treaty of severs August 1920  turkey  yes  none  lost lots of territories and the empire was ...

What Were the aims of Britain, France and the USA? Lloyd George hoped to achieve 4 main points: He hoped to reconcile with Germany and to continue trading with them. Britain was suffering greatly as a result of the war as they faced lots of casualties and food shortages, trading with Germany would help.  By reconciling with Germany he also hoped to keep them from communism as this would prevent them from trading with them. Trading with Germany would help get more jobs which would benefit the people and help the country become more stable after losing a lot of their workforce. And reconciling with Germany would hopefully also prevent another war from breaking out as if Germany was punished too harshly they may then go and seek revenge.  However, as he had promised the people, he hoped to get revenge for the damage and destruction that Germany had caused during the war. He wanted to get rid of Germany's navy so that they could not threaten the British empire and so th...