The World Goes To War...Again

How The Treaty of Versailles and The Great Depression led the world back to war

World War I Ends and The League of Nations

• The world had been at war for years fighting a war that most countries thought would be over by Christmas

• 13 million soldiers are dead• 20 million would live with their wounds for the

rest of their lives• Tens of million civilian casualties• England and France are the victors and impose

the Treaty of Versailles on Germany and Austria-Hungary

World War I and the League of Nations

• Germany is forced to admit war guilt and has their Empire gutted

• Austria-Hungary is broken up into two different countries

• Italy is present at The Treaty of Versailles and were denied what they wanted

• Russia revolts against the Czar and adopts a Communist System led by Vladimir Lenin

• United States tries to remain isolated from the rest of the world and their congress refuses to sign on to the League of Nations

Map of EUROPE BEFORE WORLD WAR I

Map of EUROPE After WORLD WAR I

The Creation of The League of Nations

• After World War One, no country wanted to ever go to war again

• They decided to form a League of Nations to solve the world’s problems before they resulted in war

• They sought to solve international incidents through diplomacy

• A dispute between Woodrow Wilson and the US Senate meant the United States didn’t join the League of Nations

• During the 1920s, the League managed to solve many disputes between nations but it eventually lost credibility

The European Post War Political Climate

• In post-war Europe, most countries lost faith in the monarchs who led them into the bloody conflict of World War One

• Under the leadership of President Wilson of the USA, the diplomats at the Treaty of Versailles tried to set up democratic governments in the new countries created

• Since voters had never gotten to choose their leaders, they had difficulty electing effective politicians

The European Post War Political Climate

• The Great Depression caused huge political protests in stable democracies such as USA, Canada and Great Britain, in unsettled countries it was disastrous

• People wanted a solution to their hopeless situation• They were ready to follow any leader that promised

them quick fixes• They wanted to believe their country was great• They wanted someone else to blame for all their

problems• Dictators used this to take over and persuade people

into following them

Great Britain Between the wars• Women gained the limited right to vote in 1918 and full

right to vote by 1928• The working class unionised during the 1920s and this led to

much labour unrest including an unsuccessful General Strike in 1926

• Through the 1930s there was high unemployment• In 1936, King Edward abdicated the thrown so he could

marry Wallace Simpson (an American divorcee)• His brother became King George VI (father of Queen

Elizabeth II)• The British wanted to maintain world peace at all costs and

would rather negotiate with dictators than fight with them

France Between The Wars

• Right wing coalitions dominated the French Political life in the 1920s

• They were also hit by The Great Depression• There were many violent political protests and demonstrations• In 1934, the Communists, Socialists and Radicals joined

together to form an anti-fascist alliance called the Popular Front• They were elected in 1936 and brought in many social reforms

such as 40 hour work week, collective bargaining and paid holidays

• They were worried about Hitler’s aggression but favoured appeasement over war

• Built the Maginot Line to protect themselves

The Soviet Union Between The Wars

• In 1917, after more than a decade of civil unrest, Vladimir Lenin lead the Bolsheviks to overthrow the Russian Czar Nicholas II

• The Bolsheviks launched a series of reforms aimed at changing the Soviet Union into a Communist Country (no rich or poor)

• Lenin died in 1924 before accomplishing his goals

The Soviet Union Between The Wars

• Joseph Stalin was Lenin’s successor. He was a ruthless dictator

• Launched a series of “Five Year Plans” to transform Russian Society

• He used terror, secret police, the army, and labour camps called ‘Gulags’ to change Russia into an industrial giant

• Millions of Soviet citizens died under Stalin’s rule

ItalyBetween The Wars

• Benito Mussolini formed the Fascist Party to fight Communism and Democratic Socialism

• His followers were known as the “blackshirts”• They broke up trade union meetings and

communist rallies with clubs and fists• Used a campaign of terror against their

opponents

ItalyBetween The Wars

• Widespread poverty and unemployment in Italy after the war

• Workers called for a General Strike in 1922• Mussolini declared that if the government

didn’t stop the strike, the “Blackshirts” would• The King of Italy had Mussolini form a

government in which he appointed himself dictator

• He made opposition parties illegal

The Rise of Fascism Elsewhere in The World - Japan

• A group of military leaders took control of the army hoping to create an Empire

• Supported by businessmen who wanted more raw materials for their industry

• Took control of the government by the 1930s with leader Hideki Tojo

The Rise of Fascism Elsewhere in The World - Spain

• In 1936, General Francisco Franco led a military coupe against the elected government

• Franco’s goal was to rid Spain of Communists• Supported by the army, rich land owners, the

Catholic Church and the Spanish Fascist Party• Civil war lasted until 1939 and Franco was

victorious

Canadian Politics in the Late 1930s

• R.B. Bennett’s Conservative and William Lyon Mackenzie King’s Liberal parties traded off power in Canada in the 1920s and 1930s– R.B. Bennett was in power until 1921–Mackenzie King was in power 1921-1930– R.B. Bennett returned to power from 1930-1935–Mackenzie Kings Liberals would now rule until

1957

The 1935 Federal Election

• R.B. Bennett proposed an 8 hour work day, a minimum wage, unemployment insurance and price controls

• Mackenzie King was against government intervention in the economy and campaigned on the platform “King of Chaos”

• Many Canadians thought the Conservatives had not acted fast enough and that the current proposal was an election ploy or “too little too late”

• Mackenzie King and the Liberals were swept into power in a landslide since the voters were tired of Bennett

Canada Emerges From The Great Depression

• During the Great Depression the provinces were responsible for unemployment relief but only the Federal Government was able to collect the taxes to pay for it

• In 1937, Mackenzie King set up the Rowell-Sirios Commission to examine the relationship between the federal and provincial governments and reform the tax system

• The results of the Commission were;– Equalization payments to the less wealthy provinces– The Federal Government assumes responsibility for relief

payments• The Report was not released until after 1940 when World

War II had already pulled us out of the Great Depression