Interwar Period

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Interwar Period

• Ms. Buckmans World History Class

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Postwar Democracies European Recovery

• Part I

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Post-World War I

• The catastrophe of World War I shattered the
  sense of optimism that had grown in the West
  since the Enlightenment. Despair gripped
  survivors on both sides as they added up the
  staggering costs of war. Especially among the
  democracies, economic and political crises only
  added to the growing pessimism of the 1920s and
  1930s.

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Postwar Issues

• Democratic Hopes
• Three western democracies in 1919 - France, Great
  Britain, and the United Sates
• Boosted hope for democracies in new Eastern
  European countries at the end of WWI
• Postwar Europe, though, faced many problems

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Postwar Issues

• Economic Problems
• Most pressing issues - finding jobs for returning
  veterans and rebuilding war ravished lands
• Many nations owed huge debts after borrowing
  money to pay for the war
• Economic problems led to social unrest and made
  radical ideas more popular (think Russian
  Revolution - enter Communism)

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Postwar Issues

• Fears of Communism As No Leaders Can Be Found
• Russian Revolution unleashed fears that communism
  might spread
• Socialism and other nationalistic political
  movements took place
• Europe lacked strong leaders when they were most
  needed
• The war killed many of those who might have
  helped solve critical problems

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Obstacles to Peace

• Pursuit of Peace
• Many pursued disarmament (the reduction of armed
  forces and weapons)
• United States, Great Britain, France, Germany,
  Japan, and other nations agreed to reduce the
  size of their navies (could not decide on how to
  limit the size of their armies)
• League of Nations encouraged cooperation and
  tried to get members to make a commitment to stop
  aggression

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Obstacles to Peace

• How Can Peace Be Enforced?
• Kellogg-Briand Pact of 1928 - agreement to
  denounce or outlaw war
• But there is no way to enforce this ban on war
• 1931 - Japan invades Manchuria and the League of
  Nations cant do anything about it
• Ambitious dictators note the Leagues weakness
  and returned their military forces and pursued
  aggressive foreign policies

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Recovery Depression

• European Economies Slowly Recover
• Economies returned to peacetime manufacturing and
  trade
• Veterans gradually found jobs
• U.S. emerged as worlds leading economic power
• American loans and investments backed the
  recovery in Europe
• As long as the American economy was healthy, the
  global economy remained relatively prosperous

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Recovery Depression

• U.S. Great Depression of 1930s
• The problems of overproduction and inflation
  created an imbalance that could only lead to
  financial disaster
• Stock Market Crash of 1929 led to the Great
  Depression
• Banks failed, businesses closed, and millions
  were out of work
• Around the world many lost faith in the ability
  of democratic governments to solve problems
• Misery hopelessness led to extremists promising
  radical solutions

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France Britain

• Britains Foreign Policy After WWI
• Postwar foreign policy created tension with its
  ally, France
• British leaders wanted to relax the Treaty of
  Versailles harsh treatment of Germany
• Fear of Germany becoming so weak that the Soviet
  Union could eventually take it over, allowing
  France to gain too much control in Europe

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France Britain

• France Lacks Leadership Cannot Forget German
  Aggression
• After a series of coalition governments, France
  remains a democratic country even though it lacks
  strong leadership
• Chief concern was securing the borders against
  Germany (remembers German invasions of 1870
  1914)
• Built massive fortifications along the border
  (The Maginot Line, a defensive wall)
• Still seeking security, France strengthens its
  military and sought alliances with other
  countries, including the Soviet Union

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America Strengthens Before WWII

• The New Deal
• Americans elect a new president in 1932, Franklin
  D. Roosevelt or FDR, projected a new sense of
  energy and optimism
• Introduced the Neal Deal - massive package of
  economic and social reform programs
• Helped get America back on its feet after the
  Great Depression

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Political Shifts Conflict Nearing

• Part II

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Economic Problems Are the Root of It All

• Postwar Europe was economically and socially
  crippled
• Economic depression prevailed in Europe for much
  of the inter-war period
• debtor nations found it impossible to pay their
  debts without borrowing even more money
• Germany especially was destroyed economically by
  World War I and its aftermath the reparations to
  Britain and France forced on Germany by the
  Treaty of Versailles were impossibly high.

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League of Nations Fails Despite Good Intentions

• The League of Nations represented a chance for
  Europe to maintain a balance of international
  peace,
• But it never grew strong enough to make a
  significant impact on politics
• The goals of deterrence of war and disarmament
  were left unaccomplished.

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Extreme Politics

• Many countries thought that extreme ideas could
  solve Europe's postwar problems
• Extreme viewpoints won out in the form of
  totalitarian states in Europe during the
  inter-war years, meaning a government is ruled by
  a one-party dictatorship that regulates every
  aspect of citizens lives
• Communism took hold in the Soviet Union, while
  fascism controlled Germany, Italy and Spain.

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Extreme Politics Continued

• The extremist nature of these new governments
  turned European politics into an arena for sharp
  conflict
• For example, conflict erupted in Spain during the
  late 1930s in the form of the Spanish Civil War,
  after which Francisco Franco became dictator
• In Germany, Adolf Hitler's fascist Nazi Party
  came to power during the 1930s and prepared once
  again to make war on Europe.
• With Britain and France tied up in their own
  affairs, the path to World War II lay clear.

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Central Europe Center for Dictators

• Postwar Italy was a place of economic and
  political struggle
• Fascism became one of the most popular ideas in
  Italy during the Interwar Period (strong economic
  and social control of a country and all of its
  people by a single dictator)
• Constant struggle between the rise of communism
  and the rise of fascism in Italy red shirts vs.
  black shirts openly fighting in the streets

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Benito Mussolini Italy's Dictator

• Benito Mussolini's ascent to power is also a
  perfect example of the means by which dictators
  during the inter-war years commonly rose to power
  (1922)
• "All in the state, nothing outside the state,
  nothing against the state.

• Under this doctrine he ruled Italy with a tight
  fist during the war years, instituting economic
  and social reforms, some successful, others
  unsuccessful.
• He was sympathetic to Adolf Hitler's desire to
  regain glory for Germany and Europe, and proved
  Hitler's most important ally.

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Hitlers Rise to Power

• 1923 - Hitler and Nazis jailed after a failed
  attempt at a government take-over in Munich. The
  Beer Hall Putsch.
• 1925 Publishes Mein Kampf (My Struggle) which
  outlined his future policies, centered on the
  theory of Aryan superiority and Jewish
  inferiority.

• Hitler fought for Germany in WWI and was very
  disturbed by the German loss (blamed Jews and
  socialists)
• 1921- Adolf Hitler becomes leader of the National
  Socialist German Workers Party (NAZI Party) in
  Germany.

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Hitlers Rise to Power

• 1930 Nazi party now the 2nd largest political
  party in Germany.
• 1933 - Hitler named Chancellor in Germany. Nazi
  party responsible for using terror against their
  political opponents in Germany

• 1933 - The Enabling Act makes Hitler the dictator
  of Germany.
• 1933 - All other political parties are outlawed.
  This makes Germany a totalitarian state. (one
  party government)
• 1934 - Hitler declares himself Führer in Germany

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Why did Germany Allow Hitlers Rise to Power?

• He was a master orator, practicing his public
  speaking skills in front of the mirror for hours
  at a time.
• A skilled manipulator, he played the masses, the
  government, and the media perfectly, creating a
  political party that reached into every aspect of
  German life.

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Why did Germany Allow Hitlers Rise to Power?

• The German people were in a situation that made
  totalitarianism possible.
• Germans were deeply ashamed of their loss in
  World War One, and the German state was
  devastated by the war and the Treaty of
  Versailles.
• Hitler offered not freedom, but rather security.
  He promised to take action to improve the
  economy, and return German national pride, and
  the masses, in most cases, were happy to grant
  him the ultimate power he needed to do so.