Download Interwar Period-World War II - b

Interwar Period-World War II
I.
II.
Introduction- offensive, destructive and decisive war
Interwar Years
A. Wilson and Collective Security
-Woodrow Wilson believed that WWI would put an end to balance of power
politics
*Idealist w/14 pts
-collective security= threat against one nation is an attack o all nations
B. Europe and the 3 Rs: retribution, retaliation, and
revenge
--not a lot of sentiment towards reconciliation w/’enemy’ in Europe
*wanted retribution, retaliation and revenge
C. Versailles- Retribution: agreement by Wilson & allies about what to do
with the losing parties…vindictive. Wanted Germany to pay back dues
(which was an impossible task)
-Meeting failed to reestablish the balance of power.
-Tried to establish the Weimar Republic in Germany (overly democratic)
D. The League of Nations- believed to be exploited by European
powers for power politics American disapproval, isolationist (Senate
rejected the Treaty of Versailles)
III.
The Road to WWII-Structural Instabilities
A. Germany- still maintained former underlying power capabilities
*had population, military, industry and ambition to regain states
B. Cordon Sanitaire- isolated Soviet Union in order to prevent
expansion of communism.
-Series of weak states surrounding SU; acted as buffers
-believed that national determination of these states will lead to contentment
and forego wars.
C. Asia- (specifically, JAPAN)
-regional economic hegemon
-systematically extracted resources from other nearby states to build up
their (Japanese) military and weaken others
*lacked the raw materials needed to build their empire, most
importantly oil
IV. The Politics of Multipolarity
A. France, Britain, the US
-US: - the US was removed from world politics and was unwilling to play the role of
leader that their status in the balance of power defined for them.
*US navy was quite strong
* FDR desired a more active role in European politics, but encountered massive
public opposition
-from a realist perspective, multipolarity yields instability, uncertainty and faulty
alliances
-FR: began to work to ensure its own security when it realized that the League of
Nations was not going to provide security.
-Magino line between FR and G to protect France.
-wanted harsher punishments for Germany in the Treaty of Versailles
*GB doubted the effectiveness of the Treaty if these punishments were
implemented, so they helped FR economically recover because they knew that an
economically distraught Germany would be highly unstable
-GB: promised FR that if Germany tried to expand west then they would help…did not
care if Germany expanded east into Russia
-division of interests between allies led to ambiguous results; GB and FR had conflicting
views/opinions
B. The Soviet Union- weakened by WWI and the revolution of Stalin
-1921: producing 13% of capability and income was 60% less than at
prewar levels
-1926: production was back at levels before war
-Realized the German threat and that the balance of power was not going
to stop it
*bandwagoning w/ Nazi-Soviet pact of 1939
C. Appeasement- Hitler decided Germans in Czechoslovakia deserved
self-determination
*GB PM Chamberlin granted him that
V.
Hitler- in a bipolar system, it would have been clear who had to oppose the
German threat, while multipolar, post-WWI world was less clear and had no
single state who could oppose Hitler and Germany by themselves.
-September 1, 1939: Invasion of Poland, GB & FR declare war on G
*US neutrality laws ban sales of arms to combatants cash and carry plan
-October 11, 1939: meeting between Einstein and FDRManhattan Project
VI. Planning for WWII