Resumen History

8/11/2019 Resumen History

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Resumen de History

Chapter 4: The peace treaties after the First World War.

The Paris Peace Conference.It was a spectacular occasion as a momentous event. It was signed on 28 June 1919. When the terms were

announced, the Germans complaint that it was too unfair.

The mood in 1919.When the leaders of Britain !lo"d George#, $rance %lemenceau#, and the &'( Wilson# arrived at )aris to draw upa *reat", the" were under pressure to deal severel" with German". $rance and Britain felt it had to +e punished forstarting the war, as well as pa"ing for the damage and destruction caused +" the war.-cept the &'(, ever" countr" that had fought in the war was e-hausted, their econom" was in a +ad state, and 9million had died. %ivilians had suffered shortages of food and medicine. illages had +een devastated.(lthough no fighting had ta/en place in Britain, the huge casualties had left their mar/ in pu+lic opinion. *he" alsowanted to treat German" harshl" when it +ecame pu+lic how German" had treated 0ussia in the *reat" of Brest!itovs/. *he +itterness and hatred remained.

The aims of the leaders at the Paris Peace Conference.

*here was a disagreement a+out what to do with German"'ome felt the aim was to punish German".3thers that the" should cripple German" so that it wouldn4t start another war.3thers that the" should reward the winning countries.3thers that the" should esta+lish a 5ust and lasting peace.

Georges Clemenceau (France) $rance had suffered enormous damage to its land, industr" and people and selfconfidence. German"

seemed to man" $rench people as powerful and threatening as ever. $elt threatened +" German".

'aw the *reat" as an opportunit" to cripple German" so that it could not attac/ $rance again.

Was a realist.

6e demanded a treat" that would wea/en German" as much as possi+le.

Woodro Wilson (!"#) 6e was an idealist.

Wanted to +uild a +etter and more peaceful world from the ruins of the Great War.

German" shouldn4t +e punished too harshl" +ecause someda" it would recover and want revenge.

Wanted to strengthen democrac" in the defeated nation so that its people would not let its soldiers cause

another war. 7ations should cooperate to achieve world peace. In Januar" 1918 he presented his 1 points, the

fourteenth was a !eague of 7ations. Believed in selfdetermination and wanted the different astern urope peoples to rule themselves instead

of forming part of (ustria6ungar"4s empire.an" British and $rench people did not agree with the 1 points +ecause the" seemed impractical, li/e self

determination, it would +e ver" hard for peoples of eastern urope to rule themselves since the" were scatteredalong man" different countries.

$a%id &lo'd George (Great ritain) Was in the middle ground +etween the other two.

Wanted German" to +e 5ustl" punished +ut not too harshl".

Wanted German" to loose its nav" and its colonies since the" threatened the British mpire.

6e did not want German" to see/ revenge and possi+l" start another war.

Wanted to start trading with German" again since it meant 5o+s for the British people.

6ad great pressures +ac/ home for a harsh treat".

$isagreements and compromisesIt was clear that the o+5ectives of the three wouldn4t +e reached. %lemenceau clashed with Wilson in man" aspects.*he &'( had practicall" not suffered, so it was generous with German". But it had to give wa" with regards to thecoalfields and the 0hineland. !lo"d George didn4t agree either with %lemenceau, as the first didn4t want to treat

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German" too harshl". Wilson didn4t agree either with !lo"d George, as the second didn4t li/e the 2nd point of thefourteen points, allowing all nations access to the seas.

The Treat' of ersailles.7one of the Big *hree was happ" with the terms. *his can +e divided into : areas*he terms of the treat"

1) War guilt.*he Germans had to accept the +lame for starting the war. *his was seen as e-tremel" harsh +" the Germans.*) +eparations.German" had to pa" reparations to the (llies for the damage of the war. It was of ;;


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erdicts on the Treat' of ersailles.In 1919, the *reat" was not onl" critici>ed +" the Germans, none of the +ig three were satisfied.

%lemenceau said it was not harsh enough.

!lo"d George received a hero4s welcome when he returned to Britain, +ut he felt another war would

happen.

Wilson was ver" disappointed with the treat". *he (merican congress did not approve the *reat".'oFcould it +e 5ustified6istor" has shown that it helped to create a cruel regime in German" and eventuall" a second world war. But at thattime, for the people outside German", it was seen as fair. ( more generous treat" would have +een totall"unaccepta+le to the pu+lic opinion. (nd the *reat" was the +est that could +e hoped for in the circumstances.

Chapter -: +ussia and the !""+ (191/195)

The ne Tsar.When 7icholas II was crowned *sar of 0ussia in 198, man" people favored him, and even called him ?the littlefather of 0ussia@, +ut twent"three "ears later, he had +een removed from power and he and his famil" wereprisoners. *he *sar ma" have as/ed himself how, +ut commentators were e-pecting collapse wa" +efore191A.

The Tsar6s 7mpire0ussia was a vast empire rather than a single countr", and the *sar was its supreme ruler.

ationalities*he *sar4s empire included man" different nationalities. 3nl"


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monarch lie his predecessors. 6e tended to avoid ma/ing important decisions. 7icholas handled his officials poorl".6e would sac/ or encourage conflict +etween an"one that he felt threatened +". 6e even appointed famil" mem+ersand friends to the court to important positions. an" were incompetent and corrupt.

Controlespite ever"thing the *sar4s regime was ver" strong in some wa"s.

)easants were controlled +" the ir. *he ir could +e overruled +" the land captains minor landlords chosen +" the *sar as his officials in local

areas#. *he >emstva local assem+lies# helped control 0ussia. *he" were dominated +" land captains in the

countr"side and +" professional people in the towns. !ocal governors were appointed +" the *sar from the aristocrac". *here were special emergenc" laws that

allowed them too 3rder the police to arrest suspected opponents of the regime.

o Ban individuals from the >emstva, courts or an" government organi>ation.

o a/e suspects pa" heav" fines.

o Introduce censorship of +oo/s or leaflets or newspapers.

!ocal governors controlled the police. *he police had 1


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either /illed, e-iled or hiding a+road. 7o revolution would succeed as long as the arm" sta"ed lo"al to the tsar. (ftercrushing the revolt the *sar created the fundamental laws, this agreed with the e-istence of a uma, +ut had soman" limitations that it could do nothing.

The trouled 'ears; 195-/1914In order to avoid another revolution, the *sar needed to reform 0ussia to satisf" at least one of the unhapp" groups.

*he *sar continued to rule without pa"ing much attention to the uma. *he first and second were ver" critical of himso were sent off. But later the *sar changed the voting rules and a less critical uma was elected. B" 1912 even this?lo"al@ uma was +ecoming critical +ut the *sar continued as criticism was not a serious threat.

"tol'pin6e was the prime minister elected +" the *sar in 19


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*he" did not suffer li/e the peasant and wor/ers +ut were appalled when the" were revealed of the living conditionsof the war and the lac/ of supplies that the" had, and the" tried to set up committees to help. *his made themunhapp" with the *sar.

The aristocrac'Junior officers died in war, and these men were the future aristocrat class. an" aristocrats were appalled at the

influence of 0asputin over 0ussia. (lso the" were angr" +ecause when the *sar went to war, he left his wife incharge, and the fact that she was German +egan rumors in the capital. *here were also rumors of an affair +etweenher and 0asputin. It got so serious that a group of leading aristocrats murdered 0asputin in ecem+er 191;.

The arch re%olutionIn Januar" 191A stri/es +ro/e out all over 0ussia. *he" were supported and 5oined +" the arm". *he *sar4s +esttroops were dead on the +attlefields. 3n A arch wor/ers at the )utilov steelwor/s went on stri/e. *he" 5oined withthousands of women and demanded +read. *he stri/ers rose to 2:


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olshe%i8 re%olutionB" the end of 3cto+er 191A, !enin was convinced that the time was right for the Bolshevi/s to rise and ta/e power.6e convinced all the Bolshevi/s to act swiftl". uring the night of ; 7ovem+er, the 0ed Guards, lead +" !eon*rots/", too/ control of post offices, the +ridges and the state +an/. *he" had ta/en control of almost all )etrogradwhen Derens/" wo/e up ne-t morning. uring the da", with almost no opposition, the" too/ over railwa" stations andimportant targets. 3n the night of 7ovem+er A, the" stormed the winter palace and arrested ministers of the

)rovisional Government. Derens/" fled into e-ile and on 8 7ovem+er and announcement was made to the 0ussianpeople that the )rovisional Government had +een overthrown.

#n anal'sis of the olshe%i8 +e%olution*he Bolshevi/s did not have the support of the ma5orit" of the 0ussian people, +ut were a+le to ta/e control +ecausethe )rovisional Government was ver" unpopular and there were no massive demonstrations wanting Derens/" +ac/.*he" were a disciplined part" dedicated to revolution and had supporters in all the right places. 6alf the arm"supported them as well as the sailors in the important naval +ases. *he ma5or industrial centers were also proBolshevi/. *he" also had outstanding personalities such as *rots/" and there leader !enin. $or all of these reasonsthe" were a+le to carr" out their ta/eover in 7ovem+er 191A.

&enin in poer*he Bolshevi/s had promised the people +read, peace and land and /new that if he failed to deliver he would have

the same fate as Derens/" and the )rovisional Government. !enin immediatel" set up the %ouncil of )eople4s%ommissars 'ovnar/on#. It issued man" decrees aiming to strengthen Bolshevi/s4 hold on power. It announced that0ussia was as/ing for peace with German", the peasants were given the *sar4s and the %hurch4s lands. *hefactories and industries were put in the hands of the wor/ers. *he" were given the power to treat ruthlessl" with theiropponents and did.

The olshe%i8 dictatorship!enin had promised free elections to the %onstituent (ssem+l" and did not gain the ma5orit" of the votes, the rivals,the 'ocialist 0evolutionaries, were in ma5orit", so he sent the 0ed Guards to close down the (ssem+l". *his waseasil" forgotten and !enin used the %ongress of 'oviets to pass his laws, as the" were a Bolshevi/ ma5orit". 0ussia4sdemocratic e-periment lasted less than 2 hours, +ut !enin +elieved that he was esta+lishing a dictatorship of theproletariat that would, in time, give wa" to true communism.

a8ing peace!enin had to ma/e good his promise of peace so he told *rots/" to negotiate a peace treat", +ut to tr" to wait as longas possi+le. 6e hoped a socialist revolution would +rea/ out in German", +ut +" $e+ruar" 1918 nothing hadhappened and the Germans were starting to advance again. !enin had to accept the *reat" of Brest!itovs/. It was asevere +low to 0ussiaC the" lost E of its population, E2 of its agricultural land, : of its industr", 2; of itsrailwa"s and 89 of its coalmines. *he" also imposed a fine of Eech !egion sei>ed control of a large section ofthe *rans'i+erian railwa" and prett" soon three separate White armies were marching into Bolshevi/controlled

western 0ussia Bolshevi/ >one, stronghold#.!eon *rots/" created a new 0ed (rm" of E


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ade sure that the towns and armies were well fed, +" forcing peasant to hand over food +" rationing

supplies.

*oo/ over factories of oscow and )etrograd so that the" could suppl" their arm" with eHuipment and

ammunition.

*he 0ed *error /ept the population under strict control.

*he" also made good use of atrocities committed +" the Whites and raised fears a+out the possi+le

return of the *sar and landlords with effective propaganda.(nother advantage was that the 0eds had territorial advantages. *heir enemies were spread around the edge of0ussia while the" had internal lines of communication that allowed them to move troops Huic/l" +" railwa"s.

$isad%antages of the hites*he" were not united and were made up of different groups with different aims. *he" were also widel" spread socould not meet to coordinate attac/s. *he" had limited support from the 0ussian population and the peasantspreferred the 0eds since the Whites would +ring the landlords +ac/ and the" caused more suffering to the peasantsthan the 0eds did.

War communismIt was the name given to the harsh economic measures that the Bolshevi/s too/ during the %ivil War. Its aims were toput theories in practice +" redistri+uting wealth among the 0ussian people and to help the %ivil War +" /eeping thetowns and the 0ed (rm" supplied with food and weapons.

(ll large factories were ta/en over +" the government.

)roduction was planned and organi>ed +" the government.

iscipline for wor/ers was strict and stri/ers could +e shot.

)easant had to hand over surplus food to the government, if not the" could +e shot.

$ood was rationed.

$ree enterprise +ecame illegalall production and trade was controlled +" the state.

*his achieved its goal of winning the war +ut caused terri+le hardship. *he peasants stopped producing food sincethe government 5ust too/ it awa". *his lead to a terri+le famine and A million 0ussians died, canni+alism wasreported.In $e+ruar" 1921 these policies created an uprising at Dronstadt naval +ase. It was put down +" troops +ut had adeep impact on !enin. 6e a+andoned these policies since he found it strange that these sailors had supported him in

the +eginning.

The e 7conomic Polic'!enin recogni>ed that change was necessar" and announced the 7ew conomic )olic". It +rought +ac/ capitalismfor some sections of 0ussian societ". )easants were allowed to sell surplus grain for profit +ut would pa" ta- on whatthe" produced rather than giving some of it up to the government. 'mall factories were handed +ac/ into privateownership and private trading of small goods was legal. !enin made it clear that the 7) was temporar" and that thevital heav" industries would remain in state hands. Bolshevi/s were against it seeing as it +etra"ed %ommunism, +ut!enin won and +" 192: there seemed to +e a rise in food production +ut these increases did not necessaril" improvethe situation of the industrial wor/ers.

The death of &enin and the creation of the !""+!enin did not lived to see the recover" of the 0ussian econom". (fter several stro/es he died in Januar" 192. 6e led0ussia through revolution and civil war and supervised the drawing up of a new constitution that turned the 0ussianmpire into the &nion of 'oviet 'ocialist 0epu+lics &''0#.

"talin or Trots8'2*here were man" possi+ilities to ta/e !enin4s place, +ut the real fight was +etween two leading figures and +itterrivals in the %ommunist )art", 'talin and *rots/". In 1929 'talin made himself secure as the supreme leader of the&''0. 6e achieved this through a com+ination of political scheming, the mista/es of his opponents and the cleverwa" in which he +uilt up his power +ase.

Wh' did Trots8' lose the leadership contest2*rots/" was a +rilliant spea/er and writer, as well as the part"4s +est political thin/er. 6e had organi>ed the Bolshevi/revolution and was the hero of the civil war as leader of the 0eds and he had negotiated peace with German". 'owh" did he lose

6e was arrogant and often offended the senior part" mem+ers.

6e failed to ta/e the opposition seriousl".

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6e made little effort to +uild up an" support in the ran/s of the part".

6e underestimated 'talin.

6e unfortunatel" got sic/ with malaria when he needed to +e at his most active.

6e was also the victim of a tric/ +" 'talin, who told him that !enin4s funeral was to +e one da", and it was reall"another, and since *rots/" was awa" in the south of 0ussia, he couldn4t go to the funeral whereas 'talin appeared aschief mourner and !enin4s closest friend.

=o did "talin in2(s we saw, he was a clever politician. 6e associated himself with !enin and too/ on +oring +ut important 5o+s in thepart" in order to transfer supporters to important posts and even lowering those who were against him. 6e wasruthless with his opponents and even too/ Bu/harin4s side in a de+ate in order to help get rid a *rots/", and thenopposed Bu/harin with *rots/"4s e-act argument. 6is policies were more normal than *rots/"4s plan, he wanted toesta+lish %ommunism in 0ussia instead of spreading revolution worldwide. (nd he also appeared to +e a Georgianpeasant, much more a man of the people than his rivals, and he seemed to understand the people4s feelings.

oderni>ing the !""+'talin was determined to moderni>e the &''0 so that it would +e a+le to meet the challenges that were to come.(lmost all the industr" was concentrated in 5ust a few cities and the wor/ers were uns/illed and poorl" educated.an" regions of the &''0 were in the same +ac/ward state as the" had +een 1


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'talin was read" to destro" the wa" of life of the 'oviet in order to help industriali>ation.

odernising agriculture: collecti%isation$or the $ive=ear )lans to +e successful 'talin needed to moderni>e the agriculture +ecause in 1928 the countr"was alread" 2 million tons short of the grain it needed to feed the wor/ers. 6e also wanted to tr" to raise mone" forhis industriali>ation plan +" selling surplus food a+road.

*he pro+lem was that farming was organi>ed under the 7), the lots of land were divided in ver" small pieces andthis was not +ig enough to give efficient use to the tractors and fertili>ers, and the peasants had enough to eat andsaw little point in increasing production to feed the towns.*he government tried to sell these ideas +" offering the peasants free seeds and other per/s, +ut soon there werepro+lems. *he peasants disli/ed the fact that the farms were under the control of the local %ommunist leader. *he"were +eing as/ed to grow crops for the industr" rather than for feeding themselves. 'talin was as/ing them toa+andon a wa" of life that the" and their ancestors had led for centuries.It was ver" hard to convince the /ula/s, who did not want to hand over their land and produce. 'oviet propagandatried to turn the people against the /ula/s and violence was Huic/l" implemented. 0eHuisition parties came and too/the food that the" needed and left the /ula/s to starve. *he /ula/s were arrested and sent to la+or camps of forcedon to poorHualit" land. In revenge man" /ula/s +urnt their crops and slaughtered their animals so that the%ommunists could not have them.*he countr"side was in chaos, in the places that collectivi>ation had +een introduced successfull"C the peasants were

unfamiliar with the new ideas and methods. )easants starved and +itterness was present as the" saw how%ommunist officials too/ food for e-port.$ood production fell under these conditions and there was a famine in 19E219EE. When the Germans invaded&/raine, the" were at first made welcome for driving out the communists.espite the famine 'talin continued and +" 19E there were no /ula/s left. B" 191 almost all the agricultural landwas organi>ed under the collective s"stem. 'talin had achieved his aim of collectivi>ation.

=o poerful as "talin2It was impossi+le to do what 'talin did without ma/ing enemies, +ut one of his aims was to control his people to suchan e-tent that the" would +e afraid even to thin/ of opposing him, *hroughout his time in power he used the secretpolice, at first called 3G)& and the 7D, to crush an" opponents of his policies.

The purges

Was the most terrif"ing period in 'talin4s rule, the purges +egan in 19E as a conseHuence of the death of Dirov, theleader of the !eningrad new name for )etrograd# %ommunist )art". 'talin used this as an e-cuse to purge hisopponents inside the part". !o"al Bolshevi/s such as Damenev, Bu/harin, etc. all confessed to +eing traitors of thestate. (round :ed onthe streets of 0ussian towns and cities praising 'talin and all that he had achieved.

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0eligious worship of an" /ind was +anned. 'talin did not want the people to have lo"alt" to an"one else +ut him.Belief in God and the words of the priests had to +e replaced +" +elief in %ommunism and the words of its leaders.

Chapter A: German' 191/194-

The Impact of the First World WarIn 191 there was great optimism of German"4s actual power and prosperit". )eople were proud of their countr", theirarm" and of their Daiser K virtuall" a dictator. But in 1918 ever"thing was destro"ed and people were sufferinghunger and epidemic diseases.

German" was +an/rupt man" wor/ing men died, national income decreased A


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The Reichstag Fire: In 19EE, the 0eichstag +uilding +urnt down. *he 7a>is +lamed the %ommunists for it

although it was not confirmed so as to have an e-cuse to /ill communists.In an election, 7a>is won their largest share of votes and intimidated the 0eichstag to pass the 7naling #ctKallowed 6itler to pass laws without the participation of the 0eichstag. (fter it, %ommunists were +anned, and the%atholic part" 5oined 6itler. 6inden+urg had ver" little power.

The Night of the Long (ni+es:6itler tried to /ill off opposition. *he leader of the '' K rnst 0Ohm K was

gaining too much power, so he decided to murder him as well as other ed the 7a>i policies. But the 7a>idisrupted the others meetings, frightened voters, etc. *hus, the 7a>i )art" +ecame the +iggest one +"1928.

III. Church it was against the idea of /illing and doing e-periments with mentall" handicapped. *here wereprotests and the protestant church was created. But 7a>i stopped e-perimenting and finall" stuc/ the%hurch out of policies.

I. 0rmy /fficers 0Ohm was getting to much power in the arm". ver"thing was solved in the 7ight of the

!ong Dnives.6owever, opposition was little +ecause Germans admired and trusted 6itler

Germans had fears /eep "our head down#

*he )ropaganda machine

The .ul$ /omb 0lot In 19 some arm" officers came close to ta/e 6itler from power. 3n Jul" von 'tuffer+ers lefta +om+ in 6itler4s conference room to tr" to /ill him. But it failed. 6itler survived and the 7a>is too/ terri+le revenge/illing :


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6owever, 6itler did little to stop this movements as he /new he would need their support as wor/ers or soldiers in anear future.

The role of #omen*he 7a>is had clear ideas of what the" wanted from women.Women were e-pected to sta" at home and loo/ after the famil". Women doctors, teachers and civil servants were

forced to give up their careers. ven at the end of the war, women were never as/ed to serve in the armed forces.*heir 5o+ was to /eep the home nice for their hus+and and famil" their life should revolve round the three PDsP

church

children

coo/ing

Goe++els said Q*he mission of women is to +e +eautiful and to +ring children into the world.Q6itler wanted a high +irth rate, so the population would grow. *he 7a>is even considered ma/ing it law that familiesshould have at least four children. Girls did /eep fit in the$to ma/e themselves health" for child+irth, +ut the"were discouraged from sta"ing slim, +ecause it was thought that thin women had trou+le giving +irth.*he !aw for the ncouragement of arriage gave newl" wed couples a loan of 1,is set up the 'd( Beaut" of Wor/# to help Germans see that wor/ was good, and that

ever"one who could wor/ should. In fact +ecause the 7a>is had a+olished the trade unions, +anned stri/es,and given more power to the industrialists real wages fell and hours were longer under 6itler.

3 Re4armament+egun in 19E: the idea of Pguns +efore +utterP.

(utar/" there was an unsuccessful attempt at ma/ing German" selfsufficient.

!a"is and the Farming 'ommunities

*he 0eich $ood 'tate gave farmers a guaranteed mar/et +ut most efficient farmers were not treated assuch.

0eich ntailed $arm !aw Ban/s couldn4t ta/e over the peasants lands. (s a conseHuence +an/s stopped

lending loans to these farmers.

?Blood and 'oil@ )easants were real Germans and were the +ac/+one of German mpire. 6owever some

policies made farmers leave their lands. *his caused rural depopulation.

Who did the !a"is persecute)*he 7a>is +elieved that onl" Germans could +e citi>ens and that nonGermans did not have an" right to the rights ofciti>enship.*he 7a>is racial philosoph" taught that some races were untermensch su+human#. an" scientists at this time+elieved that people with disa+ilities or social pro+lems were genetic degenerates whose genes needed to +eeliminated from the human +loodline.

*he 7a>is, therefore *ried to eliminate the Jews.

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Dilled 8: per cent of German"Ps G"psies.

'terilised +lac/ people.

Dilled mentall" disa+led +a+ies.

Dilled mentall" ill patients. uthanasia )rogramme.

'terilised ph"sicall" disa+led people and people with hereditar" diseases.

'terilised deaf people.

)ut homose-uals, prostitutes, JehovahPs Witnesses, alcoholics, pacifists, +eggars, hooligans and criminals

antisocial into concentration camps.

o# the !a"is persecuted the .e#s 5e$ dates

Bo"cott of Jewish +usinesses.

Jewish civil servants, law"ers and teachers sac/ed.

0ace 'cience lessons to teach that Jews areuntermensch.

PJews not wanted hereP signs put up at swimming pools etc.

7urem+erg laws 1: 'eptem+er# Jews could not +e citi>ens. *he" were not allowed to vote or to marr" a

German.

Jews could not +e doctors.

Jews had to add the name Israel men# or 'arah women# to their name.

Jewish children for+idden to go to school.


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Chapter : The &eague of ations

*he +irth of the !eagueWhen the WW1 ended, ever"one wanted to avoid repeating the mass slaughter of the war, and a !eague of 7ations

would help achieve this, +ut there was disagreement as to what /ind of organi>ation it should +e.Wilson said that it should +e li/e a world parliament, where representatives of the entire world could meet to decideon matters that affected them all.*he British thought it was a simple organi>ation that would 5ust get together in emergencies. $rance proposed it tohave its own arm".Wilson won. B" $e+ruar" 1919 he had a plan for it. (ll the ma5or countries should 5oin it, and accept the decisionsta/en +" the !eague. *he" also promised to protect each other if the" were invaded. If an" mem+er +ro/e the laws ofit, there were certain measures ta/en against it for e-ample stop trading or send troops.But there were man" critics to Wilson, +ecause he acted as if he had the solution to all of the pro+lems, even though,the" were read" to ma/e a tr". In 1919, hopes were high, especiall" with the &'( in the driving seat.

# od' lo to the &eagueBefore the &'( could 5oin the !eague, the" needed the approval of the %ongress, and the idea of the !eague was

not popular in the &'(.an" (mericans thought that the !37 suggested the &'( was promising to send its troops to settleever" conflict, +ut after the deaths of the WW1, the" didn4t want this.3ther (mericans opposed it +ecause the" were anti$rench or antiBritish, and didn4t understand wh"the" had to fight for the British or $rench mpire. (mericans +elieved in freedom the" opposed the ideaof colonies and empires.3thers worried a+out the economic cost of 5oining the !eague. *he" thought it was li/e signing a +lan/chec/. *he" had reached such prestige +" isolationism sta"ing out of uropean affairs, and shouldcontinue to do so.*here were millions of German immigrants in &'( who had never accepted the &'( 5oining the war.*he *reat" was ver" united with the !eague, as the !eague was the one responsi+le to enforce it, sothe" did not want an" more harm done to German".

*hese four groups and Wilson4s political opponents 5oined together against the !eague. Wilson4s democratic part"has run for 8 trou+led "ears and his opponents saw the league as a wa" to crush him. (fter touring the countr", the%ongress did not approve the !eague in 1919 or in 192


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The &eague and the order disputes in the 19*5s*he treaties signed had created some new states and changed the +orders of the e-isting states, and this might splitcommunities, putting some people in one side and others in the other. It was the 5o+ of the !eague to sort out the+order disputes. 'ome pro+lems were given to the %onference of (m+assadors, which had +een set up to sort outpro+lems arising from the postwar treaties, it was not part of the !eague, +ut was ver" close to it.

ilna; 19*5 F#?&!+7)oland and !ithuania were two states created +" the postwar treaties. ilna was the capital of !ithuania, +ut itspopulation was mainl" )olish, so in 192ed and pa"ed compensation directl" to Ital". ussoliniwithdrew %orfu +oasting of his triumph, and the %onference of (m+assadors had overruled the !eague

The Gene%a Protocol F#?&!+7

*he %orfu incident showed how the !eague could +e undermined +" its own mem+ers. Britain and $rance drew upthe Geneva )rotocol, which said that if two mem+ers were in dispute, the" would accept the !eagues decision. Butthe new conservative government in Britain refused to sign it worried that Britain ma" have to sign something that didnot favor them, so something that was supposed to strengthen the league actuall" wea/ened it.

ulgaria; 19*- "!CC7""In 3cto+er 192:, Gree/ troops invaded Bulgaria after an incident in the +order where Gree/ soldiers were /illed.Bulgaria appealed for help and the !eague condemned the Gree/ action. It ordered Greece to pull out and pa"compensations to Bulgaria. *he Gree/s o+e"ed, +ut protested that there was one rule for large states such as Ital"#and another for smaller such as them#.

=o did the &eague of ations or8 for a etter orld2It had a wider tas/ than 5ust to solve disputes. *hrough commissions and committees, the !eague aimed to fight

povert", disease and in5ustice all over the world.+efugees.It did tremendous wor/ in getting refugees and former prisoners of war +ac/ to theirhomelands. (+out


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=o did international agreements help the or8 of the &eague2$isarmament in the 19*5s F#?&!+7In the 192erland. *he" agreed

German" finall" accepted the +orders with $rance and Belgium, and Britain and Ital" guaranteed toprotect them if German" violated this +order.German" accepted the 0hineland had to +e a demilitari>ed >one.$rance and German" agreed to settle their disputes through the !eague.

*he !ocarno treaties were received with great enthusiasm, especiall" in $rance, which was finall" guaranteed +order

protection against German". *he *reat" solved some of the pro+lems that were left over from WW1 and paved thewa" for German" to 5oin the !eagueC now the onl" uropean )ower out of it was the 'oviet &nion.

The


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controlled the 'outh anchurian 0ailwa", and an incident in 19E1 gave them the chance to e-pand their empire, the"claimed %hinese soldiers had sa+otaged the railwa". ue to this the" entered anchuria and in 19E2 the" set up apuppet government in anchuria that did e-actl" as the Japanese arm" told them. !ater in 19E2, the" +om+arded'hanghai. *he Japanese government told the arm" to withdraw +ut the instructions were ignored. It was clear thatthe arm" leaded Japan. %hina appealed to the !eague and Japan argued that it invaded in selfdefense to %hina4sstate of anarch". *here was a long and frustrating dela", as one "ear later the !eague4s officials presented their

report, and showed that Japan had acted unlawfull" and that anchuria should +e returned to %hina. 6owever Japanannounced that it would invade more of %hina as selfdefense, and later did it. In arch 19EE it resigned from the!eague after losing 2 to 1 in a vote, in which onl" Japan voted for itself. *he !eague was powerless, economicsanctions were useless sine &'(, Japans main trading partner were not mem+ers of the !eague. (lso Britain wantedto /eep good relations and the mem+er countries were worried that sanctions would escalate the war. 3nl" the&''0 and the &'( would have +een the onl" ones that could have +een a+le to remove Japan from anchuria, +utneither were mem+ers of the !eague.(ll sorts of e-cuses were offered for the failure of the !eague, that Japan was far awa", that Japan was a specialcase, which Japan had a point when it said that %hina itself was in the grip of anarch". *his onl" showed that theleague was powerless if a strong nation wanted to invade others.

Wh' did disarmament fail in the 19,5s2 F#?&!+7*he ne-t +ig failure was disarmament. In the 19Ee of artiller", limit the tonnage of tan/s,and prohi+it chemical warfare, +ut none of these resolutions were ta/en into action, for e-ample, the attempts toagree to a+olish planes capa+le of +om+ing were defeated. It was not a promising start. But the" didn4t /now what todo with German", +ecause it had +een in the !eague for si- "ears, and most people accepted the" should +e treatedmore eHuall". *he Huestion was if ever"+od" had to disarm or letting German" arm up to an e-tent. *his is whathappened ne-t

Jul" 19E2German" ta+led a proposal telling ever"+od" to disarm as them, +ut was re5ected, so the" left the !eague

'eptem+er 19E2

*he British sent a note sa"ing that the" agreed to the principle of eHualit", +ut the superior tone of the letter madeGerman" even angrier.

ecem+er 19E2(n agreement was finall" reached to treat German" eHuall".

Januar" 19EEGerman" announced it was coming +ac/

$e+ruar" 19EE6itler +ecame chancellor of German", and started to rearm it, +ut secretl".

a" 19EE

6itler promised to rearm German" if in five "ears ever" nation hadn4t destro"ed their arms.

June 19EEBritain produced an am+itious disarmament plan

3cto+er 19EE6itler left the isarmament %onference and soon after too/ German" out of the !eague altogether.

B" this stage ever"+od" /new that 6itler was secretl" rearming, so the" +egan to rearm too. ue to this theisarmament %onference struggled on for another "ear +ut finall" ended in 191. Britain and $rance were divided onthis issue. B" 19EE British people felt that the *reat" of ersailles was unfair and the British even signed anagreement with German" in 19E: that allowed German" to +uild up its nav" as long as it sta"ed under E: of thesi>e of the British nav". Britain did not consult its allies or the !eague a+out this, it seemed that each countr" was

loo/ing after itself and ignoring the !eague.

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=o did ussolini6s in%asion of #'ssinia damage the &eague2 F#?&!+7*he fatal +low to the league came when ussolini invaded (+"ssinia in 19E:. *here were similarities with anchuriasuch as the fact that Ital", li/e Japan, was a leading mem+er of the !eague, and wanted to e-pand its empire +"invading another countr". 6owever, this dispute was on the !eagues doorstep. &nli/e anchuria, this dispute wasne-t door to the !eague, so it couldn4t claim it was too far awa".

ac8groundIn 189; Italian troops had tried to invade (+"ssinia +ut were defeated +" a poorl" armed arm" of tri+esmen, soussolini wanted revenge for this humiliating defeat. 6e also wanted the fertile lands and mineral wealth of thecountr", as well as glor" and conHuest. 6e spo/e of restoring the glor" of the 0oman mpire. In ecem+er 19Ethere was a dispute +etween Italian and thiopian soldiers 8< /m inside (+"ssinia, so ussolini used this to claimthat it was Italian territor". 6e demanded an apolog" and started to prepare his arm" to invade. *he (+"ssinianemperor 6aile 'elassie appealed to the !eague for help.

)hase 1 Januar" 19E: to 3cto+er 19E: the !eague pla"s for timeussolini was supposedl" negotiating with the !eague to settle the dispute, while at the same time he was shippingthe arm" to (frica and creating war fever in Ital". *he British and the $rench failed to ta/e it seriousl" as the" werepla"ing for time. *he" did not want to harm their relationship with ussolini as the" wanted him as an all" against6itler, and the" signed the 'tresa )act, which formali>ed a protest at German rearmament and a committee to stand

united against German". ost of the people in Britain wanted the use of militar" force if necessar" to defend(+"ssinia, so the politicians had to ?get tough@. ( British $oreign inister, 6oare, gave a speech on collectivesecurit", there was much tal/ing and negotiating +ut the league never did an"thing to discourage ussolini. (fter 8months, a committee informed the league that neither side could +e +lamed for the WalWal incident and so theleague put forward a plan that would give ussolini some of (+"ssinia, which ussolini re5ected.

)hase 23cto+er 19E: to a" 19E; sanctions or notIn 3cto+er 19E: ussolini launched a fullscale invasion on (+"ssinia, who were no match for the modern Italianarm". *here was no dou+t a+out the seriousness of the issue. *he %ovenant made it clear that sanctions should +eapplied to the aggressor, +ut would onl" wor/ if the" acted Huic/l" and decisivel". ( committee was immediatel" setup to agree the sanctions. *here was an immediate +an of arms sales to Ital" while allowing them to (+"ssinia, noloans to Ital", no imports from Ital" and e-ports to Ital" of ru++er, tin and metals. But the" couldn4t decide on the oilsince the" were afraid that the &'( would not support the sanctions, and that its mem+er4s economic interests would

+e harmed. In Britain, E


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&ac8 of troops.If sanctions failed, militar" force was the ne-t option, +ut the !eague had no arm" ofits own. Britain and $rance were not willing to commit troops and troops never fought on +ehalf of the!eague.7conomic sanctions didn6t or8.*he" were supposed to +e its main weapon, +ut the" were notused +ecause mem+ers thought that without the &'( the" wouldn4t wor/. (nd when the" wereenforced the" were easil" +ro/en

The treaties it had to uphold ere seen as unfair.It +ecame apparent that some of the terms ofthose peace treaties were harsh and unfair, and the !eague was supposed to uphold them.$ecisions ere slo.When a crisis occurred, the !eague met too infreHuentl", and too/ too long toma/e decisions.

Chapter 9: Causes of the "econd World War

From foot/soldier to FhrerBetween 1918 and 19EE 6itler rose from +eing an o+scure and demorali>ed mem+er of the defeated German arm"to +ecome the allpowerful $Nhrer, dictator of German", with almost unlimited power and an overwhelming am+itionto ma/e German" great once again.

=itler6s plans6e was never secret on his plans, as in 192 he said in his +oo/ ein Dampf what he would do if the 7a>is everachieved power in German".

6bolish the Treat$ of 7ersailles86e +elieved it was un5ust and called the German leaders who had signed it the ?7ovem+er %riminals@. It was ahumiliation +" the (llies. 6e promised that if he +ecame leader of German" he would reverse it.

3pand +erman territor$8*he *reat" had ta/en German" territor", and he wanted it +ac/. 6e also wanted to unite with (ustria. 6e wanted theminorities in other countries to 5oin German" +ac/.

&efeat 'ommunism8

( German empire carved out of the 'oviet &nion would also help 6itler in one of his other o+5ectives, defeat%ommunism. 6e thought the Bolshevi/s had helped German" lose the WW1 and the" wanted to ta/e over German".

=itler6s actions

(* (%*I37

19EE

War

*oo/ German" out of the !eague of 7ationsBegan rearming German"

19E *ried to ta/e over (ustria +ut was stopped +" ussolini

19E: 6eld a massive rearmament rall" in German"

19E;0eintroduced conscription in German"'ent German troops into the 0hinelandade an anti%ommunist alliance with Japan

19EA*ried out German"4s new weapons in the 'panish %ivil Warade an anti%ommunist alliance with Ital"

19E8*oo/ over (ustria*oo/ over the 'udetenland area of %>echoslova/ia

19E9

Invaded the rest of %>echoslova/iaInvaded )oland

It seems as if 6itler had planed it step +" step. But there was a new interpretation that sa"s that he was a gam+lerrather than a planner. 6e 5ust too/ the ne-t logical step, and he was +old, he /ept his nerve. ver" countr" gave wa"

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to him, so ever" time he ris/ed more and +ecame +older. 'ome sa" the !eague was responsi+le for not standing upto him.

+earmament6itler came to power in 19EE. 3ne of his first steps was rearming. *housands of unemplo"ed wor/ers were draftedinto the arm", reducing unemplo"ment. German people supported rearmament, +ut 6itler /new it would alarm other

countries, +ut he handled it carefull", +ecause at first he did it secretl", and made a demonstration sa"ing he didn4twant to rearm. 6e then got out of the !eague. In 19E:, 6itler openl" staged a massive militaril" rall". In 19E; hereintroduced conscription. an" other countries were using rearmament as a wa" to fight unemplo"ment, and othernations were not read" to disarm.0earmament +oosted 7a>i support. 6itler /new that Britain didn4t li/e much the idea of disarmament, as it was a wa"to stop %ommunism, and the" thought it was too tight. *he" signed an agreement in 19E: with 6itler, allowing himincrease its nav" up to E: of Britain4s.

The "aar pleiscite'ince 1919, the 'aar region had +een controlled +" the !eague, and in 19E: the" held a ple+iscite to /now if the"wanted to continue under the !eague or under 6itler. 9ed. $rance had 5ust signed a treat" with the &''0 to protect each other against an" attac/ from German",and 6itler used this in order to sa" that he felt threatened. 6e /new man" people in Britain felt he had the right toposition troops there. 6is gam+le was over $rance. 6itler and his generals sweated nervousl", as their arm" was nomatch with the $rench4s. In the end, 6itler4s luc/ held. 6itler was also luc/", as the attention of the !eague was at the(+"ssinian crisis that was happening at the same time. It onl" condemned 6itler4s actions.

The "panish Ci%il War6itler started to gain confidence with earl" successes. In 19E;, a civil war +ro/e out in 'pain +etween %ommunistsand rightwing re+els commanded +" General $ranco. 6itler saw this as an opportunit" to fight against %ommunismand tr" out the new armed forces. In 19EA, German aircraft made devastating +om+ing raids on civilian populationsin various 'panish cities. *he most famous was Guernica.

The #nti/Comintern Pact; 19,A/,Dussolini was also heavil" involved at the 'panish %ivil War, and 6itler saw that the" had much in common, also withthe militar" dictatorship in Japan. In 19E;, Japan and German" signed the (nti%omintern )act. In 19EA, 6itler didthe same with Ital". *he aim was to limit the %ommunist influence around the world, particularl" aimed at the &''0.It was called the (-is alliance.

#nschluss ith #ustria; 19,7ow 6itler turned his attention to his homeland of (ustria, whose people were mainl" German. In the ein Dampf,he made it clear that he wanted the two nations to +elong to the German nation, and this idea was supported +"man" in (ustria, as their econom" was ver" poor. 6e had tried to do it in 19E, +ut ussolini had stopped him, +utnow it was different. *here was a strong 7a>i part" in (ustria, and 6itler told them to stir up things and cause riots.6itler told (ustrians chancellor 'chuschnigg that onl" their union would solve this pro+lems, so the chancellor called

for help to Britain and $rance, +ut the" denied it, so he called a ple+iscite to see what the (ustrian people wanted.6itler was not prepared to lose, so he sent troops to guarantee peace, and 6itler won +i 99,A:. German" won(ustrians soldiers, weapons and its rich deposits of gold and iron ore. 6itler was +rea/ing another point of the *reat".

Wh' did ritain and France follo a polic' of #ppeasement in the 19,5s2Britain signed the naval agreement with German" in 19E:. $or the ne-t E "ears Britain did what 6itler said. *his is/nown as appeasement.

#t least =itler is standing up to Communism. *he" were more concerned a+out the spread of%ommunism. an" saw 6itler as a +uffer to the threat of spreading %ommunism.

The !"# ill not support us if e stand up to =itler . (merican leaders were determined not to +edragged into another war.

The attitude of ritain6s 7mpire. It was not clear if all the British mpire would support a war againstGerman".

=itler is right/the Treat' is unfair. an" felt it was unfair for German".

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We must not repeat the horrors of the Great War. British and $rench leaders remem+ered the horrifice-periences of the WW1.

ritain is not read' for ar.*he" +elieved the armed forces were not read" to go to war.ur on economic prolems are a higher priorit'. *he" were still suffering from the epression.

What as rong ith #ppeasement2

British leaders ma" have felt there was no option, +ut there were o+vious ris/s to such a polic".?t encouraged =itler to e aggressi%e. When his gam+le succeeded, he made a greater one.?t put too much trust in =itler6s promises. 6itler went +ac/ on his promises.?t alloed German' to gro too strong. It was not onl" recovering ground, +ut +ecoming more

powerful.?t scared the !""+. It sent a message to the &''0 that Britain or $rance would stand in 6itler4s wa".

The "udetenland; 19,.*he leader of %>echoslova/ia, Benes, was horrified +" the (nschluss, as he reali>ed he would +e the ne-t countr" to+e ta/enover. 6e as/ed for help to $rance, as the" had a treat", and Britain %ham+erlain# said it would support ittoo, +ut +efore he as/ed 6itler what he was going to do, and this answered %>echoslova/ia had nothing to fear. Buthe reall" had. In the area of the 'udetenland, there were man" Germans, and 6itler told the 7a>i part" in that area tostir up things, and demand to +e part of German". In a" 19E8, 6itler said he would fight if necessar", +ut the

%>echs wouldn4t let 6itler do what he want. In 'eptem+er this pro+lem was at it highest point, and %ham+erlain flewto meet 6itler, who gave moderate demands, sa"ing he onl" wanted parts of the 'udetenland. *hree da"s later,6itler said that now he wanted all of it, +" sa"ing that the %>ech government was mistreating the Germans and thatthe" would +e rescued. 3n 29 'eptem+er, the" met at the ?unich #greement@ Britain, German", $rance and Ital"#and decided on the fate of %>echoslova/ia. *he" agreed to give 6itler all the 'udetenland. *he %>echs had +een+etra"ed, and Benes resigned.

# triumph or a sell out2ost people in Britain said it had averted war, +ut man" were Huestioning the polic" of (ppeasement, +ecause thiswould not stop 6itler, or prevent a war, it 5ust dela"ed it.

The end of #ppeasement

C>echoslo%a8ia; 19,9*he British people welcomed the unich (greement, +ut the" didn4t trust 6itler. 3n 1: arch, German troops too/over the rest of %>echoslova/ia, without an" /ind of resistance. *his showed 6itler couldn4t +e trusted, +ecause thiswas an invasion. If no+od" stopped 6itler, his ne-t step would +e )oland, and $rance and Britain said that if heinvaded )oland, the" would declare the war on German". *he polic" of (ppeasement was ended, although 6itlerdidn4t +elieve the" would ris/ themselves.

The a>i/"o%iet Pact*he ne-t step would +e invading the strip of land in )oland /nown as the )olish %orridor. 6itler was sure that Britainor $rance would ris/ on this land, +ut he wasn4t sure a+out 'talin.

ac8ground'talin had +een alwa"s ver" worried a+out the German threat to the 'oviet &nion ever since 6itler had came to

power in 19EE, as he had said he would conHuer 0ussian land, denounced %ommunism and /illed %ommunists inGerman". 'talin4s fears had grown in the 19Ei forces invaded )olandfrom the West, and on 1A 'eptem+er 19E9 the 'oviets invaded from the east. 3n 2 'eptem+er Britain and $rance

declared the war to German". 6itler had made a +et too man".

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Was #ppeasement the right polic'2%ham+erlain +elieved in (ppeasement. 6owever, it was a controversial polic" at the time. *here are two main views

?t as the rong polic' ecause it encouraged =itler. %ham+erlains critics sa" itencouraged 6itlers gam+ling.?t as the right polic' ecause ritain as not read' for ar . %ham+erlains defenders sa"it was the onl" wa" a+aila+le to him.

Chapter 11:The eginnings of the Cold War: 194-/1949

The @alta Conference; Feruar' 194-In $e+ruar" 19: the (llied leaders met at =alta in the &/raine to plan what would happen to urope after German"4sdefeat. espite their differences, the Big *hree, 'talinC 0ooseveltC %hurchill, agreed on some important matters

'talin agreed to enter the war against Japan once German" had surrendered.

German" would +e divided in four >ones the $rench, British and 'oviet. (lso Berlin would +e divided into

the four >ones.

(s (llied soldiers were revealing the horrors of the 7a>i German", the" agreed to hunt down and punish

war criminals that were responsi+le for the genocide.

(ll li+erated countries would +e allowed to have free elections to decide the t"pe of government.

*he Big *hree agreed to 5oin the new &nited 7ations 3rgani>ation to /eep peace

*he Big *hree agreed that astern urope should +e a ?'oviet sphere of influence@ as the" had lost lots of

things with the war.

*he onl" pro+lem came with )oland. 'talin said that the +order of the &''0 to move westwards, and

)oland could do the same with German". %hurchill didn4t li/e the idea +ut he /new that the 0ed (rm" wasin control of )oland and eastern German". 0oosevelt didn4t li/e it either +ut was persuaded +" %hurchill, aslong as the &''0 didn4t interfere with Greece. 'talin agreed.

The Potsdam Conference Bul'/#ugust 194-In ma" 19:, the allied troops reached Berlin. 6itler commited suicide. *he war was over in urope. ( secondconference was arranged in Jul" 19:. In the months +etween this and =alta lots of things had changed.

1 Stalin*s armies #ere occup$ing most of eastern 3urope!ots of countries in astern urope had +een li+erated +" 'oviet troops. B" Jul", 'talinSs troops controlled $inland,)oland, %>echoslova/ia, 6ungar", Bulgaria and 0omania. 'talin put a communist government in )oland and saidthat it was 5ust to ta/e measures for future attac/s.

2 6merica had a ne# president3n (pril 19:, 0oosevelt died. *ruman replaced him. 6e was much more anti%ommunist and suspicious of 'talin.6e and his advisors saw 'oviet actions in astern urope as preparations for a 'oviet ta/eover of the rest ofurope.

( The 6llies had tested an atomic bomb3n Jul" 19: the (mericans successfull" tested an atomic +om+ at a desert site in the &'(.

$isagreements at Potsdam.It finall" got under wa" on 1A Jul" 19:. It didn4t go as smoothl" as =alta. In the middle of the %onference, %hurchillhad +een succeeded. In the a+sence of %hurchill, the conference was dominated +" rivalr" and suspicion +etween'talin and *ruman.

The' disagreed o%er hat to do ith German' . 'talin wanted to cripple German", +ut *ruman didn4twant to repeat he mista/e of the *reat" of ersailles.The' disagreed o%er reparations. 2< million 0ussians had died and 'talin wanted compensation for that,+ut *ruman was determined not to repeat the mista/es of the 1stWorld War. 0esisted this demand.The' disagreed o%er "o%iet polic' in eastern 7urope. (t =alta, 'talin had said he would set up pro'oviet governments in eastern urope. *ruman didn4t li/e this and too/ a ?get tough@ attitude towards'talin.

The 0?ron curtain3

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*he )otsdam conference ended without complete agreement a+out this issues. 3n the ne-t months, 'talin achievedthe domination of eastern urope he was see/ing. B" 19;, )oland, 6ungar", 0omania, Bulgaria and (l+ania all had%ommunist governments. %hurchill descri+ed the line that divided the 'ovietcontrolled countries and the West as aniron curtain.

"talin tightens his control.

'talin graduall" tightened his control in each countr". *he secret police emprisioned an"one who opposed %ommunisrule, or might later oppose it. In 3cto+er 19A, 'talin set up the %ominform, to coordinate the wor/ of the%ommunist )arties of eastern urope. *his also allowed 'talin /eep a close e"e on them. 6e spotted single mindedleaders and replaced them with ones lo"al to him. *he e-ception was General *ito in =ugoslavia.

The Cold War.It was clear +" 19; that the wartime friendship +etween the (llies had +ro/en. It had +een replaced +" suspicionand accusation. *he distrust +etween the &'( and the &''0, was said to +e soon li+erated in a war. Both of themincreased their stoc/ of weapons. *he" too/ ever" opportunit" the" had to denounce each other. It was anatmosphere of tension and recrimination.

Wh' as the !"# so orried aout Communism2It was onl" the war which had made them sta" together. *heir leaders had ver" different ideas and +eliefs. Before the

war, the" had mistrusted each other a lot. !ots of 0ussians remem+ered &' troops fighting in their %ivil War. *he"trusted %ommunists less than 7a>is.

*he &'( *he &''0

It was a democrac", and the president was chosen infree elections.

It was capitalist.*here was a ver" +ig difference +etween the rich

and the poor.an" were +itterl" opposed to %ommunism.

It was a %ommunist state.It was a onepart" dictatorship. (ll candidates

were %ommunist.(lmost ever"one was eHual, although the"

were not ver" rich.an" were +itterl" opposed to capitalism.

*he &'( and the &''0 had +oth emerged from the war as superpowers. In the 19E


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(merican intervention mar/ed a new era in the &'(Ss attitude, /nown as the *ruman octrine. &nder this, it wasprepared to send mone", eHuipment and advice to an" countr" that was threatened +" a %ommunist ta/eover. 6isaim was to stop %ommunism. %ontainment. If it e-panded an" further, militar" action needed.

arshal #id*ruman +elieved that %ommunism succeeded when there was povert" and hardship. General arshall was sent to

asses the economic state of urope. 6e said the" owed T11.: +illion to the &'(, and suggested that a+out T1A+illion would +e needed to re+uild uropeSs prosperit". In 19A, *ruman put his plan to %ongress.

C>echoslo%a8ia(mericansS attitude changed when the %ommunists too/ over the government of %>echoslova/ia. *he %ommunistscame down hard in arch 198. (ntisoviet leaders were purged. Immediatel", %ongress accepted the arshall (idand made T1A+illion availa+le over a period of "ears. It was an e-tremel" generous act +" the (merican people,and it was also motivated +" their selfinterest. *he" wanted to create new mar/ets for their goods. 'talin viewed thearshall (id with suspicion, and he refused to have an"thing more to do with it, and for+ade an" eastern uropeancountr" to appl". 6e felt it was to ma/e the countries dependant on dollars.

Wh' did the !""+ loc8ade erlin2*he two sides never fired each other, +ut in 198, the" came close to war. German" +ecame a headache for the

Western (llies. (fter the war, their >ones were in complete destruction. *he &''0 wanted it to sta" crippled. But the(llies wanted it to recover its industries so as to let them feed their people. In 19;, the &'(, Britain and $rancecom+ined their >ones and made it all one. *he" reformed the currenc", and within months the" were recovering.'talin +elieved that the &'(sS attitude was provocative. 6e could stamp his authorit" in Berlin, as it was deep insidethe 'oviet >one. In 198, he cut ever" possi+le rute, which left more than 2 million people without supplies. It was aclever plan, and it was a test for the West. *he onl" wa" into Berlin was +" air, so the" decided airlift supplies. *heplanes arrived ever" E minutes for the ne-t 1< months +ringing from clothes, food and oil. But there were greatshortages. 'talin reali>ed it would not ma/e the (llies give up, so he stoped.

Wh' as #T set up2uring the Berlin Bloc/ade, war seemed pro+a+le. *he Western powers met at Washington and signed anagreement. It was formed in 199, and the" would wor/ together.

# di%ided German'(s a result of the Bloc/ade, German" was firml" divided into two nations. *he $ederal 0epu+lic of German" and theGerman emocratic 0epu+lic in 199.

# poerful s'molGerman would sta" divided for 1 "ears.

# pattern for the Cold War*he Bloc/ade set out a pattern for %old War confrontations. *he two superpowers and their allies had shown howsuspicious the" were of each otherC how the" would o+struct each other in almost an" wa" the" could.

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