28.2Western Democracies Stumble

What political and economic challenges did the Western world face in the 1920s and 1930s? How did various countries react to them?

French Foreign Policy• Peace settlement caused friction in Europe• France built Maginot Line, strengthened military• Strict enforcement of the Treaty of Versailles• Britain wanted to relax harsh treatment of

Germany, worried about France or Soviet Union becoming too strong

New Era of Peace?• 1925 – Locarno treaties –

settled border disputes pledged not to resort to force, demilitarization of the Rhineland

• 1928- Kellogg-Briand Pact – “renounce war as an instrument of national policy” (outlawed war)

-disarmament (reduction of armed forces/weapons)

Problems with the “Peace”

• Peace settlement caused friction in Europe• Kellogg-Briand Pact had no way to enforce ban• Disarmament Problems?• League of Nations is powerless -condemned

Japanese invasion of Manchuria• Resentment from the losers of WWI

What would you think if you were an aspiring dictator?

Great Depression

• 1929 – U.S. stock market collapsed

• America stops loaning money – hurts Britain, France, and Germany

• 1 in 4 were unemployed in USA, even higher in Europe.

Democracy Stumbles• Depression made citizens question democratic

governments • Inability to solve foreign policy issues and act

strong on aggression further emboldened radicals

Result…

Weak Alliances+

Weak Governments+

Weak Economies=

DICTATORSHIPS & TOTALITARIANISM

Fascism on the RiseItaly

Objective 1: Describe how conditions in Italy favored the rise of Mussolini

Objective 2: Understand the values and goals of fascist ideology

Weak Alliances+

Weak Governments+

Weak Economies=

DICTATORSHIPS & TOTALITARIANISM

Fascism on the Rise• Def: Any centralized, authoritarian

government that is not communist whose policies glorify the state (extreme nationalism) over the individual and are destructive to human rights. It is anti-democratic, anti-parliamentary and often anti-Semitic.– Wanted no conflict by class or party and held only

a single national purpose– The needs of the state outweigh the needs of the

individual– Use fear and police surveillance to keep control

Benito Mussolini (1883-1945)

• Began the party in 1919 along with others (veterans, etc..) who were resentful that Italy had been “cheated” in Paris– Used fear of Communism and

promises of peace to gain support

– “Black Shirts” as intimidation– Played up Italian nationalism

to gain support

The March on Rome

• 1921 elections sent 34 fascists to the chamber of deputies– October of 1922 Mussolini and the Fascists

marched on Rome and King Victor Emmanuel III

– November 23 1922 king and parliament granted Mussolini dictatorial authority for one year to bring order to local government

Fascist Ita

By 1926:“Il duce”• One party system• Heavy Fascist

propaganda• Secret Police created

to enforce gov’t. rule• Freedom of speech

eliminated

• "Benito Mussolini loves children a lot. The children of Italy love the Duce a lot. Long live Il Duce !. A salute to Il Duce: Here's to us!".

State over the Individual - Propaganda

“The function of a citizen and a soldier are inseparable”

“It is the State which educates its citizens in civic virtue, gives them a consciousness of their mission and welds them into unity.”

The Soviet Union Under Stalin

Objective 1: Explain Stalin’s methods of control and the changes they brought to Soviet society.

Objective 2: Explain the facets of totalitarianism

Stalin

• 1924: Lenin dies…begins a struggle over power v. Trotsky

• Sentences all those who oppose him to exile, prison, or death

• 1929: Stalin becomes dictator; all soviet councils are puppets

The Five Year Plan

• Aimed at building industry, transportation, and increasing farm output

• All economic activity under government control – command economy

• Increased production – but at a large cost of human life

Forced Relocations

Collectives

• Agriculture under government control

• Created collectives – large farms owned and supplied by the government, operated by peasants

• Initially not supported• Stalin had kulaks

(wealthy farmers) punished

• Created the “Terror Famine”

• Policies did not increase farm output

Stalin’s Russia

• Use of force and propaganda increase• Secret police (KGB) established– Arrest and kill any who opposed the state– “Re-educate” any who doubted the greatness of the

state– Purges

• All religion was outlawed, cult of Stalin created• Party leaders become the rich upper class

Propaganda

Gulags

Stalin’s Foreign Policy • Comintern • Encouraged worldwide

revolution• Supported revolutionary

activities outside of the Soviet Union

• Caused Great Britain and other countries to break off relations with the Soviet Union

• Mistrust

Hitler and the Rise of Nazi Germany

Objective: Identify the reasons for Hitler’s and the Nazi’s rise to power in Germany.

Hitler’s Rise to Power• Background• After the war joined the

German workers party and by 1921 was its leading spokesman

• Weimar Government was weak so…– From 1919-1924 Nazi party

grew• Used the SA under Ernst Roehm

(Brown Shirts) to intimidate– 1922 party membership way up

(10x) so he decided it was time to try and seize power

The Beer Hall Putsch November 1923

– Hitler sentenced to 5 years in jail (served less than 1)

– The trial was great PR for his message

– While in jail wrote Mein Kampf• Blamed WW1 loss on Jews,

Marxists, corrupt politicians, and business leaders

• Idea of Lebensraum “living space”

Good Times, Bad Times…

• World wide depression– 43% unemployed in

Germany by 1932– “Hitler Time”: Nazi

promises of national recovery

• Rise of Nazi Party to National Power (Reichstag elections-parliamentary)

– 1926 0% no seats in parliament – 1928 2.6% 12 out of 489 seats – 1930 19.6% 107 out of 547 seats – 1932 33.5% 196 out of 585 seats

Nazi Party Growth

• 1932 the Nazi’s are the strongest party in the Reichstag– Hitler was appointed chancellor by Hindenburg

in January of 1933 by industrialists who thought they could control him and were fearful of communism and socialism (Reichstag had become powerless)

Hitler Seizes Total Control• Reichstag building mysteriously burned down– Hitler issues an emergency decree suspending civil liberties

• March 1933: New election returns only 43.9% Nazi’s to the Reichstag– Hitler arrested Communists– Enabling Act which allowed him to rule by decree– By late June he has outlawed all other parties and controls

all aspects of German society• Propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels