Postwar Attitudes and Activities of the Major Combatants
Essential Question: To what extent did the country’s actions following the Treaty of Versailles
contribute to fulfillment of the promise of a better world?
Germany:
After World War I, the Treaty of Versailles forced Germans to accept all responsibilities for the war and
to pay billions in reparations to the Entente, according to the war guilt clause. This bred humiliation
among German nationalists. Germany was also forced to relinquish some of its colonies, including
Alsace-Lorraine, which was returned to France. Germany was excluded from participating in the League
of Nations, a group which dictated peace and immobilized the German military. Through the Treaty,
Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia were established as independent nations.
Britain:
Great Britain had many new developments, though sometimes not for the better, after WWI. The
Kellogg-Briand Pact was also known as the Pact of Paris and the Paris Peace Pact. It was signed on
August 27, 1928. As an international treaty, it failed its purpose of providing for the renuncication of war
but was significant for developments in international law. Britain’s economy was depressed except for
the three years immediately after the war. There was no postwar recovery. Unemployment hovered
near eleven percent and never fell below ten percent. There were never fewer than one million workers
unemployed. Government programs to insure the unemployed grew, taking more money. No new jobs
were made available. Britain’s economy had officially collapsed. Britain had massive amounts of
monetary debt to the United States as well, as they had borrowed extensively to pay for the war. With
the economic collapse, they had no way to pay their debt back. In 1935 Italy invaded Ethiopia, which
was a British colony. Britain did not react until 1941 because of their isolationist policy in government.
When they finally got involved, Britain liberated Ethiopia in the East African Campaign during WWII.
Manchuria, a british colony, was invaded by the Enpire of Japan and Britian still did not react untill the
start of WWII. Britain attended the Washington Naval Conference, where it was decided that new
battleships were not be manufactured and remaining ships had to have limited sizes among other
restrictions.
France:
France did many things that contributed to the fulfillment of the promise of a better world. First of all,
France took control of Alsace-Lorraine, which previously belonged to Germany. This was good for
Europe because it helped to ensure that Germany didn’t gain any more territory than they already had.
Also, France made the Rhine River the natural border between their country and Germany. France was
very fearful of another German attack, and as a result were very cautious and monitored Germany’s
actions which benefitted all of Europe. France was also in debt to the United States, but was being paid
reparations for damage from Germany. In the Washington Naval Conference they convinced the other
powers to limit their military forces. They occupied the Ruhr, which eventually led to the collapse of the
German economy. France also got the Saar Basin as well so that Germany could not occupy it. France
invaded the Ruhr in order to force Germany to pay the reparations they had neglected. This wasn’t a
success, but it put economic pressure on Germany. They also enacted the “Paris Peace Act” which stated
that war was not a means to make peace or create national policy. This was an attempt to steer away
from war in the future in Europe.
United States:
The United States believed that they would contribute to a better world by going into isolation.
The Senate rejected the League of Nations because they didn’t want to get involved in Europe’s
problems and cause more problems. The United States followed the policy of disarmament and signed
the Kellogg-Briand Pact which called for the prevention of large scale war by each nation agreeing to not
invade others. Japan violated this world treaty by invading China’s territory, Manchuria. The U.S. in
return sent the Stimson Doctrine to both China and Japan telling them to maintain the open-door policy
and the U.S. wouldn’t interfere. The U.S. thought the world would be better without communism, so
they committed to collective security and hunted out communists during the Red Scare. The economic
depression kept the U.S. focused on themselves instead of meddling with other countries. The Atlantic
Ocean was deemed international waters and free trade was enabled for all countries.
Russia:
During WWI Russia was part of a collective security which allowed the Triple Entente, made of itself,
France and Britain to form an alliance that ensured security for the said countries if one became
involved in a war or conflict. Russia also became involved in the Treaty of Brest’Litvok which was a peace
treaty between itself and the Central Powers that allowed it’s exit from WWI. Russia was purging, or
removing people in which they did not want, due to the government finding them undesirable. The Red
scare was the fear of Bolshevik Revolution in American that would obliterate property, church, homes,
marriages, civility, and the American Way of Life that American’s feared towards Russians and the
country. Russians experienced a civil war within their nation that was caused by the collapse of the
provisional government and being overpowered by the Bolshevik party. Russia also become ostracized
from the community of nations, due to the community’s lack of trust in the Soviet Union