The illusion of peace : international relations in Europe, 1918-1933 / Sally Marks.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Marks, Sally.

Series:

Making of the 20th century (Palgrave Macmillan (Firm))

The making of the 20th century

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Europe--Foreign relations--1918-1945.

Europe.

International relations.

World War, 1914-1918--Reparations.

World War, 1914-1918.

Reparations for historical injustices.

Treaty of Versailles (1919 June 28).

Treaty of Versailles.

World War, 1914-1918--Influence.

Physical Description:

4, 214 pages : maps ; 23 cm.

Edition:

Second edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2003.

Summary:

Sally Marks provides a compelling analysis of European diplomacy between the First World War and Hitler's advent. She explores in clear and lively prose the reasons why successive efforts failed to create a lasting peace in the interwar era. Building on the theories of the first edition - many of which have become widely accepted since its publication in 1976 - Marks reassesses Europe's leaders of the period, and the policies of the powers between 1918 and 1933, and beyond. Strongly interpretative and archivally based, The Illusion of Peace examines the emotional, ethnic and economic factors responsible for international instability, as well as the distortion of the balance of power, the abnormal position of the Soviet Union, the weakness of France and the uncertainty of her relationship with Britain, and the inadequacy of the League of Nations. In so doing, the study clarifies the complex topics of reparations and war debts and challenges traditional assumptions, concluding that widespread Western devotion to disarmament and dedication to peace were two of several reasons why democratic statesmen could not respond decisively to Hitler's threat. In this new edition Marks also argues that the Allied failure to bring defeat home to the German people in 1918-19 generated a resentment which contributed to interwar instability and Hitler's rise. This highly successful study has been thoroughly revised and updated to reflect the latest scholarship. Now in its second edition, it remains the essential introduction to the tense political and diplomatic situation in Europe during the interwar years.

Contents:

Map 1 Europe in 1914 vi

Map 2 Europe in 1925 vii

Map 3 Weimar Germany viii

Map 4 Eastern Europe in 1925 ix

1 The Pursuit of Peace 1

2 The Effort to Enforce the Peace 29

3 The Revision of the Peace 63

4 The Years of Illusion 83

5 The Crumbling of Illusion 116

6 The End of Old Illusions 146.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [188]-199) and index.

ISBN:

1403904197

0333985893

OCLC:

50339511