Between the Wars

Chapters 17 & 18

“Between the Wars” Outline• Economic Concerns

– Cultural and Intellectual Trends– Uneasy Peace– The Great Depression

• Rise of Dictatorial Regimes– Italy– Russia– Germany

• Nationalism– Middle East– Africa and Asia– China– Latin America

Cultural and Intellectual Trends • The “Roaring Twenties”

– Radio, movies, music, art, and literature dominate America and Europe

– Odd activities abound in U.S.– Living on credit, or money that

would have to be paid back later

• Science– Physics take the forefront

• “Heroic Age of Physics”

– Werner Heisenberg suggested that physics could not answer all questions – uncertainty principle

– Scientists like Albert Einstein and Ernest Rutherford encourage interest in the field

Uneasy Peace in Europe Creates Crisis• No U.S. means weak League of Nations• French demands of Germany

– Upset with lack of payment, French occupy industrial area of Ruhr Valley in Germany

– Plan to collect by operating and using mines and factories

• German inflation– Germany tried to finance salaries and

reparations by printing money– Dawes Plan – US gives Germany $2.5 Billion in

loans, Germany pays Allies $2.0 Billion owed, Allies pay US $2.6 Billion owed• Allows U.S. investors to get into Europe

• Treaty of Locarno– Guaranteed Germany’s new borders (forfeited

lands)– Seen as declaration of peace…FOREVER

• Kellogg-Briand Pact– 63 nations sign, bans war– Nations still did not reduce military forces

The Great Depression• Two causes

– Individual nations’ economies failing– Stock market crash in US (October 29,

1929)• American investments in Europe go under

• 25% of British, 40% of Germans, 22% of Americans unemployed

• Responses– Increased gov’t presence in economy– Renewed interest in Marxist beliefs

• World safe for democracy?– US, France, Germany, Great Britain

primary democratic nations– Collective bargaining, or deals between

employers and employees prevented Marxist resentment

– Deficit spending, or spending money the nations didn’t have, still continued

Italy and Mussolini• Benito Mussolini began his career as a

Socialist• Created Fascio di Combattimento, or the

League of Combat– Term Fascism derived from this – strong

central government, glorification of state, controlled by dictator

• Mussolini takes advantage of financial crisis in Europe– People fear Communist takeover similar to

Russia

• 1920 – Uses “Blackshirts” to squash Socialist groups

• 1922 – Began to demand land for Italy, push Socialist groups further away from country– Gains support

• 1922 – Threatens to march on Rome, is given position of Prime Minister

The Fascist Italian State• Totalitarian – Aimed to control all

aspects of citizen’s lives• New laws from PM Mussolini:

– PM made head of gov’t– Gov’t could suspend any

publications criticizing it or the Catholic Church

– Police could jail anyone

• By 1926, Mussolini has complete control– Known as Il Duce or “The Leader”

• Propaganda, youth groups, religion all used to maintain authority– Agreement with Pope to encourage

Italians to support the regime

Russia After Revolution• Bad economy, food shortages, and

industrial collapse caused Lenin to lose luster

• 1921 – Brought back Capitalism disguised as the New Economic Policy– Peasants could sell produce openly– Small retail stores could be privately

owned

• NEP was only designed to be a short-term answer, but Lenin died in 1924

• Who would take control?– Politburo, or the policy-making body

of the Communist Party, clashes over question

Rise of Stalin• Politburo divided over future of

Russia– End the NEP?– Worldwide Communist revolution?– Focus only on Russia?

• Two big opponents– Leon Trotsky– Joseph Stalin

• Stalin wins out because of job position– Began to remove old Bolshevik

people from power, replacing them with his people

• By 1929, Stalin establishes a powerful dictatorship in Russia

Russia Under Stalin• 1928 – Ends NEP, begins Five-

Year Plans– Russia would become industrial

overnight– Collectivization, or elimination, of

farms– Focus on jobs still left living

conditions in question…many had work, but poor homes

• Resistance?– Millions fought back…especially

peasant farmers, old Bolsheviks– If you resisted, you were sent to

forced labor camps– Around 20 million political

enemies and resistors were killed

Other Authoritarian States• Eastern Europe

– Nations forged from Russia after WWI

– Still heavily influenced by Russians, weak when beginning to start up

– Only Czechoslovakia remained democratic

• Spain– Civil War broke out in 1936– Republicans aided by Soviet

Union, Mexico, and France– Nationalists aided by Portugal,

Germany and Italy• Take Madrid and win war in 1939

Exit Slip

• 3 new things you learned

• 2 things you found interesting

• 1 thing you still have a question about

Photo Analysis

• What do you think is going on in the picture?

• List 3 significant things you see.

Germany and Hitler• Adolf Hitler

– Born in Austria-Hungary in 1899– Failed artist, was homeless and poor

before the war– Served 4 years on Western Front

during WWI• Decorated soldier praised by superiors

– After the war, was an undercover agent assigned to infiltrate German Workers’ Party in 1919

• Rise of Hitler– Joined National Socialist German

Workers’ Party in 1919, took control by 1921• For short, called Nazi Party

– Hitler begins to gain admiration, 55,000 Nazis, 15,000 in the militia• Known as Storm Troops or Brownshirts

– Admires Mussolini, wants to copy his “March on Rome” in Germany

The Rise of Nazism• Beer Hall Putsch (1923)

– Failed march on Munich– Hitler is arrested, publishes Mein Kampf

• Includes anti-Semitic rhetoric, push for Aryan, or super race, of blonde haired/blue eyed people

• Hitler wanted to create a Third Reich (1st was Holy Roman Empire, 2nd was German Empire of 1871-1918)

• Nazism– Expands Nazi Party across Germany

after prison release• By 1932, 800,000 strong & largest party in

Reichstag, or German parliament

– Germany has over 6 million unemployed

– Hitler promises new jobs, a new way of life, and a new Germany

Rise of Nazism Cont’d• Victory of Nazism

– Extremist parties gained support, put pressure on gov’t

– By 1930, the Nazi party was ruling Germany through President Paul von Hindenburg

– 1933 – Hindenburg steps aside and Hitler becomes chancellor of a new German gov’t

– March 1933 – Enabling Act passed• Gov’t can ignore constitution for 4 years to

deal with German issues• No need for Reichstag, he is now dictator

– Jews and democratic supporters thrown out of gov’t, unions dismantled, & all other political parties abolished

– All who opposed placed in concentration camps

– Hitler now known as Fuhrer, or leader

The Nazi State, 1933-1939• Controlling Germany

– Schutzstaffeln, or SS was Hitler’s personal body guard• Controlled by Heinrich Himmler• Became a militia force

– Concentration camps, mass organizations and spectacles

• Economics– Public works programs and rearmament put the

people back to work• 1934 – 2.6 million unemployed, 1937 – 500,000

• Role of Women– Seen as bearers of children who would bring about

triumph for Aryans– Worked in areas away from heavy lifting, hard labor

• Anti-Semitic Policies– 1935 – Nuremberg Laws introduced

• Excluded Jews from German citizenship• Forbade Jewish-German marriages• Jews had to wear yellow Stars of David and carry ID

– November 9, 1938 – Kristallnacht or “Night of Broken Glass”• Germans destroy Jewish synagogues and businesses

Nationalism in the Middle East• Nationalism – pride in your nation

– Helps revolutions– Hurts b/c of rivalries it develops

• Ottoman Empire– British incited rebellion during WWI

• Lawrence of Arabia

– Britain and France divided lands in Middle East

• Turkey– Only former Ottoman territory not

controlled by Allies– Kemal Ataturk, or “Father Turk”

turned Turkey into a modern state– Modeled after Western democracies

Nationalism in the Middle East Cont’d• Iran

– 1925 – Reza Shah Pahlavi conquers Persia• Models gov’t after Turkey

– 1935 – Territory becomes known as Iran

• Arab Mandates– Early 1920s Ibn Saud began fighting to

remove European presence• Established Saudi Arabia in 1932

– Soon oil is struck, wealth is in the future for the nation

• Palestine– Constant fighting between Jews and

Muslims• Large influx of Jews during WWII escaping

Hitler

– Balfour Declaration promised a future Jewish country

Nationalism in Africa• Post-WWI

– German colonies divided by Allies

– Europeans exploited colonies through taxation and stripping of resources

– Resistance was met with force

• New Leaders– Call for Pan-Africanism, or the

unification of all Africans– W.E.B. DuBois & Marcus Garvey

in the US pushed for more education, opportunities for Africans

– Despite movements, colonialism in Africa would not end until after WWII

Nationalism in Asia• India

– Mohandas Mahatma (“Great Soul”) Gandhi preached civil disobedience• Refusal to obey laws considered to be unjust• Led to several arrests of Gandhi

– Following violent displays of power, British begin to give rights to Indians

• Japan– Powerful industrial companies held

influence over the country• Zaibatsu – large financial & industrial

corporation• Led to economic inequalities, crisis during Great

Depression

– Japan began to follow path of militarism and imperialism• Invasion of Manchuria

– By late 1930s, military leaders ruled Japan, pushed away from West

Chaos in China• A Communist Alliance

– Chinese Communist Party (1921) founded by Beijing University staff members in Shanghai

– 1923 – CCP joined Sun Yat-sen’s Nationalist Party, works to take out imperialists• Sun Yat-sen dies in 1925, succeeded

by Chiang Kai-shek

– 1926 – Formed a Revolutionary Army, take South China within months

– 1927 – Shanghai Massacre – Chiang turns on CCP, massacres thousands

– 1928 – Chiang begins new dynasty, tries to unify China

Chaos in China cont’d• The Long March

– Communists, under Mao Zedong, go into hiding• Begin using guerilla tactics to

fight Nationalists

– Cornered, Mao’s troops began a 6,000 mile march to the nearest Communist stronghold• 90,000 troops begin, 9,000 finish

• Chiang Kai-shek’s China– Chiang begins programs to

modernize the country– Encouraged Western influence– Public works programs initiated– Still faced concerns from Japan

Nationalism in Latin America• U.S. in L.A.– 1920s – US eclipses Britain as

biggest presence in LA– US military force prevalent– 1933 – FDR issues Good

Neighbor Policy, ending military presence in LA

• Authoritarianism– Argentina

• Hipolito Irigoyen

– Brazil• Getulio Vargas

– Mexico• Lazaro Cardenas