HIST 2040 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Heinz Guderian, Meath Junior Football Championship, Maginot Line
Document Summary
I league of nations & the quest for peace: cost of world war i. 20 million people killed or permanently disabled. Economic dislocation, debts, and reparations placed tremendous strain on national economies and balance of international payments: revulsion for war after 1918. Statesmen entrusted with making peace treaties also planned international institutions to prevent recurrence of war. Collective security was basic principle of the league of nations. Members promised to refrain from war, but no method to prevent aggression beyond sanctions. Attempts to define aggression caused some nations to limit their obligations under the. Membership not universal: usa did not join; russian, germany, japan non-members for long periods. Given weakness of league"s machinery, new defensive alliances & regional pacts formed to preserve peace: efforts at disarmament. Treaty of versailles imposed arms limitations on germany & stated that general disarmament was the ultimate goal. Progress very slow: problems of collective security & disarmament linked.