1.
Gustav Stresemann
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Gustav Stresemann was a German politician and statesman who served as Chancellor in 1923 and Foreign Minister 1923–1929, during the Weimar Republic. He was co-laureate of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1926 and his most notable achievement was the reconciliation between Germany and France, for which he and Aristide Briand received the Nobel Peace Prize. During a period of instability and fragile, short-lived governments. During his political career, he represented three successive liberal parties, he was the dominant figure of the German Peoples Party during the Weimar Republic, Stresemann was born on 10 May 1878 in the Köpenicker Straße area of southeast Berlin, the youngest of 7 children. His father worked as a bottler and distributor, and also ran a small bar out of the family home. The family was middle class, but relatively well-off for the neighbourhood. Stresemann was an excellent student, particularly excelling in German literature, thus, he entered the University of Berlin in 1897 to study political economy. Through this course of studies, Stresemann was exposed to the principal arguments of his day. His editorials for the paper were often political, and dismissed most of the political parties as broken in one way or another. In these early writings, he set out views that combined liberalism with strident nationalism, in 1898, Stresemann left the University of Berlin, transferring to the University of Leipzig so that he could pursue a doctorate. He completed his studies in January 1901, submitting a thesis on the beer industry in Berlin. In 1902 he founded the Saxon Manufacturers Association, in 1903 he married Käte Kleefeld, daughter of a wealthy Jewish Berlin businessman, and the sister of Kurt von Kleefeld, the last person in Germany to be ennobled. At that time he was also a member of Friedrich Naumanns National-Social Association, in 1906 he was elected to the Dresden town council. Though he had worked in trade associations, Stresemann soon became a leader of the National Liberal Party in Saxony. In 1907, he was elected to the Reichstag, where he became a close associate of party chairman Ernst Bassermann. However, his support of expanded social-welfare programs didnt sit well with some of the more conservative members. Later that year he lost both his Reichstag and town council seats and he returned to business and founded the German-American Economic Association. In 1914 he returned to the Reichstag and he was exempted from war service due to poor health
2.
Austen Chamberlain
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Sir Joseph Austen Chamberlain KG was a British statesman, son of Joseph Chamberlain and half-brother of Neville Chamberlain. He stood for the Liberal Unionist party, which merged with the Conservatives in 1912, as Foreign Secretary, he negotiated the Locarno Pact, aimed at preventing war between France and Germany, for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He was one of the few MPs supporting Winston Churchills appeals for rearmament against the German threat in the 1930s and his mother, the former Harriet Kenrick, died in childbirth, leaving his father so shaken that for almost 25 years he maintained a distance from his first-born son. In 1868, his father married Harriets cousin, Florence, and had further children, Austen was educated first at Rugby School, before passing on to Trinity College, Cambridge. While at Trinity College, he became a friend of F. S. Oliver, a future advocate of Imperial Federation and, after 1909. Chamberlain made his first political address in 1884 at a meeting of the universitys Political Society and was vice-president of the Cambridge Union Society. For nine months, he was shown the brilliance of Paris under the Third Republic, from Paris, Austen was sent to Berlin for twelve months, to imbibe the political culture of the other great European power, Germany. Among others, Austen met and dined with the Iron Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, Austen returned to England in 1888, lured largely by the prize of a parliamentary constituency. He was first elected to parliament as a member of his fathers own Liberal Unionist Party in 1892 and that was highly significant, given the bad blood existing between Joseph Chamberlain and his former leader. Appointed a junior Whip of the Liberal Unionists after the general election, in the wake of the struggle between his father and Balfour, Austen Chamberlain became Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1903. While Austen supported his father’s programme, his influence within the cabinet was diminished following the departure of the senior Chamberlain to become backbenchers, with the Unionists in disarray after two successive electoral defeats in 1910, Balfour was forced from his position as party leader in November 1911. Chamberlain was one of the candidates to succeed as Conservative leader even though he was still technically a member of the Liberal Unionist wing of the coalition. Chamberlain was opposed by Canadian-born Andrew Bonar Law, Walter Long, after a short period of internal party campaigning, Chamberlain determined to withdraw from the contest for the good of the still-divided party. He succeeded in persuading Long to withdraw him in favour of Bonar Law. In the last years before the outbreak of World War I, Chamberlain was concerned with one issue above all others, Chamberlain was resolutely opposed to the dissolution of the Union with Ireland. Chamberlain joined the cabinet as Secretary of State for India and he was widely acclaimed for such a principled act. Later, he returned to government and became a member of the War Cabinet in April 1918 as Minister without Portfolio, replacing Lord Milner, citing ill health, Bonar Law retired from the leadership of the Conservative branch of the Lloyd George government in the spring of 1921. He was succeeded at the Exchequer by Sir Robert Horne, it seemed that after ten years of waiting, Austen would again be given the opportunity of succeeding to the premiership
3.
Aristide Briand
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Aristide Briand was a French statesman who served eleven terms as Prime Minister of France during the French Third Republic and was a co-laureate of the 1926 Nobel Peace Prize. He was born in Nantes, Loire-Atlantique of a bourgeois family. He attended the Nantes Lycée, where, in 1877, he developed a friendship with Jules Verne. He studied law, and soon went into politics, associating himself with the most advanced movements, writing articles for the Syndicalist journal Le Peuple, from this he passed to the Petite République, leaving it to found LHumanité, in collaboration with Jean Jaurès. From that time, Briand was one of the leaders of the French Socialist Party, in 1902, after several unsuccessful attempts, he was elected deputy. He declared himself a partisan of the union of the Left in what was known as the Bloc. From the beginning of his career in the Chamber of Deputies, Briand was occupied with the question of the separation of church and state. He was appointed reporter of the charged with the preparation of the 1905 law on separation. He succeeded in carrying his project through with but slight modifications and he was the principal author of the law of separation, but, not content with preparing it, he wished to apply it as well. The ministry of Maurice Rouvier was allowing disturbances during the taking of inventories of church property, consequently, he accepted the portfolio of Public Instruction and Worship in the Sarrien ministry. So far as the Chamber was concerned, his success was complete, but the acceptance of a position in a bourgeois ministry led to his exclusion from the Unified Socialist Party. As opposed to Jaurès, he contended that the Socialists should co-operate actively with the Radicals in all matters of reform and he became a freemason in the lodge Le Trait dUnion in July 1887 while the lodge didnt record his name in spite of his repeated requests. The lodge declared unworthy to him on 6 September 1889, in 1895 he joined the lodge Les Chevaliers du Travail that was established in 1893. Briand served as Minister of Justice under Clemenceau in 1908-9, before succeeding Clemenceau as Prime Minister on 24 July 1909, in social policy, Briand’s first ministry was notable for the passage of a bill in April 1910 for workers and farmers pensions. That same year, compulsory sickness and old-age insurance was introduced for 8 million rural, however, a law court decision in 1912 that questioned the legality of compulsion “enabled a large proportion of employers and workers to evade the law. At the end of August 1914, following the outbreak of the First World War and he got on well with Lloyd George, who was also, contrary to military advice, keen for operations in the Balkans, and had a long talk with him on 4 February 1915. Briand was the main mover in persuading Maurice Sarrail to accept the Salonika command in August 1915, in October 1915 following an unsuccessful French offensive and the entry of Bulgaria, Briand again became Prime Minister, succeeding René Viviani. He also became Foreign Minister for the first time, a post held by Théophile Delcassé until the final weeks of the previous government
4.
London
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London /ˈlʌndən/ is the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames in the south east of the island of Great Britain and it was founded by the Romans, who named it Londinium. Londons ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its 1. 12-square-mile medieval boundaries. London is a global city in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism. It is crowned as the worlds largest financial centre and has the fifth- or sixth-largest metropolitan area GDP in the world, London is a world cultural capital. It is the worlds most-visited city as measured by international arrivals and has the worlds largest city airport system measured by passenger traffic, London is the worlds leading investment destination, hosting more international retailers and ultra high-net-worth individuals than any other city. Londons universities form the largest concentration of education institutes in Europe. In 2012, London became the first city to have hosted the modern Summer Olympic Games three times, London has a diverse range of people and cultures, and more than 300 languages are spoken in the region. Its estimated mid-2015 municipal population was 8,673,713, the largest of any city in the European Union, Londons urban area is the second most populous in the EU, after Paris, with 9,787,426 inhabitants at the 2011 census. The citys metropolitan area is the most populous in the EU with 13,879,757 inhabitants, the city-region therefore has a similar land area and population to that of the New York metropolitan area. London was the worlds most populous city from around 1831 to 1925, Other famous landmarks include Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, St Pauls Cathedral, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square, and The Shard. The London Underground is the oldest underground railway network in the world, the etymology of London is uncertain. It is an ancient name, found in sources from the 2nd century and it is recorded c.121 as Londinium, which points to Romano-British origin, and hand-written Roman tablets recovered in the city originating from AD 65/70-80 include the word Londinio. The earliest attempted explanation, now disregarded, is attributed to Geoffrey of Monmouth in Historia Regum Britanniae and this had it that the name originated from a supposed King Lud, who had allegedly taken over the city and named it Kaerlud. From 1898, it was accepted that the name was of Celtic origin and meant place belonging to a man called *Londinos. The ultimate difficulty lies in reconciling the Latin form Londinium with the modern Welsh Llundain, which should demand a form *lōndinion, from earlier *loundiniom. The possibility cannot be ruled out that the Welsh name was borrowed back in from English at a later date, and thus cannot be used as a basis from which to reconstruct the original name. Until 1889, the name London officially applied only to the City of London, two recent discoveries indicate probable very early settlements near the Thames in the London area
5.
England
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England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west, the Irish Sea lies northwest of England and the Celtic Sea lies to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east, the country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain in its centre and south, and includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly, and the Isle of Wight. England became a state in the 10th century, and since the Age of Discovery. The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the worlds first industrialised nation, Englands terrain mostly comprises low hills and plains, especially in central and southern England. However, there are uplands in the north and in the southwest, the capital is London, which is the largest metropolitan area in both the United Kingdom and the European Union. In 1801, Great Britain was united with the Kingdom of Ireland through another Act of Union to become the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922 the Irish Free State seceded from the United Kingdom, leading to the latter being renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain, the name England is derived from the Old English name Englaland, which means land of the Angles. The Angles were one of the Germanic tribes that settled in Great Britain during the Early Middle Ages, the Angles came from the Angeln peninsula in the Bay of Kiel area of the Baltic Sea. The earliest recorded use of the term, as Engla londe, is in the ninth century translation into Old English of Bedes Ecclesiastical History of the English People. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, its spelling was first used in 1538. The earliest attested reference to the Angles occurs in the 1st-century work by Tacitus, Germania, the etymology of the tribal name itself is disputed by scholars, it has been suggested that it derives from the shape of the Angeln peninsula, an angular shape. An alternative name for England is Albion, the name Albion originally referred to the entire island of Great Britain. The nominally earliest record of the name appears in the Aristotelian Corpus, specifically the 4th century BC De Mundo, in it are two very large islands called Britannia, these are Albion and Ierne. But modern scholarly consensus ascribes De Mundo not to Aristotle but to Pseudo-Aristotle, the word Albion or insula Albionum has two possible origins. Albion is now applied to England in a poetic capacity. Another romantic name for England is Loegria, related to the Welsh word for England, Lloegr, the earliest known evidence of human presence in the area now known as England was that of Homo antecessor, dating to approximately 780,000 years ago. The oldest proto-human bones discovered in England date from 500,000 years ago, Modern humans are known to have inhabited the area during the Upper Paleolithic period, though permanent settlements were only established within the last 6,000 years
6.
United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
7.
Paris Peace Conference, 1919
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It took place in Paris during 1919 and involved diplomats from more than 32 countries and nationalities. The main result was the Treaty of Versailles with Germany, which in section 231 laid the guilt for the war on the aggression of Germany and this provision proved humiliating for Germany and set the stage for the expensive reparations Germany was intended to pay. They met together informally 145 times and made all the major decisions, the conference opened on 18 January 1919. Key recommendations were folded into the Treaty of Versailles with Germany, the five major powers controlled the Conference. Amongst the Big Five, in practice Japan played a small role, the four met together informally 145 times and made all the major decisions, which in turn were ratified by other attendees. The open meetings of all the approved the decisions made by the Big Four. The conference came to an end on 21 January 1920 with the inaugural General Assembly of the League of Nations, the main result was the Treaty of Versailles, with Germany, which in section 231 laid the guilt for the war on the aggression of Germany and her allies. This provision proved humiliating for Germany and set the stage for very high reparations Germany was supposed to pay, republican Germany was not invited to attend the conference at Versailles. Representatives of White Russia were present, a central issue of the Conference was the disposition of the overseas colonies of Germany. The British dominions wanted their reward for their sacrifice, Australia wanted New Guinea, New Zealand wanted Samoa, and South Africa wanted South West Africa. Wilson wanted the League of Nations to administer all the German colonies until such time as they were ready for independence, Lloyd George realized he needed to support his dominions, and he proposed a compromise that there be three types of mandates. Mandates for the Turkish provinces were one category, they would be divided up between Britain and France, Wilson and the others finally went along with the solution. The dominions received Class C Mandates to the colonies they wanted, Japan obtained mandates over German possessions north of the equator. Wilson wanted no mandates for the United States, his top advisor Colonel House was deeply involved in awarding the others, Wilson was especially offended by Australian demands. He and Hughes had some clashes, with the most famous being, Wilson, But after all. Hughes, I represent sixty thousand dead, prior to Wilsons arrival in Europe in December 1918, no American president had ever visited Europe while in office. High hopes and expectations were placed on him to deliver what he had promised for the post-war era, in doing so, Wilson ultimately began to lead the foreign policy of the United States toward interventionism, a move strongly resisted in some domestic circles. Once Wilson arrived, however, he found rivalries, and conflicting claims previously submerged and he worked mostly trying to sway the direction that the French and British delegations were taking towards Germany and its allies in Europe, as well as the former Ottoman lands in the Middle East
8.
League of Nations
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The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organisation founded on 10 January 1920 as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first international organisation whose mission was to maintain world peace. Its primary goals, as stated in its Covenant, included preventing wars through collective security and disarmament, at its greatest extent from 28 September 1934 to 23 February 1935, it had 58 members. The diplomatic philosophy behind the League represented a shift from the preceding hundred years. The League lacked its own armed force and depended on the Great Powers to enforce its resolutions, keep to its economic sanctions, however, the Great Powers were often reluctant to do so. Sanctions could hurt League members, so they were reluctant to comply with them, after a number of notable successes and some early failures in the 1920s, the League ultimately proved incapable of preventing aggression by the Axis powers in the 1930s. Germany withdrew from the League, as did Japan, Italy, Spain, the onset of the Second World War showed that the League had failed its primary purpose, which was to prevent any future world war. The League lasted for 26 years, the United Nations replaced it after the end of the Second World War on 20 April 1946 and inherited a number of agencies and organisations founded by the League. As historians William H. Harbaugh and Ronald E. Powaski point out, the organisation was international in scope, with a third of the members of parliaments serving as members of the IPU by 1914. Its aims were to encourage governments to solve disputes by peaceful means. Annual conferences were held to help refine the process of international arbitration. Its structure consisted of a council headed by a president, which would later be reflected in the structure of the League, at the start of the 20th century, two power blocs emerged from alliances between the European Great Powers. It was these alliances that, at the start of the First World War in 1914 and this was the first major war in Europe between industrialised countries, and the first time in Western Europe that the results of industrialisation had been dedicated to war. By the time the fighting ended in November 1918, the war had had an impact, affecting the social, political and economic systems of Europe. Anti-war sentiment rose across the world, the First World War was described as the war to end all wars, the causes identified included arms races, alliances, militaristic nationalism, secret diplomacy, and the freedom of sovereign states to enter into war for their own benefit. Goldsworthy Lowes Dickinson, a British political scientist, coined the term League of Nations in 1914, together with Lord Bryce, he played a leading role in the founding of the group of internationalist pacifists known as the Bryce Group, later the League of Nations Union. The group became more influential among the public and as a pressure group within the then governing Liberal Party. In Dickinsons 1915 pamphlet After the War he wrote of his League of Peace as being essentially an organisation for arbitration and conciliation
9.
Covenant of the League of Nations
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The Covenant of the League of Nations was the charter of the League of Nations. Early drafts for a possible League of Nations began even before the end of the First World War, a London-based study group led by James Bryce and G. Lowes Dickinson made proposals adopted by the British League of Nations Society, founded in 1915. Another group in the United States—which included Hamilton Holt and William B, howland at the Century Association in New York City—had their own plan. This plan was supported by the League to Enforce Peace. In December 1916, Lord Robert Cecil suggested that a committee be set up to draft a covenant for a future league. The British committee was appointed in February 1918, it was led by Walter Phillimore but also included Eyre Crowe, William Tyrrell. U. S. President Woodrow Wilson was not impressed with the Phillimore Committees report, further suggestions were made by Jan Christiaan Smuts in December 1918. At the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, a commission was appointed to agree on a covenant, further representatives of Czechoslovakia, Greece, Poland and Romania were later added. The group considered a preliminary draft co-written by Hurst and President Wilsons adviser David Hunter Miller, the group met on ten occasions, and by 11 April 1919, the Hurst-Miller draft was approved with only a few changes. The League would be made up of a General Assembly, an Executive Council, member states were expected to respect and preserve as against external aggression the territorial integrity of other members, and to disarm to the lowest point consistent with domestic safety. All states were required to submit complaints for arbitration or judicial inquiry before going to war, the Executive Council would create a Permanent Court of International Justice to make judgements on the disputes. Major objections came from France and Japan, makino and Chinda requested that a clause upholding the principle of racial equality should be inserted, parallel to the existing religious equality clause. This was deeply opposed, particularly by Americans, and Wilson simply ignored the question, the treaty entered into force on 10 January 1920. Articles 4,6,12,13, and 15 were amended in 1924, the treaty shares similar provisions and structures with the UN Charter. Article X of the Covenant of the League of Nations is the calling for assistance to be given to a member that experiences external aggression. It was signed by the major Peacemakers following the First World War, most notably Britain and France. Due to the nature of the Article, U. S. President Woodrow Wilson was unable to ratify his obligation to join the League of Nations, as a result of strong objection from U. S. politicians. Although Wilson had secured his proposal for a League of Nations in the draft of the Treaty of Versailles
10.
Organisation of the League of Nations
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The League of Nations was established with three main constitutional organs, the Assembly, the Council, the Permanent Secretariat. The two essential wings of the League were the Permanent Court of International Justice and the International Labour Organisation, the relations between the Assembly and the Council were not explicitly defined, and their competencies, with a few exceptions, were much the same. Each body might deal with any matter within the sphere of competence of the League or affecting the peace in the world, particular questions or tasks might be referred either to the Council or the Assembly. Reference might be passed on one body to another. The Permanent Secretariat, established at the seat of the League at Geneva, each Section was responsible for all official secretarial work related to its particular subject and prepared and organized all meetings and conferences held in that connection. The secretariat was often considered to be too small to handle all of the Leagues administrative affairs, for example, the total number of officials classed as members of the Secretariat was 75 in September 1924. The total staff, including all the services, comprised about 400 persons. In general, the League documents may be classified into the categories, document on public sale, documents not on public sale. The specific feature of the documents emanating from the League of Nations was their classification according to the persons they were addressed to, the Assembly consisted of representatives of all Members of the League. Each state was allowed up to three representatives and one vote, a special session of the Assembly might be summoned at the request of a Member, provided a majority of the Members concurred. In practice the Assembly had become the general directing force of League activities, the Plenary Meetings of the First Assembly were held from 15 November to 18 December in Geneva, Switzerland. At the opening session, there were 41 states, six states were admitted during the meetings and consequently were represented during the session. In total, thirty one plenary meeting were held, HE M. Paul Hymans, Belgium M. Giuseppe Motta, Switzerland The Assembly at its Fifth Plenary Meeting elected the six Vice-Presidents. Thirty nine states have taken part in the ballot, so the majority was 20 votes. The sixth Vice-President was elected at a second ballot with 22 votes, Sir Eric Drummond The General Committee of the Assembly was constituted of the President and the 12 Vice-Presidents with Sir Eric Drummond, the Secretary-General. Constitutional questions Chairman, The Right Hon. A. J, M Tittoni Permanent Court of International Justice Chairman, H. E. M. Léon Bourgeois Organisation of the Secretariat and Finances of the League Chairman, M. Quinones de Léon Admission of New Members into the League Chairman, H. E. M. Huneeus Gana Mandates Questions, Armaments, and the Economic Weapon Chairman, M. Branting The League Council acted as a type of executive body directing the Assemblys business
11.
Little Treaty of Versailles
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Little Treaty of Versailles or the Polish Minority Treaty was one of the bilateral Minority Treaties signed between minor powers and the League of Nations in the aftermath of the First World War. The Polish treaty was signed on 28 June 1919, the day as the main Treaty of Versailles was signed. Poland regained independence, after 123 years of partitions, in the aftermath of the First World War. In addition, the treaty declared that Poland had to take over a part of debts of Russian state, provisions of the treaty were obligations of international importance and were guaranteed by the League of Nations. They could not be changed without consent of majority of the League of Nations Council, national minorities could direct their complaints to the League of Nations Council. The treaty was signed by Polish representatives at Versailles on 28 June 1919, the parliament of Poland, the Sejm, ratified the treaty on 31 July 1919, the treaty was implemented on 10 January 1920. Poland renounced it at the League of Nations forum in Geneva on 13 September 1934, amber R. Ricke, THE POLISH GOVERNMENT AND ETHNIC MINORITIES, THE EFFECTS OF NATIONALISM DURING THE INTER-WAR PERIOD Aimee Genel, Were the Minority Treaties a Failure. Defending the Rights of Others, The Great Powers, the Jews, and International Minority Protection Treaty text
12.
League of Nations mandate
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These were of the nature of both a treaty and a constitution, which contained minority rights clauses that provided for the rights of petition and adjudication by the International Court. The mandate system was established under Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations, most of the remaining mandates of the League of Nations thus eventually became United Nations Trust Territories. The mandate system was established by Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations, all of the territories subject to League of Nations mandates were previously controlled by states defeated in World War I, principally Imperial Germany and the Ottoman Empire. The mandates were fundamentally different from the protectorates in that the Mandatory power undertook obligations to the inhabitants of the territory, the process of establishing the mandates consisted of two phases, The formal removal of sovereignty of the state previously controlling the territory. The transfer of powers to individual states among the Allied Powers. Ottoman territorial claims were first addressed in the Treaty of Sèvres, the Turkish territories were allotted among the Allied Powers at the San Remo conference in 1920. Peace treaties have played an important role in the formation of the law of nations. Many rules that govern the relations between states have introduced and codified in the terms of peace treaties. The first twenty-six articles of the Treaty of Versailles contained the Covenant of the League of Nations and it contained the international machinery for the enforcement of the terms of the treaty. Article 22 established a system of Mandates to administer former colonies and territories, Article 22 was written two months before the signing of the peace treaty, before it was known what communities, peoples, or territories were related to sub-paragraphs 4,5, and 6. The treaty was signed, and the conference had been adjourned. The mandates were arrangements guaranteed by, or arising out of the treaty which stipulated that mandates were to be exercised on behalf of the League. The decisions taken at the conferences of the Council of Four were not made on the basis of consultation or League unanimity as stipulated by the Covenant, as a result, the actions of the conferees were viewed by some as having no legitimacy. He pointed out that the League of Nations could do nothing to alter their arrangements, since the League could only act by unanimous consent of its members – including the UK and France. United States Secretary of State Robert Lansing was a member of the American Commission to Negotiate Peace at Paris in 1919. He explained that the system of mandates was a created by the Great Powers to conceal their division of the spoils of war under the color of international law. If the former German and Ottoman territories had been ceded to the victorious powers directly, under the plan of the US Constitution the Congress was delegated the power to declare or define the Law of Nations in cases where its terms might be vague or indefinite. The US Senate refused to ratify the Covenant of the League of Nations, the legal issues surrounding the rule by force and the lack of self-determination under the system of mandates were cited by the Senators who withheld their consent
13.
Treaty of Versailles
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The Treaty of Versailles was the most important of the peace treaties that brought World War I to an end. The Treaty ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers and it was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of World War I signed separate treaties, although the armistice, signed on 11 November 1918, ended the actual fighting, it took six months of Allied negotiations at the Paris Peace Conference to conclude the peace treaty. The treaty was registered by the Secretariat of the League of Nations on 21 October 1919 and this article, Article 231, later became known as the War Guilt clause. The treaty forced Germany to disarm, make substantial territorial concessions, in 1921 the total cost of these reparations was assessed at 132 billion marks. On the other hand, prominent figures on the Allied side such as French Marshal Ferdinand Foch criticized the treaty for treating Germany too leniently, although it is often referred to as the Versailles Conference, only the actual signing of the treaty took place at the historic palace. Most of the negotiations were in Paris, with the Big Four meetings taking place generally at the Quai dOrsay, the First World War was fought across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Countries beyond the war zones were also affected by the disruption of trade, finance. In 1917, two revolutions occurred within the Russian Empire, which led to the collapse of the Imperial Government, the American war aim was to detach the war from nationalistic disputes and ambitions after the Bolshevik disclosure of secret treaties between the Allies. The existence of these treaties tended to discredit Allied claims that Germany was the power with aggressive ambitions. On 8 January 1918, United States President Woodrow Wilson issued a statement that became known as the Fourteen Points and this speech outlined a policy of free trade, open agreements, democracy and self-determination. After the Central Powers launched Operation Faustschlag on the Eastern Front and this treaty ended the war between Russia and the Central powers and annexed 1,300,000 square miles of territory and 62 million people. During the autumn of 1918, the Central Powers began to collapse, desertion rates within the German army began to increase, and civilian strikes drastically reduced war production. On the Western Front, the Allied forces launched the Hundred Days Offensive, sailors of the Imperial German Navy at Kiel mutinied, which prompted uprisings in Germany, which became known as the German Revolution. The German government tried to obtain a settlement based on the Fourteen Points. Following negotiations, the Allied powers and Germany signed an armistice, the terms of the armistice called for an immediate evacuation of German troops from occupied Belgium, France, and Luxembourg within fifteen days. In addition, it established that Allied forces would occupy the Rhineland, in late 1918, Allied troops entered Germany and began the occupation. Both the German Empire and Great Britain were dependent on imports of food and raw materials, primarily from the Americas, the Blockade of Germany was a naval operation conducted by the Allied Powers to stop the supply of raw materials and foodstuffs reaching the Central Powers
14.
Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles
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The article did not use the word guilt but it served as a legal basis to compel Germany to pay reparations for the war. Article 231 was one of the most controversial points of the treaty, Germans viewed this clause as a national humiliation, forcing Germany to accept full responsibility for causing the war. The Allied leaders were surprised at the German reaction, they saw the article only as a legal basis to extract compensation from Germany. The article, with the name changed, was also included in the treaties signed by Germanys allies who did not view the clause with the same disdain as the Germans did. American diplomat John Foster Dulles—one of the two authors of the article—later regretted the wording used, believing it further aggravated the German people, the historical consensus is that responsibility or guilt for the war was not attached to the article. Rather, the clause was a prerequisite to allow a legal basis to be out for the reparation payments that were to be made. Historians have also highlighted the unintended damage created by the clause, on 28 June 1914 the Bosnian-Serb Gavrilo Princip assassinated the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, in the name of Serbian nationalism. This caused a crisis, resulting in Austria-Hungary declaring war on Serbia. Due to a variety of reasons, within weeks the major powers of Europe—divided into two known as the Central Powers and the Triple Entente—went to war. As the conflict progressed, additional countries from around the globe became drawn into the conflict on both sides, fighting would rage across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia for the next four years. On 8 January 1918, United States President Woodrow Wilson issued a statement that became known as the Fourteen Points, during the northern-hemisphere autumn of 1918, the Central Powers began to collapse. The German government attempted to obtain a settlement based on the Fourteen Points. Following negotiations, the Allied Powers and Germany signed an armistice, on 18 January 1919 the Paris Peace Conference began. The conference aimed to establish peace between the belligerents and to establish the post-war world. The Treaty of Versailles resulting from the conference dealt solely with Germany and this treaty, along with the others that were signed during the conference, each took their name from the suburb of Paris where the signings took place. The Americans, British, and French all differed on the issue of reparations settlement, the Western Front had been fought in France, and that countryside had been heavily scarred in the fighting. Frances most industrialized region in the north-east had been laid to waste during the German retreat, hundreds of mines and factories were destroyed along with railroads, bridges and villages. Georges Clemenceau, the Prime Minister of France, thought it appropriate that any just peace required Germany to pay reparations for the damage they had caused
15.
World War I reparations
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World War I reparations were compensation imposed during the Paris Peace Conference upon the Central Powers following their defeat in the First World War by the Allied and Associate Powers. Each of the powers was required to make payments in either cash or kind. Because of the financial situation Austria, Hungary, and Turkey found themselves in after the war, few to no reparations were paid, Bulgaria, having paid only a fraction of what was required, saw its reparation figure reduced and then cancelled. The Treaty of Versailles and the 1921 London Schedule of Payments required Germany to pay 132 billion gold marks in reparations to cover damage caused during the war. This figure was divided into three categories of bonds, A, B, and C, of these, Germany was only required to pay towards A and B bonds totaling 50 billion marks. The remaining C bonds, which Germany did not have to pay, were designed to deceive the Anglo-French public into believing Germany was being fined and punished for the war. This plan outlined a new payment method and raised international loans to help Germany to meet her reparation commitments, with the collapse of the German economy in 1931, reparations were suspended for a year and in 1932 during the Lausanne Conference they were cancelled altogether. Between 1919 and 1932, Germany paid less than 21 billion marks in reparations, the German people saw reparations as a national humiliation, the German Government worked to undermine the validity of the Treaty of Versailles and the requirement to pay. British economist John Maynard Keynes called the treaty a Carthaginian peace that would economically destroy Germany and his arguments had a profound effect on historians, politicians, and the public at large. In 1914, the First World War broke out, for the next four years fighting raged across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. On 8 January 1918, United States President Woodrow Wilson issued a statement that became known as the Fourteen Points, in part, this speech called for Germany to withdraw from the territory it had occupied and for the formation of a League of Nations. During the fourth quarter of 1918, the Central Powers began to collapse, in particular, the German military was decisively defeated on the Western Front and the German navy mutinied, prompting domestic uprisings that became known as the German Revolution. Most of the major battles occurred in France and the French countryside was heavily scarred in the fighting. Furthermore, in 1918 during the German retreat, German troops devastated Frances most industrialized region in the north-east, extensive looting took place as German forces removed whatever material they could use and destroyed the rest. Hundreds of mines were destroyed along with railways, bridges, prime Minister of France Georges Clemenceau was determined, for these reasons, that any just peace required Germany to pay reparations for the damage it had caused. Clemenceau viewed reparations as a way of weakening Germany to ensure it could never threaten France again, Reparations would also go towards the reconstruction costs in other countries, including Belgium, which was also directly affected by the war. He also argued that reparations should include war pensions for disabled veterans and allowances for war widows, Wilson opposed these positions and was adamant that no indemnity should be imposed upon Germany. The Paris Peace Conference opened on 18 January 1919, aiming to establish a peace between the Allied and Central Powers
16.
Hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic
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Hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic was a three-year period of hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic of Germany between June 1921 and January 1924. It caused considerable internal political instability in the country, the occupation of the Ruhr by foreign troops as well as misery for the general populace, to pay for the large costs of the ongoing First World War, Germany suspended the gold standard when the war broke out. The government believed that it would be able to pay off the debt by winning the war, also, it would be able to impose massive reparations on the defeated Allies. The exchange rate of the mark against the US dollar thus steadily devalued from 4.2 to 7.9 marks per dollar, the strategy backfired when Germany lost the war. The new Weimar Republic was now saddled with a war debt that it could not afford. That was made worse by the fact that it was printing money without the economic resources to back it up. The Treaty of Versailles further accelerated the decline in the value of the mark so 48 paper marks were required to buy a US dollar by late 1919, German currency was relatively stable at about 90 marks per dollar during the first half of 1921. Because the Western Front was mostly in France and Belgium, Germany came out of the war with most of its industrial infrastructure intact and it was, in fact, in a better position to become the dominant economic force on the European continent. The first payment was made, when it came due in June 1921 and it marked the beginning of an increasingly rapid devaluation of the mark, which fell in value to approximately 330 marks per dollar. The total reparations demanded were 132 billion gold marks, but Germany had to pay only 50 billion marks and that greatly exacerbated the inflation of the paper mark. From August 1921, Germany began to buy foreign currency with marks at any price, as the mark sank in international markets, more and more marks were required to buy the foreign currency that was demanded by the Reparations Commission. In the first half of 1922, the mark stabilized at about 320 marks per dollar, international reparations conferences were being held. One, in June 1922, was organized by US investment banker J. P. Morgan, the meetings produced no workable solution and so inflation changed to hyperinflation, and the mark fell to 7,400 marks per US dollar by December 1922. The cost-of-living index was 41 in June 1922 and 685 in December, by fall 1922, Germany found itself unable to make reparations payments since the price of gold was now well beyond what it could afford. Also, the mark was by now practically worthless, making it impossible for Germany to buy foreign exchange or gold using paper marks, instead, reparations were to be paid in goods such as coal. In January 1923, French and Belgian troops occupied the Ruhr, inflation was exacerbated when workers in the Ruhr went on a general strike and the German government printed more money to continue paying for their passive resistance. By November 1923, the US dollar was worth 4,210,500,000,000 German marks, the hyperinflation crisis led prominent economists and politicians to seek a means to stabilize German currency. In August 1923, an economist, Karl Helfferich, proposed a plan to issue a new currency, the plan was rejected because of the greatly fluctuating price of rye in paper marks
17.
Young Plan
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The Young Plan was a program for settling German reparations debts after World War I written in 1929 and formally adopted in 1930. It was presented by the committee headed by American industrialist Owen D, the Inter-Allied Reparations Commission established the German reparation sum at a theoretical total of 132 billion, but a practical total of 50 billion gold marks. After the Dawes Plan was put into operation in 1924, it became apparent that Germany would not willingly meet the annual payments over a period of time. The Young Plan reduced further payments by about 20 percent. P, the Committee, which had been appointed by the Allied Reparations Committee, met in the first half of 1929, and submitted its first report on June 7 of that year. In addition to Young, the United States was represented by J. P. Morgan, Jr. the prominent banker, the report met with great objections from the United Kingdom but, after a first Hague Conference, a plan was finalized on August 31. The plan was adopted at a second Hague Conference, in January 1930. Amongst other provisions, the called for an international bank of settlements to handle the reparations transfers. The resulting Bank for International Settlements was duly established at the Hague Conference in January, between agreement and adoption of the plan came the Wall Street Crash of 1929, of which the main consequences were twofold. The American banking system had to recall money from Europe, moreover, the downfall of imports and exports affected the rest of the world. By 1933, almost two-thirds of world trade had vanished, a new trade policy was set with the Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act. The latter was influenced by nationalism and the economic policy. Unemployment soared to 33. 7% in 1931 in Germany, under such circumstances, U. S. President Herbert Hoover issued a public statement that proposed a one-year moratorium on the payments. He managed to support for the moratorium from 15 nations by July 1931. But the adoption of the moratorium did little to slow decline in Europe. Germany was gripped by a banking crisis. A final effort was made at the Lausanne Conference of 1932, here, representatives from Great Britain, France, Italy, Belgium, Germany and Japan gathered to come to an agreement. By that time it was clear that the depression had made it impossible for Germany to resume its reparations payments. They agreed, Not to press Germany for immediate payments, to reduce indebtedness by nearly 90% and require Germany to prepare for the issuance of bonds
18.
Causes of World War II
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Some long-term causes of World War II are found in the conditions preceding World War I and seen as common for both World Wars. Supporters of this view paraphrase Clausewitz, World War II was a continuation of World War I by the same means, in fact, World Wars had been expected before Mussolini and Hitler came to power and Japan invaded China. The immediate cause was Britain and France declaring war on Germany after it invaded Poland in September 1939, problems arose in Weimar Germany that experienced strong currents of revanchism after the Treaty of Versailles that concluded its defeat in World War I in 1918. The most serious internal cause in Germany was the instability of the political system, tensions created by those ideologies and the dissatisfactions of those powers with the interwar international order steadily increased. The stage was set for the Danzig crisis to become the immediate trigger of the war in Europe started on 1 September 1939. This provoked the then neutral United States to respond with an embargo, the internationalist-minded, radical Bolsheviks seized power in Russia in November 1917, with the goal of overthrowing capitalism across the world. They supported communist parties in countries and helped set up similar regimes in Hungary and Bavaria, Azerbaijan. By 1920 there was a corridor of anti-communist border states just west of Russia, however, these states feuded among themselves, and such alliances they formed, like the Little Entente, were unstable. Both Italian and German fascism were in part a reaction to international communist and socialist uprisings, a further factor in Germany was the success of Freikorps in crushing the Bolshevik Bavarian Soviet Republic in Munich in 1919. Many of these veterans became early components of the Nazis SA, the street violence would help shift moderate opinion towards the need for Germany to find an anti-communist strongman to restore stability to German life. Expansionism is the doctrine of expanding the base of a country. In Europe, Italy under Benito Mussolini sought to create a New Roman Empire based around the Mediterranean and it invaded Albania in early 1939, at the start of the war, and later invaded Greece. Italy had also invaded Ethiopia as early as 1935 and this provoked angry words and an oil embargo from the League of Nations, which failed. Under the Nazi regime, Germany began its own program of expansion, as a prelude toward these goals the Rhineland was remilitarized in March 1936. In Asia, the Empire of Japan harbored expansionist desires towards Manchuria, militarism is the principle or policy of maintaining a large military establishment, with the view that military efficiency is the supreme ideal of a state. A highly militaristic and aggressive national ideology prevailed in Germany, Japan, twentieth-century events marked the culmination of a millennium-long process of intermingling between Germans and Slavs. Over the centuries, many Germans had settled in the east, such migratory patterns created enclaves and blurred ethnic frontiers. The rise of nationalism in the 19th century made race a centerpiece of political loyalty, the rise of the nation-state had given way to the politics of identity, including Pan-Germanism and Pan-Slavism
19.
International Opium Convention
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The International Opium Convention, signed at The Hague on January 23,1912 during the First International Opium Conference, was the first international drug control treaty. It was registered in League of Nations Treaty Series on January 23,1922, the United States convened a 13-nation conference of the International Opium Commission in 1909 in Shanghai, China in response to increasing criticism of the opium trade. The treaty was signed by Germany, the United States, China, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Persia, Portugal, Russia, the Convention was implemented in 1915 by the United States, Netherlands, China, Honduras, and Norway. It went into force globally in 1919 when it was incorporated into the Treaty of Versailles, the primary objective of the convention was to introduce restrictions on exports as opposed to imposing prohibition or criminalising the use and cultivation of opium, coca, and cannabis. It introduced a statistical system to be supervised by a Permanent Central Opium Board. India and other countries objected to this language, citing social and religious customs, accordingly, this provision never made it into the final treaty. It also required Parties to exercise a control of such a nature as to prevent the illicit international traffic in Indian hemp. These restrictions still left considerable leeway for countries to allow production, internal trade, the Convention was superseded by the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. Legal issues of cannabis The cannabis problem, A note on the problem, the beginnings of international drug control, UN Chronicle, Summer,1998. International Opium Convention Signed at The Hague January 23,1912, Text of the 1912 convention Text of the 1925 convention Signatures and ratifications. The 1912 Hague International Opium Convention, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Opium Museum A primer on the UN Drug Control Conventions Transnational Institute, losing Ground, Drug Control and War in Afghanistan Transnational Institute
20.
Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (1919)
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The Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye was signed on 10 September 1919 by the victorious Allies of World War I on the one hand and by the Republic of German-Austria on the other. The treaty signing ceremony took place at the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, already on 21 October 1918,208 German-speaking delegates of the Austrian Imperial Council had convened in a provisional national assembly of German-Austria at the Lower Austrian Landtag. While the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Army culminated at the Battle of Vittorio Veneto, in the course of the Aster Revolution on 31 October, the newly established Democratic Republic of Hungary under Minister President Mihály Károlyi declared the real union with Austria terminated. With the Armistice of Villa Giusti on 3 November 1918, the fate of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy was sealed, moreover, South Tyrol and Trentino were occupied by Italian forces and Yugoslav troops entered the former Duchy of Carinthia, leading to violent fights. An Austrian Constitutional Assembly election was held on 16 February 1919, the Assembly re-elected Karl Renner state chancellor and enacted the Habsburg Law concerning the banishment of the House of Lorraine. When Chancellor Renner arrived at Saint-Germain in May 1919, he, upon an Allied ultimatum, Renner signed the treaty on 10 September. The Treaty of Trianon in June 1920 between Hungary and the Allies completed the disposition of the former Dual Monarchy, the treaty declared that the Austro-Hungarian Empire was to be dissolved. According to article 177, the Austrian side accepted responsibility for causing the war along with the Central Powers, the treaty included war reparations of large sums of money, directed towards the Allies. The Austrian Silesia province upon the Polish–Czechoslovak War of January 1919 was split between Czech Silesia and Polish Cieszyn Silesia incorporated into Silesian Voivodeship and these cessions concerned a large German-speaking population in German Bohemia and Sudetenland. The former Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, made up of the territory the Habsburg Monarchy had annexed in the 1772 First Partition of Poland, the adjacent Bukovina in the east passed to the Kingdom of Romania. Also Bosnia and Herzegovina was given to it, austria-Hungarys only overseas possession, its concession in Tianjin, was turned over to China. Burgenland, i. e. the predominantly German-speaking western parts of the Hungarian counties of Moson, Sopron, the affiliation of the Southern Carinthian territory with its Slovene-speaking share of population was to be decided in a Carinthian Plebiscite. Accordingly, the new republics initial self-chosen name of German-Austria had to be changed to Austria, many Austrians would come to find this term harsh, due to Austrias later economic weakness, which was caused by loss of land. The economic weakness of Austria would later lead to support for the idea of Anschluss with Nazi Germany, conscription was abolished and the Austrian Army was limited to a force of 30,000 volunteers. There were numerous provisions dealing with Danubian navigation, the transfer of railways, for a time, the countrys very unity was called into question. Unlike its former Hungarian partner, Austria had never been a nation in the sense of the word. While the Austrian state had existed in one form or another for over 700 years, it had no unifying force other than loyalty to the Habsburgs
21.
Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine
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The Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine required Bulgaria to cede various territories, after Bulgaria had been one of the Central Powers defeated in World War I. The treaty was signed on 27 November 1919 at Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, the treaty required Bulgaria to cede Western Thrace to the Entente thereby cutting off Bulgarias direct outlet to the Aegean Sea. The signing ceremony was held in Neuillys town hall, in Bulgaria, the results of the treaty are popularly known as the Second National Catastrophe. Bulgaria subsequently regained South Dobruja as a result of the Treaty of Craiova, during World War II, together with Nazi Germany, it temporarily reoccupied most of the other territories ceded under the treaty. Four minor regions had been part of Bulgaria from its inception as a principality in 1878, except for the region around Strumitsa, some areas with a Bulgarian majority population were ceded to Serbia. Territories ceded by the treaty to the then Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, in Serbia, to which the term generally applies in Bulgaria, the territory ceded is split between the modern Serbian District of Pirot and District of Pčinja. It also includes a section along the Timok River in the municipality and District of Zaječar. In 1919, the area corresponded to the parts of the Bulgarian okrugs, Kyustendil,661 km2, Tzaribrod 418 km2, Tran 278 km2, Kula 172 km2. Bulgarian sources claim that the Bulgarian population made 98% of the population in Bosilegrad, in the Yugoslav census of 1931, all South Slavs were simply counted as Yugoslavs so a comparison could not be made. According to the last Census in Serbia from 2002, Bulgarians made 50%, Bulgarians in Macedonia Bulgarians in Serbia List of treaties Minority Treaties Western Outlands Borisova, Galina M. Bulgaria, Greece and Britains Policy 1919. The treaties of Neuilly-sur-Seine and Sevres, or the redefining of a new Balkan Europe, Bulgarian Historical Review-Revue Bulgare dHistoire 3-4, 99-113. Greek Macedonia and the Convention of Neuilly, Balkan Studies 3#1 pp 169-184, text of the Treaty Map of Europe at time of Treaty of Neuilly at omniatlas. com
22.
Treaty of Trianon
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The treaty regulated the status of an independent Hungarian state and defined its borders. It left Hungary as a state covering 93,073 square kilometres. Its population was 7.6 million, only 36% of the kingdoms population of 20.9 million. The areas that were allocated to neighbouring countries in total possessed a majority of non-Hungarian population, five of the pre-war kingdoms ten largest cities were drawn into other countries. The treaty limited Hungarys army to 35,000 officers and men, the principal beneficiaries of territorial division of pre-war Kingdom of Hungary were the Kingdom of Romania, the Czechoslovak Republic, and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. One of the elements of the treaty was the doctrine of self-determination of peoples. In addition, Hungary had to pay war reparations to its neighbours, the treaty was dictated by the Allies rather than negotiated and the Hungarians had no option but to accept its terms. The Hungarian delegation signed the treaty under protest on 4 June 1920 at the Grand Trianon Palace in Versailles, the treaty was registered in League of Nations Treaty Series on 24 August 1921. The modern boundaries of Hungary are the same as those defined by the Treaty of Trianon except for three villages that were transferred to Czechoslovakia in 1947, the Hungarian government terminated its union with Austria on 31 October 1918, officially dissolving the Austro-Hungarian state. The de facto borders of independent Hungary were defined by the ceasefire lines in November–December 1918. On 1 December 1918, the National Assembly of Romanians in Transylvania declared union with the Kingdom of Romania, Slovakia, which became part of Czechoslovakia. That was signed on 6 December 1918, territories of Banat, Bačka and Baranja came under military control of the Kingdom of Serbia and political control of local South Slavs. The Great Peoples Assembly of Serbs, Bunjevci and other Slavs from Banat, Bačka, the ceasefire line had a character of temporary international border until the treaty. The city of Fiume was occupied by the Italian Army and its affiliation was a matter of international dispute between the Kingdom of Italy and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. Croatian-populated territories in modern Međimurje remained under Hungarian control after the agreement of Belgrade from 13 November 1918. After the Romanian Army advanced beyond this line, the Entente powers asked Hungary to acknowledge the new Romanian territory gains by a new line set along the Tisza river. Unable to reject these terms and unwilling to accept them, the leaders of the Hungarian Democratic Republic resigned, in spite of the country being under Allied blockade, the Hungarian Soviet Republic was formed and the Hungarian Red Army was rapidly set up. In the end, this invitation was not issued
23.
Partition of the Ottoman Empire
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The partition of the Ottoman Empire was a political event that occurred after World War I and the occupation of Constantinople by British, French and Italian troops in November 1918. The partitioning was planned in several made by the Allies early in the course of World War I. As world war loomed, the Ottoman Empire sought protection but was rejected by Britain, France, and Russia, the huge conglomeration of territories and peoples that formerly comprised the Ottoman Empire was divided into several new states. The Ottoman Empire had been the leading Islamic state in geopolitical, cultural and ideological terms. The partitioning of the Ottoman Empire led to the rise in the Middle East of Western powers such as Britain and France and brought the creation of the modern Arab world and the Republic of Turkey. Resistance to the influence of these came from the Turkish national movement. The Ottoman Empires possessions in the Arabian Peninsula became the Kingdom of Hejaz, which was annexed by the Sultanate of Nejd, and the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen. The Empires possessions on the shores of the Persian Gulf were variously annexed by Saudi Arabia, or remained British protectorates. After the Ottoman government collapsed completely it signed the Treaty of Sèvres in 1920, however, the Turkish War of Independence forced the European powers to return to the negotiating table before the treaty could be ratified. The Europeans and the Grand National Assembly of Turkey signed and ratified the new Treaty of Lausanne in 1923, superseding the Treaty of Sèvres and solidifying most of the territorial issues. One unresolved issue, the dispute between the Kingdom of Iraq and the Republic of Turkey over the province of Mosul was later negotiated under the League of Nations in 1926. The British and French partitioned the eastern part of the Middle East, also called Greater Syria, other secret agreements were concluded with Italy and Russia. The Balfour Declaration encouraged the international Zionist movement to push for a Jewish homeland in the Palestine region, while a part of the Triple Entente, Russia also had wartime agreements preventing it from participating in the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire after the Russian Revolution. The Treaty of Sèvres formally acknowledged the new League of Nations mandates in the region, the independence of Yemen, the Western powers had long believed that they would eventually become dominant in the area claimed by the weak central government of the Ottoman Empire. These powers disagreed over their contradictory post-war aims and made several dual, Syria and Lebanon became a French protectorate. French control was met immediately with armed resistance, and, in order to combat Arab nationalism, France divided the Mandate area into Lebanon, Greater Lebanon was the name of a territory created by France. It was the precursor of modern Lebanon and it existed between 1 September 1920 and 23 May 1926. France carved its territory from the Levantine land mass in order to create a haven for the Maronite Christian population
24.
San Remo conference
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The San Remo conference was an international meeting of the post-World War I Allied Supreme Council, held at Villa Devachan in Sanremo, Italy, from 19 to 26 April 1920. It was attended by the four Principal Allied Powers of World War I who were represented by the ministers of Britain, France and Italy. Resolutions passed at this conference determined the allocation of Class A League of Nations mandates for the administration of former Ottoman territories in the Middle East. The precise boundaries of all territories were left unspecified, to be determined by the Principal Allied Powers, the conference decisions were embodied in the Treaty of Sèvres. As Turkey rejected this treaty, the decisions with regard to the Palestine mandate were finally confirmed by the Council of the League of Nations on 24 July 1922. In July 1919 the parliament of Greater Syria had refused to acknowledge any right claimed by the French Government to any part of Syrian territory. On 30 September 1918 supporters of the Arab Revolt in Damascus declared a government loyal to Sharif Hussein, a Pan-Syrian Congress, meeting in Damascus, had declared an independent state of Syria on 8 March 1920. Faisal was declared the head of state, at the same time Prince Zeid, Faisals brother, was declared regent of Mesopotamia. The San Remo conference was hastily convened and it was attended by the prime ministers of Great Britain, France, and Italy, and representatives of Japan, Greece, and Belgium. Great Britain and France agreed to recognize the independence of Syria and Mesopotamia. Palestine was composed of the Ottoman administrative districts of southern Syria, under international law, premature recognition of its independence would be a gross affront to the government of the newly declared parent state. It could have been construed as a belligerent act of intervention without any League of Nations sanction, for France, the San Remo decision meant that most of its claims in Syria were internationally recognized and relations with Faisal were now subject to French military and economic considerations. The ability of Great Britain to limit French action was significantly diminished. France issued an ultimatum and intervened militarily at the Battle of Maysalun in June 1920, deposing the Arab government, in 1920, Great Britain appointed Herbert Samuel, 1st Viscount Samuel as high commissioner and established a mandatory government in Palestine that remained in power until 1948. Article 22 of the League of Nations Covenant, which contained the rules to be applied to all Mandated Territories, was written two months before the signing of the Versaille Peace Treaty. It was not known at time to which territories paragraphs 4,5 and 6 would relate. Those 10 territorial areas were administered under 15 mandates. The decisions of the San Remo conference confirmed the mandate allocations of the First Conference of London, the San Remo Resolution adopted on 25 April 1920 incorporated the Balfour Declaration of 1917
25.
Turkish National Movement
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The Ottomans saw the movement as part of an international conspiracy against them. The Turkish revolutionaries rebelled against this partitioning and against the Treaty of Sèvres, signed in 1920 by the Ottoman government, the movement declared that the only source of governance for the Turkish people would be the democratic Grand National Assembly of Turkey. The movement was created in 1919 through a series of agreements and conferences throughout Anatolia, the Amasya Agreement was important in many respects. It was the first call to the movement against the occupying powers. It consisted of talks about national independence, based on provinces, even in this declaration we saw the roots of what constitutes the Turk as a political term, there was no distinction or reference to race or religion. The message read as follows, The unity of the motherland, the Istanbul government is unable to carry out its responsibilities. It is only through the effort and determination that national independence will be won. It is necessary to establish a committee, free from all external influences and control. It has been decided to hold immediately a National Congress in Sivas, three representatives from each province should be sent immediately to the Sivas Congress. To be prepared for every eventuality, this subject should be kept a national secret, there will be a congress for the Eastern Provinces on July 10. The delegation from the Erzurum Congress will depart to join to the meeting in Sivas. This agreement was signed by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Rauf Orbay, Ali Fuat Cebesoy, Refet Bele and it was probably also meant to remind all other parties of Wilsons 14 Points and the fact that the Nationalists were aware of them. What began as a suggestion to the Nationalists to accept the American Mandate at the time of the Erzurum Congress, the Sivas Congress was the first time the fourteen leaders of the movement united under a single roof. These people formed a plan between 16 and 29 October and they agreed that the parliament should meet in Constantinople, even if it were obvious that this parliament could not function under the occupation. It was a chance to build the base and legitimacy. Mustafa Kemal established two concepts into this program, independence and integrity, Mustafa Kemal was setting the stage for conditions which would legitimize this organization and illegitimate the Ottoman parliament. These conditions were also mentioned in the Wilsonian rules, Mustafa Kemal opened the National Congress at Sivas, with delegates from the entire nation taking part. The Erzurum resolutions were transformed into an appeal, and the name of the organization changed to the Society to Defend the Rights and Interests of the Provinces of Anatolia
26.
Turkish War of Independence
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Few of the occupying British, French, and Italian troops had been deployed or engaged in combat. The Turkish National Movement in Anatolia culminated in the formation of a new Grand National Assembly by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, after the end of the Turkish-Armenian, Franco-Turkish, Greco-Turkish fronts, the Treaty of Sèvres was abandoned and the Treaties of Kars and Lausanne were signed. The Allies left Anatolia and Eastern Thrace, and the Grand National Assembly of Turkey decided on the establishment of a Republic in Turkey, on 3 March 1924, the Ottoman Caliphate was officially abolished and the last Caliph was exiled. On October 30,1918, the Armistice of Mudros was signed between the Ottoman Empire and the Allies of World War I, bringing hostilities in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I to a close. However, dismantling the Ottoman government and partitioning the Ottoman Empire among the Allied nations had been an objective of the Entente since the start of the war, a wave of seizures took place in the following months by the Allies. On December 1, British troops based in Syria occupied Kilis, beginning in December, French troops began successive seizures of Ottoman territory, including the towns of Antakya, Mersin, Tarsus, Ceyhan, Adana, Osmaniye and Islahiye. The first bullet was fired by Mehmet Çavuş in Dörtyol against the French on December 19,1918, on January 19,1919, the Paris Peace Conference opened, a meeting of Allied nations that set the peace terms for the defeated Central Powers, including the Ottoman Empire. As a special body of the Paris Conference, The Inter-Allied Commission on Mandates in Turkey was established to pursue the secret treaties they had signed between 1915 and 1917, among the objectives was a new Hellenic Empire based on the Megali Idea. This was promised by British Prime Minister David Lloyd George to Greece, Italy sought control over the southern part of Anatolia under the Agreement of St. -Jean-de-Maurienne. France expected to control over Hatay, Lebanon and Syria. France signed the French-Armenian Agreement and promised the realization of an Armenian state in the Mediterranean region in exchange to the French Armenian Legion, meanwhile, Allied countries continued to lay claim to portions of the quickly crumbling Ottoman Empire. On April 30, Italy responded to the idea of Greek incorporation of Western Anatolia by also sending a warship to Smyrna as a show of force against the Greek campaign. A large Italian force also landed in Antalya, the Greek campaign of Western Anatolia began on May 15,1919, as Greek troops began landing in Smyrna. He and his carefully selected staff left Constantinople aboard the old steamer SS Bandirma for Samsun on the evening of May 16,1919, resistance to Allied demands began at the very onset of the Ottoman Empire′s defeat in World War I. Many Ottoman officials organized the secret Sentinel Association in reaction to the policies of the Allies, the objective of the Sentinel Association was to thwart Allied demands through passive and active resistance. Many Ottoman officials participated in efforts to conceal from the occupying authorities details of the independence movement spreading throughout Anatolia. Munitions initially seized by the Allies were secretly smuggled out of Constantinople into Central Anatolia, mirliva Ali Fuad Paşa in the meantime had moved his XX Corps from Ereğli to Ankara and started organizing resistance groups, including Circassian immigrants under Çerkes Ethem. The most prominent idea given for the Sultan’s decision was by assigning these officers out of the capital, Mustafa Kemal Paşa and his colleagues stepped ashore on May 19 and set up their first quarters in the Mintika Palace Hotel
27.
Treaty of Lausanne
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The Treaty of Lausanne was a peace treaty signed in Lausanne, Switzerland, on 24 July 1923. The original text of the treaty is in French, the Treaty of Lausanne ended the conflict and defined the borders of the modern Turkish Republic. In the treaty, Turkey gave up all claims to the remainder of the Ottoman Empire and in return the Allies recognized Turkish sovereignty within its new borders. The treaty was ratified by Turkey on 23 August 1923, Greece on 25 August 1923, Italy on 12 March 1924, Japan on 15 May 1924, Great Britain on 16 July 1924. The treaty came into force on 6 August 1924, when the instruments of ratification had been deposited in Paris. Negotiations were undertaken during the Conference of Lausanne, where İsmet İnönü was the negotiator for Turkey. Lord Curzon, the British Foreign Secretary of that time, was the negotiator for the Allies. On 20 November 1922, the conference was opened and after strenuous debate was interrupted by Turkish protest on 4 February 1923. After reopening on 23 April, and following protests by the Turks and tense debates. The Allied delegation included negotiators such as U. S. Admiral Mark L. Bristol, the treaty was composed of 143 articles with major sections including, Convention on the Turkish Straits Trade Agreements Binding letters. The treaty provided for the independence of the Republic of Turkey but also for the protection of the Greek Orthodox Christian minority in Turkey and the Muslim minority in Greece. Turkey also formally accepted the loss of Cyprus as well as Egypt and Anglo-Egyptian Sudan to the British Empire, the fate of the province of Mosul was left to be determined through the League of Nations. However, the definition of Turkeys southern border in Article 3 also meant that Turkey officially ceded them and these territories included Yemen, Asir and parts of Hejaz like the city of Medina. They were held by Turkish forces until 23 January 1919, Turkey officially ceded Adakale Island in River Danube to Romania with Articles 25 and 26 of the Treaty of Lausanne, by formally recognizing the related provisions in the Treaty of Trianon of 1920. Due to a diplomatic irregularity at the 1878 Congress of Berlin, the United States Senate refused to ratify the treaty, and consequently Turkey annulled the concession. The Treaty of Lausanne led to the recognition of the sovereignty of the new Republic of Turkey as the successor state of the defunct Ottoman Empire. The Convention on the Turkish Straits lasted only thirteen years and was replaced with the Montreux Convention Regarding the Regime of the Turkish Straits in 1936, the customs limitations in the treaty were shortly reworked. Political amnesty was applied to the 150 personae non gratae of Turkey who slowly acquired citizenship — the last one was in 1974
28.
The Inquiry
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The Inquiry was a study group established in September 1917 by Woodrow Wilson to prepare materials for the peace negotiations following World War I. The group, composed of around 150 academics, was directed by presidential adviser Edward House, the Heads of Research were Walter Lippmann, who was later replaced by Isaiah Bowman. The group first worked out of the New York Public Library, mezess senior colleagues were geographer Isaiah Bowman, historian and librarian Archibald Cary Coolidge, historian James Shotwell, and lawyer David Hunter Miller. Golder, a professor from Washington State University specializing in the diplomatic history of Russia, who wrote papers on Ukraine, Lithuania, Poland. Some members would later establish the Council on Foreign Relations, which is independent of the government
29.
Locarno
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It has a population of about 16,000, and about 56,000 for the agglomeration of the same name including Ascona besides other municipalities. The town of Locarno is located on the part of Maggias delta. It is the 74th largest city in Switzerland by population and the third largest in the Ticino canton, after Lugano, the official language of Locarno is Italian. The town is known for hosting the Locarno International Film Festival which takes place every year in August and involves open-air screenings at the main square and it is also known for the Locarno Treaties, a series of European territorial agreements negotiated here in October 1925. In January 2004, the Italian historian Marino Vigano speculated that Locarnos castle may have designed by Leonardo da Vinci. In 1934 in the vicinity of todays Via S. Jorio, some of the urns were directly buried, while others were placed in boxes of uncut stone. The urns contained, in addition to burned bones, bronze ornaments, similar urns were also discovered in the district of S. Antonio, which was probably also a small cemetery. The ceramic and bronze objects date from the Canegrate culture, however, no traces of the settlement have been discovered. In 1935, a necropolis was discovered at Solduno. The over 200 graves cover nearly a thousand years, from the La Tène culture to the 3rd century AD, many of the La Tène era grave goods are Celtic style Fibulae or brooches. These objects demonstrate a cultural influence from regions north of the Alps, however, the ceramic objects are indigenous to Golasecca culture which spread into Ticino and Lombardy. Between 1946 and 1949, a number of Roman era tombs were discovered on the terrace between the churches of Santa Maria in Selva and San Giovanni Battista in Solduno, the Roman city that became Locarno was therefore between the vicus of Muralto and this cemetery. Unfortunately, intensive construction and agricultural activity have destroyed most traces of the ancient city, in 1995 and 1997,57 graves were found in Via Valle Maggia. Nineteen were from the Roman period, which confirms that even in the 3rd century AD cremation, among other significant finds, a number of glass items were discovered. The Roman necropolis was used from the end of the prehistoric La Tène era until the middle of the 3rd century AD, the extensive Romanization of Locarno wiped out much of the local culture and replaced it with ancient Roman elements. However, it appears there was no Roman ruling class which could have dominated the local population. The capitanei were a group of prominent noble families who emerged in the early Middle Ages, the term is first mentioned in a document granting market rights to the town by the Emperor Frederick I in 1164. This title was reserved only the direct vassals of the kings fief
30.
Switzerland
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Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a federal republic in Europe. It consists of 26 cantons, and the city of Bern is the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in western-Central Europe, and is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland is a country geographically divided between the Alps, the Swiss Plateau and the Jura, spanning an area of 41,285 km2. The establishment of the Old Swiss Confederacy dates to the medieval period, resulting from a series of military successes against Austria. Swiss independence from the Holy Roman Empire was formally recognized in the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. The country has a history of armed neutrality going back to the Reformation, it has not been in a state of war internationally since 1815, nevertheless, it pursues an active foreign policy and is frequently involved in peace-building processes around the world. In addition to being the birthplace of the Red Cross, Switzerland is home to international organisations. On the European level, it is a member of the European Free Trade Association. However, it participates in the Schengen Area and the European Single Market through bilateral treaties, spanning the intersection of Germanic and Romance Europe, Switzerland comprises four main linguistic and cultural regions, German, French, Italian and Romansh. Due to its diversity, Switzerland is known by a variety of native names, Schweiz, Suisse, Svizzera. On coins and stamps, Latin is used instead of the four living languages, Switzerland is one of the most developed countries in the world, with the highest nominal wealth per adult and the eighth-highest per capita gross domestic product according to the IMF. Zürich and Geneva have each been ranked among the top cities in the world in terms of quality of life, with the former ranked second globally, according to Mercer. The English name Switzerland is a compound containing Switzer, a term for the Swiss. The English adjective Swiss is a loan from French Suisse, also in use since the 16th century. The name Switzer is from the Alemannic Schwiizer, in origin an inhabitant of Schwyz and its associated territory, the Swiss began to adopt the name for themselves after the Swabian War of 1499, used alongside the term for Confederates, Eidgenossen, used since the 14th century. The data code for Switzerland, CH, is derived from Latin Confoederatio Helvetica. The toponym Schwyz itself was first attested in 972, as Old High German Suittes, ultimately related to swedan ‘to burn’
31.
World War I
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World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War, or the War to End All Wars, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history and it was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and paved the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. The war drew in all the worlds great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances, the Allies versus the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. These alliances were reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war, Italy, Japan, the trigger for the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. This set off a crisis when Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia. Within weeks, the powers were at war and the conflict soon spread around the world. On 25 July Russia began mobilisation and on 28 July, the Austro-Hungarians declared war on Serbia, Germany presented an ultimatum to Russia to demobilise, and when this was refused, declared war on Russia on 1 August. Germany then invaded neutral Belgium and Luxembourg before moving towards France, after the German march on Paris was halted, what became known as the Western Front settled into a battle of attrition, with a trench line that changed little until 1917. On the Eastern Front, the Russian army was successful against the Austro-Hungarians, in November 1914, the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers, opening fronts in the Caucasus, Mesopotamia and the Sinai. In 1915, Italy joined the Allies and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers, Romania joined the Allies in 1916, after a stunning German offensive along the Western Front in the spring of 1918, the Allies rallied and drove back the Germans in a series of successful offensives. By the end of the war or soon after, the German Empire, Russian Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, national borders were redrawn, with several independent nations restored or created, and Germanys colonies were parceled out among the victors. During the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the Big Four imposed their terms in a series of treaties, the League of Nations was formed with the aim of preventing any repetition of such a conflict. This effort failed, and economic depression, renewed nationalism, weakened successor states, and feelings of humiliation eventually contributed to World War II. From the time of its start until the approach of World War II, at the time, it was also sometimes called the war to end war or the war to end all wars due to its then-unparalleled scale and devastation. In Canada, Macleans magazine in October 1914 wrote, Some wars name themselves, during the interwar period, the war was most often called the World War and the Great War in English-speaking countries. Will become the first world war in the sense of the word. These began in 1815, with the Holy Alliance between Prussia, Russia, and Austria, when Germany was united in 1871, Prussia became part of the new German nation. Soon after, in October 1873, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors between the monarchs of Austria-Hungary, Russia and Germany
32.
Western Europe
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Western Europe, or West Europe, is the region comprising the western part of Europe. Below, some different geographic and geopolitical definitions of the term are outlined, prior to the Roman conquest, a large part of Western Europe had adopted the newly developed La Tène culture. This cultural and linguistic division was reinforced by the later political east-west division of the Roman Empire. The division between these two was enhanced during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages by a number of events, the Western Roman Empire collapsed, starting the Early Middle Ages. By contrast, the Eastern Roman Empire, mostly known as the Greek or Byzantine Empire, survived, in East Asia, Western Europe was historically known as taixi in China and taisei in Japan, which literally translates as the Far West. The term Far West became synonymous with Western Europe in China during the Ming dynasty, the Italian Jesuit priest Matteo Ricci was one of the first writers in China to use the Far West as an Asian counterpart to the European concept of the Far East. In his writings, Ricci referred to himself as Matteo of the Far West, the term was still in use in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Post-war Europe would be divided into two spheres, the West, influenced by the United States, and the Eastern Bloc. With the onset of the Cold War, Europe was divided by the Iron Curtain, behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe. Although some countries were neutral, they were classified according to the nature of their political. This division largely defined the popular perception and understanding of Western Europe, the world changed dramatically with the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989. The Federal Republic of Germany peacefully absorbed the German Democratic Republic, COMECON and the Warsaw Pact were dissolved, and in 1991, the Soviet Union ceased to exist. Several countries which had part of the Soviet Union regained full independence. Although the term Western Europe was more prominent during the Cold War, it remains much in use, in 1948 the Treaty of Brussels was signed between Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. It was further revisited in 1954 at the Paris Conference, when the Western European Union was established and it was declared defunct in 2011, after the Treaty of Lisbon, and the Treaty of Brussels was terminated. When the Western European Union was dissolved, it had 10 member countries, six member countries, five observer countries. The CIA divides Western Europe into two smaller subregions, regional voting blocs were formed in 1961 to encourage voting to various UN bodies from different regional groups. The European Union is an economic and political union of 28 member states that are located primarily in Europe, some Western and Northern European countries of Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein are members of EFTA, though cooperating to varying degree with the European Union
33.
Allies of World War I
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The Allies of World War I were the countries that opposed the Central Powers in the First World War. The members of the original Triple Entente of 1907 were the French Republic, the British Empire, Belgium, Serbia, Greece, Montenegro, and Romania were affiliated members of the Entente. The 1920 Treaty of Sèvres defines the Principal Allied Powers as the British Empire, French Republic, Italy, the Allied Powers comprised, together with the Principal Allied Powers, Armenia, Belgium, Greece, Hejaz, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serb-Croat-Slovene state and Czechoslovakia. The U. S. declaration of war on Germany, on 6th April 1917 was on the grounds that Germany had violated its neutrality by attacking international shipping and it declared war on Austria-Hungary in December 1917. The U. S. entered the war as a power, rather than as a formal ally of France. Although the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria severed relations with the United States, the Dominion governments did control recruiting, and removed personnel from front-line duties as they saw fit. From early 1917, the War Cabinet was superseded by the Imperial War Cabinet, in April 1918, operational control of all Entente forces on the Western Front passed to the new supreme commander, Ferdinand Foch of France. The Austrian Empire followed with an attack on the Serbian ally Montenegro on 8 August, on the Western Front, the two neutral States of Belgium and Luxembourg were immediately occupied by German troops as part of the German Schlieffen Plan. On 23 August Japan joined the Entente, which then counted seven members, the entrance of the British Empire brought Nepal into the war. In 1916, Montenegro capitulated and left the Entente, and two nations joined, Portugal and Romania, on 6 April 1917, the United States entered the war. Liberia, Siam and Greece also became allies and this was followed by Romanian cessation of hostilities, however the Balkan State declared war on Central Powers again on 10 November 1918. In response to the Germans invasion of neutral Belgium, the United Kingdom declared war on Germany on 4 August 1914, gibraltar, Cyprus and Malta were British dependencies in Europe. The UK held several colonies, protectorates, and semi-autonomous dependencies at the time of World War I, in Eastern Africa the East Africa Protectorate, Nyasaland, both Northern and Southern Rhodesia, the Uganda Protectorate, were involved in conflict with German forces in German East Africa. In Western Africa, the colonies of Gold Coast and Nigeria were involved in actions against German forces from Togoland. In Southwestern Africa, the dominion of South Africa was involved in military actions against German forces in German South-West Africa. Canada and Newfoundland were two autonomous dominions during the war that made major contributions to the British war effort. Other British dependent territories in the Americas included, British Honduras, the Falkland Islands, British Guiana, and Jamaica. The UK held large possessions in Asia, including the Indian Empire which was an assortment of British imperial authorities in the territory now defined as India, Bangladesh, Burma, australia and New Zealand were two autonomous dominions of the UK in Oceania during the war
34.
Central Europe
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Central Europe lies between Eastern Europe and Western Europe. The concept of Central Europe is based on a historical, social and cultural identity. Central Europe is going through a phase of strategic awakening, with such as the CEI, Centrope. While the regions economy shows high disparities with regard to income, elements of unity for Western and Central Europe were Roman Catholicism and Latin. According to Hungarian historian Jenő Szűcs, foundations of Central European history at the first millennium were in connection with Western European development. The keyword of Western social development after millennium was the spread of liberties and autonomies in Western Europe and these phenomena appeared in the middle of the 13th century in Central European countries. There were self-governments of towns, counties and parliaments, in 1335 under the rule of the King Charles I of Hungary, the castle of Visegrád, the seat of the Hungarian monarchs was the scene of the royal summit of the Kings of Poland, Bohemia and Hungary. They agreed to cooperate closely in the field of politics and commerce, in the Middle Ages, countries in Central Europe adopted Magdeburg rights. Before 1870, the industrialization that had developed in Western and Central Europe, even in Eastern Europe, industrialization lagged far behind. Russia, for example, remained rural and agricultural. The concept of Central Europe was already known at the beginning of the 19th century, an example of that-time vision of Central Europe may be seen in J. Partsch’s book of 1903. On 21 January 1904, Mitteleuropäischer Wirtschaftsverein was established in Berlin with economic integration of Germany, another time, the term Central Europe became connected to the German plans of political, economic and cultural domination. The bible of the concept was Friedrich Naumann’s book Mitteleuropa in which he called for a federation to be established after the war. The concept failed after the German defeat in World War I, the revival of the idea may be observed during the Hitler era. According to Emmanuel de Martonne, in 1927 the Central European countries included, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, italy and Yugoslavia are not considered by the author to be Central European because they are located mostly outside Central Europe. The author use both Human and Physical Geographical features to define Central Europe, the interwar period brought new geopolitical system and economic and political problems, and the concept of Central Europe took a different character. The centre of interest was moved to its eastern part – the countries that have appeared on the map of Europe, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, however, the conflict of interests was too big and neither Little Entente nor Intermarium ideas succeeded. The interwar period brought new elements to the concept of Central Europe, after the war, the Eastern part of Central Europe was placed at the centre of the concept
35.
Eastern Europe
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Eastern Europe, also known as East Europe, is the eastern part of the European continent. There is no consensus on the area it covers, partly because the term has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, cultural. There are almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region, a related United Nations paper adds that every assessment of spatial identities is essentially a social and cultural construct. One definition describes Eastern Europe as an entity, the region lying in Europe with main characteristics consisting in Byzantine, Orthodox. Another definition was created during the Cold War and used more or less synonymously with the term Eastern Bloc, a similar definition names the formerly communist European states outside the Soviet Union as Eastern Europe. Historians and social scientists generally view such definitions as outdated or relegating, several definitions of Eastern Europe exist today, but they often lack precision or are extremely general. These definitions vary both across cultures and among experts, even scientists, recently becoming more and more imprecise. The Ural Mountains, Ural River, and the Caucasus Mountains are the land border of the eastern edge of Europe. Eurovoc, a multilingual thesaurus maintained by the Publications Office of the European Union, provides entries for 23 EU languages, of these, those in italics are classified as Eastern Europe in this source. Other official web-pages of the European Union classify some of the countries as strictly Central European. The East–West Schism is the break of communion and theology between what are now the Eastern and Western churches which began in the 11th century and lasts until this very day and it divided Christianity in Europe, and consequently the world, into Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity. Since the Great Schism of 1054, Europe has been divided between Roman Catholic and Protestant churches in the West, and the Eastern Orthodox Christian churches in the east, due to this religious cleavage, Eastern Orthodox countries are often associated with Eastern Europe. A cleavage of this sort is, however, often problematic, for example, Greece is overwhelmingly Orthodox, the fall of the Iron Curtain brought the end of the East–West division in Europe, but this geopolitical concept is sometimes still used for quick reference by the media. The Baltic states have seats in the Nordic Council as observer states and they also are members of the Nordic-Baltic Eight whereas Eastern European countries formed their own alliance called the Visegrád Group. Estonia Latvia Lithuania The Caucasus nations may be included in the definitions of Eastern Europe, the extent of their geographic or political affiliation with Europe varies by country and source. All three states are members of the European Unions Eastern Partnership program and the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly, on 12 January 2002, the European Parliament noted that Armenia and Georgia may enter the EU in the future. Georgia — in modern geography, Georgia has been classified as part of Eastern Europe. Under the European Union’s geographic criteria, Georgia is viewed as part of Eastern Europe and is the only Caucasus country to be actively seeking EU membership and it is a member of Council of Europe and Eurocontrol
36.
Weimar Republic
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Weimar Republic is an unofficial, historical designation for the German state between 1919 and 1933. The name derives from the city of Weimar, where its constitutional assembly first took place, the official name of the state was still Deutsches Reich, it had remained unchanged since 1871. In English the country was known simply as Germany. A national assembly was convened in Weimar, where a new constitution for the Deutsches Reich was written, in its fourteen years, the Weimar Republic faced numerous problems, including hyperinflation, political extremism, and contentious relationships with the victors of the First World War. The people of Germany blamed the Weimar Republic rather than their leaders for the countrys defeat. However, the Weimar Republic government successfully reformed the currency, unified tax policies, Weimar Germany eliminated most of the requirements of the Treaty of Versailles, it never completely met its disarmament requirements, and eventually paid only a small portion of the war reparations. Under the Locarno Treaties, Germany accepted the borders of the republic. From 1930 onwards President Hindenburg used emergency powers to back Chancellors Heinrich Brüning, Franz von Papen, the Great Depression, exacerbated by Brünings policy of deflation, led to a surge in unemployment. In 1933, Hindenburg appointed Adolf Hitler as Chancellor with the Nazi Party being part of a coalition government, the Nazis held two out of the remaining ten cabinet seats. Von Papen as Vice Chancellor was intended to be the éminence grise who would keep Hitler under control, within months the Reichstag Fire Decree and the Enabling Act of 1933 had brought about a state of emergency, it wiped out constitutional governance and civil liberties. Hitlers seizure of power was permissive of government by decree without legislative participation and these events brought the republic to an end, as democracy collapsed, a single-party state founded the Nazi era. The Weimar Republic is so called because the assembly that adopted its constitution met at Weimar, Germany from 6 February 1919 to 11 August 1919, but this name only became mainstream after 1933. To the right of the spectrum the politically engaged rejected the new democratic model, the Catholic Centre party, Zentrum favoured the term Deutscher Volksstaat while on the moderate left the Chancellors SPD preferred Deutsche Republik. Only during the 1930s did the term become mainstream, both within and outside Germany, after the introduction of the republic, the flag and coat of arms of Germany were officially altered to reflect the political changes. The Weimar Republic retained the Reichsadler, but without the symbols of the former Monarchy and this left the black eagle with one head, facing to the right, with open wings but closed feathers, with a red beak, tongue and claws and white highlighting. If the Reichs Eagle is shown without a frame, the charge and colors as those of the eagle of the Reichs coat of arms are to be used. The patterns kept by the Federal Ministry of the Interior are decisive for the heraldic design, the artistic design may be varied for each special purpose. The achievements and signs of movement were mostly done away with after its downfall
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Occupation of the Ruhr
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The Ruhr region had been occupied by Allied troops in the immediate aftermath of the First World War, during the Occupation of the Rhineland. The total sum of reparations demanded from Germany—around 226 billion gold marks —was decided by an Inter-Allied Reparations Commission, in 1921, the amount was reduced to 132 billion. Even with the reduction, the debt was huge, as some of the payments were in industrial raw materials, German factories were unable to function, and the German economy suffered, further damaging the countrys ability to pay. Particularly galling to the French was that the timber quota the Germans defaulted on was based on an assessment of their capacity the Germans made themselves and subsequently lowered. The Allies believed that the government of Chancellor Wilhelm Cuno had defaulted on the timber deliveries deliberately as a way of testing the will of the Allies to enforce the treaty. The entire conflict was exacerbated by a German default on coal deliveries in early January 1923. The French Premier Raymond Poincaré was deeply reluctant to order the Ruhr occupation, frustrated at Germany not paying reparations, Poincaré hoped for joint Anglo-French economic sanctions against Germany in 1922 and opposed military action. However, by December 1922 he was faced with Anglo-American-German opposition and saw coal for French steel production and we are also certain that Germany, as a nation, resigns herself to keep her pledged word only under the impact of necessity. Poincaré decided to occupy the Ruhr on 11 January 1923 to extract the reparations himself, finally, Poincaré argued that once the chains that had bound Germany in Versailles were destroyed, it was inevitable that Germany would plunge the world into another world war. Initiated by French Prime Minister Raymond Poincaré, the took place on 11 January 1923. General Alphonse Caron’s 32nd infantry corps under the supervision of General Jean-Marie Degoutte carried out the operation, some theories state that the French aimed to occupy the centre of German coal, iron, and steel production in the Ruhr area valley simply to get the money. Some others state that France did it to ensure that the reparations were paid in goods, France had the iron ore and Germany had the coal. Each state wanted free access to the resource it was short of, following Frances decision to invade the Ruhr, the Inter-Allied Mission for Control of Factories and Mines was set up as a means of ensuring coal repayments from Germany. The occupation was greeted by a campaign of passive resistance, approximately 130 German civilians were killed by the French occupation army during the events, including during civil disobedience protests, e. g. against dismissal of German officials. Some theories assert that to pay for passive resistance in the Ruhr, others state that the road to hyperinflation was well established before with the reparation payments that started on November 1921, see 1920s German inflation. Despite this, civil unrest grew into riots and coup attempts targeted at the government of the Weimar Republic, the Rhenish Republic was proclaimed at Aachen in October 1923. Under the Dawes Plan, Germany paid only 1 billion marks in 1924, the French, with their own economic problems, eventually accepted the Dawes Plan and withdrew from the occupied areas in July and August 1925. The last French troops evacuated Düsseldorf and Duisburg along with the important harbour in Duisburg-Ruhrort
38.
Sudetenland
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The Sudeten crisis of 1938 was provoked by the demands of Nazi Germany that the Sudetenland be annexed to Germany, which in fact took place after the later infamous Munich Agreement. Part of the borderland was invaded and annexed by Poland, when Czechoslovakia was reconstituted after the Second World War, the Sudeten Germans were largely expelled, and the region today is inhabited almost exclusively by Czech speakers. Parts of the current Czech regions of Karlovy Vary, Liberec, Olomouc, Moravia-Silesia, the Celtic and Boii tribes settled there and the region was first mentioned on the map of Ptolemaios in the 2nd century AD. The Germanic tribe of the Marcomanni dominated the core of the region in later centuries. Those tribes already built cities like Brno, but moved west during the Migration Period, in the 7th century AD Slavic people moved in and were united under Samos realm. Later in the High Middle Ages Germans settled into the less populated border region, in the Middle Ages the regions situated on the mountainous border of the Duchy and the Kingdom of Bohemia had since the Migration Period been settled mainly by western Slavic Czechs. In the course of the Ostsiedlung German settlement from the 13th century onwards continued to move into the Upper Lusatia region, after the extinction of the Přemyslid dynasty in 1306, the Bohemian nobility backed John of Luxembourg as king against his rival Duke Henry of Carinthia. His son, Bohemian King Charles IV, was elected King of the Romans in 1346 and he added the Lusatias to the Lands of the Bohemian Crown, which then comprised large territories with a significant German population. In the hilly border regions German settlers established major manufactures of forest glass, the situation of the German population was aggravated by the Hussite Wars, though there were also some Germans among the Hussite insurgents. The city of Prague had a German-speaking majority from the last third of the 17th century until 1860, from the Luxembourgs, the rule over Bohemia passed through George of Podiebrad to the Jagiellon dynasty and finally to the House of Habsburg in 1526. Both Czech and German Bohemians suffered heavily in the Thirty Years War, Bohemia lost 70% of its population. From the defeat of the Bohemian Revolt that collapsed at the 1620 Battle of White Mountain, during the subsequent Counter-Reformation, less populated areas were resettled with Catholic Germans from the Austrian lands. Also in 1749 Austrian Empire enforced German as the language again. Emperor Joseph II in 1780 renounced the coronation ceremony as Bohemian king, nevertheless, German cultural influence grew stronger during the Age of Enlightenment and Weimar Classicism. The Bohemian Kingdom remained a part of the Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary until its dismemberment after the First World War, in the wake of growing nationalism, the name Sudetendeutsche emerged by the early 20th century. Of these three terms, only the term Sudetendeutsche survived, because of the ethnic and cultural conflicts within Bohemia, thirty-four of each 1,000 inhabitants were killed. Austria-Hungary broke apart at the end of World War I, late in October 1918, an independent Czechoslovak state, consisting of the lands of the Bohemian kingdom and areas belonging to the Kingdom of Hungary, was proclaimed. The German deputies of Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia in the Imperial Council referred to the Fourteen Points of U. S, on 20 September 1918, the Prague government asked the United Statess opinion for the Sudetenland
39.
Polish Corridor
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The Free City of Danzig was separate from both Poland and Germany. A similar territory, also referred to as a corridor, had been connected to the Polish Crown as part of Royal Prussia during the period 1466–1772. Internationally the term was used in the English language already as early as March 1919 and whatever its origins, the equivalent German term is Polnischer Korridor. Polish names include korytarz polski and korytarz gdański, however, reference to the region as a corridor came to be regarded as offensive by interwar Polish diplomats. Among the harshest critics of the corridor was Polish Foreign Minister Józef Beck. The word corridor is an idea, as this land has been Polish for centuries. Poles would commonly refer to the region as Pomorze Gdańskie or simply Pomorze, or as województwo pomorskie, in the 10th century, Pomerelia was settled by Slavic Pomeranians, ancestors of the Kashubians, who were subdued by Boleslaw I of Poland. In the 11th century, they created an independent duchy, in 1116/1121, Pomerania was again conquered by Poland. In 1138, following the death of Duke Bolesław III, Poland was fragmented into several semi-independent principalities, the Samborides, principes in Pomerelia, gradually evolved into independent dukes, who ruled the duchy until 1294. Before Pomerelia regained independence in 1227, their dukes were vassals of Poland, since 1308, following succession wars between Poland and Brandenburg, Pomerelia was subjugated by the Monastic state of the Teutonic Knights in Prussia. In 1466, with the second Peace of Thorn, Pomerelia became part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth as a part of autonomous Royal Prussia. After the First Partition of Poland in 1772 it was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia and named West Prussia, and became a constituent part of the new German Empire in 1871. Thus the Polish Corridor was not a new creation, the territory assigned to Poland had been an integral part of Poland prior to 1772. After the First World War, Poland was to be re-established as an independent state, since a Polish state had not existed since the Congress of Vienna, the future republics territory had to be defined. Giving Poland access to the sea was one of the proposed by United States President Woodrow Wilson in his Fourteen Points of 1918. The following arguments were behind the creation of the corridor, Ethnic situation was one of the reasons for returning the area to the restored Poland, the majority of the population in the area was Polish. The Prussian census of 1910 showed that there were 528,000 Poles in the region compared with 385,000 Germans, … It is only fair that the claim of the river-basin should prevail against that of the seaboard. The Poles held the view that without direct access to the Baltic Sea, around 60. 5% of Polish import trade and 55. 1% of exports went through the area
40.
Free City of Danzig
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The Free City of Danzig was a semi-autonomous city-state that existed between 1920 and 1939, consisting of the Baltic Sea port of Danzig and nearly 200 towns in the surrounding areas. It was created on 15 November 1920 in accordance with the terms of Article 100 of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles after the end of World War I. The Free City included the city of Danzig and other towns, villages. As the Treaty stated, the region was to remain separated from post-World War I Germany and from the independent nation of the Second Polish Republic. The Free City was under League of Nations protection and put into a customs union with Poland. Poland was given rights to develop and maintain transportation, communication. The Free City was created in order to give Poland access to a well-sized seaport, while the citys population was majority-German, it had a significant ethnic Polish minority as well. The German population deeply resented being separated from Germany, and persecuted the Polish minority and this was especially true after the Nazi Party gained political control in 1935–36. Since Poland still was not in control of the seaport, especially regarding military equipment. In 1933, the government was taken over by the local Nazi Party. Due to anti-Semitic persecution and oppression, many Jews fled, after the German invasion of Poland in 1939, the Nazis abolished the Free City and incorporated the area into the newly formed Reichsgau of Danzig-West Prussia. The Nazis classified the Poles and Jews living in the city as subhumans, subjecting them to discrimination, forced labor, many were sent to death at Nazi concentration camps, including nearby Stutthof. During the citys conquest by the Soviet Army in the months of 1945. After the war, many surviving Germans were expelled to West or East Germany as members of the pre-war Polish ethnic minority started returning, due to these events, Gdańsk suffered severe underpopulation and did not recover until the late 1950s. The city subsequently became part of Poland as a consequence of the Potsdam Agreement, Danzig had an early history of independence. It was a player in the Prussian Confederation directed against the Teutonic Monastic State of Prussia. The Confederation stipulated with the Polish king, Casimir IV Jagiellon, in contrast, Ducal Prussia remained a Polish fief. Danzig and other such as Elbing and Thorn financed most of the warfare
