Post WW1 Year of Crisis (1919-1939)

Postwar Europe By the late 1920’s, European nations were rebuilding war-torn economies They were all be aided by loans from the U.S.

In America, economic prosperity soared We had a booming stock market Many people are getting filthy rich

Europe is the complete opposite Mainly because the bulk of the war took place there Many European countries were left bankrupt

War’s end saw the sudden rise of new democracies From 1914 to 1918, Europe’s last absolute rulers had been overthrown The first new government to form was in Russia in 1917 The “provisional government”, as it was called, hoped to establish constitutional & democratic rule

However, within months it fell to Communist dictatorship Many citizens of the new democracies that did rise had little experience with representative government For generations, Germany & Austria- Hungary were ruled by Kings and emperors

Their inexperience with democracy made running a country difficult Even in France and Italy, it was difficult because of the number of political parties It made it difficult to run their countries In these countries, it was almost impossible for one party to win enough support to govern effectively

Coalition government: temporary alliance of several parties When no single party won a majority, a coalition government was needed to form a parliamentary majority Coalition government: temporary alliance of several parties Since the parties disagreed on so much, coalition governments did not last long