The Great Depression and the Causes of World War II

Objective  To understand the causes of the Great Depression  To understand the effects of the Great Depression  To understand how each country reacted to the Great Depression  To understand how Adolf Hitler came to power  To understand the causes of World War II

The Great Depression  The 1920s were a period of economic prosperity In Europe and the United States Role of US Fragile prosperity

“Dude, where’s my car?”

American Economic Expansion during the 1920s

Consumer Debt in the 1920s

The Crash of 1929  Major selling of stocks in Wall Street  Stock Market crash in Wall Street October 29, 1929

The Great Depression  Massive shutdown of businesses  Massive global unemployment in US, Europe, and elsewhere  Economic collapse threatened payments of reparations

The Great Depression  Britain Coalition government formed 2.5 million unemployed by 1931 Abandons the gold standard Raises tariffs

The Great Depression  France Affected France in 1931 Social and Political Paralysis

The Great Depression  The United States Expanded role of federal government The New Deal under Franklin Roosevelt

The Great Depression in the US and Europe

The Great Depression

Germany  Depression weakened support for the Weimar Republic  Torn between Communists and Nazis

Germany  1932 Elections held in 1932  Hitler appointed Chancellor on January 30, 1933

Germany  Hitler consolidates his power in 1933 Reichstag fire, February 27, 1933 Enabling Act passed March 23, 1933

Nazi Rally

Germany  Hitler eliminates internal competition “Night of the Long Knives” Hitler becomes both President and Chancellor on August 2, 1934

Germany  Hitler and Anti-Semitism “Stab in the Back Theory” Nuremberg laws (1935)

Germany  Hitler’s Economic Policies Tax breaks for families Heavy government spending on public works to eliminate unemployment

Italy  Mussolini and Fascists take over Italy in 1922 One-party state Fascists made deal with big business Signs agreement with the Vatican in 1929

Soviet Union  Centralized Planning Stalin takes over Soviet Union after Lenin’s Death New Economic Policy discarded Heavy industrialization begins Collectivization of agriculture

“Let’s all get to work, Comrades!”

Soviet Union  Stalin’s Purges ( ) Stalin eliminates potential rivals Millions of people arrested, deported, executed, or disappeared

Causes of World War II  Hitler begins to scrap Versailles after 1933 Rearms Germany past limits permitted by Versailles Hitler remilitarizes the Rhineland in 1935

Critics of Appeasement

Causes of World War II  Appeasement British came to the conclusion that Treaty of Versailles was unfair France goes along with Britain

Causes of World War II  Hitler redraws Germany’s borders Austria (1938) Czechoslovakia

German Takeover of Austria

Causes of World War II  Munich Conference Sudetenland Question British Prime Minister Chamberlain agrees to let Hitler have Sudetenland

“I have brought peace for our time.”  British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain returning from the Munich Conference in 1938

Causes of World War II  Hitler breaks his promise  Hitler sets his sights on Poland

Hitler and Mussolini

Conclusion  The Great Depression affects Europe and the United States  The Great Depression causes countries to look at other alternatives  The Great Depression leads to rise of Hitler and the Nazis  Hitler scrapped the Treaty of Versailles  British appease Hitler in hopes of getting him to cooperate  Hitler breaks his promises and begins World War II