The Interwar Years 1918 1939 Introduction n After

The Interwar Years: 1918 -1939 Introduction n After WWI, Canada pursued two foreign policy goals: 1. 2. Establish itself as a distinct country within the British Commonwealth. An isolationist approach to the world so that it would not be drawn again into such a devastating conflict. Mr. Peters © 2005

A. The Big Picture n n n Canada became a bitterly divided nation as result of Conscription during WW I. Quebec opposed the measure; the rest of Canada supported it. Conscription is the act of forcing everyone of a certain age to join the army. Indeed, our present troubles with the Quebec sovereigntist movement stems from WW I. Mr. Peters © 2005

n n A depression followed WW I because the returning veterans’ jobs had been replaced, primarily by women, and these new labourers were reluctant to give up their jobs. The Interwar Years were also a period of strong social reform, such as banning alcohol (prohibition), granting women the right to vote (suffrage), and fighting poverty, among other issues. Mr. Peters © 2005

B. Great Power Politics 1. The Washington Conference (1922) n n n One of the first steps towards an eventual alliance between Japan and Germany, that set the stage for WW II, was a decision by the Western Powers to limit their fleet sizes in the Pacific. This measure was put forward by Canada, among other countries, at a meeting in Washington, D. C. , in an effort to prevent an armed conflict in the Pacific. In reality, the decisions made at this conference encouraged conflict, rather than reduce it. Mr. Peters © 2005

1. The Washington Conference (1922) Continued n n n In 1922, the Anglo-Japanese Treaty came up for renewal. This treaty was a defensive pact b/n Britain, Australia, N. Z. , along with the French and Dutch, and Japan to protect colonial possessions in the South Pacific. This treaty served Britain and France well, as Japan joined the Allies in WW I. But instead of renewing this defensive alliance, a fairly hostile U. S. convinced everyone to reduce fleet sizes instead. As a result, the Western Powers were no longer able to “outgun” the Japanese naval fleet, as now all fleets were reduced to equal status. In a further attempt at curtailing Japanese aggression, the Nine Power Treaty was signed, that guaranteed most of the European powers in the region would protect China against attack. Mr. Peters © 2005

2. London Naval Treaty (1930) n n Another move to eventual conflict in the Pacific was the London Naval Treaty, which so reduced the Royal Navy, that it was at its weakest point since the 1600’s, relative to the other major powers. Furthermore, American foreign policy had so curtailed trade with Japan, that Japan really had no interest in maintaining friendly relations with the West. So, Japan had no economic reason for not confronting the West, since they could no longer obtain gasoline, scrap iron, and oil. And militarily, the West crippled its ability to contain growing Japanese expansionism. Mr. Peters © 2005

3. The European Front n n n Adolf Hitler, a soldier in the Austrian army during WW I, became severely disillusioned as he saw the crippling effects of the Versailles Treaty devastate Germany and Austria. He blamed the West, and particularly the Jews, for the woes that beset the German people. He outlined his racist theories, along with his vision of power politics, in a manifesto entitled, “Mein Kampf. ” By 1923, he had attempted his first coup to overthrow the German government, from Munich. This coup was known as the Beer Hall Putsch, and it failed. But by 1933, Hitler’s National Socialist Party (Nazis), had established their control of the Reichstag (German Parliament), and thereby compelled the German Chancellor to declare Hitler the German Leader. The Weimar Republic, backed by the Allies, had fallen and the German Reich Mr. had begun. Peters © 2005

3. The European Front Continued… n n In the face of growing German aggression, Britain and France pursued a policy of appeasement – the idea of working peacefully with Germany to settle disputes rather than resorting to war. Britain and France’s memories of the First World War still lingered strongly in the national mind, and they were in no mood to shed so much blood again. Unfortunately, Germany was still very angry about their being forced to accept “war guilt” for the first war, which also meant they had to pay for the war, so that they were “itching” for a rematch. The war reparations they had to pay to the Allies had crippled the German economy, resulting in widespread poverty and hardship, further worsened by the Depression of the 1930’s. Mr. Peters © 2005

C. The Road to War n n n n n 1931/32: Japan occupies Manchuria (NE China). 1935: Italy attacks Ethiopia (and nearly loses). 1936: Spanish Civil War (the Germans use this conflict to “test” their new weapons). 1936: Re-militarization of the Rhine (Germany’s industrial heartland, which France has occupied since WW I). 1937: Anti-Comintern Pact signed by Germany, Italy, and Japan, designed to counter the threat from Communist Russia (these three powers become known as the Axis). 1938: Hitler forces the unification of Austria with Germany (known as Anschluss). 1938: Germany annexes the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia (a German-speaking region). 1939: Germany annexes the rest of Czechoslovakia. 1939: Germany seizes the Baltic seaport of Memel. Mr. Peters © 2005