Class Notes 11/10

Ideological Causes of WWII
Communism vs. Capitalism
Nazi belief of the superiority of the German people

More Causes

Dawes Plan 1924:

• US loan to Germany for 800 Gold Marks
• Germany's Gustav Streseman makes deal w/ Dawes
  
• France withdraws troops from Ruhr
• German economy starts to recover
• Starts period of prosperity in Germany 1924-1929

"Spirit of Locarno"

• Idea that collective security will work
• Series of agreements between various countries (France, Britain, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Poland...)
• Most important agreement: Germany, France, and Belgium promise to respect each others' borders.
• Germany refused to make any guarantees about its borders with Poland and Czechoslovakia
• France promises Poland and Czechoslovakia help if Germany attacks (Great Britain does NOT promise this).
• Historical Context: In 1925, the world's economy is doing well. Not as many people are concerned about German aggression

Kellog-Briand Pact

• US Secretary of State and French Foreign Minister
• 65 Nations renounce war as an instrument of national policy
• Useless agreement, no power to enforce it. No mention of sanctions.
• Japan, which signed the agreement, attacks Manchuria in 1931. League of Nations does nothing to stop it.

Class Notes 11/9

More Causes of WWII

Italy was not happy with the Treaty of Versailles.

• Italy was promised Fiume during WWI, but was not given it.
  
• After WWI, Italy took Fiume by force.

Washington Naval Conference (1921)

• Purpose was to avoid another naval race and improve relations between the US and Japan
• Long-term economic cause of WWII: Economic competition between US, Japan, and Great Britain in the Pacific
• Japan, US, and GB agree to limit the size of their navies.
• Japan agrees to have its navy be 3/5 the size of the navies of US and GB
• Germany and GB both built up navies before WWI (example of militarism)
• Japan allowed to keep former German colonies in the Pacific
• Western powers agreed not to build any more naval bases near Japan
• 1922- US, GB, Japan agree to protect China's neutrality
• US and GB were suspicious of Japanese expansion

Causes of WWI that relate to causes of WWII

• Autocracy– Kaiser Wilhelm, Hitler
  
• Militarism– Naval race between GB and Germany before WWI, US and Japan before WWII
  
• Secret Agreements– Alliances before WWI, Hitler's Anschluss with Austria before WWII
  
• Colonialism–
  

Class Notes 11/6

3 Long Term Causes

1. Rise of Dictators
2. Treaty of Versailles
3. Failures of the League of Nations
   

2 Political Causes

1. Appeasement
   
2. Capitalism vs. Communism
   

1 Question

1. How much did WWI influence WWII?
   

SURPRISE INTERPRETATION!!!

World War II is a CONTINUATION of World War I!

• Treaty of Versailles was an act of war on Germany (extreme)
• ToV gave no chance for lasting peace
• United States never signed a treaty, didn't join League of Nations
• France invades Germany in 1923, when Germany defaults on Reparations

Arguments against "Continuation"

• Aside from 1923, no formal fighting
• Treaty of Versailles was signed in 1919
  
• By 1929 Germany was back in the international community (member of the League of Nations, signed Locarno Treaty 1925, Kellog-Briand 1928)

Failures of the League of Nations:

• Main aim was to promote collective security and avoid war

BUT... There were problems.

• Perception that France and Britain ran the LoN for their own interests
• France and GB make mandates out of the Middle East
• US never joins, lack of a major power to enforce/pay for enforcement against violations (Japan attacks Manchuria, Italy attacks Ethiopia), other major powers never in at the same time (Germany 1926–1933, USSR 1934–1939, Italy 1920–1935, Japan 1920–1933)
  

Class Notes 11/5

Compare and contrast views of Hitler expressed in the Barbarossa and Downfall

• Psychological Analysis: Both Downfall and Barbarossa showed Hitler as being mentally unstable.
• Two different perspectives: Stoessinger (Western) and Hirschbiegel (German) - maybe have influenced the fact that Stoessinger discussed Hitler's effect on people outside of Germany while Hirschbiegel portrays the effects of Hitler on people within Germany

Long Term Causes of WWII

1. Treaty of Versailles
2. Failures of the League of Nations and collective security
   
3. Rise of Dictators (Fascist Italy 1922, Nazi Germany 1933, Japan 1920's...)
   
4. Worldwide economic crisis / Great Depression
5. Appeasement
   

HW 3

Compare and Contrast the origins, purposes, values and limitations of Why Nations Go to War and Downfall.

Why Nations Go to War is a book written by John G. Stoessinger, who has a Ph.D. and is a "Distinguished Professor of Global Diplomacy" at the University of San Diego in California. Stoessinger claims to have written the book because of his experiences as someone who has lived through most of the major wars of the 20th century. He hopes to be able to share his insight about the role of people in causing wars with readers, and as such his writing seems to be primarily educational in intention.

Downfall is a movie directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel. The film depicts the final days of Germany's involvement in World War II, with a focus on portraying German perspective of the actions of Hitler and his inner circle. It is based on the writings of Joachim Fest, a well known historian who experienced World War II first hand in the German military. A number of personal accounts from some of the real people portrayed in the film are also used as sources.

Why Nations Go to War is a valuable source to people who are studying the role of Hitler during World War II. The author goes into detail comparing Hitler to other rulers, such as Stalin, in terms of both personality and methods of leadership. Depending on what is being studied, Stoessinger's psychological insight may be helpful or unnecessary for the reader. An extensive bibliography is used to support the author's claims.

Downfall is helpful for viewers in some ways, although its limitations must also be considered. The film effectively provides a visual and emotional idea of what Germany was like during the end of World War II. The Nazis are shown as being human, rather than monstrous and evil. However, it could be argued that this humanization is not entirely accurate. In addition to this, some of the personal accounts used as sources may be very twisted interpretations of the truth, as they were told by members of a regime that is still globally looked down on today.


Other notes about Why Nations Go to War:

• Published in 2005 – value or limitation? Events happened a long time ago, but that gave Stoessinger more time to look at newer sources
  
• Author spent boyhood fleeing from Nazis – possible that he had a negative view of the Nazis
• Written from a western point of view
• May be missing some historical context of Stoessinger's psychological analysis of Hitler
  

HW 2

1. Germany was very successful in the first 5 days. It took a large amount Russia's territory, destroyed most of its air force, and took more than half a million prisoners.
2. The term "Great Purge" refers to when Stalin ruthlessly disposed of countless people from various groups, including his own military.
3. Stalin effectively crippled his own military forces with his purges, making it difficult for Russia to resist the Nazi invasion.
4. Stalin was very focused on maintaining his own power within the USSR, rather than on the threats posed by other countries.
5. Stalin hoped that Germany would fight Britain and France, resulting in western Europe, which was Russia's enemy in many ways, being weakened. He also thought that France and Britain were trying to make Russia fight Germany (which they were).
   
6. Stalin thought that a temporary alliance would allow him to prepare for the inevitable war with Germany.
   
7. Stalin made orders against attacking German planes and demanded the release of captive German spies.
8. Stalin did not listen to the West's warnings, he made assumptions about Hitler's foreign policy methods, and was unaware of who Hitler was as a person.
9. Hitler made seemingly thoughtless risks in his invasion of Russia, and opened a two-front war.
10. According to the author, Stalin won the war because he was able to maintain a "grip on reality," unlike Hitler.
    

HW 1

1. In Why Nations Go To War, John G. Stoessinger discusses the role of people in causing wars, because of his own experiences with conflicts throughout his life.
2. The book describes Jews and Communists as being Hitler's worst enemies.
3. The "supplementary protocol" divided up Poland between Hitler and Stalin.
4. The author suggests that Hitler allied himself with Stalin temporarily so that Germany could gain more power and then easily defeat Russia at a later time.
5. Hitler was upset by Stalin's conquest of territories such as Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
   
6. Mussolini's decision to invade Greece and the coup in Yugoslavia caused Hitler to delay his invasion of Russia.
7. Germany would not show any mercy to Russians. Military officers who surrendered would be executed, Russian children would be taught to obey Germans, Moscow was to be burned down, and all Russian literature, culture, and history would be banned.