Paris Peace Conference

The Big Three

1. Georges Clemenceau, Prime Minister of France

Wanted:
• Revenge on Germany.
• Germany to pay for cost of damage.
• Ensure that Germany cannot attack again.

2. Woodrow Wilson, Pres of USA

3. Lloyd George, Prime Minister of Great Britain

Wanted:
• End German threat to British navy.
• Make Germany non-aggressive.
• Prevent Germany from becoming too weak, as it would hinder European industry and
trade.
• Avoid humiliation of Germans, so as prevent German hatred.

Treaty of Versailles
Terms
1. No troops in Rhineland
2. Germany to give land to other countries
3. Put Saar under control of LON for 15 years
4. No union with Austria

Affected areas
1. Colonies
Germany’s land given to other countries.

2. Military
• Only 100K men allowed
• Only SIX battleships
• No tanks
• No submarines
 • No air force

3. Financial
• Clause 231 (War Guilt)
• Made Germany solely responsible for starting World War 1
• Germany to pay reparations for compensation for war damage

Impact
Allied doubts
• War guilt had humiliated Germans, thus they feared Germany wanted revenge
• Feared Germany would want to take back their land which was given away

German anger
Germans resented:
• Loss of territory
• Loss of resources
• Foreign occupation of Rhineland and Saar
• Having to pay reparations
• Austrians and Germans could not unite
• Only Germany to reduce weapons and armed forces
League of Nations
Origins
1. Impact of World War 1
 Nations appalled by horror and devastation of World War 1
 Interest in LON grew
 Argue for LON to be set up
2. Role of Pres Wilson
 Proposed LON
 Insisted that LON be part of peacemaking process

Membership
 Open to all except Germany and Russia
 USA opted not to join

Peacekeeping
 Any quarrel to be resolved through talks before force
 Help member under attack by
1. Imposing sanctions
2. Join forces to take military actions against aggressor

Powers of LON
1. The pressure of world public opinion
2. Reducing the armaments of all countries to a minimum level
3. Use of trade sanctions
4. The use of force

Structure of LON
1. Council
 Consisted of 4-5 permanent members, and 4-11 non-permanent members
 Must have unanimous decisions
 Dealt with problems when assembly not in session
 Could organize sanctions against offending state
2. Assembly
 LON’s debating chamber
 Met once a year
 Each member state had one vote
 Must have unanimous decisions
 Admitted new nations and controlled budget
 Elected non-permanent member of council
Establishing peace after World War 1
League of Nations
Successes:
1. Silesia
2. Aaland islands
3. Mosul  In 1924, Turks demanded for Mosul, a part of Iraq. LON intervened and Turk back
down, Mosul remained part of Iraq
4. Bulgaria  In 1925, Greece invaded Bulgaria, Bulgaria did not retaliate, went to LON
instead, LON then convinced Greece to back down.
5. Others  400K POW repatriated, refugees were helped in 1922, contagious diseases reduced,
reduction of cheap labour, opium.

Failures:
1. Vilna
2. Ruhr  In 1923, France took Ruhr form Germany, due to reparations issue, LON did nothing.
3. Memel
4. Corfu  In 1923, Italy took Corfu, as one of their generals was killed in Greece. Greece
approached LON for help, but LON instead, forced Greece to pay compensation to Italy.

Disarmament
1. Washington Naval Conference (1921-22)  Limited the number of capital ships and aircraft
carriers a country could have.
2. Locarno Treaty (1925)  Permanent demilitarisation of Rhineland

Aid to Germany after World War 1

Dawes Plan
- By Charles Dawes
- 800 million marks loan
- Flexible repayment schedule

Young Plan
- By Owen Young
- Reduced reparations to US$2.6 billion (one third of the original)
- Extension repayment period to 59 years
The rise and rise of Joseph Stalin
Lenin and Stalin

- Lenin’s relationship with Stalin was strained

- Felt that Stalin was boorish and crude
- His testament was able to end Stalin’s career

Title contenders

1. Trotsky
 An intellectual
 Great speaker, better than Stalin
 Arrogant and aloof
 Did not engage in politicking
 Orchestrated the October Revolution
 Led the Red Army to victory in the Civil War
2. Stalin
 From working class/ peasant background
 Inspired by Lenin
 Worked his way up the ranks of Bolshevik Party
 Not involved in the 1917 revolutions
 Held low profile, but useful positions in the party (General Secretary of Party)
 Flew under the radar, but was master of manipulation
3. Bukharin
 Intellectually inquisitive
 Well-liked
 Could argue his case convincingly
 Lacked the political cunning of Stalin
4. Zinoviev
 Opposed Lenin’s idea of centralized party control
 Good speaker
 Not intellectual
 Disliked by many colleagues
 Vain, incompetent, cowardly
5. Kamenev
  Opposed Lenin’s idea of centralized party control with Zinoviev
 Smarter and more well-liked than Zinoviev
 Not leadership material

Reasons for Stalin’s victory

1. Impressive power base
 Party secretary  Could control information party member received
 Positions in Orgburo and Secretariat  Could appoint his supporters to key positions
 Control of Party Organization  Could influence voting on key decisions
 Control of Party Membership  Granted membership to people more likely to support
him
2. Positioned himself as Lenin’s successor
 Stalin was at Lenin’s side all the time when Lenin was dying
 Gave Lenin’s funeral speech as his chief mourner
 Tricked Trotsky into not showing up for Lenin’s funeral
3. Was underestimated by rivals
 Rivals though Stalin was harmless
 Everyone wanted Stalin on their side
 Zinoviev and Kamenev were will to work with Stalin to get rid of Trotsky, which was seen
as a greater threat.
 Stalin had won by positioning himself as a neutral to be wooed
4. Luck
 Sheer luck that Lenin’s testament was not published  Kamenev and Zinoviev afraid
 Trotsky kept silent
 Ban on factions worked to Stalin’s advantage  prevented the other from mobilising
support
 Got rivals expelled on the grounds of factionalism in 1927
5. Was a master manipulator
 Allied with Zinoviev and Kamenev against Trotsky at first.
 Later allied with Bukharin against the others.
 Turned on Bukharin and the NEP after Zinoviev, Kamenev and Trotsky were gone
 Former rivals had to renounce their view in order to be allowed to rejoin party
Stalin consolidates power
Goals
1. Increase military strength
 Red army not equipped to fight war
 Need industrialisation to produce weapons and ammunitions
 Russia need to defend itself, as the world hated communism

2. Achieve self sufficiency

 The West disliked the Soviet Union, thus it was hard to do trade
 Stalin wanted to reduce dependency on others

3. Increase food supply

 Agricultural system was backward and inefficient
 Frequent food shortages due to bad harvests and inefficient methods of production
 Stalin wanted to reduce dependency on peasants

4. Move towards socialism

 The Russian majority are peasants
 Socialism requires worker to drive the revolution
 Industrialisation creates class of workers

5. Establish Stalin’s credentials

 Wanted to cement his place as Lenin’s worthy successor
 Wanted to be remembered as one of Russia’s great leaders

6. Improve standard of living

 Industrialisation = increased production = increased wealth
 More wealth = Better standers of living
 Stalin wanted to show the world that Communism was a good thing

Industrialisation
1. First five year plan
 Emphasis on heavy industries – coal, iron, oil, steel, electricity, timber
  Output increased tremendously
 New, larger factories were built – Could handle more production

2. Weakness
 Consumer goods like clothing and food were neglected
 Worker not sufficiently trained to handle the demand of industrialisation
 Workers constantly change jobs, causing interruptions and instability

3. Second five year plan

 Focus still on heavy industries, but more on communications and railways
 Production increased
 By 1937, the Soviet Union was self-sufficient in machine making and metal industry
 Transport and communication grew, improving economy
 Chemical industries grew. (E.G. fertilisers)
 Copper, zinc and tin were mined

4. Weakness
 Some but still insufficient growth in consumer industries
 Oil production did not meet it’s targets

5. Third five year plan

 Lasted only 3 year due to World War 2
 Emphasis still on heavy industries for war
 Huge proportion of resources devoted to producing weapons and ammunitions
 This 5-year plan helped Russia win the war from 1943 onwards

6. Weakness
 Steel and oil production failed to meet targets
 Consumer industries neglected again
 Many factories ran short of materials

7. Impact of five-year plans

Economic
 Resources diverted to heavy industries, at the expense of consumer industries
 Quality of goods not always of good standard
 Corruption in factories
 Heavy industries saw a spectacular increase in production
 Birth of industrial cities like Magnitogorsk
 Social
 Women encouraged to work and have children
 Used prisoners to do work
 Used a variety of methods to get workers to do work
 New elite class of professional workers created
 Severe overcrowding, as people migrated to cities for work
 Rationing abandoned and the food was stale
 Worker’s kids received free primary education
 Free healthcare schemes extended to workers
 Workers were poorly paid

Summary
 Increased production in heavy industries, while other industries were neglected
 Plagued with corruption and inefficiency
 Targets set were unrealistic, so as to drive people to achieve the impossible
 Started the industrialisation process for the soviet union

Collectivisation
What
 Combine small farms to form larger farms called collectives
 Could share farming tools and labour
 Thought to be more efficient

Why
 Stalin felt that wit the state’s help, in terms of expertise and equipment, collectives could
produce more foods
 With collectives under state control, it would be easier to procure grain
 Collectivisation promoted equality, everyone was equal on the farm
 Stalin didn’t want to be at the mercy of the peasants anymore

Process
 Used force, terror and propaganda
 Rich peasants resisted collectivisation process, as they had much to lose
 They burnt their own crops and slaughtered their animals to prevent the state from taking them
 Stalin declared them the class enemy and ordered them to be sent to concentration camps
 Many were never seen or heard of again

Impact
  Resistance saw farmers shipped to concentration camps
 There was widespread chaos from forced collectivisation
 Promised equipment often did not arrive on farms
 Enough grain procured to feed cities, at the expense of the countryside
 Between 1932 to 1934, there was famine, leaving 7 million dead
 By 1934, 70% of households were in collectives, by 1941, almost all in collectives
 Peasants had no incentive to work as there were no profits to be gained
 Massive migration to cities to work in booming industrial sector

Summary
 Although harvests decreased, state procurement increased
 This kept cities well-fed and industrisation going strong
 Massive human costs, 10 million deported and 10 million dead
 Stalin achieved control over the countryside, something Lenin could not do.

Stalin’s dictatorship
1. Secret police
 Cheka was reorganized into the NKVD and expanded
 NKVD used primarily to terrorise people into obedience
 And to hunt down and execute opposition to Stalin

2. Labour camps
 Opposition to Stalin often found themselves shipped off to labour camps in rural Russia
 They were imprisoned and had to do forced hard labour
 Many were tortured or died from harsh conditions in the camp.

3. Opposition to Stalin
 Many party officials were horrified at the destruction and death caused by
collectivisation
 Some officials were unwilling to carry out Stalin’s order
 Workers in cities were also unhappy with the harsh working and living conditions
 Many who were unhappy with Stalin, supported Sergei Kirov
4. Sergei Kirov
 1st Generation Bolshevik
 Replaced Zinoviev as party secretary in Leningrad
 Supported Stalin during power struggle
 Extremely popular, speaking skill was second to Trotsky
 Murdered in 1934
  Was a rising political star before assassination
 Stalin used this as an excuse to start the great purges

5. The great purges

 Used to cleanse the party
 Stalin used Kirov’s murder to show that there were enemies in the party
 Those accused were arrested and put on show trials
 They were tortured and forced to plead guilty
 Many old Bolsheviks were removed this way
 Stalin used this to rid any senior party member who could pose a threat

6. End of the purges

 By 1938, Russian society, military and government were in chaos
 Government was not functioning properly due to purges
 Stalin finally called for the purges to slow down and end

7. Cost of the purges

 7-8 million were arrested
 1-1.5 million were executed
 7-8 million were sent to labour camps
 2 million died in camps

8. Possible reasons for the purges

 Stalin’s paranoia and suspicion
 To dissuade party member from slacking
 To encourage worker to work harder
 Rising criticism of communist party

Cult of Personality
1. Why
 Wanted to be seen as Lenin’s true heir
 Five year plans and purges were disruptive to the society
 Wanted to give the people a hero to believe in

2. Phase 1
  Goal was to establish himself as Lenin’s rightful heir
 Wanted to be seen as a humble and honest man
 Wanted to be seen as Lenin’s faithful disciple

3. Phase 2
 Cult gains momentum
 Stalin receives longer and longer applauses at conferences
 Stalin received birthday greeting from non-existent organisations
 Portraits of him together with Marx show him as a hero of Socialism

4. Phase 3
 Goal was to reassure Russians that they had a great leader to look up to
 History book re-written to play up Stalin’s role in Revolution

5. Phase 4
 Height of the cult
 Victory in World War 2 cements Stalin’s place as war hero
 Assumes semi-divine status
 Childhood home becomes a shrine

6. Russian’s reaction
 Some bitterly hated Stalin
 Some greatful to Stalin
 Achieved god-like status among many Russians
Reason for Hitler becoming Chancellor in 1933
Internal reasons
Opposition to the Weimar government
1. Left
Communist who wanted to follow the example of Russia
Used violent strategies

2. Right
Nationalists who wanted Germany to return to its glory days
Included rich industrialist and military personnel

3. Spartacist uprising
An anti-militarism and anti-capitalism group
Led by Rosa Luxemburg
Ex-soldiers helped to put down this rebellion

4. Kapp Putsch
Attempt by ex-soldiers to overthrow the government
Led by Wolfgang Kapp
Failed due to general strikes by workers

5. Munich Putsch
Led by Hitler and the Nazi Party
Inspired by Mussolini march on Rome

Weakness of the Weimar Republic

1. Lack of a capable leader
No outstanding leader in the Weimar Government until Gustav Stresemann
Had many great achievements, but died just before the Great Depression

2. Proportional Representation
 Seats in the parliament were awarded based on percentage
Led to small and divided coalition government

3. Lack of democratic tradition

Germany was a monarchial system up till World War 1 when Kaiser Wilhelm was in
charge
People did not understand the workings of a democracy and were more familiar with a
authoritarian state, which Hitler offers

External reasons
1. Treaty of Versailles
Many people were unhappy that the government agreed to the unfair treaty, as they
felt that the soldiers were not losing the war.
The November criminals were the communist, Jews and member of the Weimar
republic

2. Ruhr Industrial Crisis

In 1923, Germany was late in payment of reparations to France
France took Ruhr, one of the last industrial areas in Germany, as a result
This led to hyperinflation in Germany
Hitler then played on this unrest to stage the Munich Putsch
Gambled that the police would not stop him, but he was wrong
Got himself into Landesberg prision
Mein Kampf was released a few months later, gave Hitler fame beyond Munich

3. The Great Depression

When Wall Street crashed, the USA recalled all of its loans and investment from
Germany
This led to hyperinflation and mass unemployment
Gave Hitler’s Nazi Party chances
Used the slogan “Employment for all” to attract many people

Hitler’s personal charisma

Hitler was able to attract the masses and convince them of his views
He also used Propaganda Posters, and gave someone to blame, like the Jews and the
Communists
Helped into power
Hitler ran for president in 1933, but came in 2nd, Hindenburg won
President has the right to chose his chancellor, and chose Kurt Von Schleicher
Kurt failed and was fired
Hitler was then appointed to chancellor and Franz Von Papen was Vice-Chancellor
The Nazi Dictatorship
How Hitler gained power
1. Reichstag fire
o One week before elections, the Reichstag buliding was burnt down
o A Dutchman, Marinus van der Lubbe, a communist, was accused
o Nazi used this as an opportunity to blame the Communist
o Hindenburg declared a state of emergency

2. Reichstag elections
o Very violent election campaign
o All political parties meeting were disrupted
o Nazis were in charge of the police
o Auxiliary policemen were used, the SA and SS, to target the fiercest rivals, the
communist and Socialists
o People were arrested on the pretext of being communists
o In the end, the Nazis had the highest votes but could not command majority
o Could only have coalitions with like-minded parties

3. The enabling act

o At first the Nazis had 288 seats, while the other parties had 359 seats
o Communists were banned and Social democrats were intimidated
o Thus the Nazis had 444 votes to 94 votes
o Thus the enabling act was passed, giving Hitler power to make laws without approval of
either the Reichstag or the President
o Reichstag voted to introduce Nazi Dictatorship
o The Weimar Republic was no longer in existence
o Enabling act started the Nazi Revolution

4. Abolition of state government

o At first, each German state had its own state government.
o This presented the biggest obstacle to Hitler, as they had self-autonomy
o In April 1933, the heads of each state government was replaced by Nazis

5. The night of long knives

o Hitler wanted to get rid of opponents within the party
o The SA was too large, might turn against Hitler.
o The SA was led by Ernest Rohm, who was seen as crude and gay
 o On 30th June, Hitler used the SS against the Sa, killing many, including Rohm
o Hitler then gained respect and fear from the Germany army

6. Hitler becomes Fuhrer

o When Hindenburg died, Hitler combined the post of Chancellor and President
o Hitler also became the chief of the Army
o Every soldier also swore an oath of loyalty to Hitler

How Nazism affected daily life

1. Nazi vision of Germany
Goals
o Recover: lay the foundation of a strong Germany
o Consolidate: Build u pa strong economic and military base
o Expand: Get Lenensraum

2. Role of propaganda
o Goal is to reshape people’s beliefs along Nazi lines

Measures
o Controlled the mass media
o Censorship of newspaper , 50% of newspapers were shut down
o Literature written by Jewish authors banned
o Other Jewish works, like music, were also banned
o Cinema was controlled

3. Hitler and the young

Why
o The young represented the future of Germany
o They were also easily impressed
o They also did not suffer the hardship suffered by the older generation

The Hitler Youth

o Started in 1925
o Was initially well received
 o But when it became compulsory, the interest in it waned
o It became militarized towards the mid-30’s

4. Education
Importance
o It was easy to put ideas in the minds of youths

How did the Education system change?

o Textbook were re-written and were almost anti-Semitic in nature
o New subjects such as eugenic and race studies were added
o The Jewish students were also decimated against
o Teachers and University lecturers were also fired if they did not support the Nazi-system
of education
o The books that were not recommended were also burnt

Practical education system

o Boys were taught farming, shooting, and adventure training in addition to the normal
syllabus
o Girls were taught domestic science
o Bothe sexes had to join a Hitler Youth Organisation

5. Christians in Germany
Hitler’s relation with the church
o Most Christians were Catholics
o Hitler was a first sympathetic to the protestant church as they had voted him into power
o However both churches were seen as a threat, as they both presented a alternative
source of power
o A new state church, that had a Nazi as a bishop, was set up.

Hitler’s relation with the Vatican

o In 1933, Hitler singed a Concordat with the pope
o Allowing the Catholic church to run their own schools
o But Hitler broke the Concordat by dissolving the Catholic Youth League
o Thus, the pope openly criticized the Nazi’s anti-Jewish policies
o Those Catholics that opposed Hitler was ruthlessly suppressed
o Hitler’s alternative was to have Nazi churches replace the bible with Mein Kampf
6. Other religions
o Other religions were actively suppressed
o The Jehovah Witnesses opposed Hitler’s rule, and they were sent to concentration
camps
o Jewish synagogues were defiled, destroyed or closed

7. The workers
o Employment issues were solved through conscriptions and forced labour
o There were also many jobs at factories as they were working at full capacity, due to
rearmament
o The city was also revitalized by pulling down the slums

8. Ideal Family
o Hitler wanted to create a pure Aryan race
o He said that the role of women was procreation
o Thus non-ethnic German were sterilised
o Rewards were also given to those who had more children
o Divorces were also made easier for childless couples
Road to war in Europe
Causes of World War 2
1. TOV
o Many Germans were unhappy about the terms of the TOV

2. The Great Depression

Social distress
o Mass unemployment
o Mass poverty

Rise of dictators
o The government was blamed for the people’s poverty
o 25 countries became dictatorships after 1929

Aggression
o Leaders of Japan, Italy and Germany tried to improve conditions by aggression towards
other countries
o As the aimed to gain land and resources, Increase national pride, and compete with the
empires of France and Britain

Economic rivalry
o Rivalry replaced co-operation
o Countries started to introduce protectionist policies
o They stopped imports to reduce competition for home produced goods
o But this also caused them to lose their ability to export their goods, damaging the
economy

3. Failure of LON
Why
o The French and the British were more interested about themselves
o The USA and other leading countries were not in the LON
o LON’s sanctions were ineffective
o The LON lacked its own armed force
 o They had not opposed the unfair TOV
o They also reached decisions too slowly

3 major problems faced by the LON

o In the Manchurian Crisis, Japan invaded an area of China, but after a long delay, the LON
did nothing
o So the world learnt that it paid to be aggressive, thus Japan continued with its
aggression
o Also the LON could not get the other countries to disarm, thus Germany start
rearmament and others followed
o In the Abyssinian Crisis, Italy invaded Abyssinia, the LON could not agree on effective
sanctions.
o Thus other countries lost faith in the LON.

Hitler’s aggression
1. Hitler’s aims
o Reverse the TOV and restore German pride
o Unite all German-speaking people to form a single, united homeland for all Germans
o Give Germans lebensraum, to provide food for the people and materials for the industry

2. Hitler’s actions
o In 1933, Hitler took Germany out of LON and began to rearm
o In 1934, Hitler tried to take over Austria, but failed due to Mussolini
o In 1935, Hitler held massive rearmament rally in Germany
o In 1936, Hitler reintroduced conscription, sent troops into the Rhineland and made a
anti-Communist pact with Japan and Italy

3. Steps to war
Spanish civil war
o Civil war broke out between the Nationalists and the Republicans
o Gave the military forces of Hitler and Mussolini the experience of a real war
o The LON were helpless

Re-occupation of Rhineland
o Was a calculated risk for Hitler
o It was a breach of the TOV, and the German forces were no match for the French army
o However, France was concerned about domestic problems and Britain did not want to
provoke Hitler, thus his gamble paid off
 o This convinced Hitler that the British and the France would not stop him
o It also indicated the start of appeasement

Annexation of Austria
o Although the British and the French complained about Germany’s violation of the TOV,
they did nothing
o Appeasement allowed Hitler’s aggressive methods to triumph
o By 1938, the LON was irrelevant

Sudeten Crisis
o Hitler had designs on Czechoslovakia
o He wanted the Sudetenland, but the Czech president refused to give in to demands

Munich agreement
o Signed on 29th September 1938
o Gave the Sudetenland to Hitler, on the condition that he stop his aggressiveness
o The Munich agreement bought Europe some time
o Czechoslovakia was deserted by its allies and was weaken due to lack of resources
o Hitler decided that Britain and France were unlikely to oppose him
o Hitler also gained popularity at home and wanted to gain lebensraum even more

Policy of appeasement
1. Why
o Hitler was anti-communist
o There was no support from the USA
o Many felt that the TOV was unfair
o Britain and France were more concerned about their own economic problems
o Britain was not ready for war
o Nobody wanted to repeat the horrors of World War 1
o The British empire was not willing to support

2. What was wrong with appeasement?

o It encouraged Hitler to be aggressive
o It allowed Germany to grow too strong
o It placed too much trust in Hitler’s promises
o It scared the USSR

Collapse of peace
1. Czechoslovakia (1939)
o Hitler invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia
o This showed that Hitler’s promises at the Munich agreement was a lie
o Britain and France started to rearm rapidly

2. Pact of steel (1939)

o Hitler and Mussolini signed a pact, stating that they would help each other
o Europe was split into two groups, Britain and France, Germany and Italy

3. Poland (1939)
o Poland was Hitler’s next target
o The French and British government promised to protect the Polish, Greek and Romanian
governments
o They also increased production of arms and equipment

4. Nazi-Soviet Pact (1939)

o Germany and the USSR promised not to fight each other
o They planned to divide Polish territory
o Russia was also allowed to reclaim lands previously lost