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

Credits: 10 Year Series - Combined Humanities History Elective

1. ‘Reparations did little harm to Germany’. How far do you agree? Explain your answer.

[N level 2008]

I disagree with the statement that reparations did little harm to Germany. According to the Treaty of Versailles, Germany had to pay 6, 600 million pounds which was an amount that would keep Germany poor for many years. The Weimar government tried to meet the payments by printing more money, but it's only led to inflation as the value of the German currency fell and the prices of the good rose.

In 1922, the government could not manage to pay another instalment. As a result, French and Belgian troops invaded the Ruhr;  Germany's most valuable industrial area. The French and Belgian troops took over the iron and steel factory, coal mine and railways. Those Germans who lived in the Ruhr and were considered not to be cooperating with the Germans were imprisoned. Food was taken. Workers in then Ruhr went on strike which led to violence. The unrest had disastrous consequences for Germany as a whole. The Ruhr was Germany's economic area and produced a great deal of wealth for the country as a whole. By not producing any good whatsoever, Germany's economy started to suffer. The government again printed money to cover the cost.  This signalled to the outside world that Germany did not have enough money to pay for her day-to-day needs and whatever money may have been invested in Germany was removed by foreign investors.

Such a drop in confidence also caused a crisis in Weimar government itself which prices started to buy to match inflation. Very quickly, hyperinflation set in. Prices up quicker than people could spend their money. the impact of hyperinflation was huge; People had to shop Wheelbarrows full of money. The poor became even poorer and the winter of 1923 meant that many lived in freezing conditions burning furniture to get some heat. The group that suffered a great deal was the middle class. Their hard-earned saving disappeared overnight.

Fortunately for Germany, economic situation improved under Gustav Stresemann. A new currency was introduced which help reduce inflation. Stresemann also managed to obtain loans from the USA - the Dawes Plan and the Young Plan. With the loan from the Dawes Plan, Germany was able to end  hyperinflation and pay reparations. The Young Plan also helped Germany reduce the amount of preparation it had to pay and extend the repayment period to 59 years.

In conclusion, I disagree with the statement that reparations did little harm to Germany because Germany's economic recovery lasted only for a short while until the Great Depression. When the Great Depression took place, Germany faced the same economic problems that have been caused by the reparation clause.

2. ‘The League of Nations was a success during the 1920s.’ How far do you agree with the statement? Explain your answer.

[N levels 2010]

I agree that the League enjoyed some success at resolving conflicts during the 1920s. For example, in 1920 Finland and Sweden both wanted that Aland Islands. The League investigated and awarded the islands to Finland.  Sweden accepted the decision. Then in 1921, Germany and Poland wanted Supper Silesia. The League got the people living in these areas to vote and split the area according to their votes. Both Germany and Poland accepted the decision. Then in 1925 Greece invaded Bulgaria. The League ordered Greece to withdraw and Greece agreed. In addition, the League was successful in solving social problems. For example, helping refugees return to their homes after the war. The League was also successful in preventing the spread of contagious diseases. The League was also able to reduce the smuggling of cheap labour, opium and other dangerous chemicals.

At the same time, there were occasions when the League failed in its peace-keeping role. For example in 1920 when Poland sized Vilna, the former capital of Lithuania, the League did nothing. Also in 1920 - 1922, the League was unable to prevent war between Greece and Turkey. In 1923, when Germany stop paying reparations and France and Belgium took the German industrial area of the Ruhr, the League get nothing.

In conclusion, I would disagree with the statement, but I would also like to add that given its structure and circumstances, it was very difficult for the League to succeed.  Firstly, the USA was not a member. If the USA has been a member, it could have used its resources and position to influence other members to accept League decisions. Also, the League did not have any military force. This was a disadvantage because it meant that the League had no power to make any member accept its decision. Finally, The League members put their own country’s interest first and did not support the League’s action. Therefore, the League’s success as a peace-keeping organization was dependent on its members’ support. If the members chose to ignore the League,  no action could be taken. Moreover, without a military force, the League could not take effective action against aggressor countries.

3. ‘The Washington Naval Conference what the most successful step towards disarmament in the 1920s.’ How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer.

[N levels 2010]

I would agree that the Washington Naval Conference was the most successful step to a disarmament in so far as it succeeded in getting major powers, mainly Japan, China, United States, France, Italy, Portugal, Belgium, Britain and Netherland, to discuss how to reduce the naval arms race and to come up with security agreements in the Pacific area. The other objectives were to reduce the possibility of conflict with Great Britain, to eliminate Anglo-American tension, to agree upon a good naval ratio and to have Japan officially accept a continuation of the opening-doors guidelines in China.

The results of the meeting were drawing and signing of 3 major treaties and minor treaty accords. The three major treaty were the Four-Power treaty, Five-Power treaty, and the Nine-Power Treaty. With the signing of these treaties, the major powers agreed on the following:

1) All parties would be consulted in case of a dispute over Pacific issues.

2) respect each other's possession in the Pacific.

3) limit the production of battleships, aircraft carrier and battle cruises.

4) fix the ratio of capital ships to be owned at: 5 each for Britain and the US, 3 for Japan, and 1.67 for France and Italy.

5) discontinue their existing warship/ capital ship construction programs for 10 years.

6) regulate the use of submarines and to outlaw the use of toxic gases in military warfare.

This conference was successful because no more new warship fleets were constructed and the few ships that were constructed were limited in terms of armaments and size. Several of the existing ships were scrapped and some ships that were still under construction were transformed into aircraft carriers instead. The naval limitations also provided a significant amount of savings for these nations. In addition, this attempt at disarmament was successful because the participating countries kept their agreements until mid-1930.

However, the conference did have some shortcomings. Firstly, the major naval powers remained suspicious of each other causing them to engage in a short race to build battlecruisers. They also began constructing smaller battles which were not covered under the treaty. Moreover, critics of the conference pointed out that the major powers had dealt only with the navy and not with the land forces.

In conclusion, I would say that in the 1920's, the Washington Naval Conference can be considered the most successful attempt at disarmament, in spite of its shortcoming because its members had voluntarily made the agreement. Also, they were determined to handle the most immediate threat to peace which was naval power and because the treaties signed at the conference were honoured for the time that was agreed upon.

4. To what extent did Germany recover during the 1920s? Explain your answer.

[O levels 2010]

During the 1920s, Germany was able to make some recovery in several ways. This was due mainly to the efforts of Gustav Stresemann who was first Chancellor then foreign Minister in the Weimar Government until his death in 1929.

In the 1920's, the German economy was able to make some recovery for several reasons. Firstly, inflation was controlled when Stresemann decided to change the German currency. He called in all the old, worthless marks and burned them. He replaces them with a new Rentenmark (worth 3,000 million old marks). Stresemann also called off the 1923 Ruhr strike and started to pay reparations again. This was made possible with the Dawes Plan which provided Germany with a loan and gave Germany more time to make the payments.  Later in 1929, the Young Plan for the helped Germany reduce the payments.The loans taken from the USA were used to build roads, railways and factories. The economy boomed and led to prosperity.  Moreover, Stresemann introduced reforms to make life better for the working classes -  Labor Exchanges (1929) and unemployment pay. Also, 3 million new houses were built.

Germany’s foreign relations also improved during the 1920s. With the repayment of reparations, Stresemann was able to persuade the French to leave the Ruhr in 1924. In 1925, Stresemann signed the Locarno Treaty, agreeing to respect its new Western boundaries as determined by the Versailles Treaty. Germany also agreed not to remilitarize the Rhineland. The Locarno Pact greatly improved Germany's relations with its former enemies. As a result,  in 1926, Germany was allowed to join the League of Nations.

Germany also benefited from political stability. Stresemann arranged a ‘Great Coalition’  of the moderate pro-democracy parties (based around the SDP, the Centre party and Stresemann’s own ‘German People’s Party’, the DVP). United together, they were able to resist the criticism from the smaller extremist party, and in this way, he overcame the efforts of proportional representation -  the government had enough members of the Reichstag supporting it to pass the laws it needed.

Finally, as a result of economic recovery, the 1920s became in Germany a time of real cultural creativity, with development in Architecture, Art, Books, Films and Cabaret.

However, Germany's recovery was the result of it having a capable leader in Stresemann and the loan it got from the USA. In 1929, Stresemann died and the Wall Street Crash took place. Paste with the loss of a strong leader and the withdrawal of American loans, Germany's recovery came to an end.

That's all, it may be said that although Germany made a tremendous recovery in the 1920s the events of 1929 showed that in actual fact, the German economy was very fragile. The Great Depression cause German businesses to shut down, causing millions of Germans to lose their jobs. Moreover, the government was unable to solve these problems. Hence, Germany was in trouble again.

5. ‘The Allies were completely satisfied with the peace settlement agreed at Versailles.’ How far do you agree with the statement? Explain your answer.

[O levels 2011]

I disagree with the statement because the peace settlement did not give everything that the Big Three wanted.

Georges Clemenceau,  Prime Minister of France, wanted to make sure that Germany would never be a threat to his country again as Germany had invaded France twice in the past. He wanted Germany weak and economically and militarily. therefore, he was angry that France got the Saar coalfield for only 15 years, and he was angry that the Rhineland was nearly demilitarized -  France had wanted it made into a powerless independent country, and Germany split up.  Also, reparations were not high enough for Clemenceau. He wanted reparation so high that Germany would be crippled and paying forever.

Woodrow Wilson, President of the USA was dissatisfied also. He had proposed a plan called the Fourteen Points as a basis for establishing peace after the war. But he found most of his 14 points ignored or rejected. One of the principles that Wilson promoted was self-determination for all nations. But Britain, France and Belgium would not allow self-determination to the colonies in their empires.  Wilson had wanted Anschluss between Austria and Germany, but this was denied. Finally, when he went home, the Senate refused either to accept the Treaty or to join the League.

Lloyd George of England was also dissatisfied by the Treaty. He too wanted Germany to be punished but he wanted it to be a fair punishment so as to prevent Germany from wanting to seek revenge in the future. He opposed self-determination and was sure that putting 3 ½ million Germans into Czechoslovakia would cause great problems there. He opposed Clemenceau’s harshness and therefore, fought most for Germany’s interests at the Conference.  When the Treaty was eventually signed, Lloyd George declared: ‘we will have to fight another war in 25 years’ time and at three times the cost’.

At the same time, there were some terms of the peace settlement that the Allies were satisfied with. Clemenceau was satisfied that Germany had to carry the blame for the war, Germany's military strength was reduced, getting back Alsace-Lorraine, and being given Germany colonies as mandates on behalf of the League of Nations. Wilson was pleased to get the League of Nations accepted, and the map of Eastern Europe was mainly drawn according to his principle of self-determination. Lloyd George liked the reduction of the German navy, for it ensured that Britain ruled the sea. He also likes being given German colonies as mandates.

It may be said that the Allies were not completely satisfied with the peace settlement agreement at Versailles. But realistically, the peace settlement could not be the perfect settlement. Firstly, the different victor's came to the conference wanting different things. Secondly, the leaders at the conference also had to deal with larger issues such as how to rebuild the world to make it ‘safe for democracy’ which was a complex problem. Thirdly, the leaders were also under pressure by large influential groups to represent the interest at the conference. Finally, the conference was held to provide the Allies with an opportunity to negotiate terms, and therefore, it was only expected that the Allies would have to make compromises.