CH 24 The West Between the Wars

CH 24.1 Search for Stability The treaties after WWI redrew the map of Europe New countries were established, new boundaries were drawn Germany vowed to get their territories back

League of Nations  One of W. Wilson’s 14 Points  But the US did not join  Members of the League of Nations would not use force to stop aggressive acts 

French Demands  France wanted the Treaty of Versailles to be strictly enforced  Germany was ordered to pay $132 Billion German marks ($33 Billion in USD)  Every year Billion  After 1921, Germany could not afford to pay  France sent troops the Ruhr Valley (mining area)

Germany  Being unable (or unwilling) to pay Germans resisted however they could  Germany also experienced very high inflation  In 1914 – 4.2 marks = $1 US  By November Trillion Marks = $1 US  Germans kept printing money to try to get themselves out of debt  But this money was worthless

Germany  The Dawes Plan  An American banker came up with an idea to help Germany and France  Reduce the amount of reparations  US would loan $200M to aid Germany and introduce new investors into Germany  Led to prosperity for many nations until 1929

Moving towards Peace  Germany and France finally were able to settle their territorial disputes  1925 signed the Treaty of Locarno  “Banning War Forever!”  Germany joined the League of Nations  1928 Kellogg-Briand Pact – War will not be used to settle problems  No consequences ever set if someone violated the pact

Great Depression in Europe  Depression – a period of low economic activity and rising unemployment  2 Causes for Great Depression in Europe  1. Economies all over the world started to go down  Too much being produced, leads to lower prices  2. US Stock market crash  Many nations depended on loans from US  No more money in US, no more loans

Response to Depression  Almost 30% of German workers were unemployed  German govt didn’t know what to do  Increased tariffs on foreign goods  Made things worse  Renewed interest in Marxist ideals  Poor should unite and take what is theirs  Communism became more popular

Democracy at stake  New leaders emerged speaking out against capitalism  Democracy had spread across Europe after WWI  Germany  Imperial Germany had fallen  Weimar Republic established  France  After WWI – France was the strongest nation in Europe  Chaos in politics however  Popular Front – Communists, Socialists and Radicals

Democracy at stake  Great Britain  Conservatives took credit for getting Great Britain out of their Great Depression  John Maynard Keynes  Deficit Spending – go into debt on purpose if necessary  Changes in demand impact unemployment  Take those people who lost their jobs, put them to work building roads and other public works

CH 24.2 Rise of Dictators  Totalitarian States – The govt controls every aspect of the country  Political, social, economic, intellectual and cultural  The state comes first – no more freedoms for people  Only 2 states remained democratic  France and Great Britain  These new regimes used propaganda to control their populations

Italy  Benito Mussolini –  Depression hit Italy like the rest of Europe  Started a fascist group  League of Combat  The state above all else  All opposition is stifled  Threatened to march on Rome with all of his followers  King Emanuel III made him Prime Minister  Ruled with terror  Censorship  All other political parties were outlawed

Italy  Fascism in Italy  Secret police created – OVRA  Spied on people  Propaganda – “Mussolini is always right”  Never got rid of the King or had full control of the military  Catholic Church remained very important as well

USSR  Lenin established a Communist govt in Russia  Terrible times in Russia  Drought, no food  People were very unhappy  Lenin’s new economic policy  People could own their own small businesses and sell their own goods  Big businesses stayed in govt control

USSR  1922 formally organized the nation into the USSR  Union of Soviet Socialist Republics  When Lenin died in 1924 there was a struggle for power  Joseph Stalin emerged as the new leader of USSR

USSR  Stalin’s 5 Year Plans  Setting economic goals to be achieved every 5 years  First goal: Increase military production  All materials went to military production  Nothing to taking care of people  Collectives  Farms were combined and taken control of  Not enough food grown for people – Millions died of starvation  Purges  Anyone who disagreed with Stalin was sent to a prison camp in Siberia or killed  Millions of people died

Spain  Francisco Franco  1936 – took control of the Military and overthrew the govt  Started a civil war  Italy and Germany aided Franco  Soviet Union helped the old govt  Franco won  Authoritarian, not totalitarian  Didn’t break with tradition

24.3 Hitler and Germany  Adolf Hitler – born 1889 in Austria  Failed artist  Anti-Semite – against Jews  Racist  Extreme nationalist  Served in WWI  Stayed in Germany after WWI and joined a small party  German Workers Party

The Nazi Party  Renamed the German Workers Party  National Socialist German Workers Party  Tried to overthrow the Govt  The Beer Hall Puscht  Similar to Mussulini’s March on Rome  Quickly arrested  While in jail – wrote Mein Kampf  Lebensraum – stronger nations have the right to spread out

Nazi Party  After prison Hitler reorganized the party  Continued to grow  Promised to get Germany out of depression and fix unemployment  Very good speaker  1933 President Hindenburg appointed Hitler chancellor  Hitler quickly took control of the entire government

The Nazi Party  1933 – The Enabling Act  Govt could ignore the constitution for 4 years  Gave time to fix all the problems  Hitler as the Fuhrer – Leader  Established a totalitarian state in about 7 months  Night of Long Knives 1934

The Nazi State  The Aryan Race  Hitler wanted to create a superior race that would dominate Europe (the world too?)  The Third Reich  The next German Empire  Used terror to accomplish their goals

Nazi Party  Schutzstafflen – Guard Squads/ SS  Started as secret police, but evolved to be major police force  Led by Heinrich Himmler  Economics  Public works projects  The Autobahn  Parades and rallies

Nazi Party  Women  Wives and mothers  Important to bring children into the world  Domestic work  Anti-Semitic Policies  Jews were excluded from citizenships  Nuremburg Laws  Yellow Stars  Kristallnacht

CH 24.4 Cultural and Intellectual Trends  Movies  More and more propaganda used in films  Joseph Goebbels – Hitler’s propaganda minister  Leisure  More free time  8 hour work day  Travel

Culture and Intellectual Trends  Art  Surrealism  Salvador Dali

Culture and Intellectual Trends  Literature  James Joyce  Developing what was happening inside characters  Ulysses  Stream of consciousness  Physics  Uncertainty Principle  Everything is based on uncertainty  Randomness