Locarno Revisited

This collection of essays examines European politics and diplomacy in the 1920s, with special emphasis on the Treaty of Locarno of 1925, often seen as the 'real' peace treaty at the end of the First World War. Contributors discuss the diplomacy of the principle countries that signed the Treaty of Locarno in 1925 and consider the issues of greatest importance to the study of European history in the 1920s. They also assess whether the treaty could be seen as the 'real' peace treaty with Germany at the end of the First World War. Key chapters include: Locarno, Britain and the Security of Europe; Locarno: Early Test of Fascist Intentions; Locarno and the Irrelevance of Disarmament. 'Locarno diplomacy' meant different things to each of the countries involved. The inability of contemporaries to arrive at a working consensus about what the treaty was intended to achieve weakened it and paved the way for its destruction. Unlike the Paris Peace Conference, however, the Treaty of Locarno and the era of diplomacy to which it gave its name, were not always seen as flawed. Until 1945, they were held up as one of the high points of European diplomacy in the 1920s. This book asks whether it is still appropriate to under-rate the importance of the Treaty of Locarno

In 1919 the Treaty of Versailles stripped Germany of its overseas colonies. This sudden transition to a post-colonial nation left the men and women invested in German imperialism to rebuild their status on the international stage. Remnants of an earlier era, these Kolonialdeutsche (Colonial Germans) exploited any opportunities they could to recover, renovate, and market their understandings of German and European colonial aims in order to reestablish themselves as "experts" and "fellow civilizers" in discourses on nationalism and imperialism. Revenants of the German Empire: Colonial Germans, Imperialism, and the League of Nations tracks the difficulties this diverse group of Colonial Germans encountered while they adjusted to their new circumstances, as repatriates to Weimar Germany or as subjects of the War's victors in the new African Mandates. Faced with novel systems of international law, Colonial Germans re-situated their notions of imperial power and group identity to fit in a world of colonial empires that were not their own. The book examines how former colonial officials, settlers, and colonial lobbies made use of the League of Nations framework to influence diplomatic flashpoints including the Naturalization Controversy in Southwest Africa, the Locarno Conference, and the Permanent Mandates Commission from 1927-1933. Sean Wempe revises standard historical portrayals of the League of Nations' form of international governance, German participation in the League, the role of interest groups in international organizations and diplomacy, and liberal imperialism. In analyzing Colonial German investment and participation in interwar liberal internationalism, the project challenges the idea of a direct continuity between Germany's colonial period and the Nazi era.

Documenting an audacious Franco-German movement for moral disarmament, instigated in 1921 by war veteran and French Catholic politician Marc Sangnier, in this transnational study Gearóid Barry examines the European resonance of Sangnier's Peace Congresses and their political and religious ecumenism within France in the era of two World Wars.

Strange Allies examines three intersecting themes of fundamental importance to the international history of the period between the two world wars. First, and most broadly, it is a study of the international history of the pivotal ‘hinge years’, running from the onset of the Depression in late 1929 to the Nazi capture of power in Germany in early 1933. The second theme is the strategic relationship between Britain and France, the critical dynamic in the management of global and European international relations during this time of great fluidity and uncertainty. The most contentious and intractable issue that divided the two countries was the pursuit of international disarmament, which forms the third theme of the book. Strange Allies is based upon extensive research in British and French archives, as well as in the archives of the League of Nations in Geneva. The book’s focus on 1929–31 in particular makes a major contribution to the international history of the interwar period by re-examining the security and strategic policies of the second Labour government in Britain and of foreign minister Aristide Briand in the post-Locarno years in France. For 1931–33, the book looks at the impact of the great financial and economic crisis of 1931 on security and disarmament planning in Britain and France. It then considers the impact of the Anglo-French relationship on the instability of Europe and on the failure of the World Disarmament Conference. This book is the first detailed study of the Anglo-French relationship during a critical period which saw a reshaping of the boundaries of global security. Although the Anglo-French alliance is rightly seen to be pivotal to both the initial phase of implementing the Versailles settlement of 1919 and the efforts to contain Hitler and protect Europe after 1936, Strange Allies demonstrates the degree to which these states’ conflicting views of security were central to international relations in the years leading up to Hitler’s accession to power.

A Companion to World War II brings together a series of fresh academic perspectives on World War II, exploring the many cultural, social, and political contexts of the war. Essay topics range from American anti-Semitism to the experiences of French-African soldiers, providing nearly 60 new contributions to the genre arranged across two comprehensive volumes. A collection of original historiographic essays that include cutting-edge research Analyzes the roles of neutral nations during the war Examines the war from the bottom up through the experiences of different social classes Covers the causes, key battles, and consequences of the war

Christoph Kimmich’s German Foreign Policy, 1918-1945: A Guide to Current Research and Resources is the most comprehensive guide to archival resources and published materials on the foreign policy of Weimar and Nazi Germany. It lists the archives, libraries, and research institutes, public and private, that hold important collections. While Kimmich’s survey emphasizes archives in Germany, it also covers archives in Europe and in the United States, describing their holdings, terms of access and use, and the guides and inventories available. German Foreign Policy, 1918-1945 also includes a substantial bibliography of published sources, from documentary series to significant contemporary accounts, from the memoir literature to secondary works, with annotations appearing for the more important and the more obscure. This select bibliography concentrates only on works that are serious, innovative, and accessible. It describes the various series of the Nuremberg War Crimes Trial Records and the original trial documents available in archives and libraries. Particular attention is given to the vast and ever increasing availability of materials on the Web, ranging from digitized print materials to archival inventories and source materials. Moreover, in order to facilitate work in the archives, the guide explains the organization and functioning of the German foreign ministry between 1918 and 1945 and notes how it kept and stored its records. This third edition differs from its predecessor by offering new and critical information on German archives that have since been consolidated and relocated after German reunification, on archival sources of hitherto unknown provenance, and on materials available on the Web. It is a reference source for both the established scholar and the novice planning research and a guide for their visits to archives and libraries, enabling them to find their way quickly and efficiently through the voluminous research and research materials that have come to light in recent years.

Covers the entire range of the history of U.S. foreign relations from the colonial period to the beginning of the 21st century. A Companion to U.S. Foreign Relations is an authoritative guide to past and present scholarship on the history of American diplomacy and foreign relations from its seventeenth century origins to the modern day. This two-volume reference work presents a collection of historiographical essays by prominent scholars. The essays explore three centuries of America’s global interactions and the ways U.S. foreign policies have been analyzed and interpreted over time. Scholars offer fresh perspectives on the history of U.S. foreign relations; analyze the causes, influences, and consequences of major foreign policy decisions; and address contemporary debates surrounding the practice of American power. The Companion covers a wide variety of methodologies, integrating political, military, economic, social and cultural history to explore the ideas and events that shaped U.S. diplomacy and foreign relations and continue to influence national identity. The essays discuss topics such as the links between U.S. foreign relations and the study of ideology, race, gender, and religion; Native American history, expansion, and imperialism; industrialization and modernization; domestic and international politics; and the United States’ role in decolonization, globalization, and the Cold War. A comprehensive approach to understanding the history, influences, and drivers of U.S. foreign relation, this indispensable resource: Examines significant foreign policy events and their subsequent interpretations Places key figures and policies in their historical, national, and international contexts Provides background on recent and current debates in U.S. foreign policy Explores the historiography and primary sources for each topic Covers the development of diverse themes and methodologies in histories of U.S. foreign policy Offering scholars, teachers, and students unmatched chronological breadth and analytical depth, A Companion to U.S. Foreign Relations: Colonial Era to the Present is an important contribution to scholarship on the history of America’s interactions with the world.

This book boldly challenges conventional wisdom about the value of preventive war, beginning with the rise of Hitler’s Germany through the disastrous invasion of Iraq. Silverstone argues that the Rhineland crisis leading up to WWII presents a critical case for studying power shifts among states—and the preventive war temptation that results.