Chapter 2: Establishing Peace - Essay Question and Answer (Part 1)

Sample essay

This question is about peace settlement after World War 1.

1. The following were equally successful attempt at disarmament after the war:

(i) the Washington Naval Conference

(ii) The Locarno Pact

(iii) The Kellogg-Briand Pact

Do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer referring only to (i), (ii) and (iii).

After World War 1 ended, the major powers were determined to prevent another war from breaking out. Therefore, they held the Washington Naval conference in 1921. The main aim was to get the major powers to reduce the size of their navies. The five countries that attended the conference were:  USA, Britain, France, Japan and Italy. This was achieved through the signing of several treaties, the most important of which was the Five Power Naval Limitation Treaty. And, the countries agreed to a certain ratio of Warships;  USA and Britain: 5;  France: 3;  Japan and Italy 1.67. The five countries also agreed not to build any new warships for the next 10 years. The USA and Britain also agreed not to improve the existing naval facilities in the Pacific. Japan agreed not to develop faces on Formosa and the Pacific island. Many felt that the Washington Naval conference was a success because the naval arms race has been one of the causes of World War I. Moreover, it was rare for the major powers to agree to this disarmament. However, there were others who felt that the conference was not a complete success because it only limited the countries navies and not their land forces. Also, the treaty only dealt with battleships, it'll all countries to continue building smaller ships and submarines. this meant that countries still had the military means to go to war.

In 1925, Germany and the former Allied Powers signed the Locarno Pact. By proposing this Pact, Germany agreed to accept the new Western boundaries as stated in the Versailles Treaty. With regards to it Eastern borders, Germany hopes to negotiate with Poland the return of former German territories. Germany also agreed not to remilitarise the Rhineland. The Pact was successful because it improved Germany's relations with its former enemies and proved Germany's sincerity in keeping the peace. This eventually led to Germany becoming a member of the League of Nations.

Then and 1928, the USA and France proposed the Kellogg-Briand Pact. More than sixty countries eventually signed the Pact and agreed that they would not use war to achieve their countries economic or political ambitions. Many historians felt that the Pact was a success as so many countries has supported it. However, the Pact did not state what to do if countries who had signed the Pact, broke the agreement. Another weakness of the Pact was that it allowed wars and self-defence. Moreover, The Pact did not deal with countries that carried out undeclared war. Therefore, countries could still go to war with each other.

In conclusion, of all the attempts at disarmament during the 1920s, The Locarno Pact was probably the most successful as it led to Germany's a former enemies trust in Germany again. The Washington Naval Conference and The Kellogg-Briand Pact were not so effective as both still allowed countries to build up their military power and start wars.

2. ‘ The aid given to Germany after War was totally ineffective.’  Do you agree? Explain your answer.

No, I do not agree that the aid given to Germany after the war was totally ineffective. Main aid came in the form of the Dawes Plan (1924) and Young Plan (1929) -  Under the Dawes Plan,  the lent USA Germany 800 million gold marks. The total amount of reparations was reduced and Germany was given a more flexible time schedule for repayment based on its ability to pay. The Young Plan further reduced the amount of reparations that Germany had to pay to US$ 2.6 billion or 1/3 of the original sum. The repayment period was extended to 59 years. The Dawes Plan was used by Germany to end hyperinflation and to pay reparations. The loan allowed Germany to resume reparations payments to France, therefore France agreed to withdraw its troops from the Ruhr which was Germany's industrial heartland. Germany now had access to resources like coal and iron which could be used for production and rebuilding its economy. The financial aid from the US also and able to Germany to stop printing money which had resulted in hyperinflation. Inflation rates were brought under control and the economy began to recover.

However, the aid only provided short-term relief. Much of the money went to paying the Allied Powers and not to rebuild Germany completely. Moreover, the 1929 Wall Street Crash and the Great Depression threw the American economy into a terrible state. The Americans had to recall the loan to Germany.  German entrepreneurs and businessmen who had depended on the loans suddenly lost their supply of funds, causing the German economy to crash again.

To conclude, the aid given was ineffective because the positive impact did not last very long. As the German economy was being held up by borrowed money, it was very fragile and that was why it crashed so easily during the Great Depression.