PS 203 Lecture Outline 10 21 13 Versailles to Munich Learning goals By the end of this lecture you should be able to 1 Identify and describe the major consequences of the Versailles Treaty 2 Describe the orthodox explanation for Chamberlain s decision at Munich 3 Describe the revisionist explanation for Chamberlain s decision at Munich 4 Define the following key concepts and illustrate each with an example appeasement justice motive trust and mistrust Munich analogy Versailles to Munich I Victor s Peace at Versailles a Background on Versailles i In 1917 Lenin comes to power in Russia and Russia sues for peace 1 US comes to war ii 1918 war ends iii Kaiser leaves Germany 1 Hitler invites back to Berlin iv Versailles Peace Treaty was the treaty signed between allies and Germany 1 2 victors got to decide French were hurt so badly in war that they hid statistics for fear that they would look weak v French were not looking for a just treaty at Versailles they wanted a victor s peace 1 Did not care about equality vi USA was looking for more equality 1 Woodrow Wilson travels to Versailles to suggest League of Nations a Thought not the balance of power did not cause WWI but the underlying cause of WWI was the absence of democracy i There must not be a balance of power but a community of power b Also thought war was caused by secret treaties i Called for transparency ii Diplomacy should happen in the public view 1 Wanted League of Nations to do this b Consequences of the Treaty i Sanctions and punishment against Germany 1 Restrictions and war reparations on Germany a Allies totally gutter Germany military i Capped at 100 000 soldiers ii No tanks artillery or battleships allowed b Required Germany to pay reparations i Blamed Germany for the origins of WWI ii Wanted them to therefore pay the damages 1 4 million dollars of damages later upped to 20 million ii A League of Nations with no teeth 1 League of Nations designed to keep the peace in Europe a Made up of different democracies in Europe partnered with USA to keep the peace 2 Three problems a Wilson proposed the League but did not sign onto the league i Had isolationists in US senate and they voted the treaty down b Germany and Russia were excluded from it i Considered to be great pariahs in Europe 1 Germany responsible for WWI 2 Russia now lead by communists c League had no teeth i No enforcement power ii An organizations that made lots of demands but did not have the capability to back up threats 1 No standing army 2 No authority to intervene in conflicts 3 No military power to keep states in order with the league 4 Did do well with vaccines and medicine iii Why does it matter 1 Victors created conditions in Europe that were ripe for a WWII a Weakened Germany constructed League to exclude them and made demands without any power to enforce the peace 2 Germany was suffering economically due to war and to Versailles treaty Politics fractured a b Make conditions ripe for radicals to come to power i Hitler came to power by constitutional mean in 1933 1 Consolidates power in politics 2 Marginalizes rivals 3 Sends German troops to Rhine land a Allies had required Germany to keep troops out of this area so that this area could act as a buffer zone between Belgium France and Germany b Annexed Austria c Provoke Czechoslovakia over Sudetenland i A strip of Czechoslovakia territory inhabited by Germans II Appeasement at Munich 1938 a A meeting between Nazi Germany and the major European powers i Was supposed to decide the fate of Sudetenland ii Hitler says that it belongs to Germany 1 Carved off from Germany after Versailles 2 Says it s his and that he is willing to go to war to get it iii Hitler says that if they give it to them then there will be peace 1 Hitler was radical but not totally clear how extreme iv Sudetenland was inhabited by ethnic Germans so Britain and France could not see the problem v Sudetenland important to Czechoslovakia 1 Where fortifications were 2 If there were wars against Germany then Czechoslovakia would be defenseless a But they had no say at Munich conference because they weren t invited b Britain and France got to decide the fate without Czechoslovakia input vi Territory given to Germany on the promise that Hitler will not ask for more military b What happened at Munich i Hitler s rise ii Remilitarization and expansion iii Munich Conference 1 What is appeasement a Policy of offering concessions to adversaries on the hope that they will be satisfied and ask for no more b Did not work with Hitler i Was revisionist and a liar 1 Did not want to stop with Sudetenland c What explains Chamberlain s appeasement policy i Orthodox view Hitler duped Chamberlain 1 Should not have given Sudetenland ii Revisionist view Chamberlain had no choice 1 Chamberlain mistrusted Hitler a Should not have trusted Hitler but should have taken Britain to war against Germany b Dupe was plausible because Hitler s claims were possible c Argued Sudetenland belongs to Germany i Keeping it from Germany was a grave injustice and worth fighting to correct this injustice 2 Feelings of injustice British sympathy a What is the justice motive i Argument that people often fight to correct what they feel are injustices ii When people what they deserve entitlements exceeds what they actually possess benefits they get angry iii Often willing to fight to correct this injustice iv Go to war to correct perceived injustices 1 Other states often sympathize with these feelings of injustice a Try to do peacefully to avoid war b What should Chamberlain have done War i Chamberlain said that he would like to sit down at table with Germans it would relieve all intentions ii Completely fool to sympathize with Hitler s claims iii He should have refused to give Sudetenland and Chamberlain should have just taken Britain to war against Germany a Britain did not have the ability to go to war at that time i Britain public did not want to go to war at that time ii Public cheered when he came back from Munich b Also wrote a series of private letters i They suggest that Chamberlain really had no illusions about Hitler s intentions 1 Germany will use force c What are trust and mistrust i Emotional beliefs ii Trust is a gun to the head in IR iii Trust is a feeling of optimism about the goodwill and iv Mistrust is a feeling of pessimism about the goodwill and competence of others competence of others d Chamberlain mistrusted Hitler but was buying time e What if we found out