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Book No. – 52 (History)
Book Name – Modern World History (Norman Lowe)
What’s Inside the Chapter? (After Subscription)
1. SUMMARY OF EVENTS
2. RELATIONS BETWEEN JAPAN AND CHINA
2.1. The Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931
2.2. The Japanese advance from Manchuria
2.3. Further invasions
3. SUMMARY OF EVENTS
4 RELATIONS BETWEEN JAPAN AND CHINA
4.1. The Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931
4.2. The Japanese advance from Manchuria
4.3. Further invasions
5 MUSSOLINI’S FOREIGN POLICY
6. WHAT WERE HITLER’S AIMS IN FOREIGN POLICY, AND HOW SUCCESSFUL HAD HE BEEN BY THE END OF 19382
6.1. Hitler aimed to make Germany into a great power again
6.2. A series of successes
7 APPEASEMENT
7.1. What is meant by the term appeasement?
7.2. How could appeasement be justified?
7.3. What.part.did appeasement play in international affairs. 1933-97
8 MUNICH TO THE OUTBREAK OF WAR: SEPTEMBER 1938 TO SEPTEMBER 1939
8.1. Czechoslovakia
8.2. Poland
9. WHY DID WAR BREAK OUT? WERE HITLER OR THE APPEASERS TO BLAME?
9.1. Were the appeasers to blame?
9.2. Did the USSR make war inevitable?
9.3. Was Hitler to blame?
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LANGUAGE
International relations from 1933 to 1939
Chapter – 5
Table of Contents
SUMMARY OF EVENTS
- The period before WWII is crucial in world history, as it led to the outbreak of war.
- Economic problems caused the Locarno spirit to fade, with countries focusing on self-interest.
- Japan, Italy, and Germany became the dominant aggressive powers, driven by extreme nationalism.
- Japan became the first aggressor with the invasion of Manchuria in 1931, marking the start of aggressive actions.
- Hitler and Mussolini took note of the League of Nations’ failure to act against Japan.
- Hitler started cautiously, announcing the reintroduction of conscription in 1935, breaching the Versailles Treaty.
- Britain, France, and Italy briefly united in suspicion of Germany, condemning Hitler’s actions at the Stresa Conference.
- France signed a treaty of mutual assistance with the USSR in response to Hitler’s actions.
- The Stresa Front was short-lived, broken in June 1935 when Britain signed the Anglo-German Naval Agreement, allowing Germany to build submarines, another breach of Versailles.
- Mussolini, encouraged by Germany’s and Japan’s success, invaded Abyssinia in October 1935, facing minimal resistance from the League and Britain and France.
- In March 1936, Hitler sent troops into the Rhineland, a demilitarized zone under the Versailles Treaty.
- Britain and France protested but took no action.
- In October 1936, Germany and Italy formed the Rome-Berlin Axis, with Mussolini aligning with Hitler.
- In November 1936, Hitler signed the Anti-Comintern Pact with Japan.
- The Spanish Civil War broke out in 1936, with Hitler and Mussolini supporting Franco’s Nationalists, and the Republicans receiving Soviet aid.
- Britain and France did not intervene, and Franco emerged victorious in 1939.
- In 1937, Japan launched a full-scale invasion of northern China, starting the Sino-Japanese War, which later became part of WWII.
- The League of Nations proved ineffective in handling these aggressions, leading to Hitler’s annexation of Austria in March 1938 (Anschluss).
- Hitler then turned to Czechoslovakia, demanding the Sudetenland, an area with a large German population.
- After the Czech refusal, Neville Chamberlain, Britain’s Prime Minister, met with Hitler at Munich in September 1938, agreeing to allow Germany to annex the Sudetenland.
- War seemed averted, but in March 1939, Hitler occupied Prague, breaking the agreement.
- Chamberlain then decided to stop Hitler.
- Poland rejected Hitler’s demand for Danzig, leading Britain and France to promise support if Germany attacked.
- Hitler signed a non-aggression pact with Russia in August 1939.
- On 1 September 1939, Germany invaded Poland, prompting Britain and France to declare war on Germany, marking the start of WWII.
RELATIONS BETWEEN JAPAN AND CHINA
The Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931
- Motives behind Japan’s actions in Manchuria were mixed, involving economic, strategic, and political factors.
- Japan wanted to maintain control over Manchuria due to its valuable trade outlet and feared exclusion as Chinagrew stronger under Chiang Kai-shek.
- Sir John Simon, British Foreign Secretary, defended Japan’s actions at the League of Nations, arguing Japan had been involved in Manchuria since the 1890s.
- Japan had gained Port Arthur and a privileged position in South Manchuria following the Russo-Japanese War(1904-5).
- Over the years, Japan had invested millions in Manchuria, developing industry and railways.
- By 1931, Japan controlled the South Manchurian Railway and the banking system.
- Japan felt it could not allow itself to be gradually squeezed out of Manchuria, especially as Japan suffered from the Great Depression.
- Japan announced the creation of the independent state of Manchukuo under Pu Yi, the last Chinese emperor, which was not taken seriously.
- Despite the lack of legitimacy, no action was taken against Japan at this stage.
- The next Japanese move, however, was flagrant aggression, which could not be justified.
The Japanese advance from Manchuria
- In 1933, the Japanese began advancing from Manchuria into the rest of northeastern China, an area to which they had no legitimate claim.
- By 1935, Japan had gained political and commercial control over a large area of China, extending as far as Beijing(Peking).
- During this period, China was embroiled in a civil war between Chiang Kai-shek’s Kuomintang government and the communists led by Mao Zedong (Mao Tse-tung).
Further invasions
- After signing the Anti-Comintern Pact with Germany (1936), the Japanese army used an incident between Chineseand Japanese troops in Peking as an excuse to begin an invasion of other parts of China (July 1937).
- Prime Minister Prince Konoye opposed massive intervention, but he yielded to the wishes of General Sugiyama, the war minister.
- By autumn 1938, Japan had captured Shanghai, Nanking (the capital of Chiang Kai-shek), and Hankow, committing atrocities against Chinese civilians.
- Despite these successes, complete victory eluded the Japanese as Chiang reached an understanding with the communists led by Mao Zedong to cooperate against the invaders.
- A new capital was established at Chungking inland, and spirited Chinese resistance was mounted with help from the Russians.
- The Japanese also landed in southern China and quickly captured Canton, but Chiang refused to surrender or accept Japanese terms.
- The League of Nations condemned the aggression but was powerless, as Japan had withdrawn and refused to attend a conference.
- Britain and France were distracted by Hitler, and Russia did not want full-scale war with Japan.
- The USA, the only power capable of resisting Japan, remained committed to isolation.
- By the eve of the Second World War, Japan controlled most of eastern China, though their hold outside the cities was shaky, while Chiang held out in the centre and west.