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The Interwar Years
An Uncertain (and unhappy?) Peace
After the deaths of almost 10 million people,
society is shaken
• Some proclaim Western Civilization’s collapse
• A “lost generation” of war veterans creates two different
types of vets:
Pacifists
Those who see no problem in use of violence
An Uncertain (and unhappy?) Peace
Many nations, most notably Germany, are unhappy with the peace treaty
League of Nations fails to assure security with absence of US
An Uncertain (and unhappy?) Peace
US also fails to
honor a promise to
form a military
alliance with
France:
• Leaves a fear of
vulnerability from
Germany
An Uncertain (and unhappy?) Peace
France seeks
alliances to
substitute for US
and Russia
• Little Entente
consists of
Czechoslovakia,
Romania,
Yugoslavia, and
Poland
An Uncertain (and unhappy?) Peace
Germany manages 1 payment of reperations
• After missed payment, France sends troops to Ruhr
valley
• Germany prints more money
• Leads to inflation
Inflation: an increase
in prices and fall in the
value of money
An Uncertain (and unhappy?) Peace
Economic disaster leads to political upheavals in Germany• Growth of Nazis and Communists
France and Germany agree to more conciliatory terms in 1924
The Great Depression
The prosperity of the twenties was fragile
Based mostly on growth of US credit
In Europe, depression came from decreases in domestic
production and collapse of American stock market
The Great Depression
• Increase in use of oil and hydroelectricity,
lead to slump in coal industry
• Europe’s agriculture and industry returns to
prewar levels
• Overexposure and lower prices follow
• Prosperity in Europe built on American
loans, when stocks collapse in October
1929
• American money is pulled out of Europe
The Great Depression
Unemployment
skyrockets
In worst year (1932) one
in four British workers
are unemployed and
40% of German workers
US and German
production go down
50%
The Great Depression
Unemployment and difficult times lead to people being more open to communists and fascism
Democracy on the defensive in Europe in 1930s
Democracy in the West
Women, who had won
the right to vote and
began to be involved
in politics, see a
decrease in roles in
government
Especially Germany
Democracy in the West
In Britain, control of nation switches between
Conservatives, Liberals, and new political party
Labour Party
British economist John Maynard Keynes argues that
deficit spending should be used to stimulate economy
France also goes through many governments
All fail to stave off (stop) great depression
Leads to decline in confidence in government, leaving them
vulnerable
Democracy in the West
In US, Depression leads
to election of Franklin
Delano Roosevelt (FDR)
FDR’s policy, the New
Deal brings relief,
recovery, and reform
New Deal provides a
safety net, but
unemployment remains
an issue until WWII
Democracy in the West
In former colonies (Turkey, India and Africa) there are movements for freedom
Turkey United by
Mustafa Kemal, who takes the name Atatürk: “father Turk”
Democracy in the West
India
Mohandas
Gandhi leads
protests of British
control via civil
disobedience
Democracy in the West
Pushes for
independence
increase in Africa as
well
Pan-African
movement inspired
by Americans W.E.B.
Du Bois and Marcus
Garvey
Fascism rises in Italy
Fascism – a government ruled by a dictator
Nazism in Germany
Totalitarianism in the Soviet Union
Government where the state or governing body
holds all power
Authoritarian & Totalitarian States
All have strong dictators who use mass
propaganda to conquer minds of their people
Causes of authoritarian governments are
Postwar conditions
Depression
Authoritarian & Totalitarian States
War costly in lives and debt for Italy
See themselves cheated out of territory
Benito Mussolini
A failed teacher and socialist politician sees
opportunity in being anticommunist,
antistrike, nationalist, using force
Fascist militant groups called squadristi are crucial to
Mussolini’s rise in power
After threatening to march on Rome, Mussolini is made
prime minister on Oct. 29, 1922
Authoritarian & Totalitarian States
Authoritarian & Totalitarian StatesMussolini passes Acerbo
Law
Saying that winning
party gets 2/3 of seats in
government
A secret police, the
OVRA, is established and
Mussolini takes name “Il
Duce”: The leader
After war, Germany’s government was known as the
Weimar Republic headed by war hero Paul von
Hindenburg
Adolf Hitler
Born in Vienna, Austria and failed as a student and art
He succeeded in WWI and decided to enter politics
Joins a right-wing Workers’ Party and quickly takes
power, changing its name to the National Socialist
German Workers’ Party (NAZI)
Authoritarian & Totalitarian States
Authoritarian & Totalitarian StatesForms a militia known
as Strumabteilung, or
the SA
Hitler fails to overthrow
the Weimar Republic at
Beer Hall Putsch
Hitler is sentenced to 5
years in prison, where
he wrote Mein Kampf
Hitler then decides to win control via
elections, runs Nazi party with an iron fist
Führerprinzip – leadership principle
“A good National Socialist is one who would let
himself be killed for his Führer at any time.” –
Hitler
Authoritarian & Totalitarian States
Economic difficulties
help Nazis
Under pressure
President Hindenburg
makes Hitler Chancellor
on June 30, 1933
Hitler passes the
Enabling Act, suspending
constitution for 4 years
and making him dictator
Authoritarian & Totalitarian States
When Hindenburg dies in 1934, Hitler
becomes Germany’s sole ruler
Public officials and soldiers required to take
oath of loyalty to the Führer
Authoritarian & Totalitarian States
Under regime, unemployment falls
Those who oppose Nazi policies must deal with secret
police/body guard force the Gestapo
Headed by brutal Heinrich Himmler
To continue indoctrination, the Hitler
Youth and German Girls Association
are formed
Authoritarian & Totalitarian States
Authoritarian & Totalitarian StatesAnti-Semitism is a
constant part of life in
Nazi Germany
Anti-Semitism – the
prejudice, hatred of or
discrimination against Jews
as a national, ethnic,
religious or racial group
Gets violent in 1938
and 1939, after
Kristallnacht, the night
of shattered glass
Russia was on the brink of collapse because
of famine and industrial collapse between
1920-1922
Lenin pulls Russia from the abyss with his
New Economic Policy (NEP) in 1921
Modified capitalism
After a serious of strokes, Lenin dies in 1924,
opening a power struggle between Leon
Trotsky and general-secretary Joseph Stalin
Authoritarian & Totalitarian States
Authoritarian & Totalitarian StatesBecause of his
connections, Stalin
consolidates power
and Trotsky is
expelled from Russia
Stalin grows economy,
at expense of peasants
(killings and artificial
famines kill millions
Authoritarian & Totalitarian StatesStalin purges old
Bolsheviks who may
not be supportive
Some good does come
from his policies,
higher education up
Much of eastern Europe falls under
authoritarian control, limiting participation of
masses
In Spain, General Francisco Franco takes
power sparking a civil war
Authoritarian & Totalitarian States
Europeans sign a non-intervention agreement
Germany and Italy intervene on behalf of Franco
Soviets and volunteers from West intervene on
behalf of Republicans
Franco wins out and begins a brutal
dictatorship that lasts until 1975
Authoritarian & Totalitarian States