International Relations 1919-1939

First global war, the “Great War” pitted the Central Powers of Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire against the Allied forces of Great Britain, the United States, France, Russia, Italy and Japan. The introduction of modern technology to warfare and more than 9 million soldiers killed by the end in November 1918.

Victory for Allied Powers.

The Treaty of Versailles was the peace settlement signed after World War One. The treaty was signed at the vast Versailles Palace near Paris – hence its title – between Germany and the Allies. The three most important politicians there were David Lloyd George, Georges Clemenceau and Woodrow Wilson.

Mussolini formed the Fascist Party in March 1919, gaining support of many unemployed war veterans whom he organised into armed squads known as Black Shirts. In 1921, the Fascist Party was invited to join the coalition government. By October 1922, Italy seemed to be slipping into political chaos. The Black Shirts marched on Rome and Mussolini presented himself as the only man capable of restoring order. King Victor Emmanuel invited Mussolini to form a government. Mussolini gradually dismantled democratic government and in 1925 made himself dictator. The regime was held together by strong state control and Mussolini's cult of personality.

After Lenin's death, the contest was between Stalin and Trotsky. Stalin used his position as secretary to gain supporters. Stalin became party leader in 1924. Trotsky was dismissed, then exiled and murdered in 1940. In 1927, he removed the left-wing Communists old Bolsheviks such as Kamenev and Zinoviev who had opposed the NEP - from the Politburo. Two years later, he claimed that the NEP was uncommunist, and got right-wing Communists such as Rykov and Tomsky thrown out of the Politburo.

When the Wall Street stock market crashed in October 1929, the world economy was plunged into the Great Depression. By winter of 1932, America was in the depths of the greatest economic depression in its history. The number of unemployed people reached upwards of 13 million.

In 1929, the American Stock Exchange collapsed, America called in all its foreign loans, which destroyed Weimar Germany. Unemployment in Germany rose to 6 million. In July 1930 Chancellor Brüning cut government expenditure, wages and unemployment pay - the worst thing to do during a depression. He could not get the Reichstag to agree to his actions, so President Hindenburg used Article 48 to pass the measures by decree. Anger and bitterness helped the Nazis to gain more support. Many workers turned to communism, but this frightened wealthy businessmen, so they financed Hitler's campaigns. 1928, the Nazis had only 12 seats in the Reichstag; by July 1932 they had 230 seats and were the largest party. In January 1933, Hitler became chancellor, and immediately set about making himself absolute ruler of Germany using Article 48.

The Italians had claimed Ethiopia as their territory. With economic conditions worsening at home, Mussolini needed to take actions that would distract the Italians people. In 1936, the Italians fought against poorly-armed Ethiopian troops in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia's capital). The League of Nations censured Italy, but that comprised the extent of world reaction.

The Rhineland was a key industrial region of Germany, producing coal, steel and iro, also formed a natural barrier to its neighbour and rival, France. In the event of a war, the River Rhine, if properly defended, would be a difficult to invade.
One of the terms of the Treaty of Versailles was that the Germans would not be able to keep military forces in a 50km stretch of the Rhineland. When Hitler did occupy tis area, neither France or England reacted.

In 1937 between Japanese and Chinese troops on the frontier led to what became known as the Marco Polo Bridge Incident. This fighting sparked a full-blown conflict, the Second Sino-Japanese War. The CCP now agreed to fight side by side against Japan. China received aid from western democracies, where public opinion was strongly anti-Japanese. The Japanese quickly captured key Chinese ports and industrial centres, including cities such as the Chinese capital Nanking and Shanghai, brutal conflict continued, both sides used ‘scorched earth’ tactics. Many thousands of Chinese were killed in the indiscriminate bombing of cities by the Japanese air force. Warfare of this nature led, by the war’s end, to an estimated 10 to 20 million Chinese civilians deaths.