Autonomy and Responsibility: France and World War II
The decision to enter into war is usually a great struggle involving many factors. Some countries, however, such as France in 1940, do not have much choice in the matter. France’s leaders struggled with the feelings of autonomy and responsibility. France's struggle entering into World War II was in the difficulty in fulfilling its dual responsibility to the people of France and to the rest of the world whom both maintained conflicting beliefs about the approaching war. The French people desired peace, while the other countries required France to go to war to defend itself against
Germany, so France’s struggle with autonomy and responsibility began long before World War II did.
France was a major part of the end of World War I. They had a strong, respected army, and the country had faith in its military strength. The Versailles Treaty that ended the First World War consisted of five separate treaties between the allies and Germany. Perhaps the most important for France was the formation of the League of Nations. This was a union of countries who agreed to pursue common policies after reaching a common decision, especially in times of war, to establish and maintain peace. The main powers in this league were Britain, France, Italy, the United States, and Japan. The League of Nations gave the countries a sense of responsibility to protect one another. The treaty also guaranteed that if Germany were to attack France again, the United States and Britain would offer aid to France. Germany was also forced to reduce its army to 100,000 men on long-term service as a stipulation of this treaty.1
Despite the terms of the League of Nations, France alone worked to restrain Ge...
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...as an autonomous decision that was made so that the safety of the country of France was ensured. France went against the wishes of the people, but always maintained the safety of the people as its main responsibility. War may have always been in the future, but the leaders struggled with their preparations for it.
End Notes
1 Jeffery A. Grunsburg, Divided and Conqured (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1979).
3, 6-7.
2 Vivian Rowe, The Great Wall of France (New York, NY: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1959). 17
3 Grunsburg 9
4 “An Unprepared Nation: France Finds Hitler to be a Foe.” France’s Entrance into
World War II. http://www.snu.edu/syllabi/history/s97projects/towar/france.htm (28
Feb. 2000).
5 Daniel Vilfroy, War in the West (Harrisburg, PA: Military Service Publishing
Company, 1942). 13
6 Rowe 73-87
7 Rowe 93-94
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The French believed that the rights of an individual should come with certain precautions and safety measures, so they decided
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The Treaty of Versailles is a cause of World War II because of the restrictions it placed on Germany as the alleged sole aggressor of the war. The war reparation totaled $98 billion, and under Clause 231 Germany was forced to take the entire load onto her ruined economy and attempt to repay the debt starting with an initial $5 billion payment. In terms of military, Germany was limited to a 100,000 man army, with her navy stripped to the level of a coast guard, she was allowed no heavy artillery, no weapons of mass destruction and the border with France became a demilitarized zone for 15 years following the signing of the treaty on June 28 1919. Germany also lost all her territories in Africa and became a mandate of the Allied Forces, those living in mandated zones could participate in “self-determination” after the Allies taught them how to be a democracy (...
...pave the way for democracy, but the bloodshed could have been more limited. Many people during the Revolution believed that France needed a change in many ways. They had achieved that by 1793. Many new reforms had been implemented in the country and it was much better off than it had been four years prior. I do agree with Kropotkin that the abolishing of serfdom and absolutism was a great achievement for France and that it did lead to a democratic system. Though this is true, the violence and bloodshed during the Revolution could have been minimized through committees and discussions. Schama is also right in that some men were too radical and their new found power went to their head. All said and done, the French Revolution was a bloody time in history, but it paved the way for a new democratic system not only for France but for many other countries as well.
middle of paper ... ... The Treaty of Versailles, initially created to keep peace in Europe and ensure that another war like World War I wouldn’t happen again, had in fact, backfired and spiraled the world down into a deeper, bloodier battle. The treaty discriminated strongly against Germany, with the loss of territories, military restrictions, economic reparations, and the War Guilt Clause. It caused humiliation and anger within Germany, and led to Hitler and the Nazi Party coming to power.
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World War I had been fought primarily on French soil, and the military as well as the government never wanted that to happen again, therefore they wanted to reinforce their main border against any future German. Little did they know that only twenty-two years later they would be bested by German forces in a way that would shock the world.... ... middle of paper ... ... Situational awareness was almost non-existent, with many French commanders not even knowing where their own subordinate units were located.11
Who To Blame for the World War II World War II began on the 3rd September when Britain and France declared war on Germany after they had invaded Poland. Ever since the end of WWI Europe had been divided into different camps. The ideas of peace during the 1920s and 30s had been designed to eliminate the gaps between the camps. Unfortunately, this never worked and so Europe was still divided into two main camps when war was declared. Britain and France in Western Europe were the leaders of one camp.
World War I was ultimately ended in 1918 after the Treaty of Versailles was signed. Peace settlements were signed on June 28, 1918 at the Hall of Mirror in Versailles, Paris. The Treaty was an agreement among the United States, Great Britain, and France. Woodrow Wilson, George Clemenceau, and David Lloyd, who represented the "Big Three" countries, collaborated in negotiating the Treaty. The Treaty of Versailles was designed to weaken Germany and give Germany full blame for causing the war. The Treaty implemented massive reparations to Germany which would obliterate Germany's economy, notwithstanding the millions of dead allied soldiers. The settlement strictly limited the German's military. Germans were additionally forced to depart from their homes in Russia, Poland, and Alsace-Lorraine and return to Germany or Austria. Furthermore Germany had to give back any land belonging to other countries. With no alternative, Germany signed the peace settlements. The Treaty of Versailles was undoubtedly justified, Germany was positively the main instigator of the war and its excessive brutality of fighting provoked the war more particularly. Thus, making the amends to Germany was rational because of all the destruction Germany had triggered.
The coalitions brought by the Versailles Treaty contributed greatly to starting WWII. The Treaty was responsible for the formation of the Allies. However, when made, these alliances were based on promises from the superpowers, particularly France. This ensured that Germany would not have support from the smaller countries in Europe (Document B). Belgium had aligned itself with France previously, and it continued to do so, but Czechoslovakia and Poland...
...France paid more attention to what happened to the people and the tension between them and America.
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