Chapter 3: International Relations in an age of extremism 1919-1939

1. Chapter 3: International Relations in an age of extremism 1919-1939 By: Bridget S. (4) and Ellie P. (4)

2. Background • World War I had just ended, resulting in unemployment, inflation, and deprivation of the masses. • Fascism, which was a different type of extremism with communism as the arch-enemy, spread through Europe. • The British Union of Fascists was established in 1932 after the worldwide depression caused by the Wall Street Crash.

3. Background cont. • The four dictators of the time were Benito Mussolini in Fascist Italy, Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany, General Francisco Franco of Spain, and Joseph Stalin of Soviet Russia. • Fear of communism spread • Soviet Russia was isolated and vulnerable, and alliances with Great Powers became impossible.

4. Mussolini’s foreign policy

5. Mussolini’s rise to power • Italy felt cheated by the Versailles Treaty, and due to debts led to inflation. • The proportional government made it impossible for one party to gain an overall majority, leading to disarray and indecisive leadership. • The five different coalition governments formed between 1919 and 1922 could not resolve conflicts. • Trade unions went on strike and factories formed co-operatives and soviets to protest.

6. Mussolini cont. • In 1919, the threat of communism gave former teacher and journalist Benito Mussolini the opportunity to gain power. • Mussolini formed the “Fascio di Conbattimento,” or the “Fighting Group” in 1919. • Initially, this was a socialist organisation and attracted the financial support from rich businessmen by defending private businesses. • The black-shirted groups frequently attacked communist headquarters.

7. Mussolini • Fascism gained popularity in Italy through those who feared communism, most notably King Victor Emmanuel III. • In 1922, 50,000 fascists began a March on Rome, while more occupied other important cities. • While Prime Minister Luigi Facta wanted to use force to disperse fascism, the king invited Mussolini to form a new government. • The threat of violence alone lead to the creation of the worlds first fascist state, even though the March on Rome was a bluff.

8. Mussolini’s style of government • Lack of democracy-Italy became a one-party state, with emphasis on Mussolini as a leader. • Totalitarianism- State is more important than the individual, and the government could control the lives of the people. • Autarky-The government should control the economy to become self-sufficient. • Extreme nationalism-restore Italy to former glory. • The use of violence-Maintain control and ensure successful foreign policy to expand Italy.

9. Diplomacy 1923-34 • Between WWI and Mussolini’s rise to power in 1922, Italy was neither great, feared, nor respected. • Mussolini wished to re-establish the credibility of Italy as a major European power. • Italy was not satisfied by the Paris peace settlements.

10. Fiume (March 1923) • The Adriatic port of Fiume had been claimed by Italy, since the majority of the city and surrounding area was Italian. • Paris peacemakers rejected the claim and made Fiume a “Free City” for both Italy and Yugoslavia. • The weak government accepted it, but Gabriele D’Annunzio, a nationalistic poet led 300 ex-soldiers into the city and declared it Italian. • Eventually, the government forced the nationalists to leave, fearing tensions with other European powers and renounced claims to Fiume. • In 1923, Mussolini led Italian troops back into Fiume to restore order to the threatened area, leading to it becoming part of Italy.

11. The Corfu Incident (August 1923) • The border dispute between Greece and Albania in 1923 was referred to the League of Nations, and was a cause of great tension. • With the assassinations of Italian leader of the commission Tellini and his assistants, Italy gave Greece an ultimatum demanding financial compensation and justice. • Initially refused, Mussolini invaded the Greek island of Corfu until Greece paid and apologized, heightening Italy’s power. • Italy was in danger of becoming isolated due to their lack of naval power.

12. Friendly relations • Between 1923 and 1934, Mussolini became friendlier and more approachable by European powers. • He attended the Locarno Conference, which forged relationships with European nations and played a large role in the resulting agreements. • Now, Italy was being recognized as a great power. • Mussolini’s relations with Albania was vital to enhancing their strategic position in the Adriatic Sea, so he strengthened associations with Greece, Hungary, and Albania. • Mussolini established a good relationship with Britain. • Italy became the second European nation to recognize the USSR.

13. Mussolini’s aggressive foreign policy after 1934 • Even though Mussolini was widely respected by 1934, Italy’s continuing depression and unreached goals made the leader unpopular with the people of Italy. • In 1935, Mussolini invaded Abyssinia, the only remaining independent state in Africa, defending himself by saying Italy needed raw materials and a new market for goods. • Abyssinia and its emperor Haile Selassie could not resist the Italian troops. • Despite disapproval from the League of Nations, nothing was done because Italy was needed as an ally, and Britain and France were not prepared to go to war over an African state.

14. Mussolini’s aggressive foreign policy cont. • The only power that did not condemn Italy for its actions was Germany. • Mussolini in return began to support and imitate Hitler and Nazi Germany instead of closer relations with Britain and France. • To establish another fascist state in Europe and a naval base in Spain, Mussolini assisted Francisco Franco in the Spanish Civil War. • Mussolini formed the Rome-Berlin Axis in 1936 with Hitler. • In 1937, Mussolini joined the Anti-Comintern Pact with Germany and Japan.

15. Foreign policy cont. • In 1939, Mussolini invaded Albania, which was nothing more than a propaganda act which empowered his image. Albania was already under Italian control. • Also in 1939, Mussolini signed the Pact of Steel, a military alliance between Italy and Germany to support them in an act of war. • These acts committed Italy to militarily support Hitler’s Nazi Germany completely.

16. Civil War in Spain

17. Political instability in Spain • Spain was largely agricultural and by 1920 had still experienced very little industrialization. • There were a few wealthy landowners with enormous farmlands. • Spain was ridden with poverty and deeply divided with underdeveloped communications. • Physical barriers as well as different languages separated parts of Spain.

18. Political instability in Spain • Under the constitutional monarchy of King Alfonso XIII, Spain was further weakened by political divisions. • Monarchists wanted to preserve the king’s power and the church’s authority. • Liberals wanted a modern democracy. • Socialists and republicans wanted to remove the king. • Communists wanted a Russian-style revolution. • Anarchists wanted no government.

19. Political instability cont. • In 1923 Miguel Primo de Rivera seized power after a bloodless coup and was a military dictator until 1930. • King Alfonso XIII supported him to retain some semblance of power. • Rivera was not a fascist and his reign saw industrialism. • After the loss of support from his army, Rivera was forced to resign, plunging Spain into mayhem. • The 1931 elections saw Republicans gaining control, forcing King Alfonso XIII to abdicate to prevent violence.

20. Problems facing the new republic • Socialists now dominant in government. • Government needed to get back support from working class. • Prime Minister Manuel Azana enacted reforms: • Reduce Church’s authority and power • Remove a number of officers from the army to reduce threat • Allow region of Catalonia some self-government • Increase pay of industrial workers • Introduce nationalization of large agricultural lands.

21. Problems cont • The Spanish Confederation of the Autonomous Right (right wing party) created to defend Church. • Left-wing also displeased, wanted elimination of capitalist system, staged riots, strikes and assassinations. • Prime Minister Azana forced to resign in 1933. • Jose Maria Gil-Robles took over with right-wing groups, cancelled all reforms • Left-wing parties unfied, revolted with violence. • Army called to put down opposers.

22. Problems cont. • Spain lacked a consistent and strong government necessary to resolve problems. • 1936 elections saw left-wing Popular Front as the strongest, but were just as useless as the previous. • In July 1936, Calvo Sotelo, a right-wing politician was killed by police, convincing the party that only military dictatorship could succeed. • A new fascist group Falange, along with army generals, revolted in Morocco, and General Francisco Franco took leadership. • The Spanish Civil War began.

23. International involvement in the Spanish Civil War • Power in the country became spread out geographically and physically. • By mid-1936, most of northern Spain and certain southern areas were under the control of Franco’s nationalists. • Republicans held the middle and northeast of Spain, most importantly Madrid and Barcelona. • Franco appealed to Hitler and Mussolini for support, saying he fought to stop a communist revolution.

24. International involvement cont. • Germany and Italy provided military support to Franco. • Internationally, Franco was seen as another brutal fascist dictator along with Hitler and Mussolini. • Spanish government asked Britain and France for aid against Franco, but the two were unwilling to go against Germany. • Britain establish a Non-Intervention committee so no one would interfere with Spain, which Germany and Italy joined, but essentially ignored. • Republicans then asked USSR for support.

25. Reasons for foreign involvement • Mussolini wanted glory and to restore Italy to a great power. • Hitler was attempting to distract Italy from his own plans to force a union with Austria-he actually provided means to prolong the war. • Stalin also wanted to prolong the war to maintain good relations with Britain and France-he did not want another fascist government, but knew the great powers did not want another communist government either.

26. The International Brigades • Dolores Ibarruri, a communist leader, encourged people of Madrid to repel nationalists. • The International Brigades, foreign volunteers that made up a communist organization, with people from all countries, came to repel nationalists. • Franco failed to conquer Madrid and Barcelona, which were key cities to conquering the country. • By late 1939, the USSR stopped supporting republicans due to personal concerns. • With an increase in aid from Germany, Barcelona fell to nationalists in 1939, with Madrid following to secure the victory of Franco.

27. The reasons for and implications of Franco’s victory • Franco maintained unity of nationalists. • Republicans less unified and less militarily trained. • Aid from Italy and Germany in the form of troops, supplies and transportation was vital. • After victory, Franco established a government modeled after Hitler and Mussolini. • Spain was not completely fascist, for the Church remained in control of education. • Franco kept Spain out of World War II, avoided defeat with Italy and Germany.

28. Hitler’s foreign policy

29. Hitler’s rise to power • Austrian-born Adolf Hitler served in the German army in WWI. • Weimar Republic was unfit to deal with high inflation and unemployment. • In 1921, Hitler became the leader of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (Nazis). • This party mainly consisted of the young, the unemployed and soldiers.

30. Hitler’s rise cont. • Hitler said Germany’s army had not actually been defeated, and put the blame on politicians for losing WWI. • Hitler also blamed the politicians for the hated Treaty of Versailles. • He claimed rearmament would solve unemployment problems, so the Treaty of Versailles should be ignored. • Hitler claimed the new democratic constitution that was based off of proportional representation would create a weak coalition government. • Lastly, Germany must resist the threat of a communist revolution.

31. The Beer Hall Putsch • Organized by the Nazis, Stormtroopers would attack gatherings of rival politicians and injure opponents. • Hitler declared a national revolution on November 8th, 1923. • Stormtroopers invaded Munich and attacked a beer hall where Gustav von Kahr, a state commissioner, was giving a speech. • Despite hopes that Kahr would express support for the rebellion, the army defeated the Stormtroopers. • This first attempt at revolution failed because Hitler was not as well known at the time and did not have the support of the army as Mussolini did.

32. Imprisonment and release • Due to the failed revolution, Hitler was sentenced for five years, of which he only served nine months. • During this time, he wrote Mein Kampf (My Struggle) which revealed his intention to cause a European war. • After his release, Germany was more stable due to loans from the US (the Dawes Plan) and improving relations with other countries through the Locarno Treaties. • Unfortunately for Hitler, this lessened the support for the Nazi Party in the 1928 elections.

33. Nazi success in the Great Depression • Due to the Wall Street Crash, US loans to Germany stopped, and another economic crisis began. • By 1932, support for the Nazis had grown to a rate of 37% of votes. • Hitler was appointed chancellor of Germany on January 30th, 1933. • Unlike other leaders, Hitler had gained power through legal and constitutional means, not violence by exploiting the weaknesses of the constitution of Germany.

34. Aims and strategies of Hitler’s foreign policy • Until Hitler, Germany had consented to the Treaty of Versailles and relations with other countries had improved by the Locarno Conference in 1925 and their admittance into the League of Nations in 1926. • Hitler intended, however, to end Germany’s compliance with the Treaty of Versailles. • He wanted to take back lost territory, such as the Polish Corridor and the Saar coalfields. • Rearmament in the forms of a German navy, air force and army. • Anschluss, or a union between Germany and Austria. • Unite all German-speakers under Germany’s government.

35. Aims and strategies cont. • By 1938, Hitler had achieved all of these aims without war, gaining popularity. • At 1933’s World Disarmament Conference, he argued that Germany must rearm to the level of other countries or be vulnerable, especially to France. • France was displeased, but Britain agreed, seeing Hitler as a peaceful leader. • France refused to withdraw objections, giving Hitler the excuse to remove from the League of Nations and the World Disarmament Conference. • This caused a rift between France and Britain as well as made France seem unreasonable.

36. Challenging the treaty of Versailles: Hitler’s foreign policy 1934-38 • From 1934-1938, Hitler’s foreign policies were successful, despite defiance of the Treaty of Versailles. • Hitler used his actions to lessen the restraints upon Germany. • During this time, Hitler convinced great countries that his motives were justifiable, honorable and peaceful while simultaneously isolating countries that were the target for the expansion of German power.

37. Attempted Anschluss and the return of the Saar • In 1934, Hitler signed a ten-year peaceful treaty with Poland to reassure them that Germany would not repossess the Polish Corridor and to guarantee neutrality if Germany takes action against Czechoslovakia or Austria. • This also convinced Britain of Germany’s peaceful intentions. • Hitler intended to force a union between Germany and Austria. • In 1934, the Nazis revolted and assassinated Austrian chancellor, Engelbert Dollfuss. • Hitler and his army were prepared to enter Austria to restore order, but Mussolini and the Italian army appeared to protect the border. • Hitler did not have the military power to challenge Italy.

38. Attempted Anschluss cont. • In 1935, following a plebiscite of the people, the Saar region with its precious coalfields were returned to Germany. • Hitler used propaganda to exploit this occasion even though it was a term of the Treaty of Versailles. • Additionally, Hitler claimed this return ended all tensions between France and Germany to assure the French of his peaceful intentions.

39. Rearmament • In 1935 Hitler developed his armed forces through the introduction of conscription to the size of 600,000 • Rearmament was supposedly due to the enlargement of Britain’s air force and France’s army • The Stresa Front was an alliance between Britain, France and Italy in response to Germany’s actions to enlarge the army to six times the size permitted by the Treaty of Versailles • The Stresa Front alliance reaffirmed the Locarno Treaties to support Austrian independence.

40. Rearmament • In June 1935 Hitler signed the Anglo-German Agreement to limit the German navy to 35% the size of the British navy. • This Agreement showed the weaknesses of the Stresa Front, for Britain failed to consult Italy and France. • Hitler’s foreign policy was defied when Mussolini rallied troops to prevent Germany invading Austria. • In 1936 Hitler gambled his inexperienced troops by invading Rhineland in defiance of the Treaty of Versailles and the Locarno Treaties.

41. Rearmarment • In 1936 Hitler formed the Rome-Berlin Axis eliminating the threat of Mussolini with Itlayas an ally. • Hitler made an ally of Japan in the Anti-Comintern Pact, and aided Franco in the Spanish Civil War giving experience to German troops. • In March 1938 Hitler achieved Anschluss with Austria, German troops declared Austria part of Germany despite Austrian riots. • Britain, France, and Italy took no action against Germany.

42. Appeasement • Germany overturned the Treaty of Versailles under 5 years of Hitler’s rule • Germany regained Saar and Rhineland as well as their pride, prestige, and status. • Britain and France’s refusal to oppose Hitler’s foreign policy was alarming, however there was just cause. • France was unable to act for they were politically divided and did not trust their allies for they had made alliances with Germany ex. Rome-Berlin Axis and Anglo German Agreement • The public in Britain was against war after the disaster of WWI • Britain and France faced economic crisis

43. Appeasement • British industrialists were against war for they favored trade with the growing German economy • British politicians believed that Germany would cease aggression once the Treaty of Versailles was destroyed. • Politicians felt Hitler would be a buffer against the westward expansion of the Soviet Union. • Britain and France were able to justify Hitler’s actions in the endeavor of peace.

44. The Road to War

45. Czechoslovakia • Hitler was set on bringing the people of the Sudeten area of Czechoslovakia into the Third Reich • The leader Konrad Henlein said the Czech government was discriminating against them • While the Czech President Edvard Benes believed Hitler was causing riots to invade under the pretense of “restoring order” • Britain and France encouraged the Czech government to make concessions to Hitler, believing that once he acquired Sudetenland Hitler would leave Czechoslovakia • Sudetenland was vital to the Czechs industrial infrastructure.

46. Czechoslovakia • In September of 1938 a four-power conference was held in Munich between Hitler of Germany, Mussolini of Italy, British Prime Minister Chamberlain and French Counterpart Daladier about Czechoslovakia • It was agreed upon that Germany should take Sudetenland. • Winston Churchill described the Munich meeting as total defeat • At a private meeting Chamberlain and Hitler signed a document renouncing warlike intentions. • However Hitler incited riots in Slovakia to seek independence from the Czech government in Prague • The Czech president Emil Hacha was forced to allow German occupation to “restore order” under the threat of Prague being bombed by Germany.

47. Czechoslovakia • After Hitler broke the agreement of Munich and laid claim to land he had no justifiable right to Britain and France were forced to intervene. • In Birmingham in March of 1939 Chamberlain considered Hitler’s actions as trying to dominate the world by force and warned that Britain would use force if necessary. • After Chamberlain’s speech in Birmingham Britain introduced conscription.

48. Poland • Hitler continued his aggressive foreign policy without fear of other European power, and insisted on invading other countries • In April 1939 Hitler insisted on the return of Danzig and German access across the Polish Corridor • For Danzig was mainly German and the Polish Corridor had spilt East Prussia from Germany • However this was against the non-aggression treaty that Germany had signed with Poland in 1934

49. The Role of the USSR • The USSR was the main hindrance in Hitler’s plans with his invasion of Poland • Britain and France would not align with the USSR for their fear of communism • On 24 August 1939 Germany and the USSR signed a treaty of non-aggression called the Nazi-Soviet pact, of convenience allowing Germany to invade Poland without USSR intrusion • The USSR would get eastern parts of Poland, Finland, Estonia, and Latvia this treaty allowed Stalin time to prepare for war • On 1 September 1939 German troops invaded Poland and two days later Britain declared war, with France following suit beginning WWII

50. The Causes of WWII • The Paris Peace Settlement and the Treaty of Versailles caused problems leading to WWII • The League of Nations failed to deal with Germany, Italy, and Japan’s aggression • The world economic crisis enabled fascist dictators to gain power • The fear of communism prevents a French, Britain, and USSR alliance • Appeasement allowed Hitler to build his army, and led him to believe he could act without opposition • The Nazi-Soviet Pact allowed German invasion of Poland • Hitler’s decision to take Czechoslovakia and invading Poland had no justification and made war inevitable