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International relations in 1918-1939.
PLAN.
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Versailles - Washington system. Paris Peace Conference.
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The structure of the League of Nations.
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Peace treaties.
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Washington Conference.
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Peculiarities of international relations in the 20s.
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International relations in the 30s.
The First World War ended on November 1918, 11, with the surrender of Germany to the Entente. After that, preparations were started to compensate for the damage caused and conclude an agreement with the countries of the German Bloc, who were guilty of the war.
A delegation of 27 countries gathered in Paris, the capital of France, to draw up the text of the peace treaty to be signed between the victorious Entente and the defeated Quadruple Alliance. They worked for a year on the development of the peace treaty, which was signed at the Palace of Versailles. On the basis of W. Wilson's "Article 14", the texts of 5 agreements to be signed with 5 countries (Germany, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey) were prepared in the Palace of Versailles. These 5 treaties were collectively called the Versailles system.
French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau strongly defended the holding of the international conference on the development of the terms of the peace treaty in Paris. And, finally, he achieved his goal. The Paris Conference began its work on January 1919, 18. It was not by chance that the opening of the conference was scheduled for this day. In the 1870-1871 Franco-Prussian War, the treaty between the victorious Prussia and the defeated France was signed in this palace, and on January 18, Germany was declared an empire in this palace. The victors began the work of the conference on this very day to humiliate Germany.
The countries of the four alliances and Soviet Russia were not invited to the conference.
On June 1919, 28, the Treaty of Versailles was signed. Treaty of Versailles declared Germany and its allies guilty of the war. According to the treaty, France regained Alsace and Lorraine.
The Saar region of Germany was given to the administration of the League of Nations for a period of 15 years. After 15 years, the fate of this region was decided by plebiscite. Its coal basin mines remained the property of France. The left bank of the Rhine was occupied by the Entente for 15 years. An area of 50 km east of the Rhine was completely demilitarized. Germany recognized the independence of Poland and Czechoslovakia. At this time, the territories occupied by Prussia, East Pomerania, were given to Poland. As a result, Poland gained access to the Baltic Sea. A plebiscite was held in the counties of Eupen, Malmedy, and Morolle, which resulted in the transfer of these counties to Belgium. Klaipeda was transferred to Lithuania. The northern part of Schleswig was given to Denmark, and part of Silesia was given to Czechoslovakia.
Germany's African colonies, Togo and Cameroon, were transferred to Great Britain and France. Also Tanganyika to Great Britain; Rwanda and Urindi to Belgium; Union of South Africa - South West Africa; Japan was given the Marshall, Marian and Caroline Islands in the Pacific Ocean, China's Xiaozhou Province, Shandong Peninsula. Germany was obliged to pay a large amount of reparations in favor of the Entente countries.
The Treaty of Versailles banned general conscription in Germany. At the same time, Germany was deprived of the right to have a submarine fleet, large warships, military and naval aviation, and tank troops.
Nevertheless, Germany was given the right to have an army of 100 people. According to Woodrow Wilson, this army was necessary for Germany to maintain internal order and to counter the threat of Bolshevism.
The League of Nations was an international organization of world nations. The main task of the organization was to ensure peace and international security. The US President W. Wilson took the initiative to create such an organization, and it was expressed in his 14-point peace program. The leading countries of the Entente supported this initiative. On February 1919, 14, 44 countries of the world approved the Charter of the organization. The family body of the organization was the Assembly. All member states participated in its work.
Until 1946, when the League of Nations was active, it was practically unable to apply punitive measures even once. This was due to the fact that the Union had become a tool of British and French policy.
In the charter, the task of "respecting and protecting the territorial integrity of all members" was assigned to its members. However, none of the current members of the Union is eager to fulfill this task.
Such an agreement with Austria was signed on September 1919, 10 in the Saint-Germain Palace near Paris. The treaty declared the end of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire.
And the territory of Austria has been significantly changed. In particular, a part of South Tyrol was transferred to Italy. Czechia and Moravia joined the newly created state of Czechoslovakia. Bukovina went to Romania.
The number of Austrian troops was determined not to exceed 30 people. The fleet was transferred to the Entente. In addition, the merger of Austria with Germany was completely prohibited.
On October 1919, 27, an agreement was signed with Bulgaria in the city of Ney, near Paris. According to the agreement, a large part of Bulgaria's territory was transferred to Yugoslavia, Greece and Romania. At the moment, 2,5 bln. was obliged to pay a gold franc contribution. The number of Bulgarian armed forces was determined not to exceed 20000 people.
Turkey's territory was limited to a small area in Europe, including Asia Minor and the city of Istanbul. Istanbul was left as the capital.
After the end of the First World War, the Versailles system, which established a new ratio of international forces in Europe, was thus formed. This system was a unique form of territorial formalization of the reconstruction of the European political map and the repartition of the world.
The upper chamber of the US Congress (Senate) did not ratify this treaty on the grounds that the interests of the US were not taken into account in the Treaty of Versailles.
The United States, which became powerful after the World War, was the country most interested in the establishment of new orders in the Asia-Pacific region. Because interstate relations in this region of the globe were based on the treaty signed in 1902 between Great Britain and Japan. During the First World War, the United States, which was able to create a powerful military-naval fleet and stationed most of its fleet in the Pacific Ocean, was completely dissatisfied with this situation.
In order to realize this intention, the USA managed to convene a new conference.
This conference was held in Washington from November 1921, 12 to February 1922, 6.
On February 6, the third agreement - "Nine Agreement" - was signed. This contract was about China. It is known that China did not sign the Treaty of Versailles. The reason for this was that Germany's colonies in China were not returned to China, but were given to Japan. The transfer of German colonies to Japan and its transformation into a more powerful country did not fail to worry the United States. Therefore, at the Washington Conference, the United States achieved the return of these colonies to China.
The 20s entered history under the name "era of pacifism". This phenomenon was also reflected in international relations. That is why, despite the great shortcomings and injustices, the Versailles-Washington system reflected the spirit of pacifism, and this system was able to provide relative stability in international relations in the 20s.
The goal of the United States was to put an end to the hegemony of Great Britain in the international arena, to prevent Germany from being encumbered by France, and to turn it into a worthy rival of France in Europe. On the other hand, the defeated countries and the countries that had little spoils as a result of the war were burning with a desire for revenge.
In April 1927, French Foreign Minister A. Brian appealed to the United States to sign an agreement to renounce war as an instrument of national policy. The US and other countries had no choice but to accept this proposal in a situation where the pacifist mood prevailed. As a result, in 1928, state representatives signed a pact called the Brian-Kellogg (US Secretary of State) pact. However, this important international document was not implemented.
While the Western powers sought to isolate the Soviet state, he managed to sign a treaty with Germany in April 1922 at Parallo, near Genoa. According to the agreement, the parties mutually waived all claims, including debts and compensations. In 1924, all European countries recognized the Soviet state.
One of the distinctive features of international relations in the 30s is the collapse of the Versailles-Washington system, the emergence of war zones in the West and East, and the world's move towards a new war.
During the years of the world economic crisis (1929-1933), the process of collapse of the Versailles-Washington system accelerated even more.
China has become an area where relations between Great Britain, the United States and Japan are strained. Japan was burning with the desire to create a "Greater Asia" empire, and with this intention, it attacked China in 1931 and occupied Manchuria. In this way, the first center of the new world war was created.
The Treaty of Versailles was effectively negated. In 1935, general conscription was introduced and the Saar region was annexed. In March 1936, German troops occupied the demilitarized zone and started an arms race. In this way, the second center of the new world war was created.
Fascist Italy did not sit idly by during this period. In October 1935, his troops invaded Ethiopia. By the spring of 1936, this country became an Italian colony. This war was the transition of European fascist states from open to open armed aggression.
In November 1936, Germany and Japan signed a pact called the "Anti-Comintern Pact". In 1937, Italy joined this pact. In this way, the Berlin-Rome-Tokyo triangle - an aggressive alliance of 3 countries seeking to re-divide the world by force was created.
Why World War II could not be prevented.
First, the Western countries were busy with the elimination of the consequences of the world economic crisis. As a result, this factor reduced the West's ability to deal with the threat of war as a team.
Second, the collective security system did not rule out the use of force. Therefore, maintaining peace required courage, willingness to make any sacrifices, and will.
Thirdly, the West failed to correctly assess in time the consequences of Hitler's rise to power. Great Britain and France pursued a policy of "pacification".
Fourthly, while Great Britain and France, on the one hand, sought to preserve their security by diverting German aggression to the East, against Moscow, the Soviet state, on the other hand, sought to preserve its security by any means necessary. , sought to preserve.
Control questions.
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When was the Paris Peace Conference convened?
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State the nature of the treaty signed with Germany/
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What is the League of Nations and what was its purpose?
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When were the Treaties of Saint-Germain, Neuilly and Trianon signed and between which countries
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Why was the Washington Conference called?
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What was the purpose of the Genia International Conference?
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What is the essence of the Hitker appeasement policy?