1. Postwar Issues
World History
11/30/12

2. After World War I
Three western democracies (Great Britain, France, United States) appeared powerful.
All three boosted hopes for democracy among the new nations of Eastern Europe.

3. Underlying Problems Postwar Europe faced problems.
The greatest problems were finding jobs for returning veterans and rebuilding war-ravaged lands.
Many nations also owed huge debts because they had borrowed to pay for the war.
Economic problems led to social unrest and made radical ideas more popular.
Many feared the spread of communism.
Some European countries were unhappy with peace settlements (Germany).

4. Pursuit of Peace 1920s: Diplomats worked hard for peace.
1925: Representatives from seven European nations signed a series of treaties at Locarno, Switzerland.
Settled Germany’s disputed borders with France, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, and Poland.
Locarno treaties became the symbol of a new war.

5. Pursuit of Peace
Kellogg-Briand Pact of 1928: Every independent nation signed this agreement.
Promised to end war.
Many countries pursued disarmament, or the reduction of armed forces and weapons.
United States, Britain, France, Japan, and other nations signed treaties to reduce the size of their navies.
The League of Nations also put many at ease. Germany and the Soviet Union joined in the late 1920s.

6. Obstacles to Peace Difficult to enforce the Kellogg-Briand Pact.
League of Nation was also powerless to stop aggressors.
American refusal to join did not help the League of Nations.
Many leaders began to realize that the League of Nations was powerless.
Dictators rearmed their military forces.