World After World War I

A Look at the World Post 1918

What was the world like politically after WWI?

• Colonies’ participated in the war, which increased demands for independence – Mass amounts of colonial nationalism and resistance to

imperial rule begins• End of the Russian Imperial, Ottoman, German, and

Austro-Hungarian empires– Eastern Europe looks much different now

• Enormous cost of the war in lives, property, and social disruption – Hurts the political power of European nations

The Mandate System

• During World War I, Great Britain and France agreed to divide large portions of the Ottoman Empire in the Middle East between themselves.

• After the war, the “mandate system” gave Great Britain and France control over the lands that became Iraq, Transjordan, and Palestine (British control) and Syria and Lebanon (French control).

• The division of the Ottoman Empire through the mandate system planted the seeds for future conflicts in the Middle East.

Map of Mandates in Middle East

Dawes Plan

•Germans receive money from US

to repay reparations

•Germans give moneyto France and Britain for WWI reparations

•French and British receive reparations payments from Germany

•French and British repay debts to US with money from Germany

*Americans are lending money to the Germans to repay reparations

*Americans are owed money from Britain and France for WWI debts

Global Depression• Causes (Starts in the US)

- high protective tariffs (taxes on imports)- German Reparations Payments (Refer to Dawes Plan)- excessive expansion of credit (too much, too fast)- expansion of production capacities- dominance of U.S. in world market (US falls, so does everyone else… like dominos)- 1929 stock market crash (Starts in the US)

• “Black Tuesday” - October 29th 1929 – Stock Market (New York Stock Exchange- NYSE)

Crashes

What happened after the stock market crashed?

• Effects– high unemployment– bank failures– collapse of credit– collapse of prices– economic turmoil leads to unstable governments– runaway inflation (hyper inflation)

** Economies crash when people lose confidence in the markets**

How was the world affected economically?

• Hits the rest of the world too (global depression)– Unemployment reaches

new heights (1932)• Ex – US – 24%

– Great Britain – 22.5%– Germany – 30%– Italy – 20.5%

What was Happening in France after WWI

• France won but…– Land destroyed in north– Large number of dead young men– Economy weakened severely

• Problems for France– High Prices - inflation– US debt – debt plus high interest– Maginot Line – huge military expense

• Leads to social unrest in country**

Destruction of French Cities and Land

Maginot Line – system of detailed trenches built by the French

What is happening in Britain after the War?

• Britain’s problems– High Debt just like with France– Outdated industrial technology– High tariffs worldwide hurt British trade

• Britain’s Labor issues– After War many people unemployed

• 24% in 1921

• British slowly losing control of its Empire– Its colonies are fighting for independence and

there is not much Britain can do

India Rebellion• Britain relied on its empire to get

support for WWI– promised to give more self government

rights to colonies

• India - led by Mahatma Gandhi– Both British and Indians are split on issue– passive resistance (boycott goods/refuse

taxes)• British try to repress it – leads moderates

to join nationalist• True independence wont happen until

1947

British empire losses continued…• Middle East – Arabs feel

betrayed by West – Gave independence to Iraq and

Jordan (kept mil. presence)– Had an issue with Palestine though –

promised to both the Arabs and the Jews

• “Zionism” = desire for a Jewish homeland (in Israel)

• Balfour Declaration (1917)– Statement made by the British saying that

they desired to create a Jewish homeland in Palestine (modern day Israel)

– Realized that both (Palestinians and Jewish People) cannot live side by side though… big problem in the future

British Empire after WWI• British give independence to four other colonies in 1931

– “British Commonwealth of Nations” • South Africa, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia

– What do all these areas have in common?

What is going on in China?• Remember the Boxer Rebellion…• New nationalist movement started

– Kuomintang – leader is Sun Yixian• Industrialize, modernize and unify country

– 1912 – Qing Dynasty overthrown• China becomes a republic (early years unstable though)• 1925 Sun Yixian dies and Chiang Kai-shek takes over

nationalist party (more of a dictator)– Military campaign to unite country (successful)

• Another group arises out of the nationalist party– Chinese Communist Party (founded in 1921) *Shanghai*– Splits nationalist party into two (Kai-shek tries to suppress

communist though)

Sun Yixian Chiang Kai-shek

Communist come to power in China• Inspired by Russian revolution and ideas of Marx

and Lenin– Wanted to free country from foreign dependence and

backwardness– Kai-shek wanted to eliminate communist

• 1927 – Communist executions in Shanghai– Kai-shek continues trying to eliminate communist– Long March – 100,000 communist marched 6,000

miles for over a year• Constantly chased by Kai-shek and nationalist troops• A new leader arises from this march – Moa Zedong

Mao Zedong’s rise to power• Mao is born in south east china• Believes that Chinese peasants

are the key to starting communist revolution– Opposed idea that proletariats had

to start it• Starts gathering peasant support

in eastern China– Listens to peasant demands and

helps reform their lives– Fights Nationalist troops and starts

civil war– Civil War is stopped by oncoming of

WWII and threat of Japan

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was created in 1922.

Ukraine Russia

Transcaucasian Region Belarus

1918: Lenin Begins to Change Russian Society

Treaty with Germany cedes land in exchange for peace.All industry nationalized.Independent labor unions banned.Grain requisitions: armed officials seize grain from farmers to feed the poor.Housing space seized and distributed.

"Comrade Lenin Cleanses the Earth of Filth" Communist poster, 1920

Leninism: The Telescoping of HistoryKarl Marx, considered the father of communism, wrote that history proceeds through distinct stages: feudalism, capitalism, imperialism, etc. Only after going through these stages, Marx thought, could society advance to communism.Lenin argued that under the right circumstances, such as those of Russia in 1917, the intermediate steps could be skipped.

Marx wrote about the dictatorship of the proletariat, a period in which the working class would govern society while the ultimate classless society of communism was developed.To Lenin, the dictatorship of the proletariat meant that a small group of dedicated individuals would lead society forcefully so that the groundwork could be laid for the future ideal society.

Worldwide Appeal of Communism

Russia was the first country to attempt to put the theory of socialism into practice.Many workers and intellectuals around the world thought that at last there was a chance to overcome the inequality and exploitation of market capitalism and build a society in which everyone was respected and cared for.

Communist parties emerged in the U.S. and Europe, and also in Asia, Africa and Latin America, where many countries suffered from

poverty and the remnants of colonialism.

Maoist demonstration, Nepal

Leon TrotskyTrotsky was a key figure in

the Russian Revolution, second only to Lenin.From 1918 to 1925, he was

People's Commissar for Army and Navy Affairs and commander of the Red Army.

When Lenin died in 1924, Trotsky was widely expected to assume leadership of the country. Instead, that role went to Joseph Stalin, General Secretary of the Central Committee.As leader of the Left Opposition, Trotsky opposed Stalin. He was

purged from the Communist Party in 1927 and exiled in 1928.From exile, he continued to oppose Stalin and Stalinism.Trotsky was assassinated by Stalinists in 1940 at his home in

Mexico City.

"Have you signed up as a volunteer?"

Civil war recruitment poster

Lenin, Trotsky and soldiers of the Red Army, 1921

Coat of Arms of the Soviet

Union

War Communism and the New Economic Policy

From 1918 through 1921, the Bolsheviks implemented radical economic changes. Under "War Communism," all industry was nationalized, private enterprise was made illegal, and economic planning was centralized.The results were disastrous for the Russian economy and led to a major famine in 1921.In 1921, Lenin introduced the New Economic Policy (NEP). The state retained control of banking and major industries, but small business ventures were allowed, farmers were allowed to sell surplus production, and trade restrictions were loosened."We are not civilized enough for socialism," Lenin said. In 1929, Stalin abolished the NEP.

Famine of 1921-1922Causes:

Disruption of agricultural production by WWI, the revolution and the civil war.War Communism economic policy.Drought of 1921.

Results:Approximately five million deaths.

Lenin believed that the Russian Revolution was merely the first step in a worldwide workers’ revolution.

Permanent Revolution vs. Communism in One Country

Stalin believed that the opportunity for worldwide revolution had passed, and that the USSR should concentrate on building communism in one country.

Trotsky believed that the Russian Revolution could only succeed in the context of permanent worldwide revolution.

Stalin Creates a Totalitarian StateInstituted one-man rule.

Eliminated/murdered political opposition.

Used secret police and informers to spread terror and insure obedience.

Ordered massive deportations and executions.

Extended state control over every aspect of Soviet society.

Communism under Stalin• Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin died shortly after Communist Soviet Union formed,

1924• Joseph Stalin became new Soviet leader after struggle for power

The Five-Year Plans• Major part of Stalin’s plan to strengthen communism, modernization of economy• First Five-Year Plan began 1928, factories and mines had production goals

Different Approach• Karl Marx predicted state would wither away under communism• Stalin took different approach, worked to return Soviet Union to totalitarian state,

controlling all Soviet life

Stalin’s Soviet Union

Stalin’s Soviet Union

5-Year Plans reflected Soviet system of central planning • Government makes major decisions about production of goods • Differs from capitalist economic system, where market forces

are major influences on production• Plans did lead to increases in Soviet industrial output• During first two Five-Year Plans, oil production doubled, coal

and steel production quadrupled• Demands on Soviet workers were high

Political Purges• Stalin, absolute power, but feared people plotting against him• Began campaign called Great Purge, to get rid of people, things undesirable• During Great Purge, thousands executed, sent to the Gulag

Cult of Personality• Portraits of Stalin decorated public places, creating heroic, idealized image• Streets, towns renaming in Stalin’s honor, created cult of personality• By ruthlessly removing opposition, Stalin gained stranglehold over society

Totalitarian Rule• Stalin’s regime dominated Soviet life• Children encouraged to join youth organizations, taught attitudes, beliefs• Religion discouraged, churches closed

Stalin’s Soviet Union

• Peasants resisted, Stalin responded violently

• Executed thousands, sent more to Siberian system of labor camps, called the Gulag

• Resistance continued, particularly in the Ukraine

• Stalin refused to send food during 1932 famine; millions starved to death

Peasant Reaction• Stalin believed millions of small,

individually owned Soviet farms would be more productive if combined into larger, mechanized farms

• Combining small farms called collectivization

• Stalin tried to take land back given to peasants after Russian Revolution

Increase Farm Input

Collectivization and Famine

USSR during the interwar years• 1922 – USSR is founded with Lenin as leader

– New Economic Policy (NEP) – attempt to allow some free enterprise

• Collective Farming – get peasants to combine efforts on farmland

• 1924 – Lenin dies – power struggle afterwards– Leon Trotsky vs. Joseph Stalin– By 1928 – Stalin wins and Trotsky is exiled

• 1940 – Trotsky killed in Mexico on Stalin’s orders

Russia under Stalin• Economy – ends NEP program

– Command Economy – gov’t controls all decisions• Five Year Plan – ambitious growth plan

– 1st one in 1928 – Forced collective farming on peasants

• 90% of farmland turned into collective farming– Agriculture dips sharply (millions die from famine and crop failure)– The economy grows overall though

• 2nd Five Year Plan (1933) – more ambitious– USSR still grows as industrial country– People suffer many hardships though – scarce food and consumer goods– Life does not improve for regular citizens– USSR only cares about growth of industry though (best for country)

Government under Stalin• Politburo (Political Bureau) runs government in

Russia (Stalin controls them) – near absolute authority

• Uses fear to control people of USSR– He is a dictator (one of the worst)

• Government represses religion– Take all religious property, close churches, imprison

or execute church officials• Government represses art, music, and writing

– Only “Socialist Realism” allowed (Soviet propaganda)

The Great Purge• 1934 – important communist official is

assassinated– Stalin responds with purge of anyone he thinks is

an enemy of Communist efforts– Starts in the Communist Party and then moves on

to rest of population• Anyone who questions Stalin will either be

exiled, imprisoned, put into labor camps or killed– By 1939 he had supposedly gotten rid of 5 million

of his own people (killed, exiled, or imprisoned)

After World War I, new ideas about government power promoted by Benito Mussolini led to drastic change in the Italian government.

• Mussolini wanted to build a great, glorious Italian empire

• Founded National Fascist Party, 1919

– from Latin fasces, Roman symbol for unity, strength

– Fascism, authoritarian form of government

– Good of nation above all else

Fascist Ideology• Fascists significant force in Italian

politics, 1922• Mussolini wanted more, wanted to

rule Italy• Called March on Rome• Show of force convinced Italy’s king

to put Mussolini at head of government

• Mussolini moved to establish dictatorship

Mussolini in Power

Mussolini’s Italy

Mussolini’s Italy

Mussolini not satisfied merely with political control • Used threats, violence, political skill to outlaw all opposition

• Tried to influence Italians’ thoughts, feelings, behaviors– Government attempt to control all aspects of life, totalitarianism

– Used propaganda to promote Italy’s greatness

– Established festivals, holidays to remind Italians of proud Roman heritage

League of Nations• Ethiopian leader Haile Selassie appealed to League to take action against Italy’s

aggression

• No nation willing to get involved, to risk another world war

• League placed economic sanctions on Italy, took no real action

Invasion of Ethiopia• Mussolini set out to make Italy strong military power

• Looked for easy target, settled on Ethiopia

• Ethiopia had two serious disadvantages, located between two Italian colonies, military ill-equipped; Italian forces crushed Ethiopia, 1935

Germany underwent great changes after World War I. Like Mussolini and Stalin, Germany’s Adolph Hitler rose to power during a time of conflict and political instability.

• Germany formed new republican government, Weimar Republic

• Extremely unpopular• Germans blamed it for

humiliating Versailles Treaty

Postwar Germany

• Blamed Weimar Republic for economic problems

• Inflation soared• German mark virtually

worthless• Savings wiped out• Depression brought

more chaos

Economy

• Born Austria 1889• Served in German army

World War I• Soon joined Nazi Party• Discovered he had

knack for public speaking, leadership

Hitler’s Early Career

Hitler’s Germany

Search for power• Became key figure in Nazi party• Wanted greater power• Attempted overthrow of government,

arrested, imprisoned, 1923

Hitler gains power• Continued to try to gain power after

released from prison• Economic effects of Great Depression

helped cause

Mein Kampf• Wrote book while in prison • “My Struggle” described major

political ideas• Nationalism, racial superiority of

German people, Aryans

Promises• Germans desperate for strong leader

to improve lives • Promised to rebuild military• Talk of mighty German empire, master

race, won supporters

Hitler’s Germany

Nazi Party Gains Strength• Many Germans wanted to believe Hitler’s words were true• Nazis continued to gain strength in early 1930s• Most popular of many German political parties• Hitler appointed as chancellor, 1933• Most powerful post in German government

• Began to crush opposition• Many opponents arrested, others

intimidated by Nazi thugs• Cult of personality built up glorifying

Hitler as the Führer, “leader”• Nazi youth organizations shaped minds

of young Germans

Hitler Controls Germany• Began to rebuild German military• Improved German economy• Strict wage controls, massive

government spending, reduced unemployment

• Much spending for rearmament• Also new public buildings, roads

Hitler’s Programs

Hitler’s Germany

Hitler’s Germany

Nazis mounted more direct attacks on Jews • November 9 and 10, 1938, anti-Jewish riots across Germany,

Austria

• Attack known as Kristallnacht, Night of Broken Glass– Nearly 100 Jews killed

– Thousands of Jewish businesses, places of worship damaged, destroyed

• Greater horrors yet to come

• Hitler’s Germany about to lead world into history’s bloodiest war

Nuremberg Laws defined a person as Jewish based on ancestry of grandparents—not religious beliefs.

A key component of the Nazi system was strong anti-Semitic beliefs. Anti-Semitism is hostility toward or prejudice against Jews. Hitler blamed Jews for many of German’s problems, including its defeat in World War I.

• Anti-Semitism had long history in largely Christian Europe

• Nazi anti-Semitism combined this with false beliefs that Jews were separate race

• Combined religious prejudice with hatred based on ancestry

Long History

Nazi Anti-Semitism

• Many laws passed excluding Jews from mainstream German life

• 1935 Nuremberg Laws created separate legal status for Jews

• Eliminated citizenship, civil and property rights

• Right to work was limited

Laws Excluding Jews