Notes on History World Affairs Gce

Peace Treaties Peace Treaties Versailles Aim: punish Germany, prevent war and allow self-determination Territorial Aim: to weaken Germany by taking away territories, to get compensation for cost of war by gaining land, and to allow for self-determination -Germany lost 13. 5% of land, 12. 5% of population, 15% of farm production, 48% iron production and 16% coal production Alsace-Lorraine| France| Eupen, Moresnet, Malmedy| Belgium|North Schleswig| Denmark (through plebiscite) self-determination| West Prussia, Posen, Upper Silesia| Poland (make Poland stronger by having access to Baltic Sea increase trade ^economic growth| Danzig| Free City under LoN| Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania| Independent states self-determination| Memel | Lithuania| Saar| Under LoN for 15yrs, then plebiscite; France allowed use of coalmines| Rhineland| Demilitarised under allied control for 15 years| Anschluss| Forbidden| Colonies -Germany had to renounce all rights to her colonies -became mandates under LoN suppose dly administered by advanced nations who would help them develop into modern states -ended up being used for Allies’ own purposes; equivalent to annexation German East Africa, parts of Togoland, Cameroon| Britain| Togoland, Cameroon| France| German Southwest Africa| South Africa| -Germany also had to give up trade concessions in China and Morocco -The Rhine, Elbe, Oder and upper Danube were placed under International Control Outcome: Germans were upset by the loss of land as it meant reduction in production of agriculture, iron and coal which would weaken Germany MilitaryAim: To keep Germany’s military strength weak so that it could not threaten its neighbours again -army was limited to 100 000 volunteers enlisted for 12 years and there were to be no tanks, armoured cars, heavy artillery or military aircraft -navy was restricted to 6 battleships of limited tonnage, 6 cruisers, 12 destroyers, a handful of smaller vessels and no submarines -left bank of the Rhine and 50k m strip on the right bank were to be demilitarized as a further concession to France -Allied Army of Occupation was to be stationed on German side of Cologne, Coblenz and Trier to ensure the terms were kept, consisted mainly of French troops, to be kept there for 15 years -to prevent German aggression and invasion of France; Britain and US also promised to help if attacked Economic Aim: to seek compensation to victorious powers for loss of lives and damage due to war -Germany had to pay ? 6. 6b over 42 years, with ? 1b paid immediately -bulk of payment went to France; Germany complained reparations were a burden -when Germany defaulted, France invaded Ruhr and seized ? 40m; resulted in economic collapse -Allies felt more gradual scheme was needed Dawes and Young Plan -Dawes: 2 year moratorium, US gave loan of 40m -Young: cut reparations to ? b over 59 years, aborted due to Depression Political -war criminals to be tried; Kaiser fled to Holland -LoN was set up to preserve world peace St Germain Territorial Aim: to weaken Austria by taking away territories, to get compensation for cost of war by gaining land, and to allow for self-determination Bohemia, Moravia(which were wealthy industrial provinces)| Czechoslovakia| Dalmatia, Bosnia, Herzegovina| Yugoslavia| Bukovina| Romania| Galicia| Poland| South Tyrol, Trentino, Istria, Trieste| Italy| Military Aim: To keep Austria’s military strength weak so that it could not threaten its neighbours again -army restricted to 30,000 -only 1 armament factory much of its navy went to Allies and it was now restricted to 4 patrol boats Outcome: Austria would not be able to start another war and even had problems defending itself Economic/Reparations Aim: To get reparations from Austria as compensation for Allied expenses in the war; War Guilt Clause to justify -had to pay reparations but could not pay in cash as republic was too poor -suffered severe economic problems as much of its industry went to Czechoslovakia -Econ omic units were broken up in different countries Outcome: -loss of industrial and agricultural land was insufficient to support urban population -lost role as centre of trade -appeal for union with Germany was rejected Political -Austria to become a member subject to good behaviour Trianon Territorial Slovakia, Ruthenia| Czechoslovakia|Croatia, Slovenia| Yugoslavia| Transylvania, Banat of Temesvar | Romania| Military -army was restricted to 35000 and could only be employed for maintaining internal order and patrolling frontiers Economic -unspecified amount to be paid -unable to pay reparations as economy was too weak -loss of population and raw materials caused its industry to suffer Political -Magyars believed Trianon to be unjust and demanded it to be revised -Hungary was hostile to countries who gained part of its land Sevres Territorial Adrianople, Most of Thrace, Smyrna| Greece| Armenia| Asia Minor| Rhodes, Dodecanese| Italy| Port of Cilicia| France| Constantinople, Straits are a and adj. slands including Lemnos| International Zone of Straits under LoN| Kurdistan| Self-governing| Syria, Lebanon| French Mandate| Iraq, Palestine, Jordan| British Mandate| Arabia| Became independent under a native dynasty| Regained under Treaty of Lausanne: 1. Adrianople 2. Eastern Thrace 3. Smyrna 4. Anatolia 5. Straits 6. Constantinople 7. Aegean Islands 8. Kurdistan 9. Armenia (Turks commanded to produce a safe national home) Neuilly Territorial Strumnitza| Yugoslavia| West Thrace, Aegean Islands| Greece| MilitaryEconomic/Reparations -Army limited to 20,000-90 million pounds to be paid over 38 years but was reduced League of Nations League of Nations Aim: to prevent war/preserve peace and promote international cooperation through collective security (=all members act together to punish any aggressive nation through diplomatic, economic and military sanctions) -to promote disarmament and end secret diplomacy -to improve the quality of life of people around the world -to ensu re economic and social justice Assembly -met annually -contained representatives of all the member states, each of which had one vote -function was to decide general policy; decisions had to be unanimous -it was the debating chamber for the nations and decided on the admission of new members and also the League’s budget Council a smaller body, which met more often, at least 3 times a year -Contained 4 permanent members – Britain, France, Italy, Japan -4 elected members chosen by Assembly for 3 years (increased to 9 by 1926) -function was to deal with specific political disputes as they arose; decisions had to be unanimous Secretariat -looked after all the paperwork so that the decisions of the League could be carried out -provided statistical and information services and translation facilities -the first Secretary-General of the League, Sir Eric Drummond, had a largely successful aim of building up a reliable body of civil servants who owed their main loyalty not natio nally, but internationally Permanent Court of International Justice based at Hague in Holland; consisted of 15 judges of different nationalities -dealt with legal disputes instead of political ones -covered all matters referred to it, especially those relating to the interpretation of international treaties and conventions -submission of disputes to the Court was voluntary Specialised Agencies International Labour Organisation -Objective: to secure economic and social justice -aimed to fix maximum working days and weeks, recommend appropriate wages for workers, lay down minimum entitlements for sickness, injury and old-age benefit and freedom for trade unions -all members of the League were members, and other willing states, like USA, could join Colonies and Mandates Commission Covenant established the Mandate system for former Turkish and German colonies; Allies saw themselves bound by the 5th of Wilson’s 14 points -resulted in a series of trusteeships whereby the territorie s were not annexed, but were held in trust by the victors under the supervision of LoN -each mandatory had to submit annually to the Commission an account of its stewardship -3 different types of mandates * Type A: lands that appeared most ready for future independence, e. g. Iraq * Type B: lands that were more backward, reckoned that 50 years would be needed before the mandate could be ended * Type C: lands that were backward or isolated with no real prospect of independence Refugees Committee originally the High Commission of Refugees to deal with Russian and Armenian refugees displaced by the war -became the Nansen Office in 1930 under the direction of Fridtjof Nansen -solved the problems of thousands of POWs marooned in Russia at the end of the war; half a million were returned home -after 1933, help was given to thousands fleeing Nazi persecution in Germany Disarmament Commission -made no progress in the near impossible task of persuading members states to reduce armaments, tho ugh they had all promised to do so when they agreed to the Covenant Work of the League in 1920s Aaland Islands (1920) Parties Involved: Finland and Sweden Details: -Aaland Islanders wanted to be part of Sweden because of their cultural ties Action taken by LoN: -set up commission to investigate -recommend that Aaland remain part of Finland -proposed that Swedish culture be safeguarded Evaluation: -successful as a lasting solution due to acceptance from both parties Vilna (1920-1923) Parties Involved: Poland and Lithuania Details: both countries claimed the town of Vilna, the capital of Lithuania which had a majority Polish population Action taken by LoN: -negotiated an armistice but was broken by Polish Army which seized Vilna -commission was set up to recommend new border but was rejected -Conference of Ambassadors stepped in and proposed that Vilna be given to Poland Evaluation: -League played significant role, but was overshadowed by CoA, and its weakness when faced with Polish s eizure of Vilna by force had been obvious Upper Silesia (1921) Parties Involved: Germany and Poland Details: each claimed Upper Silesia Action taken by LoN: -set up commission to investigate -plebiscite held majority wanted to return to Germany -LoN awarded most of the area to Germany, but left an important industrial district in Poland Evaluation: -successful in upholding self-determination; did not result in further dispute Corfu (1923) Parties Involved: Albania, Greece and Italy Details: -frontier between Albania and Greece undecided by CA -Italian ambassador, General Tellini was murdered in northern Greece -Mussolini sent an ultimatum to Greece demanding an apology, punishment of culprits and compensation of 50m lira -Greek rejection led to Italian bombardment and occupation of Corfu -Italy thus broke the League Covenant Action taken by LoN: came up with a reasonable scheme; Greeks were to place 50m lire in a Swiss bank pending an enquiry into the murders, and Greeks accepted -h owever, LoN was overruled by CoA; Italians claimed that League had no right to consider the question at all, as it was the agents of the CoA that had been murdered -after Italy threatened to leave LoN, League Council passed the responsibility to CoA -plan was rapidly altered, and Greek money was transferred to Italy Evaluation: -League had allowed the decision to be taken from its hands; its plan was perverted by CoA, where Italian influence was strong -Italian attack, despite many individual condemnations, had not been officially branded as aggression -although war was averted, a Great Power had bullied a small nation -members of the League did not want to risk war however, Mussolini was shaken by the fierceness of the universal attacks on his actions in the Assembly, and was less threatening Greek-Bulgarian Border Dispute (1925) Parties Involved: Greece, Bulgaria Details: -fighting in October 1925 between Bulgarians and Greeks on their border -Bulgaria appealed for help as it had been severely limited by Treaty of Neuilly; it managed to take a few metres of Greek territory, while the Greeks advanced over 5km on a wide front Action taken by LoN: -Council was summoned to a special meeting in Paris; sent neutral officers for negotiations -League threatened economic boycott backed up by a naval ‘demonstration’; Greeks gave way Evaluation: prevention of a Greek-Bulgarian war, which could have spread, was a triumph for the League, which was firm and decisive during this crisis -however, it was noted that this was due to the states involved being minor powers, no Great Power was involved on either side, and the British and French governments had been willing to back the Council’s attitude Northern Chaco Dispute (1928-1936) Parties Involved: Bolivia, Paraguay Details: -Both Bolivia and Paraguay claimed northern Chaco, a huge circle of territory, 400km across between them -minor skirmishes broke out frequently; in 1928 and again in 1932 these turn ed into full-scale war Action taken by LoN: -commission was sent to investigate; produced blueprint for disentanglement and solution -Paraguay refused to accept, as they were winning at the time -imposed arms embargo on both countries, resulted in Paraguay withdrawing from LoN -war eventually petered out with both states exhausted; signed a peace treaty based on League’s plan Evaluation: League could have taken action to impose peace on the countries had its members threatened to use force -situation was clouded by other parties, like other South American countries and US -dispute made many reflect how much more effective LoN would be if US was a member Work of the League in the 1930s Manchuria (1931) Parties Involved: Japan, China Details: -Japan invaded Manchuria and China appealed to the League Action taken by LoN: -commission under Lord Lytton concluded that both sides were at fault and Machuria should be governed by the League -Japan rejected this and withdrew from the L eague in March 1933 -economic and military sanctions were not applied as Britain and France were economically weak and did not want to risk war with Japan, which they were ill-equipped to win Evaluation: Japan successfully defied the League whose prestige was damaged but not fatally -League was seen to be weak as it was unable to stick to its main ideals of collective security against aggressive powers such as Japan -well-being of various League members was seen to be more important than world peace Leticia (1932-1934) Parties Involved: Peru, Colombia Details: -Peruvian soldiers seized Leticia in 1932 -it was important to Colombia as it was her only direct outlet to the Amazon River -Colombia tried to retake Leticia but the Peruvians extended their invasion using aircraft -Colombia then appealed to the League Action taken by LoN: -the League decided in favour of Colombia and persuaded the Peruvians to withdraw -Leticia was under the League for a year and in 1934, was peacefully retu rned to Colombia Evaluation: although it was seen to be a success as collective security was enforced, the League was not truly tested as both countries were minor powers and could not hold their own against bigger members of the world order World Disarmament Conference (1932-1934) Parties Involved: Member states of the League Details: -was a grave disappointment -Germany asked for equality of disarmament with France, but France demanded it to be postponed for 8 years -Hitler used France’s attitude to withdraw Germany from the conference and later from the League in 1933 -In that year, France completed the building of the Maginot Line which fortified her eastern frontier showed that France was rearming instead of disarming Evaluation: Disarmament failed as the powers wanted security over equality of armaments -Britain and France were also militarily weak and were afraid of the USSR and Italy Abyssinia (1935) Parties Involved: Italy, Abyssinia Details: -Italy invaded Abyssinia Action taken by LoN: -the League condemned Italy and introduced economic sanctions, but they were not applied to coal, steel and oil -the sanctions were half-hearted and were soon abandoned as they did not want to antagonize Mussolini to keep him from allying with Hitler Evaluation: -was a complete failure of the League as they were seen to be weak since they backed down from aggressors -Mussolini was annoyed by the sanctions anyway and drew closer to Hitler -small states lost all faith in the LoN -Hitler was encouraged by incompetence of LoN to break ToV LoN was never taken seriously again after 1935 Mussolini Mussolini Fascism = a system of government with centralised authority under a dictator -usually involves terror, censorship, nationalism Rise of Mussolini Cumulative (Long term) Disappointment at ToV -Italy was originally a member of the Central Powers -Allies promised Italy Trentino, South Tyrol, Istria, Trieste, part of Dalmatia, Adalia, some Aegean islands and a protector ate over Albania -Italy given first 4, however, others were allocated to other states, mainly Yugoslavia, with Albania becoming independent -led to Italians feeling cheated as they had fought during WWI and lost close to 700,000 men Fiume Incident whilst not promised Fiume, Italians had failed to capture it during WWI -d’Annunzio and his supporters seized Fiume and held it against the Yugoslavs for 15 months -PM Giovanni Giolitti decided that the Government’s authority should be restored and sent the Army to remove d’Annunzio and his supporters -angered the people as d’Annunzio was regarded a national hero Post-war Economic problems -effects of war on Italy were disastrous -Italy was heavily in debt as it had borrowed heavily from USA -cost of living increased by 5 times due to fall in value of the lira (5 lira to 1 USD in 1914 to 28 lira to 1 USD in 1921) -massive unemployment * Post-war cut backs * Returning servicemen Dissatisfaction at the parliamenta ry system -votes for all men and proportional representation were introduced for 1919 elections -problems of proportional representation: Large number of political points * 9 parties from across the political spectrum * No clean majority – coalition governments and 5 cabinets with shaky majorities * No consistent policies * System seemed to prevent decisive government Contributory (Short term) Strikes of 1919-1920 -industrialisation of Italy led to development of a strong socialist party and trade unions -organised a wave of strikes to protest at Italy’s problems Popularity of Fascists -provided the illusion of strength when Italians were disillusioned with democracy -initially anti-monarchy, anti-church and anti-big-business -poor results in 1919 elections led to changes -Pro-big-business: Mussolini came out as the defender of private enterprise and party * Led to financial support from the big businesses * Formation of communist party in Jan 1921 led to more support -Supported the church: * Made concillatory speech about Roman Catholic Church * Church saw Mussolini as a good anti-communist weapon -dropped republicanism (election of head of state) * King looked favourably upon Mussolini thereafter Ineffective Opposition to Fascists -anti-fascist groups failed to cooperate -communists refused to cooperate with the socialists and vice versa; both groups were also opposed to the nationalists -PM Giolitti wanted the support of the Fascists after the 1921 elections 1921 elections – Fascists only won 35 seats versus 123 won by socialist -socialists refused to cooperate with nationalists -thus allow Fascists to get into power Critical (triggers) Attempted General Strike -socialists called for general strike in 1922 -Fascists claimed that if the government was unable to control the strike, it would do so; undermined authority of government -socialist strike ended by itself due to lack of support -Mussolini claimed credit and made it look as if fa scists stopped it March on Rome -Fascists felt confident enough to stage March on Rome -about 50 000 black shirts converged on the capital while others occupied important towns in the North government wanted to resist, but were overruled by the King -chaos created by governmental crisis, fascist threat and the King’s move created confusion; Italians saw this as further evidence of the government’s inability to rule Actions of the King -King Victor Emmanuel II refused to declare a state of emergency -he instead invited Mussolini to form a new government -Fascists benefitted from the fear and confusion; fostered the myth that they had seized power in a heroic struggle, by seizing many key communication facilities -resulted in widespread overestimation of the fascists’ ability to seize power -King’s role was crucial as he had decided not to use the army to stop the blackshirts the march was a bluff but it succeeded * Feared for a long civil war if the Army f ailed to crush Fascists quickly * Feared he would be forced to step down by nationalists * Generals led him to believe that government forces were not strong enough to put down the revolt; appraisal of the situation was not well-informed The Fascist State Political Accerbo Law (Nov 1923) -changed the rules of the general elections -party which got the most votes in the election would be given two-thirds of the seats in parliament -Apr 1924 elections – Fascists and supporters gained 404 seats as opposed to 107 seats for their opponents -destroyed democracy in ItalyUse of Violence and Intimidation -1923—Fascist Blackshirts were legalized to become the National State Voluntary Militia (MSVN) -1924—use of violence and intimidation to develop Italian government on fascist lines Only Fascist Party was allowed -Opponents of the regime were exiled or murdered -1927—OVRA, secret police Mussolini used to hunt down political enemies, placed them in concentration cam ps on islands off Italian coast -however, when Mussolini felt more secure, the violence was reduced Matteoti Crisis -Mussolini was paralysed by indecision -lost support among fascists and there was widespread parliamentary boycott -eroded Mussolini’s position in Jan 1925 Mussolini announced he was assuming dictatorial powers -only his supporters in Parliament; King presented no threat -signaled the demise of any pretense to democratic rule, ushering end of free speech, free press and toleration of opposition -fascist militia was mobilized political parties were closed down and outlawed, newspapers came under fascist control -desertion of fascists during Crisis led to Mussolini purging the fascist party, to wipe out any independence among them; had to swear oaths of allegiance Constitutional Changes -1925—Prime Minister (Mussolini) was responsible only to the King and not to the parliament -1926—PM could rule by decree which meant that new laws passed did not nee d to be discussed by Parliament -1926—electorate reduced from 10 million to 3 million -all decisions taken by Fascist Grand Council which did as Mussolini told -Mussolini was Il Duce and now had dictatorial powers -Changes in local government: * Elected town councils and mayors were abolished * Towns were run by officials appointed from Rome Economic Employment policies promoted cooperation between employers to end class warfare in a â€Å"Corporate State† -only fascist-controlled unions had the right to negotiate for workers and both unions and employers’ associations were organized into corporations and were expected to work together to settle disputes -strikes were banned -1934—22 separate corporations dealing with separate industries -Mussolini hoped to control workers to direct production and the economy -compensation and benefits – free Sundays, annual holidays with pay, social security, sports and theatre facilities and cheap tours and holid ays Industrial and Agricultural Policies -drive for autarky (self-sufficiency) industry was encouraged with government subsidies – led to doubling of steel production by 1930(was still low compared to other countries), 1937 production of hydro-electric power doubled -Battle for Wheat (1925): Get more farmers to grow wheat so that Italy would not have to spend money importing it; increased wheat production led to wheat import reduced by 75% extra land used led to output of other crops going down -Battle for Land (1926): Removal of wasteland, included draining marshes and swamps, ploughing bare hillsides, clearing woodlands and improving irrigation to increase agricultural production; greatest effort put into draining the Pontine Marshes, a huge mosquito-infested swamp near Rome -Public Works Programme: To reduce unemployment through building of motorways, bridges, blocks of flats, railway stations etc. Battle for Lira (1926): Mussolini revalued the lira far too high, at 90 to the sterling pound instead of 150 in an attempt to show Italy had a strong currency, led to reduced orders as Italian exports were more expensive on the world market workers suffered wage reductions Social Censorship -strict press censorship was enforced -anti-fascist newspapers and magazines were banned -editors were replaced by fascist supporters -radio, films and theatre controlled the same way Education supervised -all education was closely supervised -teachers had to wear uniforms and new textbooks were written to glorify the fascist system -children and teenagers forced to join government youth organisations -indoctrination to obey Il Duce and war was glorified -Total obedience to authority â€Å"Believe, obey, fight! † Understanding with the Pope -papacy had been hostile to the Italian state -initially sympathetic to Mussolini in 1922 Pope Pius XI growingly disapproved of totalitarianism of the Fascists -Mussolini played on fear of Communism by Vatican and signed the L ateran Treaty of 1929 which recognized the Vatican City as a sovereign state and paid the Pope a large sum of money as compensation for all his losses -payment in the form of state bonds Church had vested economic interest in the regime needed to ensure stability and support -Treaty also recognized Catholicism as the official state religion and made religious instruction compulsory in all schools -Vatican recognized the kingdom of Italy Hitler Hitler Weimar Republic/Rise of Hitler Constitution of Weimar Republic 4 August 1919 The constitution established: * A federal government of upper and lower houses * A German republic under a president * The principle that political power ‘derives from the people’ The President: * Was directly elected by the people for a seven-year term * Had the power to appoint/dismiss the chancellor and ministers * Was commander-in-chief of the armed forces * Was given emergency powers under article 48 of the constitution to suspend parliament a nd rule by decree The Parliament: consisted of two houses * Reichsrat: Upper House which had 66 seats representing the states in the German federation * Reichstag: Lower House; the chancellor formed the government in the Reichstag, with 421 deputies, each party was allocated seats in the Reichstag according to their proportion of the total vote -weakness of proportional representation -no one party gained an absolute majority -allowed ‘splinter’ parties, some with extremist policies to gain at least some seats -led to instability in the parliament for a coalition made up of a number of parties was necessary to form a government Events of Weimar Republic Treaty of Versailles (1919)Aim: to signify surrender of Germany and acceptance of war guilt * was humiliating and unpopular, and led Germans to see the Weimar government as working with the enemy * arms limitations, reparations and war guilt clause in ToV being accept by the Weimar government led to it being associated w ith defeat and dishonor Outcome: Weimar started on a weak footing, with little respect for politicians, as Germany was rooted in militaristic tradition with strong leaders like Bismarck Spartacist Rising (1919) Aim: to take over the government inspired by communist revolution in Russia * was a sign of weakness of the Weimar government as it had to depend on private forces, in this case the Freikorps, which it did not itself control to defeat the communists Kapp Putsch (1920) * Right-wing groups tried to seize power * Revealed the chaotic situation * Rebels were also not punished duly * Revealed weakness of Weimar and led to disillusionment with democracy Ruhr Invasion (1923) * Due to German inability to pay reparations Paralysis of Ruhr industry and government’s determination to maintain strike pay and other benefits in retaliation to the French led to hyperinflation * Suffering by the people, poor economic management and inability to deter the French led them to think that W eimar was weak * Public opinion swung in favour of right wing extremists like the Nazis Munich Putsch (1923) Aim: to overthrow the government and seize power Outcome: Evidence of groups wanting to overthrow government showed lack of support from people and even authorities (e. g. judges during Hitler’s trial) as they had little faith in democracy Golden Years (1924-1929) * Relatively stable period led by Gustav Streseman who: * Introduced new currency (retenmark) and called off strikes in Ruhr, as he thought it had caused a severe strain on German economy and led to great political instability * Signed Dawes and Young Plan Locarno Treaties and Kellogg Briand Pact (world’s major nations renounced war as an instrument of national policy) * Restored diplomatic status of Germany by signing above pacts as they gained the goodwill of Western Powers allowed Germany to be admitted into LoN with a permanent seat in the Council Outcome: Relatively stable period due to good leade rship, financial help from the US and reparations being decreased, however, Germany’s prosperity was reliant on US loans to sustain itself Great Depression * World economic crisis due to Wall Street Crash * US seized all the loans and called in short term loans * Plunged German economy into recession again * Unemployment hit 6million Outcome: Government came under great criticism for lack of decisive action Working class sour about unemployment and cutting back of benefits Government on verge of collapse as people gravitated to alternative political groups Nazi Party 1914-1918| WWI—Hitler was a corporal, war developed political ideas later popularized by Nazis e. g. iktat/ repudiate ToV/ ‘ stab in the back’ theory| 1919| Hitler joined German Workers Party in Munich where he was employed by the army to turn soldiers against pacifist democratic ideas; initially small and ineffective, later merged with another and renamed Nazi Party| 1920| Under Hitlerâ€℠¢s leadership, party became more effective:-oratory skills-charisma-fund-raising ability-Rohm instructed to reorganize SA; by 1923, had an organized, private armyWithout Hitler, the Nazis would have been one of dozens of small, disintegrating political parties| 1923| Munich Putsch lessons learned-seize power legally in future-Hitler now a figure of national renown, Nazi ideas publicized| 1924-1929| With economic stability under Stresemanm Nazis’ growth was stunted| 1930| Reichstag elections, Chancellor Bruning headed unstable coalition-invited Hitler to join; declined as uninterested in sharing power| Mar 1932| -elections for President Hitler stood as candidate huge national exposure and publicity for Nazi ideas; polled credibly| Jul 1932| Chancellor von Papen replaced Bruning in May, but coalition became increasingly unstable so elections were called – Nazis were single largest party but Hitler refused invitation to join coalition government| Nov 1932| 196 seats showe d decreasing Nazi popularity as depression eased; coalition government became increasingly unworkable so Hindenburg appointed Schleicher as Chancellor in December; unable to get Reichstag to work with him so Hitler was appointed as Chancellor due to political intrigue by mainly Papen and Schleicher| Nazi beliefs Hitler knew that the Germans were looking for someone to blame for their troubles so he gave them plenty of enemies * For example, the ‘stab in the back’ theory claimed that the German army had never been defeated but had been let down by Jews and communists at home; those who signed the truce were the ‘November Criminals’ * However, this was untrue as it was General Ludendorff who had told the civilians that they must sign a peace treaty as the army could no longer defend Germany * Hitler also blamed ToV for most of Germany’s troubles * He claimed it was an unfair dictated peace which had taken much land from Germany * Hitler’s promis e to ignore the Versailles settlement if he came to power impressed young officers and iron and steel manufacturers, who had much to gain from a rearmed Germany * Demand for Anschluss was supported by many Germans * Denuciated democracy as weak and ineffective pleased many as well * His promise of a few socialist measures gained him many working-class votes * Most importantly, he offered Germans a simple solution; everything would be all right if the Jews were deprived of all money and power, or the communists crushed, or the ‘November criminals’ hanged, or that Germany just had to break ToV to become great again Rapid Growth of Nazis * From 1920-1923, the Nazi party saw rapid growth The party adopted its distinctive characteristics like the emblem and salute, and had a newspaper where Hitler denounced the ToV * Htler also organized the SA to protect the Nazi meetings and disrupt the meetings of other parties Munich Putsch * The French occupation of Ruhr allowed the Naz is to gain new and increased strength by denouncing the ToV * On 8 November 1923, after only 4 years in politics, Hitler attempted a revolution, inspired by the fascists’ March on Rome the year before * However, Hitler had not made sure of the active support of the army, and he had forgotten that he was unknown outside of Bavaria, whereas Mussolini had been a national figure * Hitler was arrested and his party banned * However, many government officials had been in sympathy with him *His exploits at the trials received much publicity, helping him to become well-known outside Germany * He was sentenced the 5 years in prison and allowed parole * During this time, he laid down Nazi ideas in the book Mein Kampf * He also decided that the Nazis needed to gain power through legal means Golden Years under Streseman * Gustav Streseman intended to make Germany great again through peaceful means * Through the Dawes plan, and issuing of a new currency, Germany enjoyed a period of prospe rity * The number of Nazis in the Reichstag dropped from 32 in May 1924 to 14 in December 1924 * Despite poor election results, the Nazi Party showed a sturdy growth during these years * Party membership increased from 27000 to 178000 It also began to have financial support from wealthy industrialists who saw that Nazis were anti-socialist and anti-communist * Hitler also strengthened his control of the party by forming his own bodyguard, the SS Great Depression, Nazi mass support * Weimar government failed to solve any grave economic problems of the day: mass unemployment, inflation and industrial slump * Faced with economic hardship, Germans lost any faith they had in the democratic government * Middle class and working class were the most discontented as they had been ruined by 2 economic collapses within 6 years * Turned to 2 extreme parties for remedies, Nazis and Communists * July 1932 – Nazis won 230 seats, becoming largest party in Reichstag Hitler becomes Chancellor November 1932 – Nazi votes dip, while Communist votes rise alarms influential businessmen and landlords; conservative Nationalists decided that their cause could be served by supporting Hitler * von Paper made a bargain with Hitler, where Hitler would be chancellor and von Papen be made vice-chancellor; Hindenburg agreed as despite his contempt for Hitler, the Nazis seemed to be the only well-supported right-wing party which could protect Germany from communism Reasons for Nazi Success 1. Lack of democratic tradition Weimar Republic was not trusted or respected by the people 2. Weimar failed in both domestic and foreign affairs: a. ToV b. failure of Streseman to remove burden of reparations c. failure to recover lost territories d. little political stability due to coups from extreme right and left e. constitution encouraged formation of too many political parties which led to weak and unstable government 3. Onset of GD led to unemployment; as workers turned to communists, la ndowners, industrialists, middle class and conservative right-wing politicians turned to support Nazis 4.Hitler was an able leader, who convinced Germans he was a man of action and ideals; Nazi programme promised everything to everybody 5. Like the Italian government, the German government lacked confidence to rule the country in times of crisis Consolidation of Hitler’s dictatorship Reichstag Fire -on 27 February 1933, the Reichstag building was burned down and the communists were falsely accused of using the fire as a signal for communist insurrection -under the guise of defending the country from a communist revolution, Hitler asked for emergency powers -suspended civil liberties; Hitler used this to arrest 5000 communists -Hitler banned communist and socialist newspapers and made use of radio stations to broadcast Nazi propaganda Enabling Act despite Nazi influence on the votes, they did not fare well in the elections and only barely obtained a majority with the aid of th e Nationalists -Hitler wanted to transfer all legislative power of the Reichstag to himself, but any change in constitution required a two-thirds majority in the Reichstag -Hitler arrested or excluded 81 communist deputies, and bribed the nationalists and centrists -thus, the Nazis outvoted the social democrats by 444 to 94 which gave Hitler unlimited power -Hitler could draft and pass any laws without the Reichstag -the German constitution was destroyed Elimination of Internal Rivals (Night of the Long Knives) -dealt with political rivals in the party -Ernst Rohm differed from Hitler on 3 important issues: 1. Rohm thought that the SA helped bring the Nazis to power, so Hitler should reward them with government jobs. 2. Rohm wanted the SA and army to be merged 3.Rohm was interested in the socialist aspect of the party’s programme and wanted Hitler to confiscate the property of wealthy people in Germany -Rohm commanded 2m SA troopers, and thus constituted a great threat to Hit ler’s political position -On June 30 1934, many SA leaders as well as other political opponents were killed such as Strasser and Scleicher -Hitler achieve party solidarity Hitler becoming President -Hindenburg died in Aug 1934 -Hitler announced that he would combine in himself the offices of President and Chancellor -Thus, his personal dictatorship was now complete and the Third Reich was officially proclaimed Nazi Germany Political Policies| Social Policies| Economic Policies| Banned all political parties * Created a police state; prevented any opposition to the regime by sending political opponents to concentration camps * Trade unions were abolished, as they were a likely source of resistance, replaced by the German Labour Front; employees were also forbidden to strike| * Education system was closely controlled so that children could be indoctrinated with Nazi ideals; textbooks were rewritten to support Nazi opinions * Was supplemented by youth organisations which aimed to destroy traditional bonds such as loyalty to the family and obey the Fuhrer instead * Dr Joseph Goebbels controlled the media; ensured that opinions fit the Nazi system and thus moulded public opinion and ensured mass support * Wanted to bring the Catholic and Protestant churches under Nazi control * signed concordat with Pope in which Church recognized the regime and renounced all activity aside from purely religious acts in Germany, while Hitler guaranteed the Church of its historic rights, but the promise was soon broken; the Catholics offered serious resistance to Nazi persecution from 1937 * Protestant churches were united under a Reich church which preached Nazi ideals; Protestants which did not follow the new eachings were sent to concentration camps * Nazis encouraged racially pure couples to have more children as birth rate was declining, gained support of mothers who felt that they were contributing; those considered undesirable were discouraged from having children, and some were forcibly sterilized, marriages between Aryans and Jews were also banned| Aims: 1) To reduce unemployment 2) Build Germany’s weapons industry 3) Achieve economic self-sufficiencyEmployment-public works programmes-larger bureaucracy-purge of Jews and anti-Nazis -rearmament Industrial/Economic production-German army was expanded; conscription introduced; gave profitable deals to businessmen, who in turn supported Nazis Autarky-encouraged farmers to increase agricultural yields-telling industrialists what to produce depending on needs However, despite numbers showing that unemployment had been solved, these figures hid certain facts; women and Jews were ousted out of jobs to create vacancies and they were not counted as unemployedrearmament was also again ToV| 1930| Road to War Road to WarGreat Depression continues (1929-approximately mid 1930s)War Aggressive Foreign Policy Rise of Militarism Rise of extremist parties and regimes| | London Naval Conference – redu ction in naval build-up (role of League)| 1931| Mukden Incident, Invasion of Manchuria * Japan had vested economic interest in Manchuria; stationed the Kwantung army in Manchuria to protect its assets gained by wars with China * However, its control of Manchuria was threatened when Chiang Kai-shek took over and set up the National Government * They were worried that the Manchurian warlord, Zhang Zuolin would gang up with Chiang to oppose their domination of Manchuria * Mukden Incident: assassinated Zhang by dynamiting his train * Showed increasing Japanse militarism and weakening Japanese democracy * Strengthened Chinese nationalism as Zhang Xueling wanted vengeance * Great Depression prompted them to take more serious action; foreign conquest would guarantee more trade, more raw materials and more jobs start in Manchuria, since Kwantung Army was in place * 18 September 1931: Kwantung Army occupied town of Shenyang, claiming that Chinese soldiers had tried to blow up the South Manch urian railway * Despite protests by LoN, Japanese soldiers went on to occupy the rest of Manchuria| 1932| Manchukuo established * Japan declared Manchuria independent and put Emperor Puyi on the throne, but he was a figurehead, and the real rulers were officers of the Kwantung Army * Lytton report condemned Japanese invasion and suggested possibility of separate state in Manchuria| | World Disarmament Conference| 933| Japan leave League * League voted on Lytton report; Japanese delegation left the Assembly and later leaves League * League was seen to be powerless when faced with opposition of a great power * Nothing could be done to prevent Japan’s withdrawal or to force the Japanese to accept the Report * Japan had set an example which Hitler and Mussolini were to follow| | Hitler becomes Chancellor * Hitler’s foreign policy was aggressive * Preached German world domination, overthrowing of ToV and conquering living space which ultimately involved the use of force and war| | Germany leaves League and WDC * Hitler openly rejected disarmament clause * No longer bound by LoN and was free to pursue rearmament * Increase possibility of Germany and Japan using force as a foreign policy tool * Countries also started rearming heightening chances of war| 1934| Poland and Germany sign non-aggression pact * Settled previous disputes over Danzig and territorial boundaries, and was seen by Britain and France as Hitler’s first step to building diplomatic relations * Hitler’s bluff worked – Britain and France got a false sense of security and pursued appeasement policy * Polish neutrality was also assured if Germany annexed Austria and Czechoslovakia| | Geneva Conference collapses| Attempted Anschluss * ToV forbade Austria’s union with Germany * In 1934, Austrian Nazis assassinated the Chancellor and asked for German help * The new chancellor appealed to Mussolini, who did not want a strong Austria-Germany on his frontier * Italian troops were rushed to Brenner Pass and Hitler called of his plans * Peace was maintained only by threat of force and Mussolini’s dislike of Hitler * Hitler’s aggressive foreign policy was revealed * Revealed need to work with Italy| 1935| Saar plebiscite – voted to return to Germany * Rich in coalfields and other industries helped German rearmament * Boosted Hitler’s confidence in xpanding the Third Reich announced conscription and rearmament| | German rearmament – Hitler announces conscription * Was not seen as an aggressive move but rather an economic policy to rebuild Germany’s shattered economy * 1st successful breach of ToV * Vital step towards preparation for war and world domination| | Stresa Front * Joint effort by Britain, France and Italy to resist attempt to revise ToV and issued strong protests at Hitler’s actions to breach ToV * Fact that these powers came together showed that the League was ineffective * Did not last due to Anglo-German naval agreement showing British condoning German rearmament and Italian aggression through Abyssinia invasion| | Anglo-German Naval Agreement * Made sure that Germany did not become stronger than Britain * Ensure a strong Germany to keep communism at bay; Hitler was firmly anti-communist * Treaty was a breach of ToV; showed hollowness of the Front * Diplomatic triumph for Hitler as Britain recognized German right to rearm| | Italian invasion of Abyssinia * Showed weakness of LoN; no longer an effective peacekeeping organization * Stresa Front was weakened as Italy drew closer to Germany * Hitler was more confident of using force to achieve his foreign policy aims as Britain and France could be seen to be unwilling to resist aggression| 1936| Hitler reoccupies the Rhineland * Hitler took a gamble as German forces were outnumbered by better-armed French troops * Successful reoccupation and remilitarization due to lack of British and French action; the region was descr ibed as only his own backyard and neither country were prepared for war * Britain and France were occupied with Abyssinia * Hitler’s confidence to use force was boosted| | Spanish Civil War begins * Valuable practice for troops and air crew e. g.German Luftwaffe air raids in Madrid and Guernica * Britain was horrified with the destructive power of the air force and was determined not to intervene as Spain was remote * Due to appeasement policy, Hitler was convinced that Britain and France would not act against aggression * Strengthened German-Italian alliance, fostered closer ties| | Rome-Berlin Axis * Formalized political and military relations form Abyssinia invasion which had German support and Spanish civil war| | Anti-Comintern Pact * United front to stand up against and destroy communism between Italy, Germany and Japan * Closer relations between aggressive nations who were no longer in LoN * Led to growing confidence| 1937| Second Sino-Japanese War begins * Beginning o f Japanese expansion into Asia through aggression * War in China * Will later expand to SEA * Purely instigated by Japanese military in China and was condemned by democratic government * Showed that military held the most power * LoN failure to act gave Japan the impression that US would also do nothing; however, trade embargo was impose| | Italy joins Anti-Comintern Pact| 938| Anschluss * Seyss-Inquart led an Austrian Nazi attempt to seize power, which was prevented by Chancellor Schuschnigg * Hitler threatened war unless Schuschnigg was made Minister of the Interior * Plebiscite was proposed to see if Austrians wanted Anschluss * Fearing negative results, Hitler rushed troops to the border, threatening an invasion and forcing Schuschnigg to resign, resulting in Seyss-Inquart becoming Chancellor * Hitler was invited to occupy Austria and ward off communist threat, and Austria became a province of Germany on 14 March * While a plebiscite showed that 99% of Austrians favoured the uni on, the remaining opposition was crushed * Hitler’s act of expansion/aggression went unchecked * Appeasement policy by Britain and France increased the likelihood of further aggression| | Czechoslovakia: Munich Conference and Czechoslovakian Crisis * Another case where expansionism was achieved without bloodshed * Czechoslovakia lost 70% of her heavy industry and all her military fortifications * Provided Germany with mineral deposits and heavy industry boosted rearmament efforts * Hitler would be emboldened to retrieve all lost territory under ToV and even take on more land as part of his scheme to achieve world domination| 1939| Memel reclaimed by Germany * Hitler was determined to restore all lost territory under ToV| | Germany makes demands on Poland| | Britain and France guarantee Poland’s safety| | Italy invades Albania * Revealed Italy’s ambition for empire and power * Increasingly felt like he paled in comparison to Hitler * Thus, he was pressured to kee p up – later declared war on Britain and France in 1940s to gain spoils of war| | Pact of Steel * Formalized military cooperation and alliance * Pledged to assist each other if one became involved in a military conflict * Mussolini’s close alignment is reflective of his esire not to lose out in territorial gains * An attest to Hitler’s plans to invade Europe * Doom for Italy that could not match Germany’s military might as Hitler could not keep his end of bargain (to wait 3 years as Italy prepared for war)| | Nazi-Soviet Pact * Germany would not have to fight on 2 fronts as in WWI * Germany would conquer all of Western Europe and then strike Eastern Europe when lest expected * Bought time for USSR to build up its military * Without this pact, Germany would not have invaded Poland * Allowed Britain and France to see that Hitler was a trickster| | Poland invaded; beginning of war in Europe| I. The Russian Revolutions: Fall of the monarchy & the provisional government The Russian Revolutions: Fall of the monarchy & the provisional government February 1917 Revolution i. Causes of the Revolution Numerous defeats in World War I and crucial losses in important battles * Caused troops & police to mutiny – left no one to defend the autocracy * War revealed the incompetent & corrupt organisation and the shortage of equipment * Tsar had also appointed himself Supreme Commander of the Russian Army, but made tactical blunders and, on the whole, was unable to inspire the troops * Army morale dwindled due to consecutive defeats in important areas * People could now blame the Tsar for Russia’s decline * Thus, the Tsar’s incompetent leadership of the war resulted in numerous defeats, loss of lands, and a horrendous death toll, leading the army to rise up against the government to overthrow it to end the war * Famine and poverty due to the state of the Russian economy, which had been ravaged by war * Wages could not keep up with the rise in prices of food due to inflation and the depreciation of the Russian rouble * Caused many people queuing for food to be turned away, creating dissatisfaction among the Russians, especially among the peasants * Tsar proved to be hopelessly inadequate at dealing with the economic problems the war created, and the suffering of the people eventually caused them to rise up against him in a bid for a better life * Poor governance and repressive, autocratic rule Tsar’s failure to keep promises such as land reforms * Duma kept changing – Russia had 4 Dumas between 1905 to 1917 alone, which resulted in the situation whereby new-and-improved policies were unable to be implemented * All these hence led to greater hostility against the Tsar * Workers & soldiers later set up the Petrograd Soviet, a council of workers & soldiers taking control of the city * Tsar was eventually persuaded and forced to abdicate by his generals * Fall of autocratic government ii. Outcome of the February Revolution * A provisional government was set up by the Duma, headed by Prince Lvov as Prime Minister * Petrograd Soviet & the workers’ councils rivaled the provisional government’s right to rule and insisted on its prerogative to run the government II. October 1917 Revolution iii. Problems & Failures of the Provisional Government (PG) * Continuation of WWI Kerensky’s June offensive was a disastrous failure * Lost the support of the Russian people, who thought the war was draining precious resources * Caused the collapse of army morale & discipline * Hundreds of thousands of troops deserted the army and abandoned the front lines * Dual power existed as the PG was challenged by the power held by the Petrograd Soviets, who tried to rule the city and commanded all the soldiers, leaving the PG without any military backup * The Petrograd Soviet was more popular amongst the people, and later the even the Army lent its support to them * PG also depended on the Petrograd Soviet for its legitimacy * Hence, when the Petrograd Soviet ordered all soldiers to obey only the Soviet, it meant that in the last resort, the PG could not rely on the support of the Army * PG delayed elections promised earlier, leading to loss of support * PG had assumed power, but had not been officially elected by the people of Russia * Claimed it would hold elections after the war as the troops would have returned and then be eligible to vote after fighting * However people did not elieve in it and felt that it was too long a duration to wait before the war ended as no one knew when the war would end * Promise of elections were hence not carried out, adding to unpopularity * Since they had not been voted in, the PG also had no legal power to give land away or start land reforms for the benefit of the peasants, who had earlier demanded land and sought the approval of the PG to provide land reforms * This thus angered the peasants, who began to seize land – another incident which highlighted the fact that the PG had no control of the people * Allowed Bolsheviks to use peasant discontent to win support * Return of Lenin * Lenin returned to Russia from exile in Switzerland with German aid * April Theses urged that the Bolsheviks should cease to support the PG, that all power should be taken by the Soviets, and that Russia should withdraw from the war * Promise of â€Å"Peace, Bread & Land† gave hope t and appealed to the masses against the increasing economic chaos * Posed a new challenge to the provisional government * July Days Massive demonstrations of workers, soldiers & sailors, to demand for the PG to give up their power to the Soviet * PG brought in troops to restore order; later condemned the Bolsheviks for trying to stage an uprising * Also made false claims that Lenin was a German spy * Led to a rapid decline in support for the Bolsheviks, eventually causing Lenin and other important leaders to flee for their safety int o Finland * After this incident, Lenin decided it was too early to revolt as the Bolsheviks had to gain more support from the people and realize his mistakes * Better and more careful planning for the next attempt at Revolution was also required as Lenin now also realized that the PG was well aware of their rising power and would take efforts to bring it down and deter its attempts at Revolution * Prince Lvov, head of the Provisional Government at that time, finally resigned and was replaced by Kerensky over his failure to deal with the instability * Kornilov Affair Severely embarrassed the PG as it showed that they did not have control over their own soldiers * Kornilov, Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army, had originally viewed the Bolsheviks as traitors and had decided to move against the Soviets , but his soldiers mutinied * Army discipline was on the verge of collapse, public opinion swung against the war and in favour of the Bolsheviks, who was the only party to talk openly about making a separate peace * Kerensky had initially ordered Kornilov’s arrest, but his army refused to cooperate, and Kerensky had to rely on the Petrograd Soviet for help against the uprising * PG was therefore seen as weak * By this time the Bolsheviks were seen favourably and were garnering increasing support iv.In October Trotsky and the rest of the Bolshevik Red Guard launched a silent, bloodless attack against the PG in the middle of the night, seizing key power blocs and resulting in the birth of the first Communist Government * This attack was planned by Trotsky himself, highlighting his true brilliance as the plan was a success War Communism I. Popularity i. In a nutshell, war communism was a military success, but an economic failure ii. It was simply harsh economic measures and labour control to serve war needs iii. Nationalization of the segments & industries of the economy that effectively controlled & supported the others, such as oil, railroads, banking & st eel – the Commanding Heights iv. Rationing of basic goods & services v.However, the Bolshevik government eventually resorted to coercion when exhortation & persuasion failed II. Aims vi. To prevent the total collapse of the economy vii. Mobilize resources to defend communism from its enemies during the Civil War, eventually channeling sufficient resources for a Bolshevik victory over the Whites viii. Strict labour control ix. Putting the Marxist ideal of a state-controlled economy into practice III. Agriculture x. Grain requisitioning * Peasants were forced to give up their excess grain so that the workers in the factories & soldiers at the warfront could be fed Peasants vehemently objected to this * Uncooperative peasants were thus shot and killed A few peasants even destroyed their crops and harvest rather than have them seized, as many felt that it was unfair to them * As a result, a few peasants planted fewer crops the following season so that they would have less crops i n excess * Significance was that food production decreased, causing the bulk of the population to be affected by starvation, and this remained a problem throughout the Civil War xi. Land Nationalisation * 1917 Decree * Broke up larger estates * Land, together with the tools & livestock, were to be distributed to the peasants * 1918 Decree * Declared that the land, originally taken away from the kulaks, now officially belonged to the state * Peasants had the right to cultivate it * The next step the Bolsheviks took was to collectivize the land, but this failed in the end IV. Industry xii. Commanding Heights nationalized Met with great resistance, causing supporters to revolt * Jun 1918: all large-scale industry was nationalized without compensation * End 1918: all enterprises employing more than 10 workers were nationalized * Local soviets later extended this to all enterprises in their area V. Labour/ Workers xiii. Rationing * Those not producing their own food were allotted rations according to their usefulness * Workers & soldiers got the most, since they contributed the most to the Russian society * Professionals got significantly lesser rations than the workers * Class enemies got nothing Incurred the wrath of many people, as many found it discriminating & unfair * Workers were made to work in return for their ration cards – no work, no rations * Strikes were made illegal, hence people could only suffer in silence and could not complain * Eventually, people bartered their possessions in the black market in a desperate bid to gain more food and essentials xiv. Labour Conscription (1920) * Many workers had fled/ returned to the countryside to look for food after being convinced that the city had nothing more to provide for them * Hence, the Bolsheviks needed to bring them back to work in the factories, since a lack of manpower meant a sharp decline in production, and this in turn entailed a turbulent period for the state * Thus, they resorted to consc ription * All unions were state-controlled Ensured no strikes took place, since strikes meant production also stalled * Membership was compulsory as Russia needed to increase production * Workers had to volunteer an extra day of unpaid work for the sake of building Socialism xv. Wage incentives * Payments would gradually increase for every year that person worked VI. Trade xvi. No private trade was allowed * Black market thrived during the Civil War xvii. Bolsheviks made a rather beneficial move by abolishing the monetary system as they had known that during the war their currency would depreciate because of the uncertainty VII. Failures of Collectivization xviii.Widespread resistance to collective & soviet farms * Significant as 80% of the population was still living in the countryside, generating more than 50% of the national income * Resistance thus served as a warning to the government that if they did not do anything to improve the situation soon, the Russian economy would almo st certainly collapse * Peasants, seeing no point in working hard to produce food which was taken away from them without compensation, simply produced enough for their own needs xix. Depopulation of cities/ Food shortages * Workers were leaving in droves to the countryside to look for food and other prospects * Industry came to a standstill * Some attempted to buy and/or beg for food, but most failed to even make ends meet * Thus in Aug 1920, Moscow lost ? f its population, while Petrograd nearly 2/3 in the same period * Those who stayed in the cities had little, if any, food to survive on * As a result, in 1921 7 million in the cities starved to death * Significance: Bolsheviks lost their main source of supporters – the workers xx. Workers’ Strike * In January 1921 the already-meager bread rations to large population centres were once again cut by 1/3 * The workers of 64 large factories in Petrograd could withstand the suffering no longer, and went on strike * Demande d larger food rations * Wanted the restoration of the Workers’ Council & trade unions as their representatives * Soon became disillusioned with the Bolsheviks, and many thought the trade unions would be able to do a better job in looking after them xxi. Peasant Uprisings Russia was hit by plenty of natural disasters during the period of Civil War, such as droughts, dust, locusts, destroying much of the peasants’ crops and their main source of food * With the introduction of war communism, this took away everything from them, even grain seed * Culminated in large-scale peasant uprisings from 1920-1921 * E. g. In Feb 1921 there were 118 major peasant uprisings in various parts of the country xxii. Sailors’ Mutiny * Sailors at the Kronstadt naval base near Petrograd mutinied * Demanded an end to the Communist Party dictatorship * Wanted freedom of speech & fresh elections Suppressed only through prompt action by Trotsky, who sent troops across the ice on the frozen sea * They had been significant Bolshevik supporters, rooting for them from the very beginning * Thus their rebellion was a serious warning to the government * As a