Why did attempts at cooperation in Europe between 1919 and 1939 end in failure

There were many reasons why attempts at cooperation in Europe between 1919 and 1939 failed. These included the Treaty of Versailles, Great depression, and failure of the League of Nations However, the Hitler’s foreign policies and the appeasement of Hitler were probably the most important factors in the failure of cooperation in Europe throughout the interwar period, as it cemented the start of WWII.The Treaty of Versailles is a reason why attempts at cooperation in Europe between 1919 and 1939 failed. The ToV, signed in 1919, was a diktat, or dictated peace that the Germans were forced to sign at the end of WWI.

Germany was given full blame under Article 231 and were forced to pay more than 6,600million pounds in reparations. This greatly angered the German people, as the terms of the Treaty were seen as too harsh. The ToV weakened the Weimar republic from the very beginning, as it was seen as a ‘stab in the back’, or ‘dolschtoss’.This led to people supporting extermist groups, most notably Hitler. Hitler gained support by promising to eradicate the ToV, his rise to power would later be a major factor in the failure of cooperation in Europe.

Historian James Joll said that ToV divided Europe, as some countries (Germany, Italy, Japan) wanted to revise the treaty while some countries demanded even harsher terms (France, Poland), making cooperation all the more difficult. Economist John Keynes denoucned the reparations, saying that it put too much presssure on German economy and threatened Europe’s economy.This caused much strain among the countries in Europe, as France wanted to impose higher reparations while Britain disagreed as Germany was one of its biggest trading partners; the conflicting ideas on the ToV led to the failure of cooperation in Europe in the early 1920s. The Treaty of Versailles can be linked to the Great Depression, which was another factor that led to the failure of cooperation in Europe. The reparations bill led to the creation of the Dawes and Young plan in the 1920s by Stresseman, which made Europe dependent on USA economy.

When Wall Street crashed in 1929, this had detrimental effects on the economy of Europe as a whole. It essentially wakened the terms of collective security outlines in the ToV, as countries were now acting in their own self interest and going into was for the sake of another country was illogical. The crash also encouraged right wing parties as they took advantage of the misfortunes and vulnerability of the people. This led to right wing parties, most notable Hitler and the Nazis, to resort to expansion or ‘Lebensraum’, in order to boost their economy.

This again caused much tension among countries, as they felt vulnerable to these aggressive right wing parties. Historian Overy claimed that the crash and the subsequent Great Depression was the most important factor in the ‘breakdown of the diplomatic system in the 1930s. ’ The failure of the League of Nations was a reason why cooperation in Europe failed. When it set up in 1920, it was arguably already doomed for failure.

The fact that Wilson initated the League and the USA went into isolation meant that the League had to resources or manpower.The LoN was also seen as a ‘winners club’, as Germany and USSR were not allowed to join. From the start, the LoN was weak and unable to exercise tis authority as it excluded 3 major world powers. The exclusion of German and USSR led to the Treaty of Rapallo in 1920, which led to the formation of the Little Entente. These minor groups prevented cooperation within Europe as countries felt vulnerable and suceptible to attack. This would also lead to countries delving into an arms race.

The LoN flawed constitution led the slow progress of the organisation, and practically deemed them useless.This can be seen when Japan invaded Manchuria in 1931, the League took over a year to construct the Lytton report and by that time, Japan’s invasion was complete. The LoN was not able to enforce sanctions and so, Japan simply walked out of the league. This led to the lack of cooperation with the countries of the LoN as it was seen as weak and unable to enforce collective security.

This encouraged Mussolini to invade Abyssinia in 1935, which led to the Hoare Laval pact that enraged the entire Western Europe, which showed the lack of cooperation.Hitler’s foreign policies as well as the policy of appeasement can be seen as reasons for the failure of cooperation in Europe in the 1930s. Historian Trevor Roper implied that Hitler’s Mein Kampf and the Hossbach memorandum in 1937 arguably depict Hitler as a ‘master planner’ and he had planned for the fall of international diplomacy in Europe. However, AJP Taylor believed that it was the policy of appeasement that led to Hitler’s foregin polices as he was an opportunist that simply took advatage of this.

This can be seen in the 1938 Munich conference.Britain, France and Italy, met with Hitler to dicuss his hopes of acquiring the Sudetenland, as a form of appeasement. This already led to the failure of cooperation as the leaders of Czechoslovakia, who owened Sudetenland, were not even invited, neither was the USSR. Chamberlain wanted to appease Hitler, and this led to the Anglo German Naval Pact of 1935, which allowed Germany to increase their navy by 35%. Appeasement led to the failure of cooperation as Britain agreed to this pact without consulting France or USSR. The latter countries felt betrayed and vulnerable.

In addition, the appeasement led to the Nazi Sovier pact of 1939, which was another sign of the failure of cooperation in Europe. Stalin intially wanted to form a pact with Britain, as he wanted to stop Hitler from totalitarian power. However, there was much disagreement as USSR and Britain did not trust each other and had diverging interests about Poland. Therefore, Stalin was forced to form a pact with Hitler.

This led to Britain and France promising to protect Poland in case of attack. Subsequently, but not surpsingly, Hitler attacked Poland, which marked the onset of war.This was the resounding failure of cooperation in Europe, caused by the policy of appeasement and Hitler’s foreign policies. In conclusion, there were many factors that led to the failure of cooperation in Europe between 1919 to 1939. The ToV, Great Depression and failure of the League of Nations were all long term factors that caused the augmenting of confict and tension in Europe, that led to the failure of cooperation.

However, these only set the atmosphere for Hitler’s aggressive foreign policies and the policy of appeasement, which essentially sparked the WWII and cemented the failure of cooperation in Europe.