International Relations

WWII
Causes
Resentment Against the Treaty of Versailles

● Conference dominated by Britain, France, US

● Vindication of Germany was the main goal
● Liberal ideas of western democracy was thrust upon German Nation
● Germany was to disarm, make territorial concessions, and pay reparations
that was close to $31.4 Billion Dollars
● German people were very dissatisfied with the treaty
● This ultimately paved the way for the rise of Hitler
Failure of the League’s System of Collective
Security

● US Congress did not ratify its joining of the League

● Italy, Japan, Germany and Russia realized that the League had little power
● Japan attacked Manchuria in 1932 and when identified as the aggressor, withdrew
from the League instead of returning territory
● Italy invaded Abyssinia (Ethiopia) in 1935 and even though sanctions were
imposed on Italy, the League proved to be ineffective
● In the Spanish Civil War of 1936, Germany, Italy and Russia interfered and the
League again remained ineffective
● Soviet invaded Poland and Finland in 1939 after which it was expelled
Unsuccessful attempts of disarmament

● Germany violated Treaty of Versailles by building its air force by 1935

● Germany also introduced conscription and by March, 1936 announced the
militarization of Rhineland
● None of the countries really believed in the ability of the League to prevent a war
● Rearmament started
● By 1937 most big powers had started building their naval forces. All pre-existing
treaties were set aside
● A race for armaments had started
Policy of Appeasement and Pacifism

● France and Britain believed that giving concessions to Italy and Germany
was the best way to satisfy them
● They believed that once the dictators were satisfied, they would leave the
others alone
● They were also considered as a fitting resistance against Bolshevism
● Italy and Germany were therefore allowed to violet the terms of the Treaty
of Versailles
● Italy and Germany spread anti-Bolshevist propaganda
Ideological Factor

● Nazi aggression was viewed as an effective counter to Bolshevik

expansion
● Western democracies were not able to fully understand the
problems of Nazism and Fascism
● British and French scepticism towards USSR and the effect of that
● Follies of victors, miscalculations of democracies and economic
downfall of 30s.
Dissatisfaction of National Minorities

● Although the Allied powers were committed towards self-determinations but at

the Paris Peace Conference this principle was not followed
● Union of Austria and Germany was forbidden and thousands of Germans were
under foreign rule
● Germans were minorities in Austria and parts of Czechoslovakia. They were
demanding greater autonomy
● This was the pretext of German annexation of Austria, Sudetenland and Poland
Staunch Nationalism

● After WWI victorious nations were guided by self interest and and the
vanquished ridiculed internationalism as impractical
● The victors abandoned the Wilsonian principles
● In Germany and Italy, the state was worshiped and dictators rose to power
riding on the wave of nationalist enthusiasm
● Germany and Italy practiced aggressive nationalism by imperialist
conquests
Differences between France and Britain
● Difference in opinions on problems of reparations, future of Germany, League of
Nations, system of collective security and problem of disarmament
● Britain wanted BOP and therefore was interested in economic recovery of Germany
● France was interested in economic ruination of Germany
● They also had opposing views in matters of military strength of Germany
● Britain and Germanyʼs Naval agreement on 1935 exposed British duplicity
● These differences on international issues tarnished the image of the two
democracies
Economic Needs and Material Interests of
European Powers

● Germany, Japan and Italy were unhappy with their economic

situations post War. They were desperate for Colonies
● They found markets for their finished goods and countries from
where they could import raw materials
● Then world economics were damaged by depression
● Protectionism policy by countries
Emergence of Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis
● Totalitarianism and resentment towards Britain, France and US, brought
these countries closer
● October, 1936, Protocol for Italo-German Cooperation
● 1937, Mussolini joined the Anti-Comintern Pact which Germany had signed
with Japan in 1936
● Western countries saw this totalitarianism as a better alternative to
Communism
● Hitlerʼs attitude towards Poland ultimately became the starting point of
WWII
Course of the War

● German invasion of Poland on 1st September, 1939

- Italy called for a peace conference which France and Britain were ready to
join, but Germany refused
- Soviet Union also attacked Poland in September in 1939 and occupied
Eastern provinces of Poland
- Poland surrendered and was divided between Soviet Union and Germany
● Expansion of Soviet Union
Continued

- Soviet Union entered into pacts with many Baltic Republics and then went on
with territorial expansion
- Was expelled from League of Nations after attack on POland and Finland
● After the attack on Poland there was a period of calm in which countries
strengthened their military positions
Continued

● German Attack on Denmark and Norway

- Denmark was attacked on 9th April,1940
- Norway was attacked on 10th April,1940
- With this Germany got strategic advantage to launch ariel strikes on Britain
● By 3rd May, 1940, Luxembourg, Belgium and Holland had all fallen to Germany
Continued

● Battle of France - June, 1940

- Italy joined the war on the German side
- France was quickly overwhelmed and decided to accept the terms of armistice
- 21st June, 1940 Armistice was signed
- 22nd June, 1940 Italo-French armistice convention was signed
- Philippe Petain became the leader of unoccupied France which emerged as a
dictatorship
- Government in Exile by Charles De Gaulle
Continued
● Battle of Britain
- With France defeated, Britain was left with the fear of invasion by sea
- But the British navy was formidable
- Germany wanted to compel Britain to a peace settlement
- So it came up with the strategy of air raids
- Germany sought superiority over the British Airforce
- By July, 1940, Germany was preparing for a sea and air attack on Britain
- Night time attacks on German converted barges as well as the inability of
the German air force to dominate the British, finally led to the
abandonment of the plan of attack on Britain
Continued

● Growing German power made US nervous

- Compulsory conscription became a law
- Japanese assets were frozen and all ties with Japan severed
- Signing of the Atlantic Charter in 1941
● The Balkans
- Between October 1940 and June 1941, war spread to Romania, Greece,
Bulgaria, Yugoslavia - which were all conquered by Nazi Germany
Continued

- Second Phase of the War - German invasion of Russia

- October, 1941, German Soldiers came within 31 miles of Moscow
- The temperature conditions and Russian army’s foresight and skill prevented
a decisive German Victory
-
Continued - Third Phase of the War - War in the Far East

- Japan’s aggression towards its neighbours

- US embargoes on Japan
- September , 1940 - Signing of a military alliance with Germany and
Italy
- July, 1941 - Britain and America freeze Japanese assets
- America’s attempts at peace in November, 1941 was rejected by
Japan
- 7th December, 1941 - Pearl Harbour
- In 32 hours, US declared war on Japan
Continued - Defeat of Germany and Italy and the Fourth Phase of
the war

- Ist January, 1942, 26 nations put down their signatures in a

declaration promising to use their full resources against the Axis
powers
- This was the start of the end
- By February, 1943, German soldiers surrendered after suffering heavy
losses at Stalingrad
- Allied powers commenced military operations on 6th June 1944
- By 20th January, 1945 more German soldiers surrendered
- 8th May, 1945 -War in Europe was formally over
Continued

● Defeat of Japan
- Japan abandoned by Soviet Union
- Hiroshima and Nagasaki
- Japan surrendered on 14th August, 1945, bringing an end
to WWII
Consequences

● Unprecedented loss of life and property

● Race for accumulation of Nuclear Weapons
● Destruction of Axis Powers
● Decolonization
● England emerging as a second rate world power
● Emergence of superpowers
● Establishment of the United Nations