Transcript Review PPT Part 5

AP TEST REVIEW PART FIVE
Labelle Époque- WWII
MASS POLITICS: 1850-1914
Historians speak of the rise of mass politics in the
second half of the nineteenth century. Mass politics
arose from the Dual Revolution1) The ideal of representative
2) The development of transportation and
communication technologies as a product
industrialization.
Two basic features characterize mass politics in the
period 1850-1914:

1. Mass communication- with telegraphs, telephones,
radio, and cheap newspapers, governments both
responded to and manipulated public opinion.
MASS POLITICS: 1850-1914
2. Increase in conflict- public opinion also
sharpened ethnic and class conflict. “Outsiders,”
such as women, workers, and ethnic/religious
minorities, demanded inclusion in the political
process.
LIBERAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN
THE 19TH CENTURY
The nineteenth century marked the high tide of
classical Liberalism. Symbols of the Liberal
achievement include:
 Constitutional government
 Representative assemblies
 Free trade
 Expansion of suffrage (the vote)
 Guarantees of rights
 Middle-class influence in government
 Spread of education and literacy
 Weakening of established churches
THIRD REPUBLIC OF FRANCETENSIONS
By 1878 moderates had succeeded in establishing
the basis for a parliamentary democracy.
Nonetheless, important groups, such as the
Catholic Church and monarchists, never
reconciled themselves to the existence of
republican government, which they associated
with the worst excesses of the French Revolution.

The Dreyfus Affair highlighted the divisions
within the Third Republic.
THE DREYFUS AFFAIR
In 1894, a French military court found Captain
Dreyfus, a Jewish officer, guilty of treason on
very thin evidence. The victim of anti-Semitism,
he was sent to Devil’s Island, and the army
refused to reopen the case.
 French author Emily Zola (1840-1902)
condemned his case in his pamphlet J’ Accuse (I
Accuse). Eventually the government pardoned
Dreyfus, but the fallout continued.
 Republicans conducted an anticlerical campaign
culminating in the complete separation of church
and state in 1905 and the secularization of
education by state.

PRE-WWI GERMANY:
KULTURKAMPF




After its unification, German industrial, political, and
military power soared.
Bismarck successfully manipulated democratic
politics and the party system in the Reichstag to
enact his policies.
First, Bismarck allied himself with the Liberal Party,
which supported his attack on the Catholic Church in
Germany. The Kulturkampf (struggle for culture)
arose from the complex situation surrounding Italian
unification.
Bismarck pushed through the Reichstag laws
restricting the powers of the clergy, expelled the
Jesuits, and jailed a number of bishops. When the
campaign proved unsuccessful, Bismarck abandoned
it and formed an alliance with the Catholic Center
Party.
PRE-WWI GERMANY: WELFARE
STATE
Bismarck now moved to restrict the power of the
Social Democratic Party. The SPD operated as a
moderate socialist party interested in obtaining
benefits for the working class through the
exercise of political power.
 Bismarck initiated a welfare program (what he
called “state socialism”), the first in Europe, of
old age, accident, unemployment, and health
benefits.]
 When Kaiser William II ascended to the throne
he soon dismissed Bismarck and embarked on a
more conciliatory policy toward the SPD at home
and a more aggressive foreign policy abroad

FEMINISM & WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE
Economic developments during the 2nd Industrial
Revolution allowed women more freedom.
“White-collar jobs” in new economic sectors- like
telephone operators- provided women with
income and better working conditions.
 These jobs led women to push for economic and
legal reforms.
 In some western European nations between
1850-1914 women gained the right to own
property, divorce, and gain custody of their
children.

WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE
The suffrage movement was occurring in Europe
and the United States.
 In England it was led by the Pankhurst familyEmmeline and her daughters.
 The Women’s Social and Political Union
participated in militant activities- arson, hunger
strikes, etc.
 Many nations granted women the right to vote
after WWI, a recognition to their contributions in
the conflict.

JEWS, ANTI-SEMITISM, AND
ZIONISM
With the Enlightenment many governments liberated
Jews from legal restrictions and ghettos
 This led to an assimilation of Jews into business,
medicine, and law. Prominent Jews, such as Marx,
Freud, and Einstein contributed with backlash.
 In the late 19th-century, anti-Semitism took on a
racial tone due to Social Darwinism.
 Mass politics fed the creation of anti-Semitic politics.
 In Russia, organized persecutions called pogroms
persisted.
 In response, Theodor Herzl founded Zionism, a
movement of Jews to Palestine.

LABELLE ÉPOQUE ART:
IMPRESSIONISM
Photography altered the purpose of the artist.
Now artists no longer relied on patrons, they
could sell their works to middle-class customers,
and paint based on what they felt/wanted to
paint.
 The first major artistic trend following the
invention of photography was impressionism.
They were infatuated with light and shadow, and
painted quickly their “impression” of the
moment. Ex. Claude Monet or Edgar Degas.

POSTIMPRESSIONISTS
More interested in form and structure, major
postimpressionist painters included Vincent
Van Gogh and Paul Gauguin. They would paint
in off colors based on their feelings.
 Georges Seurat created a related movement
named pointillism, after the small “dots” of
color, which when combined formed a clear
picture of shadow and light. Seurat’s Sunday
Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte
provides a view of the individualistic leisure of
the modern city.

CUBISTS

Prior to WWI, the movement of Cubism began.
Cubism broke apart scenes to analyzable parts
and resembled in unique ways to provide the
viewer with simultaneous multiple perspectives.
Pablo Picasso is the most famous Cubist painter.
WORLD WAR I (1914-1918)
The war was sparked by the shooting of Austrian
Archduke Franz Ferdinand, but the shooting was
only a catalyst.
 All of the elements leading to war had been in
place for most of the 20th century. The shooting
just provided an immediate cause.
 The causes can be remembered by using the
acronym MAIN

M= MILITARISM

Militarism: Europe had been experiencing an
arms race ever since the unification of Germany,
driven by mass production and the 2nd Industrial
Revolution.
Major naval rivalries existed between Germany &
England.
 Never before or since have greater percentages
served in their nations armies.
 Government leaders associated national greatness
with a strong military.


Germany began to work on the Schlieffen Plan,
designed to fight a two front war against France and
Russia.
MORE UNDERLYING CAUSES

Alliance systems: These led nations to take rash
actions, knowing that their allies would come to
their aid.

Triple Alliance: Germany, Italy, and AustriaHungary


Originally called the Three Emperors League (Germany,
Russia, Austria), it ended when Russia withdrew, due to
rivalries with Austria over the Balkan region.
Triple Entente: Russia, France, and England.
I= IMPERIALISM



Imperialism: Colonial rivalries between the major
European powers created hatred and hostility that led
to war.
1905: First Moroccan Crisis: Germany tried to take over
Tangiers (Morocco) and called an international
conference (Algiciris) to settle its ownership. Germany
was humiliated & France kept Morocco.
1911: Second Moroccan Crisis: The Germans sent the
gunboat, Panther, to Agadir (Morocco) to protest French
occupation of the region. This caused England and
France to join together to draw up war plans against the
Germans. Germany withdrew after gaining a piece of
the French Congo.
N= NATIONALISM

Nationalism: This force brought about WWI in a
variety of ways:
Nationalism spawned the unification of Italy &
Germany and caused a major shift in the balance of
power.
 Nationalism caused the great powers to pursue
expansionist policies.
 Nationalism on the part of ethnic minorities in Austria
drew Austria and Russia into the conflict.

NATIONALISM IN THE BALKANS
1908: Balkan Crisis (Bosnian Crisis):Both
Austria & Serbia wanted to expand in the
Balkans. When Serbia protested the Austrian
annexation of Bosnia, Russia sided with Serbia.
Russia threatened to declare war, but Germany
sided with Austria and Russia backed down.
 Balkan War of 1912 & Balkan War of 1913


The important thing to note about these wars is
that they were localized conflicts & to note the
nationalist issues revolving around the Balkans.
THE ASSASSINATION & WAR
June 28, 1914: Sarajevo: The Austrian Archduke
was assassinated by Gavrillo Princip, a Bosnian
member of the Black Hand.
 The Black Hand was a terrorist group, who
wanted Bosnia freed from Austria.
 Austrian Ultimatum: Austria blamed Serbian
nationalists for the shooting and demanded a free
hand in their own investigation of the crime.
 Serbia’s Reply: Serbia accepted most of the
ultimatum, but rejected parts that would destroy
her sovereignty.

THE CRISIS LEADS TO WAR
German Actions: On one hand, Germany offered
Austria a “blank check” of support.
 Russian troops moved to mobilize along the German
border
 July 28, 1914: Germany invaded Belgium and Austria
declared war on Serbia.
 Germany swept through Belgium, causing England and
France to declare war.
 Germany then declared war on Russia, who declared
war on the central powers.

THE WAR IN THE WEST

The Triple Entente became the Allies and the
Triple Alliance became the Central Powers.
Europe did not get the war it expected. What
was supposed to be over by Christmas turned
into a stalemate by the end of 1914.
 Military tactics lagged behind the technology, so
trench warfare developed on the Western Front.

THE WAR IN THE EAST
Russia initially held off the limited number of
German troops on the eastern front, but when
German strength increased and Austria and Turkey
became involved, the war was a complete disaster for
Russia.
 Russian losses were enormous and led to the collapse
of the Russian gov’t by 1917.
 Treaty of Brest Litovsk: 1917: Russia out of the war.

THE WAR AT SEA
The war at sea was almost more important than the
land aspect of the war.
 British naval strength was superior to that of the
Germans, but German U-boats inflicted great
damage and were one factor in the entrance of the
US in the war.

THE WAR ENDS
Despite temporary German victories, largely
caused by the use of poison gas, the allied victory
over Germany at the Battle of Verdun turned the
tide of war.
 The revolutions that took place within Germany
and Austria also added to the military victory of
the Allies.
 Eventually, British, French, Italian, and
American armies, led by French Marshall Foch (
leader of the Vichy Regime during WWII) broke
German lines and led to the armistice on Nov. 11,
1918.

ORGANIZING FOR TOTAL WAR

The Great War involved the full mobilization to the
nation’s resources and population. It brought about
the following changes:
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compulsory military training
forced employment of men & women in war-industry
jobs
restrictions on labor & management for the war cause.
The brought an end to laissez-faire economics.
war planning, regulations, price controls, rationing, &
massive propaganda campaigns
To pay for the war governments: raised taxes,
depreciated currencies, and borrowed money (from the
US).
Many women entered the workforce for the first time.
In Russia, women even fought on the front lines. This
participation led to women’s suffrage after the war
VERSAILLES CONFERENCE
The Versailles settlement is often compared to the
Congress of Vienna regarding their respective uses of
collective security and the success of their decisions.
 1919: Versailles conference: Big 4 made all important
decisions: England, France, Italy, and the US (Wilson).
 It was impossible to return Europe to the state it was
in before- since 4 empires were toppled- AustriaHungary, Russia, Germany, and the Ottoman Empire.
New states needed to be formed.

WOODROW WILSON’S 14 POINTS
His vision for restructuring Europe and “making
the world safe for democracy.”
 Wilson declared WWI was the “war to end all
wars”
 He wanted diplomacy, freedom of the seas, arms
reduction, self-determination, and collective
security through the League of Nations.
 The other members of the Big Four believed all of
this was impossible.

THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES:
FINAL PRODUCT
League of Nations created (US and USSR didn’t join)
 Alsace & Lorraine restored to France
 French exploitation of the Saar valley for 15 years
 Huge reparations to be paid by Germany
 Confiscation of German military supplies, and
Germany allowed to have only a 100,000 man militia.

THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES: FINAL PRODUCT
 Demilitarization of the Rhineland
 War guilt clause blamed Germany for the war and
justified reparations
 German and Turkish colonies taken over by the
League of Nations who gave overseas colonies to
the allies and created mandates in the Middle East.
 Restoration of Poland
 Creation of Yugoslavia (denying Italy the land it
was promised before the war)
TREATY OF VERSAILLES:
CONSEQUENCES AND CONFLICTS
The Weimar Republic, Germany’s postwar
government, was saddled with what most
Germans considered being “stabbed in the back.”
Discontent over the treaty was used by the Nazis.
 Economist John Maynard Keyes predicted the
ruination of the world economy by the Treaty in
his Economic Consequences of the Treaty. He was
correct.
 The treaty caused the isolation of the US and
USSR.
 Without full commitment to the League of
Nations and collective security, Europe would
quickly have another world war.

WEAK COLLECTIVE SECURITY

Many in Europe relied on the new League of
Nations to ensure collective security. The League
lacked enforcement mechanisms. For example, The
League lacked its own armed force and so depended
on the Great Powers to enforce its resolutions, keep
to economic sanctions (such as a trade embargo)
which the League ordered, or provide an army, when
needed, for the League to use. However, they were
often reluctant to do so. Sanctions could also hurt the
League members imposing the sanctions and given
the anti-war attitude following World War I,
countries were reluctant to take military action.
LONG-TERM CAUSES OF THE
RUSSIAN REVOLUTION, 1861-1905
Following Alexander II’s reforms (including the
abolition of serfdom in 1861) Russia appeared to
be moving in the right direction.
 Former serfs were forced to continue to live on
mirs (rural communities) until they paid off their
lands.
 Russian nobility kept the best land, sticking
former serfs with the rest. Rural overcrowding
and food shortages led to unrest.
 Russia began to industrialize in the later half of
the century, with industry in concentrated in
Moscow and St. Petersburg. These cities
emerged as centers of unrest.

LONG-TERM CAUSES OF THE
RUSSIAN REVOLUTION, 1861-1905
Alexander II was assassinated on the same day
he was to make Russia a constitutional
monarchy.
 Alexander III brutally repressed dissent.
 Two parties were established in response in
secret. The Mensheviks (who wanted a massbased political party that was Socialist). The
Bolsheviks (who claimed to be professional
leaders of a revolution).

REVOLUTION OF 1905
Russia’s loss in the Russo-Japanese War
produced an economic and political crisis.
 Protesters asking for the opportunity to form
labor unions, led by Father Gapon, were fired on
at the Winter Palace in an event known as
Bloody Sunday.
 Tsar Nicholas II, issued the October Manifesto
allowing for the creation of a legislative
assembly. He believed in divine right and was
given the veto power. This made the Duma
essentially useless.

WWI AND THE FALL OF THE TSAR
Although the czar had not followed through on his
promises made after the revolution of 1905,
dissatisfied parties in Russia tried to cooperate
with the gov’t in the defense of Russia in 1914.
 After the armies began to lose, the czar fired
competent generals and replaced them himself, at
the front.

opposition grew more discontented, as a result.
 Further discontent was centered on the royal family’s
assistant Rasputin, who had great sway over the
tsarina and her political decisions while her husband
was off at war. She did not inform her husband of the
problems.

THE REVOLUTION OF MARCH, 1917
As war losses mounted, food shortages at home led to
rioting in Russian cities.
 On International Women’s Day, in March of 1917, a
food riot broke out over the high cost of bread.
 The strike was followed by a mutiny among the troops
and the dissolving of the Duma.
 The new gov’t that took over was known as the
Provisional Gov’t & it was run by Alexander Kerensky.

PROBLEMS FOR THE NEW GOV’T

Russians wanted to get out of WWI, because they were
losing so badly, and because supplies were so short on
the homefront.

Kerensky accepted a bribe and kept Russia in the war.
Hunger was a problem all over Russia.
 Most Russians wanted land reform.
 The Prov. Gov’t did nothing to help the distressed
population.

THE SOVIETS
Soviets were small workers’ councils which had been
established following the revolution of 1905.
 The Petrograd Soviet was under the control of Trotsky
and was the most radical group calling for further
action. It acted much like the Paris Commune in the
French Revolution.
 The Soviets called for an immediate end to the war, for
peace with Germany, and for the seizure of land by the
peasants & workers.

LENIN
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1)
2)
3)
4)
April 16, 1917: Germany ships Lenin back to Russia
from his exile in Switzerland in a sealed rail car.
Lenin’s April Thesis outlines his changes to traditional
Marxism.
Against Imperialism
Small group of professionals (the Bolsheviks) need to
lead the revolution, as opposed to a large Proletariat
base.
Russia didn’t have to wait for it to industrialize to have
a revolution, that could occur after the “dictatorship of
the Proletariat”
Lenin’s motto: “Peace, Land, & Bread.”

This was exactly what the people wanted to hear.
THE OCTOBER REVOLUTION

Nov. 6, 1917: Led by Lenin & Trotsky, Bolshevik
leaders, soldiers, and workers quickly took over
Petrograd, stormed the winter palace, & arrested
the members of the provisional government.

Alexander Kerensky escaped and lived in exile.

In January 1918, they recently elected Constituent
Assembly (the legislative body) was disbanded. This
plunged Russia into a Civil War.
MILITARY & INTERNAL PROBLEMS

March 3, 1918: Treaty of Brest-Litovsk took Russia
out of the war and ceded large amounts of territory
to Germany.


Russia lost about 1/3 of its population.
Civil War was raging between the Reds
(Bolsheviks) and the Whites (everyone who opposed
the reds).
By 1921, the reds won the civil war.
 The Red Army- led by Trotsky- won because it had a
unifying vision & ruthless tactics
 During the war, used war communism to allow workers
to run factories. This proved disastrous.

RED TERROR
Once the Bolsheviks secured their power, they
engaged in a red terror designed to eliminate
“class enemies”
 Under the influence of the Cheka (the secret
police who later became the KGB) 1000s of
former bourgeoisies, gentry, White Army, etc.
were shot without a trial. In all over 2 million
were killed.

ECONOMIC PROBLEMS
Though the whites were put down, the Soviet internal
situation remained critical in 1921, with the economy
being below pre-war levels.
 The anarchists and peasants began to revolt in the
countryside in an attempt to do something about the
starvation & suffering of the masses.

THE NEW ECONOMIC POLICY (NEP)
This was Lenin’s plan to retain control and provide
temporary relief.
 Under the NEP, peasants were allowed to keep part of
their produce, which they were allowed to sell for cash
profit on newly-recreated local markets.
 The gov’t kept control of heavy industry & internat’l
trade, but light manufacturing and internal trade was
returned to private hands.

THE POWER STRUGGLE: STALIN VS.
TROTSKY


Lenin had a series of strokes between 1922 & 1924. He
finally died in 1924.
Trotsky & Stalin both wanted to be Lenin’s successor.
Trotsky was a theorist who had organized the red army and the
Petrograd Soviet.
 Stalin was an activist who had been instrumental in forcing the
minority republics to unite into the USSR. He also had control of
the machinery of gov’t.

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
When Trotsky publicly criticized Stalin’s foreign policy in
1927, Stalin had him exiled to Siberia.
Trotsky eventually escaped to the west & was assassinated
by Stalin’s men in 1941.
STALIN’S FIVE YEAR PLANS
When Stalin came to power the NEP ended.
 Stalin stated “We are 50 or a 100 years behind the
advanced countries. We must make good distance in
ten years. Either we do it or we are crushed.”
 Five year plans were goals to build a strong base of
heavy industry and modern infrastructure of
electricity, roads, and factories.

The command economy developed, by a central govt.
agency
 First 5 year plan was successful, in part because they
were so far behind
 Soviet manufacturing was poor quality, with few
consumer goods.

FORCED COLLECTIVIZATION OF
AGRICULTURE
During the NEP a wealthy class of peasants
accumulated land, known as the kulaks.
 Stalin forced the and all peasants onto collective
farms, taking their land.
 The kulaks resisted by destroying crops and
slaughtering livestock. Millions were killed in
the collectivization and millions more died for the
forced famine. Estimates are up to 10 million.

PURGES (1934-1938)
From 1934-1938, Stalin directed a series of wholesale
purges consisting of trumped-up or false accusations,
mock trials, and then suicide or execution. More than 4
million were accused.
 Any were sent to gulags, or labor camps.
 He did away with most of the old Bolshevik leaders and
others who could challenge his power.

1936 CONSTITUTION
Although the constitution called for universal
suffrage and appeared to be very liberal, it actually
was circumvented by the fact that the party and
the gov’t were controlled by the same few persons.
 For example, even though the nation had a
premier, in practice, the premier was always the
comm. party secretary.
 Although women were supposed to gain equal
rights, in the 1920s many of their new rights were
reversed and they were forced to balance work and
family obligations.

TOTALITARIANISM
During WWI states grew in their power to mobilize and
employ propaganda to control public opinion.
 Communication advances in the interwar period, such
as radio and motion pictures provided additional means
for controlling the populace.
 What distinguishes totalitarianism from an absolute
monarchy? Absolute monarchies were still hindered by
tradition and geography. Totalitarians, controlled all
aspects of society using TECHNOLOGY. Modern
communications made it possible to control the entire
population.

FASCISM

What is fascism?
Fascism is a political philosophy which is anti-democratic,
anti-communist, and anti-liberal. The following is a list
that explains their ideas.
1) Militarism
2) Glorification of the State
3) Fuhrer Principle- German for leaders, this ideas is that the
voice of the people is best represented in their leader,
rather than a democratically elected body
4) Antidemocracy & One-party rule- democracies were seen
as weak. Therefore, elections ended.
5) Anticommunist- they upheld the importance of racial and
national identify, which was condemned by communists
who believed that all people were equal.

ITALY AFTER WWI
After switching sides to end the war fighting with the
allies in WWI, Italy was disappointed in the lack of
territorial gain she achieved at Versailles.
 The Italian economy was in shambles after WWI,
and unemployment was high. Workers engaged in
numerous strikes.
 Already low in respect, Italy’s democracy sank
further.
 Following the war, the king, Victor Emmanuel III
was a figurehead with virtually no power.

THE RISE OF MUSSOLINI
Mussolini organized the 1st fasces group in 1919.
 In 1920, he founded a paramilitary group called the
Black Shirts (squadristi).


He used the Black Shirts in a campaign of terror to
promote fascist ideas.
1921: Fascists were for the 1st time elected to the
parliament.
 Oct. 1922: March on Rome: Mussolini’s Blackshirts
and thousands of discontented Italians marched on
Rome demanding a new government.


The king yielded and gave Mussolini constitutional
authority to form a new government, thus giving the
fascists political power.
ITALIAN FASCISM
To get a majority in Parliament, Mussolini passed
the Acerbo Law, which granted 2/3 of the party seats
to the party that gained the most votes. With the
tactics of the blackshirts, they gained control of
parliament.
 Soon after taking power, constitutionally, Mussolini
created a fascist dictatorship.

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He created a fascist militia (out of the Blackshirts)
He passed emergency power decrees
He revised the electoral system to assure him absolute
control.
He eliminated all oppositional political parties
He censored the press
He called himself Il Duce
CORPORATE STATE

Mussolini controlled the economy by creating what he
called the corporate state.
The state represented labor in negotiations, in industrial
planning, expansion, etc.
 The economy was run as 22 separate corporations.
 State dictated policy and production priorities, but private
property was allowed.
 The chief economic and social problems remained unsolved
by the Fascists.

THE LATERAN ACCORDS & WOMEN
Mussolini granted independent status to the
Vatican in exchange for promises of noninterference from the church in all political, social,
economic, and military spheres.
 To address declining birth rates, Mussolini
provided incentives to larger families. In a fascist
state, women were to play the domestic role of
rearing strong children.

FOREIGN POLICY
Mussolini sent his fascist troops to intervene in the
Spanish Civil War to help Franco take over Spain.
 Mussolini, hoping to take over more territory and
avenge the 1896 defeat at Adowa, invaded Ethiopia
and quickly took it over.
 Despite the efforts, Italy was never able to realize
the totalitarian state to the degree of the USSR or
Nazi Germany.

GERMANY AFTER WWI
Nov. 1918: Kaiser Wilhelm was ousted and the
Weimar Republic was created.
 Nov. 11, 1918: Germany surrendered, ending WWI.
 Since the Weimar Republic signed the Treaty of
Versailles, it was blamed and was considered weak in
comparison to imperial Germany.
 The German’s viewed the treaty as the Diktat or
“dictated peace.” Hitler and others perpetuated the
myth that the German army had been “stabbed in
the back” by the “Jews, socialists, communists, and
democrats” who wanted a democratic government.

SPARTICIST REVOLT
Extremist groups attempted to overthrow the government
immediately.
 Opposition came from the far left
(Communists/Sparticists) and the far right (Fascists).
 Sparticist Uprising: Jan. 1919: led by Rosa Luxemberg
and Karl Liebknecht. Put down by the Freikorps (a rightwing army group)

REPARATIONS, THE RUHR, AND
HYPERINFLATION
In 1923 Germany fell behind on its reparations
payments. In response the French and Belgians
invaded the industrial Rhur Valley.
 Weimar leaders told workers to passively resist,
and to not work. To pay the workers’ benefits
and wages, they printed more paper moneycausing hyperinflation. Overnight middle-class
savings were wiped out.
 Since America’s Allies couldn’t pay back their
loans without reparations, the US lent Germany
the money to pay its reparations through the
Dawes Plan (this would later cause Germany’s
economy to crash with the US in the Great
Depression).

BEER HALL PUTSCH
During the hyperinflation, the Nazi’s chose to act
hoping to overthrow the government.
 1923: Munich Beer Hall Putsch: Hitler & led a
coup in a Munich Beer Hall and were arrested &
imprisoned.
 While in jail, Hitler wrote Mein Kampf and began
to plan how he would later take over Germany.
 The Nazis realized they needed to work within
the government in order to take over Germany.

THE STRESEMANN YEARS
Under Stresemann, the Weimar government achieved
some degree of solvency and stability.
 The Locarno Pacts: These agreements were signed by
most of the European nations.

Allowed Germany to join the League of Nations
 Guaranteed Western, but not E. borders.
 Germany recognized its permanent loss of the AlsaceLorraine


In the “Spirit of Lacarno” culminated with the KelloggBriand Pact, which made war illegal amongst 65 nations.
Like the League of Nations, it had no way to enforce its
decisions.
THE RISE OF HITLER
Although it seemed that Hitler’s chances of gaining
power were slim in the 1920’s, the great depression
changed the political climate of Germany and caused
people to have a reason to listen to his promises.
 The Nazi party promised to regain German greatness,
provide prosperity, and rise above the disgrace of
Versailles.

CAUSES OF THE GREAT
DEPRESSION
Strong inflationary pressures- During World
War I, governments borrowed money at record
rates. Most states depreciated (meaning lowered)
their currency rates in an effort to reduce the
amount they would pay in debt.
 Disrupted Markets- While Europe fought
World War I, competitors moved into its worldwide markets. When the war ended, European
nations found it difficult to reestablish former
trade patterns.

CAUSES OF THE GREAT
DEPRESSION
High Tariffs- To protect their home markets
most countries enacted high tariff barriers
 WWI Reparations Payments- The cycle of
world capital flowed from the US to Germany,
then from Germany to France and Great Britain,
and finally back to the US. This unnatural
arrangement disrupted investment, while
making world economic activity reliant on
American financial conditions.
 When the US stock market crashed in October
1929, the economic depression spread throughout
the world.

EFFECTS OF THE GREAT
DEPRESSION
Unemployment reached shocking proportions,
strengthening those parities who promised
extreme solutions to problems. Germany and the
US were hit hardest; as many as 35 percent of
workers were unemployed.
 British economist John Maynard Keynes
introduced an alternative approach to the
economic situation. He argued that governments
needed to “prime and pump” the economy by
cutting taxes, spending on government programs
to help the needy, and creating more government
jobs. Keynesian economics was used in the US
and France. It has become the new type of
economics used by nations after 1945.

NAZI “LEGALITY” STRATEGY
The Nazis designed to take advantage of politics
to create a mass movement. The Nazi message
was simple: Weimar represented rule by the
worst- democrats, socialists, Jews-and Germany
needed a strong national state based on race.
 Germany required Lebensraum (living space) in
the East, as part of a new European order around
a hierarchy of race.
 Members of the S.A. (Brownshirts) provoked
street fights with rival political groups.
 The party aligned itself with middle-class voters
and portrayed themselves and young and
dynamic,

HITLER BECOMES CHANCELLOR

Election of 1932:
Hindenberg won the Presidency, but Hitler had a lot of
support.
 The Nazi party gained more seats in the Reichstag, but
still did not have a majority.

Jan. 30, 1933: Hindenberg appointed Hitler
Chancellor in a coalition cabinet.
 Hitler immediately began to consolidate his power.

HITLER’S CONSOLIDATION OF POWER

1933: Hitler arranged for a fire to burn the
Reichstag building.
The fire was blamed on the communists and was
used as justification for kicking all of the communists
out of the government.
 Eventually, Germany became a one-party state.

After the Reichstag fire, Hitler invoked the
emergency clause of the constitution and ruled by
decree.
 Hitler purged the SA leaders by having them
killed in the “Night of the Long Knives,” thus
ensuring his control of the Nazi party.

USE OF TERROR
1934: Hindenberg died & Hitler became President.
Later he took on the title “Fuehrer.”
 Internally, a secret police, the Gestapo, arrested real
and imagined opponents, committing thousands to a
constellation of concentration camps. Following the
S.A. purge, the S.S. (Schutzstaffel) emerged as the
primary perpetrators of terror, eventually absorbing
control of the Gestapo, running the death camps, and
forming the leading edge of a new “Aryan” racial elite.

HITLER’S POLICIES
Hitler began to build up all branches of the military and
instituted 4 year plans to step up production and
building of war materials, food, and the Autobahn in
order to help the economy.
 Nazi racial policy touched all areas of life. Boys were
enrolled in the Hitler Youth and girls in the League
of German Maidens to reinforce traditional gender
roles and build a strong racial stock.
 Women were expected to fulfill the domestic duties of
“church, kitchen, and children,” while their public and
economic roles were limited by the state.

HITLER’S POLICIES
Anti-Semitic policies fulfilled the Nazi racial vision.
At first, Jews were excluded from the civil service
and army. Then the Nuremberg Laws were passed,
which stripped Jews of citizenship.
 Nazi policies turned violent with the Kristallnacht
(Night of Broken Glass) of November 1938, in which
synagogues were burned, businesses destroyed and
hundreds of Jews killed or arrested.
 To further the goal of a pure Aryan race, the Nazis
also engaged in campaigns of sterilization for the
“mentally unfit” and euthanasia for the terminally
ill, insane, and physically deformed.

MID-WAR ENGLAND
England faced a wide variety of problems between
the wars. These problems included economic crises,
political instability, disputes over the future of
Ireland, and colonial difficulties.
 Of all the industrial nations, Great Britain depended
the most on trade. World War I and the Great
Depression both struck a blow against Britain’s
dominant position. Its overseas trade destroyed, the
nation was deeply in debt, its factories were
outdated. In 1920, over 2 million people were
unemployed.

MID-WAR ENGLAND
Welfare legislation enacted before the war eased some
of the burden to the unemployed. Despite the
negative economic conditions, workers were reluctant
to surrender gains made in wartime. Conflicts in
industry led in 1926 to a General Strike, which was
eventually squashed by government intervention.
 Politically, the Labour Party replaced the Liberal
Party and, after gaining power in 1924 and again in
1929, extended the rights of workers.
 The problems of a poor economy, diminished world
status, and political tension place Britain in a
weakened position to confront Nazi aggression.

MIDWAR FRANCE
France suffered enormous casualties in the war,
and in the destruction of nearly one quarter of its
economy.
 France had borrowed money during the war and
relied on German reparations to help spur its
economy. The inability of Germany to make
these payments led to a steady decline in the
franc.
 France’s actions in the Ruhr were attacked by the
US and Britain- further isolating France.

MIDWAR FRANCE
In foreign policy, their chief concern was securing
its borders against Germany. They built a line of
fortifications along its western boundaries called
the Maginot Line.
 Failure because it did not cover the Belgian
border, and because all the guns were fixed
facing Germany.
 The Great Depression came late to France. It
brought an unstable political scene. In 1933, five
coalition governments were formed and fell in
rapid succession. In 1934, pro-Fascists rioted
and threatened to overthrow the republic.

MIDWAR FRANCE
In 1936, the Communists, Socialists, and
Radicals formed an alliance- the Popular Frontand united behind Leon Blume. Inspired by
Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal, he encouraged
social reform, complete with paid vacations, and
40-hour work-weeks. Blum was forced out by
conservatives.
 Overall, the instability of the French government
made it difficult for it to confront Nazi
aggression.

HITLER’S GOALS IN WORLD WAR II
Hitler sought to
1) regain those lands lost at Versailles
2) to subdue France and bring Britain
3) to turn east and conquer Slavic Europe as a vast
farmland and slave labor force
4) to eliminate “culture destroyers” such as Jews
and Gypsies.

POLICY OF APPEASEMENT
Dictators and militarists in Italy, Germany, and
Japan took aggressive actions, which other
European countries met with the policy of
appeasement – giving into the aggressor’s demands
in order to keep out of war.
 France was demoralized from World War One and
Great Britain believed that Hitler was justified in
violating the Versailles treaty because it was too
harsh.
 Appeasement was also based on the following
concerns: 1) lack of preparation for war due to
budget constraints caused by the Great Depression
2) a greater fear of Soviet communism and 3) the
horrors brought about by World War I.

THE ROAD TO WAR
1931: Japan invades Manchuria
 1933: Hitler withdraws Germany from the
League of Nations.
 1935: Mussolini invades Ethiopia. Emperor
Haile Selassie of Ethiopia protests to the League,
but nothing is done.
 1936: Rejecting the Treaty of Versailles, Hitler
remilitarizes the Rhineland. France and
Britain do nothing, convincing Hitler of their
weakness.

THE ROAD TO WAR: SPANISH CIVIL
WAR
1936: General Francisco Franco and his
fascist supporters begin a revolt against the
government of Spain starting the civil war.
 Hitler and Mussolini aid Franco.
 Nazis use Spain as a dress rehearsal to test their
new weapons and blitzkrieg warfare.
 In 1939, Franco gains control of Spain and keeps
control in a fascist dictatorship until his death in
1975.

ROAD TO WAR
1938: Hitler invades Austria on the grounds that all
German-speaking people belong together
(Anschluss). Anschluss violates the World War One
peace treaties. Western powers continue to do
nothing.
 September, 1938: Hitler demands the
Sudetenland, a German-speaking region of
Czechoslovakia. At Mussolini’s suggestion, a
conference is held at Munich. Neville
Chamberlain, who became prime minister of
England, believed that it was silly to get involved in
quarrels with people “Whom we know nothing about.”
The Munich Conference ceded the Sudetenland to
German. Stalin is convinced the western democracies
are too weak to confront Hitler.

ROAD TO WAR


March 10-16, 1939: Violating the Munich
Agreement, Hitler takes all of Czechoslovakia.
1939: Hitler signs the Non-Aggression Pact
with Stalin. They agree not to fight each other.
This protects Germany against a two-front war,
as in World War One. A secret protocol provides
for the division of Poland, the Baltic States, and
Finland. A week later, both Hitler and the Soviet
Union invade Poland to begin World War II.
MOBILIZATION DURING THE WAR
 World
War Two required an even higher level of
mobilization and sacrifice among civilians than
WWI. Many governments centralized production
& rationed programs.
Germany: Germany did not mobilize effectively for
wartime production. Hitler was reluctant to
promote women in the workforce or call on
German citizens to sacrifice consumer goods,
recognizing the collapse of the war effort in 19171918.
MOBILIZATION OF GERMANY
 Nazi
Germany relied extensively on slave
labor from conquered and occupied
territories for armaments production. Only in
1944, when the war was nearing its end, did
Germany move toward full mobilization,
closing down popular amusements and
rationing goods. German women never did
enter the workforce in large numbers.
MOBILIZATION IN THE SOVIET UNION
For the Soviet Union the conflict was known as the
Great Patriotic War. Over 20 million Soviet citizens
perished in the war. Once the Nazis had captured some
of the best agricultural lands and threatened key
industrial cities, the Soviets moved entire factories
inland
 There was supercentralization of the economy around
the war effort and reduced the production of consumer
goods.
 Women also served in the armed forces, unique among
the combatants, as with the famous “Night Witches”
fighter pilots protecting Stalingrad.

MOBILIZATION IN GREAT BRITAIN
 Almost
every adult assisted the war effortwomen went into armament production and
older citizens joined the Home Guard.
 The government created ministries to oversee
and distribute fuel, food, and war supplies.
 Citizens develop self-sufficiency in food
production, as with “Dig for Victory” gardens.
Citizens received ration books with coupons
and received only those war goods assigned to
them.
WWII
Very little happened in the fall of 1939.
 Winter War: 1940: USSR vs. Finland
 US still remained neutral, but began to follow “cash &
carry policies” for allies.
 June 1940: France fell to the Nazis: Vichy France
created under Marshall Petain.



US started Lend-Lease
Dec. 7, 1941: Pearl Harbor bombed

US enters WWII
THE RUSSIAN FRONT

June 1941: Germany invaded the USSR and
headed for Moscow.


This action was eventually halted due to the terrible
winter conditions and the scorched earth policy of the
Russians.
June 1942: German offensive aimed at capturing S.
Russia.
Very successful, at first.
 Finally stopped at the Battle of Stalingrad

THE BATTLE OF STALINGRAD
The Battle of Stalingrad was the turning point in the
Eastern front of the war.
 After this battle, the Russians were on the offensive
and never lost another major battle to the Germans.
 Russia captured over 300,000 German soldiers who
became Russian prisoners of war.
 The Allies had been attacking Germany from the West,
after D-Day and their attack at Normandy.
 The Russians entered Berlin in April, 1945.

THE ATLANTIC CHARTER

Atlantic Charter: August 1940:
FDR & Churchill met in the Atlantic and issued a
statement by which peace would eventually be
established.
 It called for self-determination of liberated areas
after the war
 They agree to start the United Nations following the
war
 It stated that neither the US nor Britain were
interested in territorial gain, as a result of the war.

THE TEHERAN CONFERENCE

The Teheran Conference: Dec. 1943:
The Big Three: FDR, Churchill, & Stalin met to
coordinate war plans in Europe.
 The W. allies agreed to open a 2nd front in Europe,
but did not do so until June, 1944.
 This caused great animosity on the part of Stalin who
was valiantly fighting off the Germans in the
Southern USSR.

THE YALTA CONFERENCE

Yalta Conference: Feb. 1945:






Big three: Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin
Final decisions were made by the Allies concerning the
impending defeat of Germany.
Agreed to allow the USSR to liberate Berlin.
Agreed on the division of Germany after the war.
Agreed that liberated areas would be allowed to hold free
elections to choose a new gov’t after the war.
Agreed to hold the post-war Nuremberg trials.
THE POTSDAM CONFERENCE

Potsdam Conference: July-August 1945






Big Three: Stalin, Truman, & Churchill/Atlee
Agreed to the actual terms of the division of Germany
Agreed to adjust the borders of Germany & Poland to the
USSR’s favor.
Agreed to reparations for USSR using industry in East
Germany
The USSR agreed to enter the Pacific war.
This is the start of the Cold War.
DECOLONIZATION
Postwar era saw total collapse of colonial empires. Between 1947 and 1962,
almost every colonial territory gained independence.
 Causes: Modern nationalism and belief in self-determination and racial
equality, spread from intellectuals to the masses in virtually every colonial
territory after WWI. Decline of European prestige; destruction of Europe
during WWII. After 1945, European powers more concerned about
rebuilding; let colonies go
 Great Britain- favored the “partition and run” for its colonies and mandates,
encouraging contending political groups to sort out a settlement.
 France- To reestablish prestige after its poor showing in WWII France was
determined to hold onto its colonial empire. It soon faced communist
opponents in French Indochina. This caused them to withdraw in 1954. In
Algeria France was fighting French settlers, colons. The war produced a
crisis for the government, bringing down the 4th republic, despite opposition
from the army President deGaulle ended the imperialism of Algeria in 1962.
