Literature in the 1920s The brutality of WWI caused many
philosophers and writers to question ideas of reason and progress
Some thinkers turned to the theory of existentialism, or the belief
there is no universal meaning to life
Slide 4
Society Challenges Convention Womens roles changed after their
work in the WWI war effort After the war, women won the right to
vote in many countries, including the U.S. Women abandoned
traditional dress and began wearing makeup, cutting their hair
short, and seeking new careers
Slide 5
Technological Advances: The Automobile The automobile
benefitted from wartime innovations Before the war, autos were
typically only owned by the very rich, but after the war, prices
dropped Increased auto use led to lifestyle changes for many, such
as travelling for pleasure and moving to the suburbs
Slide 6
Technological Advances: Airplanes In 1919, two British pilots
made the first successful flight across the Atlantic In 1927,
Charles Lindbergh made a 33-hour solo flight from New York to Paris
Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the
Atlantic in 1932 Passenger airlines were established in the 1920s,
but only the very rich could afford it
Slide 7
Technological Advances: Radio and Movies In 1920, the worlds
first commercial radio station- KDKA in Pittsburgh began
broadcasting Motion pictures became a major industry in the 1920s
Charlie Chaplin was known as the king of Hollywoods silent
screen
Slide 8
Chapter 15, Section 2 A Worldwide Depression
Slide 9
Rebuilding Europe By the late 1920s, European countries were
rebuilding their economies with the help of American loans In the
U.S., the stock market was booming The Great War left almost every
country in Europe nearly bankrupt
Slide 10
Unstable New Democracies During WWI, the last of Europes
absolute rulers were overthrown Most European countries had no
experience with democracy In some countries, when no one political
party could win a majority, a coalition government, or temporary
alliance of several parts, was needed to form a majority
Slide 11
The Weimar Republic Germanys new government was set up in 1919
Called the Weimar Republic, it was named after the city where the
national assembly met Problems with this included: Germany had no
democratic tradition, too many political parties, and Germans
blamed the Weimar government for the Treaty of Versailles
Slide 12
Inflation in Germany Germany faced huge economic problems after
WWI To finance the war, Germany had simply printed more money,
which caused inflation problems after the war They continued to
print more money after the war to pay their reparations This caused
Germans to question the value of their new government
Slide 13
Attempts at Economic Stability Germany recovered from the 1923
inflation due to an international committee and a $200 million loan
from the U.S., called the Dawes Plan It also set a more realistic
schedule for Germanys reparation payments By 1929, German factories
were producing as much as they had before the war
Slide 14
Efforts at a Lasting Peace In 1925, foreign ministers from
Germany and France met in Switzerland and signed a treaty promising
to never again go to war with each other Germany was admitted to
the League of Nations In 1928, almost every country in the world
(besides the USSR) signed the Kellogg-Briand peace pact, renouncing
war
Slide 15
A Flawed U.S. Economy Despite prosperity, the U.S. economy had
several problems, such as uneven distribution of wealth,
overproduction, and the American people buying less Many factory
workers lost jobs as most people could not afford to buy products A
worldwide surplus of food due to new farming technology drove
prices down, causing farmers to default on bank loans
Slide 16
The Stock Market Crashes In 1929, Wall Street was booming with
soaring stock prices In September 1929, many investors started to
think prices were unnaturally high, and began selling stocks
causing panic Prices plunged to a new low by October 29 th, 1929,
known as Black Tuesday This caused the market to collapse
Slide 17
The Great Depression Stocks bought at high prices were now
worthless Unemployment rates began to rise, and a long business
slump known as the Great Depression, followed from 1929-1939 By
1932, factory production was cut in half Around 9 million people
lost their money when banks closed By 1933, of all Americans were
unemployed
Slide 18
A Global Depression American bankers demanded repayment of
loans overseas, and American investors withdrew their money from
Europe World trade dropped by 65%, contributing further to economic
downturn Unemployment rates soared
Slide 19
Recovery in the United States In 1932, Americans elected
Franklin D. Roosevelt as president Roosevelt began a program of
government reform called the New Deal, which consisted of large
public works programs to provide jobs New regulations were imposed
on banks and the stock market
Slide 20
Chapter 15, Section 3 Fascism Rises in Europe
Slide 21
Fascisms Rise in Italy Fascism was a new, militant political
movement that emphasized loyalty to the state and its leader
Fascists believed in extreme nationalism and authoritarian leaders
Fascists had many things in common with communists, except for the
belief in a classless society
Slide 22
Mussolini Takes Control Fascism in Italy was fueled by
disappointment over failure to win territory in WWI, as well as
inflation and unemployment A newspaper editor named Benito
Mussolini promised to rescue Italy He founded the fascist party in
1919, and in 1922, 30,000 fascists marched on Rome and demanded the
king put Mussolini in charge of the government
Slide 23
Il Duces Leadership Mussolini was now called Il Duce, or the
leader He abolished democracy and outlawed political parties
besides fascists He formed secret police and put government censors
in place Even so, Mussolini never achieved the total control that
Stalin or Hitler did
Slide 24
The Rise of the Nazis After the war, Adolph Hitler settled in
Munich and joined the National Socialist German Workers Party (Nazi
Party) in 1919 The group adopted the swastika as its symbol and set
up a militia called the Brown Shirts Hitler was chosen as der
Frher, or leader, of the Nazi party
Slide 25
The Rise of the Nazis (cont.) Hitler and the Nazis marched on
Munch in 1923 to seize power, but were unsuccessful Hitler was
arrested and while in jail, wrote Mein Kampf (My Struggle), setting
forth his beliefs and goals for Germany After leaving prison in
1924, Hitler was ignored by most Germans until the Great Depression
caused them to look for firm leadership
Slide 26
Hitler Becomes Chancellor Conservative leaders in Germany
mistakenly believed they could control Hitler, so they advised the
president to name him chancellor in 1932 Once in office, Hitler
called for new elections which the Nazis won Hitler turned Germany
into a totalitarian state and created the SS (protection squad) and
the Gestapo (secret police) By 1936, unemployment in Germany went
from 6 million to 1.5 million
Slide 27
The Frher is Supreme Hitler wanted control over every aspect of
German life To shape public opinion, Hitler turned to mass
propaganda Books that did not conform to Nazi beliefs were burned
in huge bonfires Schoolchildren had to join the Hitler Youth (for
boys) or the League of German Girls (for girls)
Slide 28
Hitler Makes War on the Jews Anti-Semitism (hatred of Jews) was
a key part of Nazi ideology The Nazis used them for the scapegoat
for Germanys troubles since WWI Beginning in 1933, Nazis passed
laws depriving Jews of their rights, and violence against Jews
mounted On November 9, 1938, known as Kristallnacht, Nazi mobs
attacked Jews in the streets and destroyed thousands of Jewish
businesses
Slide 29
Chapter 15, Section 4 Aggressors Invade Nations
Slide 30
Japan Invades Manchuria Japanese businesses invested heavily in
Chinas northeast province, Manchuria In 1931, the Japanese army
seized Manchuria and set up a puppet government to take advantage
of natural resources there This directly violated the League of
Nations, and in 1933, Japan withdrew from the League
Slide 31
Japan Invades China In 1937, a border incident touched of a war
between Japan and China, and Japan invaded northern China Beijing
and other northern cities including the capital, Nanjing, fell to
the Japanese Japanese troops killed tens of thousands of captured
soldiers and civilians
Slide 32
Mussolini Attacks Ethiopia Ethiopia was one of Africas three
independent nations In October 1935, Mussolini ordered an invasion
of Ethiopia The Ethiopian emperor, Haile Selassie, appealed to the
League of Nations, but its members did nothing By giving in to
Mussolini in Africa, they hoped to keep peace in Europe
Slide 33
Hitler Defies Versailles Treaty In March 1935, Hitler announced
Germany would no longer obey their restrictions The League of
Nations only issued a mild condemnation, convincing Hitler to take
greater risks On March 7, 1936, German troops moved into the
Rhineland, a 30-mile area between Germany and France The British
urged appeasement, or giving in to an aggressor
Slide 34
Hitler Defies Versailles Treaty (cont.) The German occupation
of the Rhineland marked a turning point in the march toward war It
strengthened Hitlers power and changed the balance of power in
Germanys favor In October 1936, Italy and Germany made an alliance
known as the Rome-Berlin Axis A month later, Germany allied with
Japan, and all three countries became known as the Axis Powers
Slide 35
United States Becomes Isolationist Many Americans supported
isolationism, the belief that political ties to other countries
should be avoided Many thought U.S. entry into WWI was an error
Beginning in 1935, Congress passed the Neutrality Acts, banning
loans and the sale of arms to nations at war
Slide 36
The German Reich Expands On November 5, 1937, Hitler announced
his plans to absorb Austria and Czechoslovakia into the Third
Reich, or German Empire The Treaty of Versailles prohibited
Anschluss, or a union between Austria and Germany In March 1938,
Hitler annexed Austria, but the Czechs refused German rule and
asked France for help
Slide 37
Britain and France Choose Appeasement Britain and France were
preparing for war when Mussolini proposed a meeting of Germany,
France, Britain, and Italy called the Munich Conference on
September 29, 1938 Britain and France agreed Hitler could take the
western region of Czechoslovakia called the Sudetenland if he
promised to stop there Less than six months later, Hitler took
Czechoslovakia
Slide 38
Nazis and Soviets Sign Pact Britain and France asked the Soviet
Union to join them against Hitler As Stalin talked with them, he
also bargained with Hitler and the two reached an agreement On
August 23, 1939, The Soviet Union and Germany signed a pact and
pledged never to attack one another
