THE WEST BETWEEN THE WARS
UNEASY PEACE France wanted the strict enforcement of the Treaty of Versailles Germany had to pay reparations equaling $33 billion Germany was unable to pay because of financial problems France sent troops to occupy the Ruhr Valley – The Ruhr was rich in natural resources – France would operate the mine and factories in the Ruhr
UNEASY PEACE The Treaty of Versailles established the League of Nations The league was weak and could not stop aggression The US did not join the League making it weaker
INFLATION IN GERMANY Germany wanted to solve their money problem by printing more money This devalued the mark causing hyper inflation
THE DAWES PLAN Something needed to be done to fix the German Economy An American Banker came up with a plan in 1924 Germany would receive a $200 million loan to help Germany recover This became known as The Dawes Plan Europe prospered until 1929
ATTEMPT AT PEACE In 1925 the Treaty of Locarno was signed. It created new Western Borders for Germany Peace looked possible In 1926 The Kellogg-Briand Pact was signed 63 nations signed it They pledged to not go to war to settle problems It had no way of being enforced
THE GREAT DEPRESSION 2 main factors 1. Overproduction of crops caused prices to fall Farmers received little profit and began losing farms 2. The US stock market crash in October 1929 Poor business practices and bad loans caused the stock market to crash
THE GREAT DEPRESSION 25% of British workers were unemployed in % of German workers were unemployed in 1932 In the US Franklin Delano Roosevelt began the New Deal
THE GREAT DEPRESSION France also created a New Deal 40 hour work weeks Collective bargaining 2 week paid vacation Minimum wage
RISE OF DICTATORS IN EUROPE
DEFINE 1.Totalitarian State 2.Fascism
ITALY Benito Mussolini organized a fascist group of thugs and threatened to march on Rome The king of Italy feared him and made him Prime Minister Vowed to fix Italy’s economy Italy took over Ethiopia
UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS (USSR)
STALIN Joseph Stalin wanted to build socialism at home Stalin put many of his supporters in high positions in the Communist Party
STALIN’S FIVE-YEAR PLAN Wanted a modern industrial power Soviet Union established a command economy where the government controlled all economic decisions Under Stalin the government owned all business
INDUSTRIAL RESULTS Workers and managers were pushed to meet high goals They were rewarded with bonuses if they met their goal If they did not, they were punished Standard of living remained poor for most Wages were low Large quantity low quality The planned economy could not match capitalism
AGRICULTURE UNDER STALIN Under the New Economic Policy (NEP) peasants were not allowed to have land Stalin saw this as a threat to state power Farmers had to give up their Land and work on state land or on “ collectives” (land operated by a group of peasants) Farmers could keep homes but livestock belonged to the collectives
RUTHLESS POLICY Many farmers protested by killing live stock and burning crops Stalin retaliated by sending troops to the peasant towns He wanted to destroy the kulaks who were the wealthy peasants Kulaks were sent to labor camps and were killed or died from being overworked
HITLER’S RISE TO POWER Hated the guilt clause in the Treaty of Versailles 1919 Hitler joined a small political group the National Socialist German Workers Party The party practiced Nazism an idea based on Hitler’s belief of nationalism and racial superiority
HITLER CONT. His public speaking ability made him leader of the party In 1923 Hitler and 3,000 party members attempted to overthrow the government and he was put in prison He wrote Mien Kampf In the book he blames the Jewish population for Germany’s decline He wants the Aryan race to dominate the world by removing “inferior” races
HITLER CONT. When the Great Depression hit Germany people looked for new leadership Hitler promised stability Nazi party became the largest in the Reichstag President Hindenburg made Hitler Chancellor after being pressured by the New Conservatives
HITLER CONT. Hitler moves to suspend freedom of speech and press A private police force of storm troopers (SA) is assembled They wear brown shirts February 27, 1933 the Reichstag burns down Hitler blames the communists for the fire
HITLER CONT. Enabling Act is passed giving Hitler Dictatorial Power Under the act he was able to ignore the constitution for 4 years August 1934 Hindenburg dies Hitler becomes Chancellor and President…He is called Der Fuhrer
HITLER’S GERMANY Those who opposed Hitler’s idea were punished Many were sent to labor camps known as concentration camps He wanted to create an empire of the Aryan race The empire would be the third reich and last for 1,000 years
HITLER’S GERMANY Hitler had his own private bodyguards called the SS The SS were led by Heinrich Himmler The SS were a secret police force who used terror and murder to accomplish their goals They would be put in charge of concentration camps
HITLER’S GERMANY Hitler began building for war causing unemployment to fall People saw Hitler as a savior for Germany Women were encouraged to have children They did not want women to work stressful jobs
ANTI-SEMITIC POLICIES In September 1935 the Nazis passed the Nuremberg Laws These laws excluded Jews German citizenship and forbade Jews from marrying Germans In 1941 Jews were required to wear a yellow star of David and carry ID saying they were Jewish
KRISTALLNACHT November 9, 1938 SS soldiers went throughout Germany destroying Jewish synagogues and businesses. This became known as Kristallnacht (night of shattered glass) At least 100 Jews were killed and thousands were sent to concentration camps