Between the Wars:

1
Between the Wars

• Europe and America in the 1920s and the Great
  Depression

2
Europe in the aftermath of the War

• Germany, Austria, and Turkey were defeated
  powers, their empires destroyed and their
  governments being reorganized
• France and Britain had won the War, but at
  great financial and human cost
• Russia was in the midst of a civil war
• The USA had rejected the Treaty of Versailles
  (and the League of Nations) and was withdrawing
  again from European affairs

3
The League of Nations
Dominated by France and Britain, the League had
little power to influence events if these two did
not agree on what to do they seldom did agree.
4
Britains Empire at Risk
A foolish decision to fire on Indian civilians at
Amritsar in 1919 leads to the growing movement
for Indian independence.
5
Ireland in Revolt
1919 British government divides Ireland into
northern and southern sections, sends troops to
protect the largely Protestant section in Ulster
decades of terrorist war ensues.
Should the order ("Hands Up") not be immediately
obeyed, shoot and shoot with effect. If the
persons approaching (a patrol) carry their hands
in their pockets, or are in any way
suspicious-looking, shoot them down. -- British
commander to troops in 1919
6
Fascism in Italy
In the early 1920s, Italy came under the control
of Benito Mussolini, a former socialist who
created a dictatorship based on the idea that
unity would create a new Roman empire. Anyone
who did not want to be part pf Mussolinis unity
was either imprisoned or killed.
7
Russia under Stalin
In the late 1920s and early 1930s Stalin used
Russian agricultural crops to expand Soviet
industry. Millions died in famines while the
food was seized and sold to other countries.
Stalin used the money to build new factories.
8
The German Republic
The German government is stable only as long as
war hero, General von Hindenburg, is the
president. Only he can induce the German army to
support the republic.
9
Wild inflation in Germany
The war damage and the billions owed in
reparations ruins the German economy people use
20 billion Mark notes (like the one at right) to
buy a loaf of bread and some milk.
10
Radical Parties in Germany
Inflation and anger at the Versailles Treaty led
many Germans to join either the Communist Party
or one of the militant ring-wing groups, like the
National Socialist German Workers Party the
Nazis.
11
Nazi Attempt to Seize Power
In 1924 Hitler tried to take control of the
government in Munich. Arrested, he and his
followers were tried for treason, convicted and
sentenced to only two years in prison.
12
Nazi Ideology

• The Nazis were violently Anti-Semitic, blaming
  the Jews for Germanys defeat in the Great War
• The Nazis believed in a racial hierarchy that
  placed Aryans (Germanic peoples) as the top and
  Jews Slavs at the bottom

13
Nazi Ideology

• The Nazis believed that Germany has a destiny
  to rule over all of Europe, even if this meant
  the deaths of millions
• The Nazis believed that violence was good in that
  it allowed the superior to thrive while the
  inferior were destroyed in the competition for
  land, resources, etc.
• The Nazis believed that people needed a strong
  ruler (leaderFuhrer) to lead society

14
Aryanism
Nazi doctrine decreed that blond, blue-eyed,
Central European Aryans were the superior race,
which should dominate all others.
15
Anti-Jewish Laws
Once Adolf Hitler gained power in Germany, the
Nazis passed laws that restricted Jewish life
the park bench has a sign Aryans only
16
Repressing non-German ideas
Nazis frequently burned the books of Jewish
writers, of communists and of non-Germans whose
ideas were considered weak, liberal, and
pacifist
17
Destroying Jewish businesses
Nazi troopers used intimidation to prevent other
Germans from shopping in Jewish-owned businesses
the sign says do not buy from Jews
18
Camps for the Reichs enemies
Hitler ordered camps constructed for the
protective custody of Jews, communists,
socialists, intellectuals, and any critics of the
Nazi state the Third Reich.
19
Rearmament
Both Italy and Germany began to enlarge their
armies (in defiance of treaties that limited
military growth). Germany began to experiment
with fast-moving columns of tanks, supported by
large numbers of bombers.
20
Disarmament
The U.S. used its financial power to persuade
Britain, Japan and others to reduce the size of
their navies the 1922 Naval Limitations
agreement will remain in force for over 10 years.
21
The United States

• Election of Warren Harding in 1920 opens an era
  of U.S. withdrawal from most European affairs.
• Americans are angry that most European nations
  are not repaying their war debts.
• U.S. politics is dominated by prohibition and and
  rising power of Wall Street.
• Farmers are having a very hard time.

22
The Dawes Plan
23
No War?
In the late 1920s, U.S. Secretary of State Frank
Kellogg joined the French foreign minister in
persuading world leaders to sign a pact promising
to settle all differences without resorting to
war. Every major nation signed it and then
ignored it.
24
Prosperity on shaky ground

• Despite the rising stock market, American (and
  world) prosperity rested on very little more than
  public confidence
• World trade declined as many nations imposed high
  tariffs (taxes on foreign goods)
• The gold supply was not stabilizing prices
• Unemployment was slowly growing, as few people
  could afford modern luxury goods

25
THE CRASH
26
Bank Failures 9000 banks failed in U.S.,
holding 7 billion (there was no deposit
insurance)
27
Opportunity for the Dictators
Hard times gave the Nazis in Germany and the
Fascists in Italy the opportunity to expand, for
in the modst of a world-wide depression, few
wanted to risk a war. By 1939, Germany had
annexed Austria and Czechoslovakia, while Italy
had conquered Ethiopia and occupied Albania.