The Paris Peace Treaties and the League of Nations (1919–1935)

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Versailles (Germany, 1919); St Germain (Austria, 1919); Neuilly (Bulgaria, 1919); Trianon (Hungary, 1920); Sèvres/Lausanne (Ottoman Empire/Turkey, 1920/1923).

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The War Guilt Clause — forced Germany to accept sole responsibility for WWI. It was the legal basis for reparations and a major source of German resentment exploited by nationalist politicians including Hitler.

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Hungary lost two-thirds of its pre-war territory and around 3 million ethnic Hungarians were placed under foreign rule in Romania, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia. This created lasting irredentism and regional instability.

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Wilson (USA): fair peace based on Fourteen Points and self-determination. Clemenceau (France): cripple Germany permanently. Lloyd George (Britain): punish but not destroy Germany to avoid future extremism.

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(1) USA never joined (Senate rejection, 1920). (2) USSR excluded until 1934. (3) No standing army — enforcement depended on member states. (4) Germany excluded until 1926.

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Britain, France, and Italy united to condemn German rearmament and defend Locarno. It collapsed because: Britain signed the Anglo-German Naval Agreement (June 1935) without consulting allies, and Italy's invasion of Abyssinia (October 1935) brought League sanctions, pushing Mussolini toward Hitler.

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Italy had fought for the Allies but felt cheated at Versailles — denied Fiume and Dalmatia promised by the Treaty of London (1915). Mussolini exploited this grievance to justify an aggressive foreign policy aimed at making Italy a great Mediterranean power.

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(1) Destroy the Treaty of Versailles. (2) Rearm Germany. (3) Unite all Germans in a Greater Germany (Austria, Sudetenland). (4) Win Lebensraum in the east, at the expense of the USSR.

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Germany accepted its western borders with France and Belgium; Britain and Italy guaranteed them. They created the optimistic 'Spirit of Locarno'. Crucially, eastern European borders (e.g. with Poland and Czechoslovakia) were NOT guaranteed, leaving them open to future revision.

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After an Italian general was killed in Greece, Mussolini bombarded the Greek island of Corfu. The League condemned Italy but ultimately backed down under pressure; Greece was forced to pay compensation. It showed that great powers could bully smaller states with few consequences.

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Britain unilaterally accepted Germany's right to a navy 35% the size of the Royal Navy — directly breaching Versailles without consulting France or Italy. It undermined the Stresa Front, signalled British willingness to accept treaty revision, and emboldened Hitler.

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Mussolini: Mediterranean/African expansion, great-power status; initially opposed German Anschluss (sent troops to Brenner 1934). Hitler: destroy Versailles, unite Germans, win eastern Lebensraum; more radical and ideological. Before Abyssinia they were rivals, not allies.