5.1 ORIGINS OF THE CONFLICT AND PRECEDENTS. ITALIAN INVASION OF ETHIOPIA. THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR AND THE MUNICH AGREEMENTS.
WW2 began in September 1939 when Britain and France declared war on Germany following Germany's invasion of Poland.Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany in January 1933. Almost immediately he began secretly building up Germany's army and weapons. In 1934 he increased the size of the army, began building warships and created a German airforce. Compulsory military service was also introduced.
Although Britain and France were aware of Hitler's actions, they were also concerned about the rise of Communism and believed that a stronger Germany might help to prevent the spread of Communism to the West.
In 1936 Hitler ordered German troops to enter the Rhineland. At this point the German army was not very strong and could have been easily defeated. Yet neither France nor Britain was prepared to start another war.
Also in 1936, Hitler argued that France had signed a new treaty with Russia, Germany was under threat from both countries and it was essential to German security that troops were stationed in the Rhineland. France was not strong enough to fight Germany without British help and Britain was not prepared to go to war at this point. Furthermore, many believed that since the Rhineland was a part of Germany it was reasonable that German troops should be stationed there.
The League of Nations was an international organisation set up in 1919 to help keep world peace. It was intended that all countries would be members of the League and that if there were disputes between countries they could be settled by negotiation rather than by force. If this failed then countries would stop trading with the aggressive country and if that failed then countries would use their armies to fight.
In theory the League of Nations was a good idea and did have some early successes. But it failed
The Italian invasion of Ethiopia was initiated in the month of October 1935. It was a brief colonial war that is also remembered in history as the second Italo-Abyssinian war.
In the context of political history this colonial war is remembered for exposing the weak bond on which the League of Nations was found. It was quite clear following this event that the League of Nations was a total failure in terms of accomplishing the objectives for which it was established. This is because both Italy as well as Ethiopia were members of the League of Nations
The fact that Mussolini wanted to rebuild an Italian Empire reminiscent of the glorious Roman Empire of the past was no secret by this point in time. In order to do this Italy would have to take over the Mediterranean and the North African regions. This was one of the primary objectives of invading Ethiopia.
In 1920, Spain was a constitutional monarchy. The king was Alfonso XIII.
However, the government was inefficient and corrupt. In 1921, an army was sent to Spanish Morocco to put down a rebellion. It was massacred but this defeat seemed to emphasise just how corrupt and incompetent Spain’s leadership was.
The little industry that Spain had was also hit by the Depression. Iron and steel were especially hit as no-one had the money to pay for the products. Iron production fell by 33% and steel by 50%.Unemployment in both agriculture and industry rose and those in work had to put up with a cut in wages as the economy struggled to survive the Depression.
The Republic faced losing the support of those whose support it desperately needed – the working class.Two important regions in Spain wanted independence – Catalonia and the Basque region. Had their requests been successful, it would have lead to the break-up of Spain.
The Munich Agreement was the agreement signed on 29 Sept 1938 between Chamberlain, Daladier ( France ), Hitler and Mussolini ( Italy ).
As a result of the agreement, German forces crossed the border on October 1 and were warmly received by the Sudeten, Germans while many Czechoslovaks fled the region.
In London, Chamberlain proclaimed that he had secured "Peace for our time". While many in the British government were pleased with the result others were not.
Images from:
Information from:
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario