1 International Conflicts and Threats to Peace in

the 20th Century

I The First World War (1914-18)

(1) Background of the World

The Western powers competed for colonies in Asia and Africa after the Industrial
Revolution.
The spread of nationalism led to the rise of Germany and Italy.
France tried to get back the land lost to Germany after her defeat in the Franco-
Prussian War (1870-71). This started her conflicts with Germany.
Britain was a great industrial and colonial power; and she gave up her isolation
because of the threats from Germany
Germany was an industrial state like Britain. Her attempt to build a strong navy
and get colonies in Africa led her into conflicts with Britain and France.
Russia was the biggest European state with the largest army. Her support of the
Balkan states led her into conflicts with Austria-Hungary.
Austria-Hungary was ambitious in the Balkan peninsula.
Italy was the weakest among the European powers. She allied with Germany and
Austria-Hungary because of her colonial conflicts with France.
The United States was a strong industrial country, but she adopted isolation.

(2) Causes of the War

(a) The Alliance System

i. Germany started this system against France in the 1870s.

ii. By 1907, two sets of alliances had developed in Europe:
 The Triple Alliance: formed
by Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy in 1882;
 The Triple Entente: formed by
France, Russia and Britain in 1907.
iii. If a member of the Triple Alliance was at war with a member of the Triple
Entente, the other members had to help them, thus turning a local war into a
general war.

Picture Description: The Three Emperors’ League (1873)

Tsar Alexander II of Kaiser William I of Emperor Francis

Russia Germany Joseph of Austria-
Hungary

1
(b) The Armaments Race

i. It took place in Europe in the period 1871-1914.

ii. Each power tried to produce more weapons and develop strong armies.
iii. The powers distrusted each other because of the armaments race.
iv. This increased the powers’ tensions and helped to bring about the First World
War.

(c) Colonial Rivalries

i. The European powers competed for colonies abroad during 1871-1914.

ii. Colonial rivalries increased the tensions among them.

(d) Extreme nationalism

i. France’s attempt to take revenge on Germany for her defeat in the Franco-
Prussian War in 1871 led her into conflicts with Germany.
ii. Germany started the Alliance System to isolate France. She also promoted
Pan-Germanism to unite the Germans in Austria under one great German state.
iii. Austria-Hungary’s attempt to expand in the Balkans led her into conflicts with
Russia and Serbia.
iv. Russia’s attempt to promote Pan-Slavism to unite all the Slavs in Europe
under one great Slav state led her into conflicts with Austria-Hungary.

Additional Information: Nationalism

It is a feeling of unity among a people based on common history, religion, language and
customs. It is also a devotion to the interests of one’s nation.

(3) How War Began

(a) Pre-War Crises

i. Crises in the Morocco

 Two crises took place in Morocco in 1905 and in 1911.

 Franco-German relations grew worse because of these crises.
 The bad relations between the two countries speeded up the outbreak of the First
World War.

ii. The Bosnian Crisis

 In 1908, Austria-Hungary took control of Bosnia-Herzegovina from Turkey.

 This angered Serbia since she also wanted to have these places.

iii. The Balkan Wars

2
 Two wars broke out in the Balkans in 1912 and 1913.
 Serbia grew more powerful because of these wars. Austria-Hungary’s attempt to
stop her from becoming too powerful led to conflicts between the two states.
(b) The Sarajevo Incident (June 28, 1914)

i. On June 28, 1914, a Bosnian murdered Archduke Ferdinand, the heir to the
emperor of Austria-Hungary, in Sarajevo.
ii. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia because she said that Serbia was
behind the murder.

Picture Description: Gavrilo Princip (1895–1918)

Gavrilo Princip killed Archduke Ferdinand on June 28, 1914. He

Gavrilo Princip was born in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1894. He was a member of
the Serbian nationalist secret society Black Hand.

Princip was imprisoned by Austria-Hungary for killing Archduke

Francis Ferdinand. He died of tuberculosis in 1918.

(4) Course of the War

The Central Powers consisted of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey,

while the Allies were made up of Russia, France, Britain and Serbia.
Many Asian, European and American countries joined the Allies and this turned the
war in Europe into a global conflict.
In 1917, the United States declared war on Germany when Germany said her
submarines would attack any ships sailing to Britain.
In November 1917, Russia withdrew from the war after the October Revolution.
The Allies defeated the Central Powers in 1918.
The Battle Fronts: Anglo-French soldiers fought against the Germans in the
Western Front while the Germans fought against the Russians in the Eastern Front.

(5) Results of the War

(a) The Paris Peace Conference (1919)

i. Britain, France and the United States dominated it.

ii. The victorious nations signed treaties with the defeated ones.
iii. By these treaties, each defeated country had to disarm, to pay an indemnity
and to lose some land.

3
iv. The peace treaty with Germany was called the Treaty of Versailles (June
1919). By this treaty, Germany had to:
 reduce its army to 100,000 men;
 pay a large indemnity;
 return Alsace-Lorraine to France;
 give up some land and all her colonies; and
 accept the war-guilt clause.

Picture Description: The Representatives of Britain, the United States and France at the
Paris Peace Conference (1919)

British Prime Minister US President French Prime Minister

David Lloyd George Woodrow Wilson Georges Clemenceau
(1863-1945) (1856-1924) (1841-1929)

(b) Effects of the War

i. The First World War killed about 8.5 million people, and this weakened most
of the countries that had taken part in the war.
ii. It ended the empires of the Russians, the Austrians, the Germans and the
Turks. This led to the rise of many new nation states in Europe.
iii. The war led to the formation of a peacekeeping body, the League of Nations,
in 1920.
iv. The social position of women raised after the First World War.
v. New weapons were used during the war.

II The Second World War (1939-45)

(1) The World after the War

Britain, Italy and France: weakened by the First World War; faced rising national
debts, falling production, unemployment and social unrest
Germany: overthrow of William II and setting up of a new republic; unable to solve
the problems brought by the war
Eastern European States: weak and dependent on British and French protection
Japan: took over German colonies in the Pacific; naval development was just
behind that of Britain and the United States

4
 Russia: became a Communist state in 1917; renamed as the Union of Soviet
Socialist Republics in 1922; Stalin became the leader of the Soviet Union after
Lenin’s death in 1924.
The United States: became the world’s biggest creditor, producer and importer;
returned to isolation and refused to join the League of Nations

Additional Information: The United States and the League of Nations

Though President Woodrow Wilson supported the formation of the League of Nations, the
US Senate refused to ratify the Treaty of Versailles. The United States was unable to join
the League of Nations.

(2) Causes of the War

(a) The Great Depression

i. Why it started

 The United States prospered after the First World War, and stock prices rose
rapidly.
 Rapid economic growth led to overproduction and overspeculation in the stock
market.
 In 1929, the stock market collapsed leading to unemployment and bankruptcies.
The Great Depression started.

Additional Information: The Great Depression in the United

States
Franklin Delano
Roosevelt (1882-1945)
During the Great Depression, there were 16 million unemployed
workers, representing about one-third of the total workforce in
the US. The gross national product decreased from
$103,828,000,000 in 1929 to $55,760,000,000 in 1933.

President Franklin Roosevelt introduced the New Deal (1933-41)

to solve the problems brought by the Great Depression. The
New Deal provided financial aid and work to unemployed
workers and reformed the economy of the United States.

ii. How it Spread to Europe and Japan

 The United States demanded European nations repaying their debts. She also
reduced the import of goods from Europe and Japan.
 Europe and Japan lost their overseas markets leading to unemployment in these
places. The Great Depression spread abroad.

iii. Effects

5
 Economic problems and social crises created a breeding ground for
totalitarianism. Totalitarian nations favoured expansion and threatened world
peace.
 The Great Depression caused unemployment and political instability in the
United States, Britain and France, so these states failed to work together against
totalitarianism.

(b) Rise of Totalitarianism

It was a kind of dictatorship developed in Italy, Japan and Germany after the First
World War.
Under this system, a dictator or a political party:
had dictatorial power by banning all political parties;
ruled with an ideology; and
adopted an expansionist policy.

i. Italy

 The democratic government failed to solve the social and economic problems
brought by the First World War.
 In 1919, Benito Mussolini (1883-1945) formed the Fascist Party, and he claimed
that he could turn Italy into a strong country.
 Many Italians supported Mussolini, and in 1922, a fascist government under the
leadership of Mussolini was set up.

Additional Information: The March on

Rome (1922)
Mussolini and his supporters marching on Rome

In 1922, Mussolini and his fascists marched

on Rome threatening to occupy the city if he
was not invited to form a new government.
King Victor Emmanuel III refused to arrest
the Fascists. He invited Mussolini to form a
new cabinet.

 Main Ideas of Fascism

 Meaning: Fascism comes from an ancient Latin word ‘fasces’, which is the
name of an axe tied with rods carried by the lictors of the ancient Roman
Empire as a symbol of authority.
 believed in one-party dictatorship;
 controlled everything;
 praised wars and adopted an expansionist policy.

ii. Japan

6
 A democratic government ruled Japan after the First World War.
 But it failed to solve the problems brought by the Great Depression of 1929-33.
 So many Japanese supported the militarists who supported an expansionist policy
to make Japan strong again.
 In 1931, Japan invaded Manchuria and captured it in 1932.
 Main Ideas of Militarism
 to use force to make Japan stronger,
 to settle conflicts and ruled over weak nations,
 to use violence to get rid of their opponents,
 believed in an expansionist policy.

iii. Germany

 During the period 1919-33, a democratic government ruled Germany.

 Not many Germans supported this government because it accepted the Treaty of
Versailles and failed to solve the economic problems during 1929-33.
 The Germans supported Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party because he promised to
end the Treaty of Versailles, solve the problems facing Germany at the time, and
make Germany strong again.
 In 1933, Hitler became the Chancellor. He turned Germany into a totalitarian
state and ruled Germany until 1945.
 Main Ideas of Nazism
 believed in racial superiority,
 followed a genocide policy against the Jews,
 believed in one-party dictatorship,
 used violence to get rid of enemies.

Additional Information: Adolf Hitler

Hitler (right) during World War I
Adolf Hitler was born in a small village in Austria. His
father was a customs official. Hitler was aspired to be an
artist when he was a teenager. He lived an idle life in
Vienna after failing to enter the academy of arts. He
joined the Bavarian army when World War I broke out.
He became a corporal and was rewarded the Iron Cross
for his bravery.

In 1919, he joined the German Workers' Party, renamed

the National Socialist Party (the Nazi Party) in 1920. He
was elected the president of the Nazi Party in 1921. Two
years later, he was imprisoned for staging a coup against
the government. He wrote his book My Struggle in
prison.

7
 In 1933, he was asked by President Hindenburg
(1847-1934) to form a new government. Hitler and Hindenburg

After Hindenburg's death in 1934, Hitler took up

the title of Fuhrer (leader). He purged his
opponents during his rule.

In 1944, Hitler survived an assassination. In

1945, shortly before the fall of Berlin, Hitler
married Eva Bruna. Then, they committed
suicide.

(c) Aggression of the Totalitarian States

i. Japan’s aggression in China: In 1931, Japan attacked Shenyang and took over
Manchuria next year.
ii. Italy’s aggression in Abyssinia: In 1935, Italy attacked Abyssinia.
iii. Germany’s aggression in Europe
 In 1936, Germany broke the Treaty of Versailles by remilitarizing the Rhineland.
 In 1938, Germany united Austria.
 In 1939, Germany demanded Czechoslovakia to cede the Sudetenland inhabited
by over 3 million German-speaking Austrians.

(d) Response of the Three Western Powers

i. Britain’s Response

 Britain, under Neville Chamberlain (1869-1940), adopted appeasement towards

the aggression of Germany. Appeasement is a policy to satisfy someone by
giving him what he wants.
 Chamberlain followed this policy because:
 he believed that Germany was unfairly treated at the Paris Peace
Conference (1919);
 Britain was hit by the Great Depression and could not wage wars to stop
Hitler’s aggression.

ii. France’s Response

 France also followed this policy because she faced many political and economic
problems.

8
 Additional Information: The Munich Pact (1938)

Germany, Italy, France, and Britain signed the Munich Pact in 1938, which permitted Germany
to occupy the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia. Chamberlain signed this pact since he believed
that Hitler would not claim demand for other territories after obtaining the Sudetenland.

Primer Minister Prime Minister Mussolini Hitler

Edouard Daladier Chamberlain of Britain
(1884-1970) of France

iii. US Response
 The United States was indifferent to the aggression of the totalitarian states and
carried out the policy of isolation.
 The United States had still not fully recovered from the Great Depression.

(3) How War Began

(a) Failure of Appeasement

In 1939, Germany occupied the rest of Czechoslovakia. Appeasement failed to

maintain peace in Europe.

(b) Invasion of Poland

After conquering Czechoslovakia, Hitler decided to invade Poland. He signed a

non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union in order to get rid of the Soviet threat.
On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. Britain and France declared war
on Germany when Hitler refused to withdraw from Poland.

(4) Course of the War

The war was fought between the Axis Powers and the Allied Powers.
The Axis Powers consisted of Germany, Italy and Japan; while Britain and France
were the Allied Powers, which were joined by other great powers later.

9
 The United States joined the Allied Powers after the Pearl Harbour Incident (1941).
In 1942, Germany broke the non-aggression pact and attacked the Soviet Union.
The Soviet Union joined the Allied Powers.
The Allied Powers first defeated Italy in 1943, then they defeated Germany in May
1945 and Japan in August 1945.

(5) Results of the War

(a) Settlement of Germany and Japan

During the Second World War, the leaders of Britain, the United States and the
Soviet Union met to discuss how to settle the problems after the war.
Settlement of Germany
Germany was divided into the British, French, American and Soviet occupation
zones. In 1949, the three Western zones joined together to form West Germany.
The Soviet zone became East Germany.
Settlement of Japan
Japan was occupied by the United States until 1952. Reforms were carried out
during the American occupation.

Picture Description: Wartime Leaders

Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin (from left to right)
Winston Churchill (1874-1965) became
the prime minister of Britain in 1940.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882-1945)
was the president of the United States
during 1933-45.
Joseph Stalin (1879-1953) ruled the
Soviet Union during 1924-53.

(b) War Deaths and Destruction

Industrial and agricultural production and the world's living standards fell because
of the war. About 37.6 million people were killed.

(c) The United Nations

The United Nations was set up in 1945 to replace the League of Nations as the new
international peacekeeping organization.

(d) Decolonization

The war weakened Western colonial rule and this led to discolonization in Asia and
Africa.

10
 Additional Information: Causes of Decolonization
Mahatma Gandhi (1869-
Decolonization started after the Second World War. Britain, 1948), the leader of
France, Belgium and other colonial empires were weakened
by the war. They were also challenged by the growing
Indian independence
nationalism in their colonies. Apart from nationalism, many
Asian countries were influenced by Communism, which also
posed a challenge to European colonialism.

Britain, the greatest colonial empire, was seriously affected

by these problems. One of its colonies, India, became
independent in 1947.

(e) New Weapons

New weapons such as bombers, aircraft carriers, the radar system and the atomic
bombs were used during the war.

(f) Rise of Superpowers

The war led to the rise of the Soviet Union and the United States and they
influenced the world after the war.

III The Cold War (1946-91)

(1) The World After the War

Britain and France: weakened by the Second World War; lost their colonies in
Africa and Asia
Germany, Italy and Japan: weakened by the war; adopted democratic systems in the
post-war period
The Soviet Union: became a superpower; controlled the Communist states in
Eastern Europe
Asia and Africa: most colonies in Asia and Africa became independent in the post-
war period
Eastern European States: became the satellite states of the Soviet Union.
The United Sates: became a superpower

Additional Information: The Soviet Satellite States in Eastern Europe

Some communist states, founded after the Second World War, were controlled by the Soviet
Union. They were known as the Soviet satellite states. Some of them are listed below:

Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Rumania and East Germany 11

(2) Meaning of the Cold War

The Cold War refers to the tension between the Capitalist Bloc and the Communist
Bloc.
It first began in Europe after the Second World War.
The two Blocs mainly fought through propaganda, building armaments and helping
small nations at war.

Additional Information: Cold War Propaganda

A soviet cartoon showing the United States extending

its influence to other countries

A British cartoon depicting the Soviet

Union as a liar

(3) Causes of the Cold War

(a) Different Ideologies

The Capitalist Bloc supported private property, free elections and free economy.
The Communist Bloc believed that the State should own all resources in the
interests of society as a whole.
The two Blocs distrusted each other.

(b) US-Soviet Rivalry in Eastern Europe

Many Communist states were formed after the Second World War with the help of
the Soviet Union.
The Soviet Union built the Iron Curtain to shut them off from Western influence.
The United States determined to stop the development of Communism and this
gave rise to the Cold War.

(4) Developments of the Cold War

(a) The Greek Civil War (1946-49)

12
 The Greek Civil War broke out between the Greek Communists and the Greek
government.
The Soviet Union helped the Communists.
In 1947, President Truman introduced the Truman Doctrine to help the Greek
government, stating that the United States would back free peoples against outside
enemies.

Additional Information: The Marshall Plan

A poster of the Marshall
The participating countries of the Marshall Plan included the United
Plan
States, Britain, France, Belgium, Switzerland, West Germany, Italy,
Luxemburg, Norway, Denmark, Greece, Turkey, Austria, the
Netherlands, Sweden and Iceland.

The plan distributed more than 12 billion US dollars among the

European nations during 1948-51. The Marshall Plan ended in 1952.
George Marshall (1880-1959) was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
for his work in 1953.

A European family receiving

relief from the United States

(b) The Berlin Blockade (1948-49)

In 1948, the Soviet Union tried to control the whole of Berlin by closing its land
routes.
The Western democratic states supplied daily necessities to West Berlin by air.
12 Atlantic countries formed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in
April 1949.
Faced with this challenge, the Soviet Union ended the blockade in May 1949.
After the Berlin Blockade, Germany was divided into East and West Germany.
This division ended when Germany was reunified in 1990.

Additional Information: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization

Founding Members (1949): Belgium, Canada, Denmark, The official NATO flag
France, Great Britain, Iceland, Italy, Luxemburg, the
Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, and the United States.

Headquarters: Brussels, Belgium

Website: http://www.nato.int/

13
(c) Rise of the People’s Republic of China (1949)

In 1949, Mao Zedong and the Chinese Communists took control of China in a civil
war.
He set up the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949.
The United States attempted to stop the growth of Communism in Asia.

(d) The Korean War (1950-53)

In 1950, the Korean War began.

United Nations forces, under the command of General MacArthur, helped South
Korea while China helped North Korea.
In 1953, the war ended and Korea was divided into North and South Korea.

(e) The Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)

In 1962, Cuba allowed the Soviet Union to build bases for nuclear missiles on the
island.
This threatened American safety, so the United States ordered the blockade of
Cuba.
President Kennedy ordered the blockade of Cuba.
The Soviet Union agreed to remove the nuclear missiles from Cuba.

Additional Information: Fidel Castro (1926- )

Fidel Castro has ruled Cuban since his overthrow of the pro-American government in 1959. The
United States tried to overthrow his government in 1961. The attempt failed. Castro strengthened
the tie with the Soviet Union by allowing the latter to build missile bases in Cuba.

A satellite photo of the Soviet missiles in Cuba

Field Castro

14
(f) The Vietnam War (1965-75)

In 1954, a civil war broke out between North Vietnam and South Vietnam.
In 1965, the Vietnam War began when the United States helped South Vietnam
against North Vietnam.
President Nixon (1913-94) brought South Vietnam and North Vietnam to sign a
cease-fire agreement in 1973.
In 1975, North Vietnam won the war and ruled over the whole of Vietnam.
After the war, the United States was not so keen on checking the Communist
movement.

Additional Information: Casualties of the Vietnam War

Anti Vietnam War demonstrations
The Vietnam War was one of the bloodiest wars in history. A
lot of people protested against the war.

About 50,000 US soldiers were killed.

South Vietnamese casualties were more than 400,000 and
over 900,000 North Vietnamese were killed.

(5) End of the Cold War

(a) Easing of Tension

The Change in Sino-American relations

In 1971, the United States supported giving UN membership to China.
In 1979, the United States and China established normal relations.

The Change in Soviet-American relations

They held talks on limiting nuclear weapons in the 1970s.

15
Picture Description: Cold War Leaders
Leonid Brezhnev (1906-82),
the leader of the Soviet Union
during 1977- 82
Mao Zedong (1893-1976) and Nixon in 1972

Additional Information: Nixon’s Visit to China

Premier Zhou Enlai and President
In 1972, Richard Nixon visited China. He was the first
Nixon at a state banquet in 1972
US president to visit China since 1949. During his visit,
he met Chinese leaders Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai
(1898–1976).

(b) Rise of Gorbachev

Gorbachev, the new Soviet leader during 1985-91, was more interested in solving
domestic economic problems than in ruling other states.
He signed treaties with the United States to limit missiles and nuclear weapons.
He gave up the control of the Communist states in Eastern Europe.
This led to the setting up of non-Communist governments in Eastern Europe and
the Soviet Union.

16
 Additional Information: Mikhail Gorbachev (1931- )

Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, came to power in 1985. He was born
in Stavropol, a city in Southwest Russia. In 1970, he became the party leader of Stavropol.

The party leaders regarded

Gorbachev as a reformer. In 1985,
he was elected as the leader of George Bush, Ronald Reagan and Gorbachev (from left
the Soviet Union. During his rule, to right). Reagan was the 40th President of the United
Gorbachev started a series of States ((1981-89). He was succeeded by Bush, his
reforms to improve the Soviet Vice-President. Bush ruled during 1989-93.
economy. His reform programmes
failed and he met growing
opposition from his opponents.
The Soviet Union disintegrated
into various independent states.
He resigned in 1991.

Gorbachev:
http://www.mikhailgorbachev.org/

(6) Effects of the Cold War

(a) Political Effects

There was the danger of another world conflict or nuclear war during the Cold War.
Their tense relations threatened world peace.

(b) Social and Economic Effects

The Cold War affected the cultural and economic developments of the Capitalist
and Communist Blocs.

17