Tag Archives: Treaty of Versailles
Why did France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr in 1923?
On the 11th January 1923, French and Belgian troops marched into Germany and occupied the industrial Ruhr area.
The end of Germany’s strike in the Ruhr
On the 26th September 1923, German Chancellor Gustav Stresemann ended passive resistance in the Ruhr and resumed the payment of First World War reparations.
The foundation of the League of Nations
On the 10th January 1920, the Treaty of Versailles came into effect.
The Road to World War II, 1933-39
This podcast is designed to present the key reasons for the breakout of World War 2 by explaining the different impacts of Hitler’s aims and actions, the policy of appeasement, the problems caused by the peace treaties, the Nazi-Soviet Pact and the failures of the League of Nations.
The first part of the podcast deals with Hitler’s aims: abolish the Treaty of Versailles, expand German territory, and remove the threat of communism. It explains how his policies were designed to fulfill these aims. Key actions from the first years of Hitler’s Chancellorship that are described include: rearmament, remilitarisation of the Rhineland, his role in the Spanish Civil War, and Anschluss with Austria.
The podcast then goes on to assess appeasement. Arguments in favour of, and against, the policy of appeasement are presented. This is followed by an explanation of the Sudetenland Crisis, the Munich Agreement and the Nazi-Soviet Pact. The views of historians are considered.
This episode concludes with a brief explanation of how to answer an examination question on this topic.
Hitler’s speech as Chancellor in 1933
Shortly after Adolf Hitler was appointed to the position of Chancellor by President Hindenberg, he made this speech to thousands of members of the Nazi Party.
The Saar plebiscite and reunion with Germany, 1935
On the 13th January 1935, the Territory of the Saar Basin voted to reunite with Germany.
Hitler and the establishment of the Luftwaffe – a short overview
On 26th February 1935 Hitler formally established the Luftwaffe in defiance of the Treaty of Versailles.
The Remilitarisaiton of the Rhineland, 7th March 1936
On 7th March 1936, Hitler marched troops back into the Rhineland in clear defiance of the Treaty of Versailles.
Hitler and the Road to War – ‘History File’ extract
An overview of how Hitler’s policies in Nazi Germany broke the terms of the Treaty of Versailles and contributed to the outbreak of World War 2 alongside the Allied policy of Appeasement.
Historiography: who was responsible for the First World War?
This is a different type of revision podcast as, rather than covering the details of events, it aims to provide a summary of key historians’ interpretations of them. The podcast tracks the changing historiography of responsibility for the First World War over time. Beginning with the attitude at the time of the Versailles Treaty, the podcast summarises the shift in interpretation through the inter-war period, the effect of World War 2, the 1960s and the Fischer Thesis, and post-Fischer revisionism. Historians whose work is briefly mentioned include G. Lowes Dickinson, Sidney Fay, AJP Taylor, Luigi Albertini, Fritz Fischer, Niall Ferguson and John Keegan.
