IB History Changing Diplomatic Alignments in Europe Notes

The Collapse of the Locarno System

1. The Locarno Treaties (1925) had established a framework for European peace, with Germany accepting its western borders and Britain and Italy acting as guarantor powers. This "Spirit of Locarno" briefly stabilised Europe.
2. The system began to unravel with the Great Depression (1929). Economic crisis weakened democratic governments, fuelled extremism, and destroyed the international cooperation that had sustained the Locarno era.
3. Germany's withdrawal from the League of Nations and Disarmament Conference (October 1933) signalled Hitler's rejection of the collective security system. He claimed other nations had refused to disarm to Germany's level.
4. The Stresa Front (April 1935) was the last attempt to maintain collective security against Germany. Britain, France, and Italy agreed to oppose German rearmament and defend Austrian independence.
5. The Front collapsed within months. The Anglo-German Naval Agreement (June 1935) allowed Germany to build a navy up to 35% of British naval strength. Britain negotiated bilaterally without consulting France or Italy, undermining collective action.
6. Italy's invasion of Abyssinia (October 1935) destroyed the Stresa Front entirely. The League imposed limited sanctions on Italy, but excluded oil, making them ineffective. The Hoare-Laval Pact scandal further discredited Anglo-French diplomacy.
7. By 1936, the Locarno system was dead. The League had been fatally weakened by the Manchurian and Abyssinian crises, and no mechanism existed to restrain German or Italian aggression.

Italy's Realignment with Germany

1. In July 1934, Austrian Nazis assassinated Chancellor Dollfuss. Mussolini sent Italian troops to the Austrian border to prevent a German takeover, demonstrating that Italy was still willing to oppose Hitler at this stage.
2. The Stresa Front (April 1935) represented Italy's last alignment with Britain and France. However, the Abyssinian Crisis alienated Mussolini from the Western democracies, which he felt had betrayed him by imposing sanctions.
3. The Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) brought Italy and Germany closer together. Both sent military support to Franco's Nationalists: Germany provided the Condor Legion (air support), while Italy sent approximately 75,000 troops.
4. In October 1936, Mussolini and Hitler signed the Rome-Berlin Axis. This was a diplomatic and ideological agreement, not a binding military alliance. Both declared opposition to liberal democracy and communism.