THE IMPACT OF WORLD WAR 1: CONTEXT FOR THE VERSAILLES TREATY

I. Course Themes-- Origins, Conduct & Consequences of WW2 in Aftermath of WW1
        A. Declining British/French response to aggressive Germany--evaluate policy from Versailles to Appeasement

        B. Did Versailles Treaty Cause WW2? What caused World War Two?  (Link to article about a few of the myths)
        C. Revolution: How did ideology affect origins & conduct of war?
        D. How did USSR shape & help win WW2?  How did Cold War begin?
        E. Why did Allies win/Axis lose & what was the role of the 2nd Front?
        F. Is War Possible Again? Why WW1? When & why did WW2 start? Was it inevitable?

 

II. Total War Trauma: WAR IS NOT POSSIBLE: NEVER AGAIN! No Short War, No Long War
        A. Demographic, Spiritual, Philosophical, Psychological Destruction
        B. Social/Cultural/Political/Economic/Financial Instability--New War Risks Revolt or Socialism
        C. Strategic/Ideological/Moral Dilemmas Make War Unthinkable: If War...
                1. Win Short War Quickly/Offensive Thrust? NO: Trench Warfare Advantage to Defensive!
                2. Fight Long Total War? (Weaken Enemy Morale thru Blockade?): NO!
                3. Alliance with USSR Would Risk Socialism: 2nd Front Gone
                        a. Commies Published Treaties, Repudiated Debts, Quit, Betrayed
                        b. Suspect USSR: Delay Inevitable War w/Capitalism,  Await Intra-Capitalist War
                        c. So Where Will France Find Security? USA? British?
                        d. British & French Disagree re Continental Commitment vs. Germany
                        e. USA: Unilateralism ("Isolationism") Neutrality & Johnson Acts Amid Depression
        D. Drawing Lessons from Studying History: WW1, WW2 & Bosnia: NEVER AGAIN WAR
                1. Learn & Prevent War! What Causes Wars? STOP IT! Pacifism/Appeasement--Prevention or Cause?
                2. Assume All Learn Same Lessons? Could Anyone Consider War Fruitful?
                3. Collective Security Amplifies All Small Conflicts: War for Peace?


III. Realpolitik and the Importance of Power, Leadership & Ideas--Does "Realism" Cause War?
        A. Ingredients of Power: Economic/Industrial/Technology/Geography/Demography
        B. Leadership Civilian, Domestic, Diplomatic (UN v Axis), & Military (Strategic/Tactical/Logistical)
        C. IDEOLOGY: Liberal Capitalist/Democracies v Nazi/Fascist LEADER v Communism
                 1. PreWW1 FREE Move of Goods, Money, & Migrants & Stable Central Currency
                 2. Democracy Beats Monarchy 1919, Communism 1989, Terrorism...! New Threats '30s/'00s?
                 3. Interwar Ideological Battle & Depression Shape Use of Power: WAR

 

IV.  Why New War? WHEN? Was Europe So Weakened That 30 Years War Ensues?
        A. Versailles Treaty  Doesn't Solve, But Worsens Situation, Reparations Stupid
                1. Too Harsh: German Denied Input, Lost Land, Guilty
                2. Inherently UNSTABLE, Balance of Power Gone; Minorities Weaken Eastern Europe
                3. Continuity of German Aims, 1914-41: Revisionist War: Hitler Normal? Opportunist? Blueprint?
         B. Or Europe Recovers in 1920s & Plunges Again Due to Depression & Hitler
                1. German Revisionist War Likely vs. Status Quo Powers: Nazi Holocaust Certain?
                2. Locarno Political/Economic (Borders/Reparations) Recovery: Significance?
                3. Instability Potentially Solvable, But Depression Leads to Hitler!
                4. Important LATE Western Shift from Acquiescence to Resolve


V. Origins of WARS & of WW1: Immediate Causes & General Origins: STOP THEM! Do Solutions Solve?
        1) Nation-States Exist & Practice Realpolitik vs.  Int'l Law & League of Nations

        2) Kings Make Alliances Secretly vs. Open Diplomacy & Democracy
        3) German Q: Challenge SQ/League of Nations vs. Victors Ally to Carve/Restrain Germany
        4) Capitalist Econ Rivals/Empire vs. Open Door to Raw Materials/Markets/Free Seas
        5) Arms Races & Cult of Offensive vs. Arms Control & Disarmament
        6) Multinational Empire: Autocrats Oppress Minorities vs. Self- Determination & Democracy For All Whites

        Alternative For ALL: Embrace Communism!

 

 

 

  THE VERSAILLES TREATY: CONTEXT & CLAUSES

I. Did Versailles Treaty Cause WW2: 20 Year Truce? Links to Excellent Site 1 and 2--with guide to where key points are found
II. Wilson's Eternal Peacemaking Program: 14 Points
        A. 1918 Elections & Washington's Farewell: Woodrow Wilson's Domestic Position?
        B. Secular Messianic USA & USSR Pariah, Thanks to Debts, Betrayal, Communist Triumph
        C. Open world: remove antagonism's roots thru arms cuts; no secret diplomacy/allies;  =, open access to markets/RM, free navigation (2,4,5)
        D. Self-determination: free Alsace-Lorraine/Belgium; tyranny over Poles, Aus minorities: (Hapsburg/Romanov successor states critical)  (6)
        E. League of Nations: enforcement (& amendment?) mechanism (1-2)
        F. Germans Accept as Basis for Armistice: Feel Diktat Violates (3?)


III. How Restore Order & Prevent Future War? Realism vs. Moralism
        A. Reestablish Pre-War Balance of Power? Discredited Realpolitik (1?)
                 1. Russian Outcasts & German Apprentices: Restrain Both?
                 2. Prevent Communist Spread: Intervene against USSR (Cold War?); Nice to Germans?
        B. Make Peace Quickly to Restore Stability: Errors Inevitable
        C. Neither Victor's Carthaginian Peace Nor One of Accommodation
        D. Balance Destroyed: German Power Remains: USA CRUCIAL!?
        E. Restrain Germany: HOW? Punish? Integrate??? Can't Dismember (3)
                 1. Arms Cuts Unequal, (Temporarily) Enforced, League of Nations Moral Force
                 2. French Goals: Security Guarantee vs. Germany, $$ Aid to Rebuild
                 3. British Hope: Pension Cash, Navy Eliminated, Germany as Trading Partner; No Territorial Losses


IV. Peacemaking: Compromises of Secret Treaties & 14 Points
        A. Italy Unsuccessfully Demands Albania/Fiume/Dalmatia: Resentment Leads to Mussolini
        B. Open Diplomacy & Sovereign Equality vs. Big 3 & Diktat (2)
        C. Mandates are Fig Leaf for Colonial Expansion; Blockades Retained  (3)
        D. Racist Application of Self-Determination Offends Japan (Racial Equality Clause Fails)  (6)
        E. Selective Self-Determination: Germany Mostly Intact & Resentful (French Secure?) (3/6)
                1. Demography & Geography: French Need Aid! Conditional/Worthless US-UK Pledge
                2. Rhineland: Occupied 15 Yrs, Demilitarized "Forever"
                3. German Military Unilaterally Shrunk: Numerically, Air, Subs, German General Staff  (5)
                4. No US $ Aid: Repay Debts: German Reparations Essential
        F. Germans Complain: Poles/Anschluss/Sudetens: "SubHumanOppressors" (6)
                1. Excluded from Conference, Diktat, Lose Territory/Colonies (Link to Bitter German Response, 1919)
                2. But German Power Largely Intact: Prestige Damaged
                3. Punished without Recognizing Defeat: Any Losses Unjust, See Brest-Litovsk Re Complaints  (More Positive View)
V. USA Abdication: Treaty Defeated--Unilateralism Reasserted
        A. Senate Defense of Prerogatives: Advice & consent on treaties
        B. Delegation:  No Republicans or Senators; Sick Wilson Refuses to Compromise
        C. Congress' privilege to declare war? Undermined by Article X of Covenant: preserve & respect political 
             independence & territorial integrity of all vs. external aggression
        D. Ideals Compromised at Paris & Excessive Idealism: Link to Assessments of Wilson's Legacy


VI.   Security? Victors' Coalition Falters: Economic/Military/Financial Power without USA?
        A. German Resentment Certain, But is Hitler Necessary? Compare with France post-1815?
        B. Washington Conference Naval Cuts (US, British & Japan) & Construction Holiday on Capital Ships
        C. "Militarist France" & Japanese Resentment w/o Effective Restraint: Status Quo Possible?
        D. British/French DIVIDE, US Withdraws, USSR Evicted, Italy Goes Fascist
                1. British Seek Continental French/German Equilibrium & Balance of Power, Not French Hegemon
                2. French Strict vs. British Lenient Application of Treaty
                3. Treaty Not Fully Enforced: Loses Credibility with Victors! Did Failure to Enforce Cause World War 2? Link to One Historian's Assessment of Its Legacy
        E. Wilson's & Keynes' "Economic Consequences" & Political Consequences: Treaty Perceived as Unfair

 

 

 

 

 

20'S ECONOMIC & SECURITY ILLUSIONS: THE RUHR CRISIS & LOCARNO

I. War’s Economic Aftermath: Context of Political Insecurity: Trade/Investment/Migration Skewed
        A. Extra Non-European Agricultural/Industrial Capacity; West Europe's Latin American  Export Market Goes to US
        B.  Political Self-Determination's Economic Expression: Eastern European Autarky/Tariffs
        C. Dead/Flu/Mutilé: Demography; US Insists War Debts Repaid, Yet Increases Tariff & CLOSES DOOR to EEurope

II.  Reparations: French Exasperated with German Recalcitrance & A-Am Alliance Bailout
        A. Genoa Failure '22: British/French Split; German-Soviet Concord @ Rapallo & Soviet NEP
        B. Brits Swing Toward Keynes re Trade: German Market for British Goods
        C. France: Enforce Treaty             Germany: Dismantle Treaty          Britain: Revise Treaty
        D. German Reparations to France Cut German Ability to Pay for British Imports; 

        E. German Exports To Pay France Compete w/British Exports
        F. Deadlock:  Ruhr Occupied, Jan ’23      Poincaré: ENFORCE Versailles Treaty,  Since Germany Lost War
        G. Franco/Belgian Army Seek Reparations in Kind; German Passive Resistance/Printing Causes Inflation
                1. Weimar Weak: Erzberger Killed 1921, Rathenau 1922; Rightist Putsch in Bavaria (Link to Account)
                2. Stresemann Fulfills Versailles Treaty: G Wins By Losing, Fr Loses  (Unilateralism Absurd: Munich)
        H. US Multilateral Solution: Loans Stabilize Temporarily
                1. French Resent US Insistence on Loan Repayment: Is Gold More Precious than Blood?
                2. Financial Aid (From New York, Rather than Washington): Plan & Guarantee Reparations Payments
                        a. Dawes Plan (1924): Evacuate Ruhr, Short Term US Loans: Locarno Link
                        b. Young Plan (1929): Reps Cut Again, Stretched Long Term to 1988
                 3. Stable Economic Recovery/Prosperity, '24-29: Illusive, Superficial, Dependent on US $$

III. Security: Weak/Defensive France Can't Disarm, Looks East To Weak Successor States to Create Balance of Power?
         A. French Need Strong Germany to Pay Reparations & vs Communism; Needs Weak Germany to Ensure Security
         B. NO USSR: Status Quo (SQ) Powers Ally to Oppose Any Revisions: CORDON SANITAIRE
         C. France: Belg '20, Poles '21, Czechs '24,  Rumania '26, Yugo '27  Little Entente: Czech-Yugo-Rum '21 vs Hungary
         D. Cordon vs. USSR/Germans, Yet Foci Vary/Minorities; Fragile SQ Democracy/Geogr Weak vs. Revisionists
         E. League Enforce '23?: League Wd Designate Aggressor/Signatories Respond on Own Continent (Br Oppose All?)
         F. Geneva Protocol vs Aggressor: If Refuse Arbitrate, All Reply: But Would US Resist If Sanctions Interrupt Trade?
         G. Failed French/British Co-Operation: Enables German Initiative: Concede Guarantee of French Frontier; East?  

IV.  "Spirit of Locarno," 1925: Optimistic New Beginning without Followup (Defines Next Battlefield)
         A. Real End to WW1: A "Peace Treaty" Germans Accept Willingly w/o Diktat
         B. G Want to Keep Rearming (Rapallo) & Get Cologne Evacuated, Yet Weak IMCC Reports Flagrant Violations
         C. Germans Guarantee Frontier: Rhineland Pact: Br/Fr/Germany/Belgium/Italy Renounce War & Guarantee Frontier
                  1. Settle Differences by Arbitration (Also in East)
                  2. Germany Joins League w/o Military Obligation (Berlin Treaty '26 Reassures USSR)
                  3. French Allowed Self-Defense Reply ONLY if Germans Breach the Demilitarization of Rhineland
                  4. Yet How Save France's Polish & Czech Allies Except By Crossing German Border? Maginot Mentality
         D. No Penalty For Reparations Default/Rearmament: Unenforceable! Yet "Militarist France" Blamed!
         E. G-Polish & G-Czech Arbitration Conventions ONLY: No German Pledge on Eastern Borders
         F. No Joint British-French Staff Planning Possible: Britain Avoids Real Commitment
         G. Link to Extraordinarily Positive United Nations-Sponsored Commemorative 75th Anniversary Website

V. Stresemann's Motives?: Is there Continuity in German Aims, Wilhelm II to Stresemann to Hitler?
         A. Individuals, Contingency (1929 Death) & Inevitability: Was Stresemann a Good European?
         B. NonUnilateral Nationalist, Sought Peaceful, Moderate Revision of Polish Border (& US Cash)
         C. Entertained Mini-War As Last Resort vs Poles: Was This Possible?
         D. So: Would Any German Challenge to Versailles Result in European War? World War?
         E. Turner/Parker Say No: What Does This Say About 30 Yrs War Thesis?
         F. So Do Dawes/Locarno Ensure Stability or Do they Ensure  the Nazis?  Disarmament Possible?

VI.  More Evidence of "Spirit of Locarno"? Or Is Briand A Realist Who Will Accept LCD to get British Aid?
         A. Kellogg-Briand Pact '28; Briand's EuroUnion Idea; Maginot Line; Cordon Sanitaire to Idealism?
         B. Link to Brief, Favorable Biography of Andre Maginot
         C. Maginot Impact On Pole/Czech Very Different From On US/UK: Passivity or NonMilitarism?
VII. Did Missed Opportunities/Failure To Establish Secure Political/Economic Base Cause World War 2?
 
 

 

  THE GREAT DEPRESSION: CAUSES, CONSEQUENCES & CONTEXT FOR IDEOLOGICAL DIVISIONS

 

  I.  External/Internal Economic Causes & Consequences of Great Depression:Link to Excellent On-line Summary & Another
        A. Destructive Dependence on Shaky US Leadership: '29 Crash/Hi Tariffs/Reparations Loans End: Debts Delinquent: Link to Smoot-Hawley  
        B. Collapse of Business, Personal Confidence, Credit, & Imports Affects Europe
        C. Euro/Global Agricultural Glut Leads to Falling Prices, Trade, Credit, and Failing Banks?
                1. From Export Agriculture to Subsistence Agriculture: Govt & Mercantile Revenue Fall
                2. Banks/People/States Can't Pay (International) $$ Obligation
                3. Prevent Trade Deficits: Exchange Controls, Tariffs Rise
                4. Imports Fall 2/3: Laissez Faire Interdependence Replaced By Statism
        D. From Confidence & Cooperation to Cutthroat Competition

II.  Had Hoped Techno Rescue From Instability; Rather, Sci/Tech Aggravate War's Impact
        A. AirPower, Car, Tank, Radio, Movies, Antibiotics; Genetics, Tobacco/Cancer & Nazi Eugenics
        B. Science No Liberator: Einstein, Relativity/ism, A-Bomb: Govt Control vs. Free Exchange of Ideas


III. Political Consequences of Great Depression As US & Germany Hit Hardest: Illusions Turn to Pessimism
        A. Trade Reprisals Push Move to Self-Sufficiency: Anti-Status Quo (In Extremity, Lebensraum)
        B. Hitler in Germany, Internal Division in Potential Opponents
        C. USA Vs. Europe Bitterness: Debt Delinquency : From Moratorium to Johnson Act '
        D. Ideological Divisions: Nat'lism/Communism/Fascism Gain  vs.   Liberal-Capitalist Int'lism
                 1. WEuropean/US Demos Turn Inward, Confidence Shaken & Defense $$ DOWN: Crazy
                2. Willpower to Cooperate & Resist Lacking; Balance Budget to Restore Confidence Vs Aid to Poor?
                3. Baffling Mindsets: Führer Idea, Struggle Glorified; Dictatorships in E & C Europe--See Shift
                4. Fascist Irrational Nationalism, Middle-Class Base, Top-Down Control
        E. Did Great Depression Cause World War 2?

 

IV. Ideological Battlegrounds: France, Austria, German, Italy, Britain, Spain, USSR
        A. Domestic Context for Foreign Policy: Borders Blurred By Shared Hate or Redirect Hatred Out
        B. Fear: Compromise Means Enemy Infiltration Amid Implicit/Explicit Extremist Co-op vs. Center
        C. Violence as Solution to Political Problems: Why? Why not Britain?
        D. So What is the Importance of Ideology in Upcoming War?

V.  France: Delayed & Debilitating Effects: Neither Surrender VT Nor Defend It: Will Disintegrate
        A. Less Industrial/Less Dependent on Trade; Delay Devaluation: Stagnation, Postpones Recovery
        B. Imperial Preference Curbs Econ Influence on EEur; the Lingering Econ Collapse Leads to Social Disharmony
        C. Budget: Votes/Confidence: 11 Govts 1932-35, 24 1930-40    LEADERS? Avenue for Extremists (Link to Index of Instability)
        D. Stavisky Affair: Right v Left Extremes Empowered By Police/Judiciary Corrupt, Inept Chamber
                 1. Long-Held Hates Blossom:  Patriotism=Racism?: Dreyfus Redux: Feb 34 Riots
                 2. Right Had Often Exploited Corruption      Protection/Suicides/Delayed Medical Care, Say Cynics
                 3. Dalimier Letters Threaten Chautemps Govt, Blames Others, Shifts Responsibility, Quits
                 4. Silenced Suspect Leads to Left/Rightist Riots,  Premiers Chautemps, Daladier Quit
                 5. Link: French Embassy Site on Resnais "Stavisky" Film Cited in Text   
        E. Class/Regional Divides Influenced By Econ Distress: Leftist Riot Draws Heavier Police Fire
                 1. Rival Paramilitaries: Right to Bear Arms...Army/Provincial Loyalty? Who're true Fr?
                 2. Similar Divisions Apparent in Death of Red Vienna, Austria, Leads to Anschluss
                 3. Link to Official Austrian Government Summary of "Red Vienna"
                 4. Popular Front Wins (40Hr Week): Hitler, Not Blum!:  Fear Spanish Civil War, Reds, Air Attack
        F. France Weak as Germany Recovers: '36 Devaluation Useless: Leftist Euphoria Scares Market
        G. Obvious Dependence on Anglo-Americans: No Independent FPolicy, Maginot Undermines EEur Allies
        H. Can't Act Resolutely versus Foreign Dangers & Can't Rearm Until Forced

 

VI.  League?: '31 Fails Test: Japan's Aggression in "Manchukuo" Responds to Chinese Nat'list Assertion
        A. Challenges to Imperialism (Amritsar) Foreshadow post-WW2; Japan & West Resent China
        B. Demography, Geography, Politics, Economics & Japan's Expansion
        C. League: Asia Far Away; USA & USSR  Not in League of Nations/Wilson  & Lenin's Disdain for Empire
        D. Pinpricks: Stimson Doctrine, Lytton Commission (Sterling Collapses) & Maoist Opposition to Lytton & Chiang
        E. Link to Dutch Scholar's  Evaluation of League of Nations  & Brief Description of Versailles Treaty/League's Rise & Decline
        F. Link to Official League of Nations Website


VII. Germany: Short term US Loans Gone; Unemployment Similar to USA: 11% '20s to 30% '32  Unwise Dissolution: 1930
        A. Stresemann/Young Plan Forgotten: Allies Quit Rhine in 1930: So What!  Nazis Multiply 8x in Elections
        B. Nazi: Alienated, Violent, Hopeless Youth: Before Full Depression: Extremists 40% '30, 50%+'32
        C. Brüning/Papen/Schleicher Rule by Decree '30-32: Nazi '32 Vote Falls!; CP Rises, Hitler Chosen as Chancellor
        D. Right Hated Socialist Support of Hindenburg '32, Chooses Nazis; Democratic Suicide; Power Achieved Legally
        E. Wheelbarrow Memory; Hitler/Savior: Rearm, Recover Freedom/Honor Restored/Sacrificed
        F. Xenophobic View of '19/'23/'29: Food/RM/Race Security: Econ Stability, Lebensraum
        G. Though War Post-Recovery, Depression Unrest Aided Hitler, Germany Hostile & Capable
        H. Machtergreifung of Parties/Unions/Federal States Absorbed;  Used Old Guard Schacht/Reichswehr
                1. Link to Analysis of Nazism
                2. Link to Account/Photo of 1933 Bookburning
                3. Link to Calvin College Archive of Nazi Propaganda  & Especially to Wartime Propaganda

         I. 1934 "Night of Long Knives" Consolidates Power: SS Destroys Röhm's Violent SA Brownshirts
                1. Order Reassures German/European Right about NSDAP: Appeasers Ignore Evidence of Brutal Hitler
                2. Papen Typifies Herrenklub Blindness, Trying to Coopt Nazis!?!
                3. Victims Left & Right: Complicit in Officers' Death, Army Corrupted by Oath, Leads to Nazi Power Monopoly
                4. Germany Well Placed to Capitalize Upon Successor States Strife
         J. Dollfuss Dies, Mussolini Marches to Brenner Pass;  Germany Rearms, and Mussolini Joins Stresa Pact '35

VIII.  1935-6 Italy's Imperial Glory: League Impotent, TERROR WAR, Axis
        A. Despite Corfu '23/Matteotti '24, Apparently Tolerant Dictator: Precedent to Relax About Hitler
        B. Sawdust Caesar's Revenge for Adowa: Precedent For Bombings
        C. France/Britain: Italy Emulates Colonial Example... League Credibility? versus  Security Priorities?
                1. Peace Indivisible?: Can/Will League or Powers Identify/Respond to Aggression? With War?
                2. Can League Act On Issue That Exists Only Because League Does? Public Expects Referral to League
                3. Musso Attacks: British & French Disorganized/Divided/Unwilling to Act/Unable to Ignore
                4. Mussolini Thought British & French Consented @ Stresa: Colonial Hypocrites!
                5. Sanctions: Weak/Inconsistent/Antagonize, US Uses Oil Loophole; Denies Arms to Both
                6. Bungled, Weak Realpolitik vs. Principle: Hoare-Laval Topples French Govt, so None @Rhine Occupation
                7. League Fails 2nd Test: Ignored @ Munich & Otherwise
        D. Germany: Armed Ethiopia to Ensure Resistance & Divide Stresa
                1. Mussolini Driven To Depend On Hitler (Also By Aid to Spain), Stresa Gone, League Frail
                2. West Exaggerates Italian Power: Brits Have 3 Enemies
        E. Italy Underdeveloped: Fascism No Better, Too Ambitious!
                1. League's Ethiopian Sanctions/Credit Do Slowly Hurt Economic Recovery
                2. Italian Dependence on British Coal Replaced By German; Isolation=Subordination

  

IX.  Britain:  Tempered Yet Real Class Conflict: Economy, Trenches/BOMBER Dictate appeasement
        A. Baldwin: Unity/Amity over Leadership post-Zinoviev Letter Fraud '24 & General Strike '26
        B. Labour Wins '29, Falls '31: Aid 20% Unemployed or Balance Budget? Royal Navy Mutinies over Pay
        C. Imperial Preference  '32: Econ/Pol Focus on Empire; Retaliates for Smoot-Hawley; Influence on E Europe?
        D. Early Devaluation: Boosts Exports Briefly, But Retaliation...Retain Markets?
                1. Just Rearming Might Bankrupt: WAR? No, Can't Win Short/Can't Sustain Long War
                2. Trade Balance 4th Arm (Invisibles): Treasury--Can't Rearm or Fight: Imports Up, Exports Down; Johnson Act Cuts Off US $
        E. Imperially Vulnerable: Mediterranean/Singapore: Need Allies vs Too Many Enemies! Only France?

        F. Befriend Italy, Japan? USA Opposes Conciliating Japan; Dominions Ignore EEur; USSR: Suspects Intent to Bleed Reds

        G. National Gov't: Chamberlain Fears War Winners Labour in UK, US in Empire, USSR in Europe
        H. Case Study: 1936: Long-term Economic Decline in Jarrow:  Northeastern Shipbuilding   Link
                1. Uncompetitive Industry w/Extra Capacity: Lithgow's Perceived Role in Tyneside Tragedy/WW2
                2. Red Ellen Protests in Constitutional Context, Parochials Reject Jobs Enroute
         I. REITERATE: SQ DEMOCRACIES: NO DESIRE FOR WAR: MUNICH/APPEASEMENT

 

 

 

 

 

 

X. 1936:  Fears Realized: Spanish Civil War: A Dress Rehearsal of Ideas/Arms
        A. Link to Catalog of SCW Posters at UCal-San Diego 
        B. Spanish Hates: Republic Hated by Anarchists, Army, Clergy   Link to Orwell's Account
                1. Rival Burials: Death of Democracy in Austria, Spain, NIreland
                2. FFranco Needs Outside Aid to Restore Pure Spain (Airlift)
        C. Republicans (USSR) vs Franco (Germany & Italy Draw Closer)         (Britain,  France?)
        D. Mussolini: Why? Ego, Med, Reds;      Nazis: Reds, Distract, Aldershot, Ore
        E. France/Britain/USA: Wild Emotions, Strict Neutrality, Non-Intervention
                1. British Tory Govt Anti-Nat'lization & Red Gains; No RN Help
                2. FrenchPopular Front: Needs Britain versus Germany, Domestic Fears of Own Civil War
                3. Int'l Brigades: Passions High, Media Bias; US Embargo
         F USSR: Ideology & Prolongation w/Supplies; Fate of Activists: Link to Trotskyite View of SCW (p.5)
         G. Hardware: Bomber Will Always Get Through: Condor Legion
                1. Guernica: History, Myth, Art...Ongoing Basque Efforts
                2. Franco: Blame Anarchists; OK Target; Not Destroyed byBombs
         H. Govts' Stake Restrained,  Yet Spanish Civil War Makes War Imaginable Again for Leftists: A CAUSE!
          I. Yet Spanish Civil War Also Prevents Effective Anti-German Coalition
          J. French Gov't Falls as It Closes Border to Aid, So No Govt @Anschluss: Same Old Story
         K. Spanish Civil War: Ideological Confusion Erodes Western Will: A Direct/Indirect Cause of WW2

 

XI. 1935: USSR: Revolution Unleashes Questions About Radical Change: Great Purge (homage to Stalin)
         A. Brutal Terror Amid Social Scientific Certainty: Is Cause Democratic Centralism, or CPSU, or Stalin?
         B. Early '20s: Consolidate Socialism in 1 Country: Wait for Revolution (NEP)
         C. Late '20s: Consolidate Stalin's Power: Collectivize/Rapid Industrialization Through Terror
         D. Consumer Goods, Agr Population/Production Fall : Liquidate Kulaks to Break Peasants/Labor
         E. Int'l Context: Dictators Rise/West Weak: Stalin Tries to Push West Forward: Popular Front
         F. Domestic Context: Kill All Possible Political/Military Internal Rivals: Opportunist re Kirov's Death '34
                 1. Stalin May Not Have Personally Authorized Kirov's Death, But Uses to Keep All Power
                 2. Personality Cult (Venerate Stalin) Intensifies, Accused Old Bolshies of Links w/Trotsky
                 3. '36: Purges Accelerate Amid Hypocritical Constitution: Zinoviev/Kamenev/Connected
                 4. '37: Radek & Pyatakov; '38: Bukharin, Rykov & Krestinsky
                 5. '37: Mil Purge (Rapallo): Tukhachevsky Executed: Professional, Maybe Too Set on War
                 6. False Evidence: SS versus Armies   1/3 Officer Corps Gone, Up to 80-90% Colonels/Generals
                 7. Cannibals' Kafkaesque Incomprehensibility: Spanish Vets Shot & NKVD Investigators!
                 8. Also Ordinary/Foreign Communists & Acquaintances of Executed Shot
         G. How & Why: Methods: What is Truth? CPSU's Historically Determined Triumph: Link to Official Party History
                 1. Fictitious Defendants & Confessions: Knowledge of Other Crimes? Sense of Guilt?
                 2. Family Threatened; Confessors Implicate Others Quest for Control Spirals Out of Control
                 3. Exclusion from Party Intolerable Even As It Killed You: Link to Online Summary of Purge
         H. Consequences: Impact on USSR's Military Power & Long Term Viability of Int'l Communism
                 1. Involved Include All Leaders to 1985/Cold War (Effects on USSR Initiatives & Western Trust?)
                 2. Link to Trotskyite View of Socialism's Viability: Purges Enable Capitalists to Excuse Selves (para 4)
                 3. Blind Loyalty to Stalin: Fear, Lies & Reality; Western Media Views Delay Full Comprehension
                 4. Affects British/French Options re Munich, Summer 1939, Finland
                 5. Western Right-Wing Willingness to Appease Hitler
          I. If Choice Forced, Which Would You Have Chosen to live Under? Nazism or Communism?


XII. What is Overall Impact of Ideology? Does it Cause War? Does it Shape War?
         A. How Firmly Should We Believe in Our Political Ideologies?
         B. Does Preparation for War Produce War? Or Does It Produce Peace?
 

 

 

 

 

 

FROM PEACE TOWARD WAR: THE DICTATORS' THREAT THROUGH SPRING 1938

I.  Hitler/Germans Defy Versailles: Opportunist w/Overall Aims/Plan
         A. Go BEYOND Versailles/Self-Determination/Military Parity/Polish Corridor...to What Kind of War?
         B. MEIN KAMPF: Enough Living Space? Racial/Nat'l Hegemony: Lebensraum
                   1. "Racial Suicide" or Better Agriculture? NO! Beyond  1914--Racial Emigration: Adjacent Expansion East
                   2. From  Stresemann's Revisionism to Hitler's Racist Aggression
                   3. Racial Cleansing of Jews & Slavs ( & Communists)
                   4. French Obstacle, Russian Enemy, Italy Ally, USA Eventual Target
                   5. British Ally?: Dislike German Methods, Not Apparent Aims
                            a. Don't Clearly Object to Germany as #1 in Central & Eastern Europe: How Far?
                            b. Accept Change Needed, Insist on Talks, Not Force (But Coercive Negotiations Rely on Threats!)
                            c. US & USSR: Econ/Military/Ideological Threat to Both Germany & Britain
                            d. Won't Repeat Kaiser/Tirpitz Surface Navy Contest
                            e. Germany Wants Bilateral Alliance to Unleash Germany on USSR
                            f.  Britain Wants Multilateral Accords to Create Stable Peace
         C. Early Rhetoric & Reality: Conciliation/Confrontation Mixed: How Hitler Bobbed & Weaved  
                   1. West Hopes for Restraint: "Can't Really Mean What He Said"
                   2. May 1933: Renews German-Soviet 1926 Treaty of Berlin & July 1933: Vatican Concordat
                   3. October 1933: Quits Disarmament Conference (Camouflage), Exits League of Nations
                   4. German-Polish Treaty, Jan 1934: Flexible, Peaceful, End Isolation?... Or Disrupt Fr Alliances & Target USSR
                   5. Long Knives (June 1934): Violent, But Eliminated Left Wing
                   6. Nazi Coup in Austria (July 1934): Dollfuss Dead, Mussolini to Brenner
                   7. Denounce Military Clauses of Versailles/Open Rearming (March 1935)


II.  Wider Context: The Weaker Challengers: Italy & Japan Contrasted
         A. Italy: Ambitious Yet Economy Underdeveloped & Dependent
                   1. Locarno Guarantor/Stresa Shifts to Axis: Fatal Attraction
                   2. Rearm Early, But Swiftly Obsolete, for Spain/Africa Costly
                   3. Leadership & Training Poor: Liability for Germans
                   4. Fascist Emphasis on Rural Virtue Yet Divided Nation North/South
                   5. Underequipped, Mussolini  Hopeless Manager, Yet Perception of Strength
          B. Japanese Threat Underrated: Ongoing Econ Growth & Ambition
                   1. Trained, Spirited, Patriotic Troops; Carrier Strength Yet Interservice Bickering & Weak Civilian "Control"
                   2. '31 Attack Undermines League; '37 Attack Distracts Britain & US  Link To US Amb Assessment of Powerful Japan
                   3. Expansionist Policy: Making Wrong (Anglo-American) Enemies
                   4. Dependence on Imported Raw Materials: Context for Pearl Harbor


III.  Hesitant French Response: Toward Collective Security with Soviet Aid?
          A. Security Over Ideology: Barthou's Realpolitik Effort (Link to Brief online biography of Barthou)
          B. Revives Old East European Alliances, Seeks New: Italy & USSR
          C. Tenuous Franco-Sovt Alliance Established (1934-35) Fear Unites: Status Quo Power & Revisionist Ignore 1917-9
                   1. Germans Rearm 3/35, So Alliance Enacted (5/35), But Eastern Europe Upset, Fears Nearby Soviets
                           a. Barthou Tries Eastern Locarno With Parallel Russian-French Pact
                           b. Polish Hatred of Russia Destroys Eastern Locarno: So Does No Hapsburg Substitute Cause WW2?
                   2. Popular Front: Comintern Approval of Co-Operation
                   3. French Right Hates Popular Front,  Inhibits Co-Op; Implement w/o Staff Talks?

          D. Does USSR Want Stability/Peace/Status Quo?
          E. Italo-French Co-Operation? Amid Central European Rivalry?
                   1. Barthou Dies: Croatian Separatism  Sponsored by Mussolini, Successor Laval Inept Overall After Initial "Success"
                   2. Builds on Barthou: Establish Stresa Front (4/35):  No More Violations of VT Obligations (Austria/Arms)
                   3. Popular Front Govt & Ethiopian War Undermine Franco-Italian Co-Operation
          F. Defections: Britain Partly (British-German Naval Treaty 6/35), Italy/Belgium Out
                   1. Mussolini Angry at League Sanctions & British/French Colonial Hypocrisy
                   2. Franco-Italian Alliance Kaput: 15 Divisions Now Needed in Alps
                   3. Rhine Remilitarized: Belgium Drops French Ally     What Purpose Now for Maginot Line?


IV. Germany: Aggressive, Capable, Terrifying, Overrated? Link to Article about Myths of German Wartime Performance
          A. Tremendous Record of Victories ('35-) '39-41 Hides Flaws
          B. Buildup Threatens Breakdown: Fragile Recovery From 1914-25
          C. Decision-Making Chaos: Breakneck Expansion: Demands Overlap
          D. Synthetics, Barter & Exchange Controls, But Foreign $$ Needed for Raw Materials
                  1. Restrictive Trade Agreements Aim: Block Marks' Use
                  2. Eastern Europeans Sell Germany Food/Raw Materials, Can Buy Only What Germany Sells
                  3. German Shortages Remain:  Only Real Answer War
                  4. Consequences of Limits: Desire & Need Plunder/Booty
                  5. Germany Needs War: Rapid Rearmament to Expand & Enable Rearmament
                  6. So Hitler Causes WW2? What Does This Suggest About Marxist Analysis of Capitalism?
           E. Answer to Contradictions: Blitzkrieg's Operational Doctrine, Relative Effectiveness
           F. Tank Concentration (Fewer than France) & Close Air Support
           G. Mobility & Equipment Limited: Reliance on Horses, No Strategic Bomber
                   1. How Far Can You Go with Blitzkrieg/Nazi Racism? When Stop?
                   2. Rearming Wide Not Deep: LONG WAR? Strong Relative to Whom?
                   3. After Lebensraum: The Z Plan (1/39) and World Power
            H. Yet Western Perceptions of German Power Lead to Munich/Appeasement
             I. Did a Missed Chance to Curb Hitler's Ambition Cause WW2?


V.  German Unilateral Assault on Versailles System (Ethiopian Cover): Link to Article Providing Insights about Working for Hitler  
            A. Remilitarizing Rhineland, 3/36: "Germany's Backyard"
                    1. Does WW2 Begin Here? 
                    2. Ostensibly Franco-USSR "Red Menace" Excuse; Rhineland is German  Springboard Later
                    3. Hoare-Laval Mess Overthrows French Govt, Divides Britain & France: Link to Hoare's Whining Justification
                    4. Contrast France at Ruhr '23 & Rhine '36:  Will France Ever Fight?
                            a. Brits Perceive Self-Determination, Ignore Power
                            b. Govt Weak, Army Staff Adds to Intelligence on  German Troop Deployment
                            c. Pivotal? Would Hitler Really Have Quit Without War?
                            d. Poland & Little Entente Gravitate Toward Germany
             B. German/Austrian Anschluss, 3/38: Does WW2 Begin Here?
                    1. Austrian Identity? & Question of Self-Determination: Anschluss Surrounds Czechs 

                    2. Hitler's Opportunism: Intimidated Schuschnigg Provokes
                    3. Invited Enables Claim of Legitimate Form; Red Vienna Dead Inhibit Leftist Response; French NO GOVT
                    4. Link to Austrian Views of Anschluss &   "Plebiscite"
                    5. Repeated Improvisations Suggest Bi-Yearly Schedule
                    6. Allies Will Eventually Resist Intolerable Subversion/Threats
                    7. Smallwood: Controversy over Hitler's Approach/Blame: Link to Description of Taylor Thesis  
                    8. German Economic Stranglehold over EEur Successor States/Rivals Develops
             C. Have-Nots Emboldened to Challenge Status Quo: French Bulwark Weak
 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 1938: MUNICH & APPEASEMENT'S ROOTS, PRACTICE & FAILURE

I. Appeasement's Motives: Methodism, Markets, Many Dangers, Masses

II. German Pressure on  Czechoslovakia: Sudeten Self-Det Protests, 1938: Link to Detailed Documentation & More Documentation
         A. Czech Multinational State: Only Real Democracy Left in Eastern Europe
         B. Sudetens Had Never Been Part of the Reich: Pretext for Power Grab
         C. Konrad Henlein Subversive, Totalitarian, Denies Nazi Links

III. British/French Response: Munich & Appeasement: Czechoslovakia's Doom
         A. Defensive French Need Britain to Resist: Would Resolve Deter? Provoke?
         B. Britain: Reasonable Conciliation Preferred over Deterrence
                  1. Balance of Power Approach Morally, Practically Impossible!
                         a. Ally Across Ideological Divide & WW1 Memories? Encircle
                         b. Purges Weaken USSR; Their Motives?: Embroil West?
                         c. Litvinov Promised Aid: Gambit To Trap West In War?
                         d. Germany the "Natural" #1 European Power: French System Artificial
                         e. Axis & Anti-Comintern Threat: Multiple-Front War?
                   2. Locarno Heritage: Germany Go East! Ditch France's Allies?
                         a. But German Power Accretion Threatens West Europe
                         b. Is Eastern Europe Less Important to Britain Than to France  (or USA?)
                   3. Neville Chamberlain: Reason Over Passion: Passionate Hate of War
                         a. Confidently Negotiates From Weakness: No Long War, No War
                         b. Can't Make Obvious Wish To Avoid War at All Costs
                         c. Sic vis pacem para bellum: Hatred of War: Leverage?
                   4. Ducking Insufficient; Active Resolution Needed to Prevent Accident
           C.
5/38 Crisis: Br & Fr Blame "Provocative Czechs": Need Resolution: Link to Summary w/Photo & Audio Links
           D. 9/38 Escalation:  Nüremberg Speech & Sudeten Harassment
                    1. Innocent Hitler Furious at Perception of His Apparent Back Down 5/38: He wants WAR!!
                    2. Though Satisfying Henlein Would Mean Detaching Sudetens, British Seek Settlement In Czechoslovakia!
                    3. 1st Flight to Berchtesgaden: Chamberlain Concedes Annexation of  Sudetenland: Link to Discussion
                          a. Hitler Excludes Polish/Hungarian Demands on Teschen/Slovakia
                          b. British & French Withdraw Support: Czechs Capitulate
                    4. Appeasement's Coercive Aspect: Hitler Creates Crisis; Brits Coerce Czechs!
                    5. Godesberg:  Surprised Hitler Includes Polish & Hungarian Demand
                           a. Hitler Seeks Immediate Occupation: Question Becomes the Method of Transfer
                           b. Hitler Wants Quick Bilateral War; Britain/France Resist to Forestall Unilateral Gains Made By Force
                           c. Western Public Outrage: The Shift Begins Now, Though Relief at Peace is Real
                           d. Evacuation/Gas Mask Horror:  Chamberlain Determined to get PEACE
            E. War Imminent?: Munich Conference: Western Will Collapses at Last Minute:
                    1. Musso Sponsors Neville's Locarno: Mediate w/GERMAN Plan
                           a.
Hitler Sought War, Yet Opponents Aided Racial Utopia w/ Multilateral Agreement to Nearly Identical Terms
                           b. Quick Military Occupation; Guarantee Czechs After Poles/Hungarians Get Their Slice
                    2. Negotiate Legal Czech Surrender: No Fight for Sudetenland: Poor Hitler: No War
                    3. Brits Abandon Czechs, Embitter Unwilling USA, Exclude "Eager" USSR: Nazi/Soviet Pact '39
                    4.  British Euphoria/Regret: Link to Agreement TextLink to "Peace In Our Time" Upon Return
                          a. Link to Chamberlain's Speech in Defense in Commons
                          b. Illogical/Impractical British Guarantee of Truncated Czechia
                          c. Munich Not Better Than Godesberg: Cowardly Sacrifice of Others for Peace Gradually Disillusions
                          d. Unhappy Hitler Determines to Get War Next Time:
Link to 1997 Mutual Apology
            F. Full Evaluation of Munich Requires Look Ahead: Does Munich Cause World War 2?

 

 

 

 

  IV. 1939 Disillusionment: German Actions Cause Western Re-Evaluation
           A. Beyond Civilization & Self-Determination & Liberation to Conquest
                    1. Kristallnacht, 11/38 (Link to US Holocaust Memorial Museum  & Controversy: Use of Nazi Euphemism)
                    2. Hitler's Goals?: 1/39 Z Plan Involves Overseas & Continental Goals
                    3.
Britain BETRAYED: Germans' Next Push is for Hegemonic Goal Though apparently Self-Determination Again
                    4. 2-3/39: Liberal Hopes Gone: Guarantee POLES/Conscript; End of Czechoslovakia, 3/39
                    5. End Limited Liability: Late Continental Commitment to French: Where Was This Before? Lessons for NATO
                    6. 4/39: Italy Annexes Albania; Britain/France Guarantee Greece & Rumania: Mussolini's Actual Motivation?
                    7. Revisionists' Co-Operation Limited: Italy/Germany (not Japan Yet: Focused on China) Pact of Steel
             B. German Pressure on Poland: with Poles v USSR or with USSR v Poland? Josef Beck Resists
                    1. Demands: Danzig, Corridor Across Corridor, Join Anti-Comintern Pact: Poles Won't Cave
                    2. Courageous Amoral (Teschen) Poles Will Fight & Lose

V. Competition for USSR Cooperation: Genesis of Nazi-Soviet Pact
         A. Sovt Military Investment/Industr'l Growth at Great Agricultural/Social Cost
                    1. Isolated from Great Depression: Public Relations Victory
                    2. Control over Innovation at Every Level: Purges Weaken
          B. Catchup: Effort, Purge Enemies, Get Friends: From Popular Front to Munich to Nazi-Soviet Pact
          C.  West Needs Help to Fulfill Polish Pledge as Political/Military Talks w/USSR Crawl
                    1. Can't Let USSR Enter Threatened States Against Their Will, But
                    2. USSR Wants Red Army into (Eastern, White Russian & Ukrainian) Poland Pre-War (Won't Leave)
                    3. Can't Give USSR Poland & East Europe To Save From Germany & Stop Hitler, Can You? 
Don't You (1945)?
                    4. Chamberlain Fears Alliance with USSR Encircles & Provokes Germans
                    5. Polish Pledge Rules Out USSR As Ally Chamberlain Didn't Want
                    6. Chamberlain Still Hoped Gestures Wd Be Enough, HalfHearted
                    7. British/French Peons Dally, Hitler Hurries: Stalin Wooed
                    8. 5/39 Signal: Molotov Replaces Jew Litvinov as Commissar
          D. Nazis Offer USSR Non-Aggression Pact & Eastern European Sphere of Influence
                    1. From Popular Front/Collective Security 1934-38 to Nazi-Soviet Pact
                    2. Nazi-Soviet Pact: Appeases, Turns Nazis West Post-Poland: Link to Terms
                    3. Blueprint for Aggression: 4th Partition of Poland  (Does Nazi-Soviet Pact Cause World War 2?)
          E. Evaluate Nazi-Soviet Pact: Doomed France/Poles: Stalin Sensible? Inept?
                    1. Avoid Western Combination vs USSR & Delay Invasion & Supplied Nazis
                    2. Revise Post-WW1 Borders & Gain Territory, But Also Gain Common Border!
                    3. Never Enhanced Defenses Systematically: OK til France Falls
           F. Where/When Will Necessary Anti-German Coalition Arise?: Link to Scholarly Analysis of Failure to Achieve Grand Alliance of Britain, France & USSR, Blaming West & Mostly Exonerating USSR & to Online Review of His Book 

 VI. Britain: Why War for Poland, Not Czechs? France Will Fight (Defensively)
           A. Labour/Dissenter Pressure that Hitler Cannot Be Trusted
           B. Fight in '39: We Can: Air Confidence Growing, RDF Developing, German Economy Thought Weakening

VII. Hitler  Goes to War: Germans Cause War; British Decisions Dictate Timing
           A. British Resolve Post-Nazi/Soviet Pact  Surprises Hitler: Delays 6 Days to Try & Detach Britain
                    1. Nazi-Soviet Pact 8/23; Anglo-Polish Alliance 8/25
                    2. British Support for Independence But Not Integrity
           B. Hitler Wants Polish War, Expects British & French Concessions: NO!!
           C. BritishResolve: Coerce & Deter Hitler to Backdown; If Not: War!
           D. British Guarantee CAUSES Overdue 1939 War (1938 Context)
           E. German Attack, 1 Sept '39: From Shaky Peace to WAR
           F. British & French Do Delay 2 Days to Co-Ordinate (& Perhaps Appease?): Audio Link to Declaration of War
           G. Peace Required German  Patience, Real British/French/Russian Alliance, or Continued Appeasement
           H. British/French Keep Promise, Get Ultra Intelligence!

 

 

VIII. Nazi Methods' Eventual Impact Repopularizes Balance of Power Approach
           A. Does Appeasement = Peace at ANY Price, Or are There Limits?
           B. We've Been Deceived! Betrayed! Make Him Pay!
           C. Is War Declaration Abandonment or Fulfillment of Appeasement?
           D. Mix of Conciliation/Coercion Failed: Unbalanced, Disbelieved
           E. Improvised Bi-Yearly Subversions Eventually Resisted

IX. Assessment: Who Benefited Most From Munich? Was It Worth It?   Link to Debate in Commons & Contemporary Assessments
          A. Were They "Guilty Men?" Was "The Gathering Storm" Unnecessary?
          B. Or Was Britain a "Troubled Giant?" a "Weary Titan?"
          C. What Motivates Our View of Appeasement?
          D. Appeasers' Case: Breather Gained So Public & Dominions Ready in '39
                   1. Chamberlain Not A Wimp, Actually Too Confident
                   2. Spitfire Developed Meanwhile!  Yet Slow Western Military Buildup Overall
                   3.  Chamberlain Sought Lasting Real Peace Not Delay; He was Unrealistic
                   4. British Say Eastern Europe was  Irrelevant,  Yet Impeded France in 1938, Pledged to Aid in 1939
                           a. Britain  Thereby Becomes #1 German Enemy '38-'41
                           b. Try To Avoid German Blame for 1914 (We Didn't Expect...)
                           c. British Coercion '38 (May Act) Leads to Peace/Dishonor Anyway
                           d. British Coercion '39 (Will Act) Leads to War Anyway
          E. Year May Have Saved Britain But Lost Europe, Embittered USA
                   1. LUFTWAFFE Bomber Range: Could Not Have Reached British Soil in 1938
                   2. Yet Czech Raw Materials, Gold, Skoda Arms Plant, Army Lost, Stalin's Paranoid View of West Accelerated
          F. Alternatives: Chiefs of Staff View of Military Balance was Excessively, Perhaps Deliberately Bleak
                   1. COS Never Considered Impact of Czech Loss
                   2. Another Win for Terror: Czech Gold/Equipment Used Against Poland
          G. Would German Generals Have Overthrown Hitler (Prestige Growing): Enduring Myth
                   1. All Generals Hesitant: Ludwig Beck Resigns Yet West Feeble Too
                   2. Omits West's Hatred of War: Playing Chicken
                   3. Postwar Cold War Anti-Appeasers and Rehabilitation of Germans Served By This Myth
          H. So is Honor/Character Relevant in Assessing Leadership?

X. Lessons Learned: Hitler Unappeasable: Are All Dictators?
          A. Is Appeasement Ever Moral? Was Hitler A Rational Partner?
          B. Future Leaders Hampered By Reluctance to Ever Be Seen Appeasing! Memory Too Good
                   1. US Appeasers Kennedy (& Bullitt): Impact on JFK Etc.
                   2. Ongoing Use of Munich: Nasser '56, Ho '60s, Saddam '91
          C. What Can We Learn From History?
          D. Collective Security Breaks Promises or Makes Every Little War= Big War

 

XI. Declaration of War: Aquinas' Conditions: A Just War?
          A. Declaration by a Legitimate Authority (State): Yes
          B. Just Cause: Yes
          C. Right Intention: Yes
          D. Last Resort: Yes--the Virtue of Appeasement
          E. Reasonable Hope of Success: ????

 

XII. Conditions for Conduct of a Just War
          A. Due Proportion Between Benefits Sought & Damage Incurred: ??
          B. Non-combatant Immunity: ??

 


 
 

  PHONEY WAR?: POLAND & SCANDINAVIA

I.  Germany Defeats Poland: Axis Initiative Continues Thanks to Blitzkrieg
        A. Poles Lose Quickly, 1 September-5 October 39: Outnumbered/outequipped/outflanked
(Cavalry Charge?)
                 1. No Western Front/Aid: France/Britain Mobilize Slowly, Germans Focus on Poles
                 2. British Request: Delay Mobilizing to Avoid Provoking Germany
                 3. Political Need to Defend Corridor: Outflanked: Link to Map of Divided Poland
                         a. No Defense in Depth Possible of Long Borders (Czech,Prussia)
                         b. No Withdrawal Possible for Effective Counterattack, Fighting Retreat Invited Envelopment Pincers
                         c. Panzers Breakthrough & Exploit  & Infantry Follow-up
                         d. Crucial USSR Assault Ends War Early (Often Forgotten that USSR Was Cobelligerent, Not Neutral)
(Polish View)
          B. Horrific Aftermath: Toll: 70000 Killed September 39; 4-5 million civilians Later
          C. MassMurder @Home Too: Euthanise "Defective"  Germans: Mentally Ill, Old, Wounded: Link to Account 

                   1.  Bishop Galen's Sermon Condemning Euthanasia   & to Review of Award-Winning Book on Nazi Euthanasia
          D. More Die in Warsaw Than Entire British & US Death Toll
          E. Contribution: Role in Battle of Britain; Anders' Army to USSR
                   1. ENIGMA Codebreakers Evacuated & Progress Kept Secret
                   2. Escapees Warned West of Holocaust in 1942 & Prominent Role at Monte Cassino in Italy, 1944
                   3. Warned & Transported V-2 Engine to British  (Peenemünde)
                   4. Govt in Exile: Sikorski PM & Commander-in-Chief until 1943: But No Ukrainians on Ruling Council!
                          a. Undemocratic Govt Since 1926 Now Necessarily Continues With Limited Credibility
                          b. Khrushchev Civilian Boss in Lwow Manages Annexation Fraud
                          c.
Katyn 1940: Soviets Massacre '000s of Officers: Link to Emotional Appeal Illustrating Context
                   5. Katyn Revelation in 1943 Leads to Broken Relations and USSR Sponsors Lublin Puppet Alternative
           F. USSR Active German Partner: Implications for British Blockade!!


II.  Phoney War/Sitzkrieg/Bore War: Only Real Fighting At Sea
          A. Britain Won't Yet Bomb Arms Plants, Since They're Private Property; Fear Revenge
          B. Hitler Ready to Go West, Wehrmacht Cautious: 29 Delays, Meanwhile USA Sumner Welles Mission 3/40


III. Scandinavian War, 1: Winter War, 11/39 to 3/40: USSR Attacks Finns
          A. USSR: Nazi/Soviet Pact Designated Finland in Soviet Sphere (Had Been Russian, 1809-1917)
                   1. Stalin Wants Leningrad Security: Karelia & Hanko Naval Base
          B. Inspired Resistance/War: Purges, Arrogance, Little Daylight, Skis/White Uniforms
                   1. Finns' Defense Broken in Feb 40: No Effective Aid (Link to Finnish Website on Winter War)
                   2. Draconian Peace Leads to Renewed War in 1941-44 as Nazi Ally: Link to Map of Finns' Land Seized
          C. Result: USSR 200K Dead, Credibility Undermined: Invites German Attack
          D. British/French Response: Proper Strategy?  French Less Hopeful of Results from Blockade
                   1. Delay Helps West Arm, But Stalin Supplies Hitler
                   2. French Indecision Criticized at Home: PM Reynaud Replaces Daladier, 3/40-6/40
                   3. French Fear Nazi-Soviet Pact Unleashes Germany on West, so Maybe Attack USSR to Deny Nazi Swede
                       Iron Ore & Caucasus Oil? & Relieve Finn!?? Link to Blurb for & Review of Book on British Plans


IV.  Scandinavian War, 2: Norway & Denmark, 4/40: Hitler Preempts Again
           A. Though Finland Quits, British Prepare to Mine Norwegian Waters to Deny Ice-Free Route for Swedish Ore
           B. British Failure in Norway: (Apr/May 1940): Churchill as Prime Minister
                   1. Tho German Naval Inferior, 1st on Scene: Wehrmacht Can't Be Dislodged
                   2. Br/Fr Win @Narvik, But Exit 6/40 Amid Fr Crisis, Get Norwegian Fleet into Exile to Benefit Allies
                   3. Germans GAIN Norwegian Heavy Water (Deuterium Oxide [Atomic]) & Bases: Pincer for Atlantic Battle
                   4. Link to Analysis of Swedish Codebreaking & Efforts to Remain Neutral

 

 

 

 

 

 

FALL GELB: THE FALL OF FRANCE

I. Nazi Attack Thru Ardennes: Manstein/Rundstedt's SICHELSCHNITT
          A. French Fall (5-6/1940): Ends European  Balance of Power & Endangers US & USSR 6/41
          B. WHY FALL?: "Strange Defeat"?  French Democracy Hollow, Divided?
                   1. Vichy Right Exploits Loss versus Left: Ideological Conflict Distracts From French Army's Failure!
                   2. Maginot Not Extended Behind Belg/Fr Border: NE Fr Industrialized & Can't Abandon Unwise Belgium
                   3. French Aid to Belgium Catastrophic: Ambitious Sortie Forward: Plan D/Breda Variant Uses Reserves
                   4. German Army Not Superior Numerically: Surprise, Doctrine, Organization!
                   5. Link to Great Site for War Maps: All onwar.com maps © Copyright Ralph Zuljan 2000
                   6. Link German Propaganda: Why They Won in '40, & Why '40 Armistice was much Kinder than 1919 Treaty
          C. Army Group A Panzer Blitzkrieg into Ardennes: LOCALLY Superior 3:1
                   1. Divisions: 44A 29B against NBelg; 17C against Maginot: Divides Allied Left & Right
                   2. Poor Staff Work: Missed Chance at Combined Counterattack
                   3. C-in-C HQ's Dispersed With Poor Communications
                   4. Panic: 8-10m Refugees Clog Roads & Kill Messengers
                   5. Belgian Retreat Prevents British Attack; French Misused Tanks