What Happened To Woodrow Wilson's Appeasement?
In 1919, Lloyd George of England, Orlando of Italy, Clemenceau of France and Woodrow Wilson from the US met to discuss how Germany was to be made to pay for the damage world war one had caused. Woodrow Wilson wanted a treaty based on his 14-point plan which he believed would bring peace to Europe. Georges Clemenceau wanted revenge. He wanted to be sure that Germany could never start another war again. Lloyd George personally agreed with Wilson but knew that the British public agreed with Clemenceau. He tried to find a compromise between Wilson and Clemenceau. Germany had been expecting a treaty based on Wilson's 14 points and were not happy with the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. However, they had no choice but to sign the document. The
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main terms of the Treaty of Versailles were * War Guilt Clause - Germany should accept the blame for starting World War One * Reparations - Germany had to pay £6,600 million for the damage caused by the war * Disarmament - Germany was only allowed to have a small army and six naval ships. No tanks, no air force and no submarines were allowed. The Rhineland area was to be de-militarised. * Territorial Clauses - Land was taken away from Germany and given to other countries and a union with Austria was forbidden. Adolf Hitler became president of Germany in January 1933. He straight away builds up Germany's army and weapons. In 1934 he made the size bigger the size of the army, by building warships and created a German air force. Compulsory military service was started. Britain and France were aware of Hitler's actions; they were also worried about the rise of Communism and thought that a stronger Germany might help to prevent the spread of Communism. In 1936 Hitler made his German troops to enter the Rhineland. When this happened the German army was not very strong and could have been easily defeated. But France or Britain wasn’t prepared to start another war. Hitler also made two important allies in 1936. The first was called the Rome-Berlin Axis Pact and allied Hitler's Germany with Mussolini's Italy. The second was called the Anti-Comitern Pact and allied Germany with Japan. Hitler's next step was to begin taking back the land that had been taken away from Germany. In March 1938, German troops marched into Austria. The Austrian leader was forced to hold a vote asking the people whether they wanted to be part of Germany, 98% of the people there wanted to join Germany.
Appeasement means giving in to someone but their demands have to be reasonable.
During the 1930s, lots of politicians in both Britain and France came to see that the terms of the Treaty of Versailles had placed restrictions on Germany that were unfair. Hitler's actions were seen as understandable and justifiable. When Germany began re-arming in 1934, most politicians felt that Germany had a right to re-arm in order to protect itself. It was also argued that a stronger Germany would prevent the spread of Communism to the west. In 1936, Hitler argued that because France had signed a new treaty with Russia, Germany was under threat from both countries and it was essential to German security that troops were stationed in the Rhineland. France was not strong enough to fight Germany without British help and Britain was not prepared to go to war. Many believed that since the Rhineland was a part of Germany it was reasonable that German troops should be stationed there. The League of Nations was an international organisation set up in 1919 to help keep world peace. It was intended that all countries would be members of the League and that if there were disputes between countries they could be settled by negotiation rather than by force. If this failed then countries would stop trading with the aggressive country and if that failed then countries would use their armies to
fight. In theory the League of Nations was a good idea and did have some early successes. But in the end it was a fail. The whole world was hit by a depression in the late 1920s. A depression is when a country's economy falls. Trade is reduced, businesses lose income, prices fall and unemployment rises. In 1931, Japan was hit badly by the depression. The army invaded Manchuria in China, an area rich in minerals and resources. China appealed to the League for help. The Japanese government were told to order the army to leave Manchuria immediately. But the army did nothing. The League then called for countries to stop trading with Japan but because of the depression all the countries did not want to lose trade and did not agree. The League then told Japan to withdraw from Manchuria but Japan's left the League of Nations. In October 1935, Italy invaded Abyssinia. The Abyssinians did not have the strength to withstand an attack by Italy and asked the League of Nations for help. But when the League acted to the attack and told all member states to stop trade with Italy. However, the trade stopping was not done because they knew it would have no effect. Italy would be able to trade with non-member countries, mostly America. The main reasons for the failure of the League of Nations can be summarised into the following points: * Not all countries joined the League. * The League had no power. * The League had no army. * Unable to act quickly.
main terms of the Treaty of Versailles were * War Guilt Clause - Germany should accept the blame for starting World War One * Reparations - Germany had to pay £6,600 million for the damage caused by the war * Disarmament - Germany was only allowed to have a small army and six naval ships. No tanks, no air force and no submarines were allowed. The Rhineland area was to be de-militarised. * Territorial Clauses - Land was taken away from Germany and given to other countries and a union with Austria was forbidden. Adolf Hitler became president of Germany in January 1933. He straight away builds up Germany's army and weapons. In 1934 he made the size bigger the size of the army, by building warships and created a German air force. Compulsory military service was started. Britain and France were aware of Hitler's actions; they were also worried about the rise of Communism and thought that a stronger Germany might help to prevent the spread of Communism. In 1936 Hitler made his German troops to enter the Rhineland. When this happened the German army was not very strong and could have been easily defeated. But France or Britain wasn’t prepared to start another war. Hitler also made two important allies in 1936. The first was called the Rome-Berlin Axis Pact and allied Hitler's Germany with Mussolini's Italy. The second was called the Anti-Comitern Pact and allied Germany with Japan. Hitler's next step was to begin taking back the land that had been taken away from Germany. In March 1938, German troops marched into Austria. The Austrian leader was forced to hold a vote asking the people whether they wanted to be part of Germany, 98% of the people there wanted to join Germany.
Appeasement means giving in to someone but their demands have to be reasonable.
During the 1930s, lots of politicians in both Britain and France came to see that the terms of the Treaty of Versailles had placed restrictions on Germany that were unfair. Hitler's actions were seen as understandable and justifiable. When Germany began re-arming in 1934, most politicians felt that Germany had a right to re-arm in order to protect itself. It was also argued that a stronger Germany would prevent the spread of Communism to the west. In 1936, Hitler argued that because France had signed a new treaty with Russia, Germany was under threat from both countries and it was essential to German security that troops were stationed in the Rhineland. France was not strong enough to fight Germany without British help and Britain was not prepared to go to war. Many believed that since the Rhineland was a part of Germany it was reasonable that German troops should be stationed there. The League of Nations was an international organisation set up in 1919 to help keep world peace. It was intended that all countries would be members of the League and that if there were disputes between countries they could be settled by negotiation rather than by force. If this failed then countries would stop trading with the aggressive country and if that failed then countries would use their armies to
fight. In theory the League of Nations was a good idea and did have some early successes. But in the end it was a fail. The whole world was hit by a depression in the late 1920s. A depression is when a country's economy falls. Trade is reduced, businesses lose income, prices fall and unemployment rises. In 1931, Japan was hit badly by the depression. The army invaded Manchuria in China, an area rich in minerals and resources. China appealed to the League for help. The Japanese government were told to order the army to leave Manchuria immediately. But the army did nothing. The League then called for countries to stop trading with Japan but because of the depression all the countries did not want to lose trade and did not agree. The League then told Japan to withdraw from Manchuria but Japan's left the League of Nations. In October 1935, Italy invaded Abyssinia. The Abyssinians did not have the strength to withstand an attack by Italy and asked the League of Nations for help. But when the League acted to the attack and told all member states to stop trade with Italy. However, the trade stopping was not done because they knew it would have no effect. Italy would be able to trade with non-member countries, mostly America. The main reasons for the failure of the League of Nations can be summarised into the following points: * Not all countries joined the League. * The League had no power. * The League had no army. * Unable to act quickly.