The Inter-War Years

The Roaring Twenties 1920s- Period of economic recovery and boom Superficial prosperity People invested in stocks Bought on margin/credit (Buy now, pay later) Germany has trouble paying off reparations

The Great Depression Stock Market Crash (1929) Banks failed  Businesses closed  jobs lost Life savings disappeared Affects almost all countries in the world United in trade, etc. especially after WWI Soviet Union unaffected (not capitalist)

Solving the Depression Unemployment skyrocketed Reached 30% + in Germany Government aid programs Franklin D. Roosevelt (USA) creates the New Deal Job creation Insurance for bank deposits Social security Only moderately successful

The Rise of Fascism Fascism Nazism – Fascism in Germany A political philosophy that promotes nation [and often race] above the individual Stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader Severe economic and social regulation Forcible suppression of opposition Nazism – Fascism in Germany

Nazi Germany Adolf Hitler rises to power Becomes Chancellor in 1933 Built support based on Treaty of Versailles Anti-Semitism Poor economy Used Propaganda heavily Becomes Chancellor in 1933

The Holocaust Germans begin systematic oppression of Jews in Germany, Europe Hitler sent Jews to concentration camps Final Solution – the extermination of European Jews in death camps

Fascist Italy/Military Japan Benito Mussolini & ‘Black Shirts’ Support from military & upper class Seize control of Rome (1922) Japanese military takes control Combat depression by creating empire in Asia Need for natural resources Invasion of China (1931)

Stalinist Russia Lenin dies in 1924 Joseph Stalin comes to power Focused on industrialization & modernization Five Year Plans (1928-1933, 1933-1938) Collectivized farms Brutally put down opposition

World War II

Starting the War Hitler violates Treaty of Versailles Allies do nothing to stop him Appeasement Germany, Italy, and Japan form Axis Powers 1939 Germany invades Poland 1941 Japan attacks the USA

Fighting in World War II Unlike the first war, World War II is not a stalemate Advanced mechanization Sophisticated tanks, planes, bombs, ships Quick moving fronts Swift defeats

The End of the War Germany defeated in May, 1945 Britain, France, Russia, United States Japan defeated in August, 1945 USA drops two atomic bombs Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Role of Women in WWII Like the first world war, women replaced men in factories Produced war materials Supported rationing efforts Nurses/medical care