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From WW1 to WW2
Crisis
1932: Manchurian crisisambiguity of the Japanese standing: expansionist and anti-
colonial at the same time
1905 investments in the railways sector
1925 elections in Japan bring to power nationalist right-wing forces
1932 Manchuria was declared an independent state
impact on India and Indonesia
1933 Japan withdrew from the League of Nations
Manchurian crisis
The Italo-Ethiopian crisis: 1933-36
- 1934 Wal Wal incident
- October 3 1935 invasion of Ethiopia
- October 9 1935 the League decided sanctions against Italy
- November 1936: Hoare – Laval plan
- May 9 1936 proclamation of the AOI
- June 30 1936 Emperor Haile Selassie speech in Geneva
Hoare – Laval plan
Reasons for the Italian aggression
Fulfilment of Mussolini's “politica di potenza”
Symbol of Italy's imperial destiny
To take revenge for Adwa's defeat
To appease the internal public opinion
To make Italy a “nazione soddisfatta”
Impact on international relations
It de-legitimised the League of Nations
It meant a devastating blow to the new “system of international security”
January 6, 1936: Mussolini met the German ambassador von Hassell
Impact on international relations
Dramatic impact on colonised populations
Crucial in coagulating anti-colonial movements and ideologies
Turning point of Pan-African movementsEs: John Robinson, a.k.a. the Brown Condor
The crisis
in
the Middle East
Crisis in the Middle East
November 2 1917 Balfour Declaration
1922 British mandate over Palestine
1928: The Muslim Brotherhood established
Crisis in the Middle East
1933: Vladimir Jabotinsky founded the New Zionist Organization whose aim was to impose Jew presence Palestine also with the use of force
‘20-’30: rise of Arab Nationalism coalesced into the support to the Palestinian struggle
Crisis in the Middle East
Anti-British guerrilla in the Mandates territories
August 26 1936: the Wafd party managed to obtain more political Independence for Egypt
1936-1939 Palestinian uprising against both British presence and Jewish settlements
Spanish Civil War
1931-1936 alternation between right and left
February 1936: victory of the Popular Front led by Manuel Azaña
July 17 1936: Pronunciamiento of the Spanish garrison based in Spanish Morocco
Under Francisco Franco the revolt moved to Spain
Logistical support of the German air force
The Spanish Civil War
This marked the beginning of the Civil War that lasted until April 1, 1939
France gave a very shy support to the Spanish government
France was worried to irritate Germany
Great Britain didn't want to destabilise the Mediterranean Sea
The USSR supported actively the Spanish Government
Partial support of Germany to the rebels due mainly to strategic interests (access to wolfram)
Italy and the Spanish Civil War
The most consistent and relevant support came from
Italy
- 50.000 ‘volunteers’
- 2.000 heavy artillery
- 800 aeroplanes
- 100 ships
- February 1939: collapse of the republican government
- April 1, 1939 Franco declared the end of the war
Lessons from the Spanish Civil War
- little relevance of ideological factors
- ambiguity of British politics
- the inconsistent support of France
- the growing role of the USSR as international actor
- ambivalence of the Italian intervention
- failure of non-interventionist attitudes
German expansionism and the appeasement policy
The Spanish civil war underlined the fragility and isolation of France in Europe
France was increasingly exposed to the pressure of German revisionist policies
Main factor in this process was the increasing distance between French and British positions
GB pursued a policy of rapprochement to Germany
UK and Italy
Notion of shared interests with regard to stability in the Mediterranean Sea
January 2, 1937 gentlemen’s agreementgentlemen’s agreementBound the two countries to maintain the status quo in the
region
Obliged the two countries to mutually respect their interests and rights in the region
Finally, in 1938, this led to the British acknowledgement of Italian claims over Ethiopia
UK and Germany
With the government led by Chamberlain (May 1937) there was an intensification of British rapprochement toward Germany known as appeasement
Appeasement = readiness to accommodate German revisionist claims in exchange for peace
Germany and UK Hitler tried to lure the UK into an ambitious long-term plan
aimed at:Involving UK in the German vision of foreign policy
Developing a strong strategic alliance between the two countries
Building up an European political and economic super power of world scale
Germany would have accepted to acknowledge British naval and colonial supremacy
The UK should have given back to Germany its former colonies
Appeasement
Reasons for the failure of the German plan:Not due to ideological differences but
Linked to the usual British reluctance to get involved in long terms strategies and alliances in European scenarios
Appeasement
The British adoption of the appeasement was mainly due to:the awareness of not being ready for a military confrontation with
Germany
the prevalence of pacifist feelings among the British public opinion
little support from the dominions to the hypothesis of a new conflict
An insular perception of European affairs
The idea that German leaders could have become the most reliable partners in the European context
Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact Signed on August 23 1939 declared:
Mutual non-aggression between USSR & Germany
Secret Protocol for the acknowledgement of respective areas of influence in Eastern Europe (Baltic States, Poland and Bessarabia)
It laid the basis for the partition of Europe among the superpowers
Marked the end of USSR diplomatic isolation
Bessarabia
The outbreak of the war
September 1, 1939 Invasion of Poland
September 2: Italy declared its non intervention policy
September 3 UK and France declared war to Germany
June 10 1940 Italy declared war to France and UK
September 27 1940 Tripartite Pact among Germany, Italy and JapanGlobalisation of the conflict
Main target were the USA
USA attitudeThe initial USA attitude under Roosevelt administration was mainly
shaped by its neutrality
During the first and second administrations of Franklin D. Roosevelt 4 acts were passed (1935, 1936, 01/1937, 05/1937)
They were founded on the widespread belief that:
the United States had been drawn into World War I to protect the relationships and loans of manufacturers and bankers
the USA could stay out of what was perceived as another inevitable European conflict
USA attitude
1941 was a turning point
Germany started losing the political momentum
Became apparent the limitations of the German European vision
become clear
The central role of USA financial support
The presence of financial restriction in Europe
The presence of legal and political restrictions in the USA
USA attitude
To untangle this intricate political balance F.D. Roosevelt in the Neutrality Act of May 1937 inserted
a provision that allowed trade with the European belligerents on a cash-and-carry basis
FDR thought that the Neutrality acts were contrary to American interests, which he believed were with the Anglo-French alliance
Lend and Lease-Act March 11 1941: after a long debate under F.D. Roosevelt pressure
the American Senate approved the Lend and Lease-Act Possibility to sell, lease or rent: weapons, ammunitions, food
and whatever other good necessary in order to ensure the defence of countries relevant for USA strategic interests
The USA navy wouldn't have escorted those shipsThe Lend and lease Act implied the perception of Germany as
the main threat to international peace and to USA strategic interests
FDR defined it the “Arsenal of Democracy”
Lend & Lease Act
Lend & Lease Actthe U.S.A provided $50,1 billion $50,1 billion in military aid (equivalent to
760 billion current value)
$31.4 billion went to Britain,
$11.3 billion to the Soviet Union,
$3.2 billion to France,
$1.6 billion to China
The remaining 2.6 were distributed among other allied
Canada operated a similar program of aid to Britain
Lend & Lease ActPart of the U.S. expenditures was covered through reverse lend-
lease.
Equipment lost or destroyed in battle was considered a common loss.
After the termination of the program, large quantities of lend-lease goods were sold to Great Britain (10 cents on the dollar) to be paid off over 60 years at 2 percent interest.
The last British payment on the loan was made on December 29, 2006.
In 1972 the United States accepted an offer by the Soviet Union to pay $722 million in installments to settle its indebtedness.
In general, a large portion of the U.S. Lend-Lease aid was cancelled
The USSR
Awareness of European hostility
Crisis of the temporary alliance with Germany due to
– the pro-Nazi shift of Romania
– awareness of German threat
June 22 1941 Barbarossa operation
The Nazi invasion of the USSR & the Lend and Lease-Act
Conflicting views
– from ideological antithesis
– to strategic collaboration
A turning point was the German aggression (Barbarossa operation)
The war in Africa
June 1941: collapse of Italian colonial empire in Eastern Africa
The former Italian colonies became vital back-lines for the Allied forces
Northern Africa became a crucial gate to Italy and Southern Europe
