Impact of WWII, Creation of United Nations, and Spanish Civil War

Long term WWII

1. The impact of WW I. War reparations were paid by Germany. This caused resentment which later contributed to the rise of Nazi extremism. 2. The rise of fascism and nationalism. There was a great fear of a similar revolution that could happen in their countries, after the Russian revolution. Fascism, Communism and other authoritarian solutions were considered a good solution for those who feared the communist revolution. 3. Weakness of democracies. When Hitler began with his expansionism and rearmament, the democratic countries Britain and France considered avoiding a new war was their number one priority, so they didn't face Hitler with their military power. (appeasement policy). The League of Nations was completely ineffective.

Define

Yalta conference: The Allied war leaders met in Yalta before the end of the war. They agreed that after Germany was defeated: 1. Britain, France, the United States and the Soviet Union, will run the four zones Germany and Berlin will be split. 2. There should be free elections in Eastern Europe. 3. The United Nations should be established to replace the League of Nations. 4. Nazi war criminals should be put on trial. The Security Council: had five permanent members: the United States, Soviet Union, Britain, France and China. They were responsible for maintaining peace in the world. They all had a veto, which meant that they could block the council’s proposals. The final solution: The Nazis planned to murder all of the Jews and destroy their culture. They called the extermination of the Jews “the final solution to the Jewish question”. During war, Nazis established death camps, which used gas chambers to kill large groups of prisoners. Also work camps, where prisoners were forced to do forced labor. Prisoners were given so little food and worked so hard that many died. Crimes against Humanity: Is the result of disaster of the most cruel war in the history (WWII: The Holocaust, the Atomic bombs, the massive raids of the allies against the German cities all raised huge ethical questions). Creating a new type of international court to bring there every person who committed a new kind of crime.

Creation of United Nation

The United Nations was a consequence of WWI, and was created in order to prevent future wars, was established in 1945 to promote peace and cooperation between states. It had a General Assembly (a parliament of all of the member states), the assembly had regular meetings to discuss important problems in the world, such as wars. It also had a Security Council that was responsible for maintaining peace in the world. The promoters were: The United States, Soviet Union, Britain, France and China.

Tabla Grupos

Republicans: wanted a demographic republic. (supported by urban middle classes). Anarchist: supported by the urban workers (Catalonia) and peasants (peasants with no properties). Socialists: the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) believed in Marxist ideas, and was linked to a trade union called the General Union of Workers (UGT), supported by urban workers (In Madrid, Pais Vasco and Asturias), but with less support than the anarchists. Basque and Catalan nationalists: initially they wanted more autonomy for the Basque Country and Catalonia.

Define

Manuel Azaña: In June there was a general election, which socialists and republicans won. They formed a coalition government, with Manuel Azaña as its Presidente del Gobierno. The parliament approved the new constitution in December 1931, which defined Spain as a democratic republic, based on popular sovereignty and the separation of powers. Disaster of 98: In the 19th century, Spain lost most of its colonies, and by the 1890s only remained Cuba, the Philippines and Puerto Rico. In 1898, The United States wanted a greater role in Cuba’s affairs, so they found an excuse to start supporting the Cuban rebels. This led to the Spanish-American War, which the United States won because of its big navy in comparison to the small Spanish one. The loss of the last important Spanish colonies is known as the Disaster of ‘98. Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera: was the son of Miguel Primo de Rivera. He was the leader of the Falange, wanted to establish a fascist dictatorship inspired by Mussolini. The Popular front: consisted of socialists, communists, left-wing republicans and some nationalists. After the Popular Front’s victory, a republican government was formed. It was led by a centre-left party called Izquierda Republicana.

International support

Hitler and Mussolini supported the coup from the beginning of the civil war. The government asked for help from France and Britain, but in order to prevent a European war, they didn’t want to confront Italy and Germany. So they decided to promote an agreement called the “non-intervention pact” Italy and Germany ignored this, and sent tanks, planes and soldiers to support the Rebels. This meant that the Rebels have much more continuous support than the Republicans. In the other side, Republicans received an important support from USSR after some months after the coup and the International Communist organized a group of volunteers with more than 40.000 men to fight for the Republicans.