15: Diplomacy in Europe (1919–1945)
This topic covers the inter-war period as states sought to deal with the repercussions of the First World War, to establish peace treaties and to secure the peace of Europe through collective security and the League of Nations. It also examines the foreign policies of France, Britain, Germany, Italy and Russia and the events that led to the outbreak of war in 1939. The final section is on the Second World War and the reasons for Germany's defeat.
1. The Versailles Peace Treaty
Following the armistice of 1918, the Allied leaders met to sort out peace terms at Versailles, France. This was a time of great optimism with many hoping that any peace deal would follow the ideas put...
2. Other Treaties in the Versailles Settlement
The Treaty of Versailles dealt with specifically with Germany.Four separate peace treaties were signed: with Austria (the Treaty of St Germain), Hungary (Treaty of Trianon), Bulgaria (Treaty of Neuilly),...
3. The League of Nations and Europe in the 1920s
Throughout the 1920s the League of Nations dealt with various disputes arising mainly from the territorial changes of the Versailles settlement. It had both successes and failures in its handling of...
4. Italian and German foreign policies (1919–1941)
The actions of both Italy and Germany on the international stage helped to undermine the idea of collective security as the other European countries attempted to deal with their demands to role back the...
5. Collective security in the 1920s and 1930s
While it can be argued that there were definitely some successes for the League in the 1920s, most historians agree that the 1930s saw the idea of collective security failing to maintain peace or to resolve...
6. The policy of Appeasement
As you have seen from the previous pages, Britain and France took very little action against both Hitler and Mussolini during the 1930s. This policy of giving concessions in the hope of preventing war-...
7. Events in Europe up to 1941
Hitler’s actions over Czechoslavakia put Europe on the brink of war. It was clear that Poland would be Hitler’s next target. Britain and France had failed to respond to the occupation of Czechoslovakia,...
8: The Wartime Alliance 1941 to 1945
The Grand Alliance developed after the US entered the Second World War and Hitler declared war on America on 11th December, 1941; it consisted of Britain, the Soviet Union and the US fighting the Axis...
9. The impact of war on civilian populations
This section examines the impact of the Second World War on civilian populations. Note that you need to be able to talk about the impact on any two countries between 1939–1945. The information below...
Diplomacy in Europe: Essay frames and writing exercises
This page contains ATL to improve essay writing for this topic in Paper 3 as well as specific essay frames for Paper 3 style essays.In pairs plan the following essay:Discuss the reasons why the Versailles...
Diplomacy in Europe: Videos and activities
Here are some video that are specific to the general issues of the inter-war years. Other videos on Hitler, Mussolini and the lead up to the Second World War can be found on Videos: German and Italian...
Diplomacy in Europe: Quizzes
See below for a page with 'paper quizzes' that you can print off for students and for interactive multiple choice quizzes that students can do online with student access.
Diplomacy in Europe: Graded student essays
Here you can find essays that have been written by students and graded by IB examiners.‘Chamberlain was motivated by a fear of communism during the Munich Crisis.’ Discuss.The following essay was...