Transcript Europe Between the Wars

Europe
Between the Wars
Armistice
 On November 9, 1918, the imperial German government
of Kaiser William II fell. The Kaiser abdicated and fled to
Holland.
 Fearing a communist takeover, Social Democratic Party
leaders declared a Republic called the Weimar Republic.
 On November 11, 1918, at 11:00 A.M., the new German
leadership signed an armistice ending hostilities.
 The Weimar Republic was unpopular from its inception.
Many later blamed it for Germany’s problems after the
war.
Results of World War I
 The war and resulting settlements left great bitterness.
 Germany and Italy in particular resented peace terms.
 Japan also felt slighted at the treaty talks.
 Most European economies suffered tremendously in the immediate
aftermath.
 The war brought on revolution in Russia.
 The United States emerged as a leading world power.
 A League of Nations was formed to handle international disputes.
However, since the U.S., never joined, the League was weak and
lacked enforcement power.
 Following the war, there was a rise in extremist fascist and
communist movements in several European countries.
 New nations were established and three major European dynasties
fell.
 Germany was stripped of all
its colonies.
 Germany’s Saar Valley coal
mines were put under French
control for 15 years
 Poland was created. Part of
East Prussia was given to
Poland.
 Alsace-Lorraine was
returned to France.
 Czechoslovakia was created
out of Austro-Hungarian and
German territories.
 Austria and Hungary
became independent nations.
 Yugoslavia was created from
Serbian and Austrian
territory.
 Turkey lost all territory
except Asia Minor and
Istanbul.
Territorial Adjustments
Human Costs of the War
• The human costs of World War I were staggering. Nearly 9 million
soldiers lost their lives in battle. Over 20 million more were
wounded.
• More than 5 million civilians also died, with starvation, disease, and
exposure accounting for 80% of those deaths.
• After the war, Spanish Influenza, which many blamed on the war,
killed tens of millions more.
Casualties
Country
Russia
France
Great Britain
Germany
Austria
United States
Total
Dead
2,500,000
1,400,000
900,000
1,800,000
1,200,000
100,000
9,000,000
Wounded
4,950,000
4,300,000
2,100,000
4,200,000
3,600,000
200,000
21,000,000
Social Costs of the War
Because of the ruthless nature of
the war, millions of people were
disillusioned. An entire
generation of young men were
lost. Many of those who survived
were bitter and cynical. This was
reflected in the art and literature
of the period. This generation
became known as the Lost
Generation.
Economic and Political Costs to Germany
War Guilt and Reparations
 Germany accepted sole responsibility for causing the war. (Article 231
of The Treaty of Versailles) and agreed to pay all reparations for war
damage.
 The reparation payments greatly strained the German economy
 Hyperinflation resulted form Germany’s printing of money to pay the
reparations.
 1919 - 9 German marks = 1 U.S. dollar
 1923 – 4.2 trillion marks = 1 U.S. dollar
 Dawes Plan (1924) – Backed by the League of Nations the debt was
restructured with loans by American banker Charles Dawes.
 Germany paid England & France who repaid the U.S. loans
 The German economy recovered by the mid 1920’s
.
Postwar Europe
Disarmament
Attempts at Lasting Peace
• German army was limited
to 100,000 volunteers. Draft
was forbidden.
• The Rhineland in western
Germany was demilitarized.
• Submarines, military
aircraft and war industries
were prohibited.
• Austrian and Hungarian
armies were limited.
• Locarno Pact (1925) –
European nations agreed to
settle differences peacefully.
• Kellogg-Briand Pact
(1928) – 62 nations
renounced war as illegal.
The Stock Market Crash
 Oct. 1929 and the resulting Great
Depression shattered world economies.
European economies and especially the
German economy were hit hard with high
unemployment. Germany had 43%
unemployment.
 The resulting worldwide depression
resulted in the rise of totalitarianism in
some European countries and in Japan.
The Rise of Totalitarianism
Characteristics of Totalitarianism
 Total subservience to the state
 Invasion and loss of privacy
 Loss of individual freedoms
 Censorship of the press. Little or no free
press
 Indoctrination through:
 Propaganda
 Education
 Youth Ministries
 Terror through a police state
 Demonizing – Scapegoating
 Disobedience results in prison or death
FASCISM
Glorification of the state
Single party; single ruler (dictator)
Condemns democracy: rival parties destroy
unity. Man is unable to successfully govern
collectively.
Supports the idea of capitalism & owning of
private property so long as it serves the needs of
the state
Corporate State: captains of industry become
state economic deputies
Aggressive nationalism
Advocates Social Darwinism (powerful states
control weaker ones)
COMMUNISM
World wide "dictatorship of the proletariat"
(classless society)
Single party (communist) under the control of
the Politburo. Dictatorship is not the final goal.
Condemns capitalism for exploiting workers
(“haves” vs. “have nots”)
Government controls all means of production
(industrial & agricultural). No private
ownership.
Economy is centralized under the communist
party
Spread of communism for the benefit of the
world's working class (Comintern)
Condemns imperialism: advocates a world
without nationalism with the workers united
Believes desire for peace shows weakness of Peace is the ultimate goal
government
Glorification of war (military sacrifice is Violent revolution to bring about the
glorified)
"dictatorship of the proletariat." War is not the
end but merely the means.
Emphasizes the inequalities among humans
Emphasizes the perfectibility of society. Mankind
The Soviet Communist Party
General
Secretary
Dominated Party and
Soviet Government
Politburo
Determined Policy
Secretariat
Directed PartyWork
Central Committee
All Union Party Congress
Met every four years
Cells
Local organized units in factories, schools, offices
Totalitarianism in the USSR
Lenin’s New Economic Policy
Vladimir Lenin
Joseph Stalin
Leon Trotsky
 Allowed some capitalism
 Peasants could sell grain on open
market
 Small manufacturing allowed
 Encouraged foreign investment
 Soviet government still controlled
heavy industry, banks, and railroads
 Russian economy improved
Nikolai Bukharin
Totalitarianism in the USSR
Lenin’s Death (1924)
 Lenin had a series of strokes in 1923 and died in 1924.
 He left no chosen successor
 Two leaders vied for power
 Leon Trotsky – “Permanent and International Communism”
 Joseph Stalin – “Socialism in one Country”
 Stalin consolidated power in 1927 and Trotsky was exiled.
He was later assassinated by Stalin’s agents in Mexico City
in 1940
The Rise of Dictators
Soviet Union
Joseph
Stalin
(1927-1953)
The Rise of Dictators
Soviet Union
Stalin’s Five Year Plans
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1928-1938
Collectivization of Farms to produce more food
and provide more industrial workers
Steel Production up 400%
Oil Production up 300%
25 million people moved to cities
Quality of goods was poor and standard of
living didn’t increase
Kulaks (wealthiest peasants were “liquidated”
10 million farmers died due to collectivization
Soviet Realism
The Rise of Dictators
Soviet Union
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The Great Terror
“The Purges” 1934-1938
8 Million Arrests
Show trials to eradicate “enemies of the
people”
40,000 army officers were expelled or
liquidated
Dozens of original Bolsheviks were killed
or died in gulags.
The Rise of Dictators - Italy
Benito Mussolini (1883-1945)
 Became a socialist writer at a young age and
at first opposed Italy’s entry into WWI
 Later served in Italian army and was
wounded in World War I
 Emerged from war as a strong nationalists
and anti-socialist.
 In 1919 he formed the Fascist Party to
oppose socialism and communism in Italy
Benito Mussolini - Italy
Fascism
Fasces
• Named after the “fasces”
• Bundles of Rods surrounding an axe
which was carried by ancient Roman
leaders and symbolized support of
the state.
• Fascism combined elements of socialism
and nationalism such territorial
expansion, workers benefits, land
reform, and privatized industry (as long
as it benefitted the state)
Benito Mussolini
 By 1920, Mussolini had formed bands
of followers called Blackshirts.
 Most Blackshirts were peasants,
unemployed veterans, ultranationalists, and street thugs.
 Blackshirts began attacking and
intimidating communists,
socialists, and other political
Blackshirts
enemies.
 By 1922, Mussolini and the fascists
had gained enough popularity and
support to demand a voice in
government.
 His followers marched on Rome.
King Victor Emmanuel III named
him Prime Minister and gave him
King Victor Emmanuel III
dictatorial powers for one year.
Benito Mussolini
Support and Rise
of Fascism
Businessmen supported it because it promised to protect
them against a communist revolution.
Nationalists supported it because Mussolini promised to
restore the glory of Ancient Rome.
Peasants supported it because Mussolini promised land
reform.
Workers supported Mussolini because he promised to create
jobs.
Benito Mussolini - Italy
 Mussolini became known as Il Duce (Leader)
 After taking control of the Italian parliament
in 1924, he assumed full dictatorial powers.
 He formed the Fascist Grand Council to assist
him in making all decisions of state.
 He inspired others, especially Adolf Hitler by
with his leadership and charisma and his new
fascist government
 In 1935, Mussolini began building his Roman
Empire by invading Ethiopia.
 The League of Nations condemned the action
but had no authority to stop it.
 This was one of the first acts of fascist
aggression in Europe and would inspire
others to do the same.
The Rise of Dictators - Germany
Adolf Hitler
 Born in 1889 in Vienna Austria. He aspired to be an artist as a boy but was
denied entry into a prestigious art academy in Vienna
 At the outbreak of World War I, Hitler joined the German Army where he
was fought with distinction. He was injured and earned the Iron Cross.
 After the war, Hitler moved to Munich, Germany.
 In 1920, at a local beer hall, he joined a small political party with only four
members known as the German Workers Party. It developed into the
National Socialists German Workers Party, better known as the Nazi Party
 Hitler began attracting followers because of his charismatic speaking skills.
By 1923, the party had grown to several thousand.
 In 1923, Hitler led an unsuccessful coup against the local government in
Munich. This “Beer Hall Putsch” was unsuccessful.
 Hitler was jailed for several months. While in jail, he outlined his political
philosophies and intentions in Mein Kamph (My Struggle). This would
become the Nazi Bible.
The Rise of the Nazi Party
 In Mein Kamph and in his speeches Hitler:
 Claimed that Jews and Socialists had sold Germany out at the end of
World War I.
 Called for these groups to be driven out of Germany.
 Spoke of a “final solution” to solve the “Jewish problem”.
 Spoke of the use of a technique known as the Big Lie to sway the
opinions of the masses.
 Claimed the existence of a superior “Aryan Race”.
 Promised Lebensraum (living space) to expand Germany eastward
enslaving Jews and Slavs to serve the “master race”.
 Called on German leaders to break the “Treaty of Versailles”.
 After Hitler’s release he worked tirelessly for the Nazi Party and it
continued to grow slowly.
 Blamed Jews, socialists, and other minorities for all of the problems of
Germany (scapegoating).
 By the mid 1920’s, the German economy had improved and the Nazi’s
influence faded.
The Third Reich
 After the stock market crash of 1929 and the resulting Great
Depression the German economy soured.
 The Nazis began attracting larger numbers with Hitler in charge.
 In 1932, the Nazis won over a third of the seats in the Reichstag.
 In 1933, after promising to uphold the constitution of Germany’s
Weimar Republic, Hitler was chosen by the elderly president Paul
von Hindenburg as chancellor.
 Hitler called for new elections in 1933.
 Using deceit, intimidation, and violence, by Nazi “Brownshirts” the
party won a majority of seats.
 In 1934, after the death of Hindenburg, Hitler assumed the
presidency and seized power. He outlawed all opposing parties and
became “the fuhrer” (leader) of Germany.
 He dissolved the Weimar government and formed the Third Reich
which he promised would last a thousand years. Adolf Hitler was
now dictator and the march to war was on.
The Rise of Dictators
Adolf Hitler - Germany
Jews
German
Workers Party
Jews and Communists
The Rise of Dictators
Adolf Hitler - Germany
Nazi
Mein Kamph (My Struggle)
Aryan Race
The Big Lie
The Rise of Dictators
Adolf Hitler - Germany
Reichstag
Chancellor
Fuhrer
The Third Reich
The Third Reich
Gestapo
Heinrich Himmler
The Third Reich
Joseph Goebbels
The Big Lie
The Third Reich
Science & Culture
 Scientist worked on weapons of war
 Anthropologists attempted to prove the Aryan
Race was of Germanic origin
 Writers and media praised Hitler and Nazism
 Censor held public book burning ceremonies to
destroy non-Nazi works.
 Literature, art and music by Jews was banned.
 Religion came under state control. Clergy who
opposed the Nazification of religion were sent to
concentration camps. Many Christian
ceremonies were replaced by Nazi ceremonies.
The Third Reich
Treaty of Versailles
Rhineland
Nuremburg Laws
The Third Reich
Kristallnact
The Third Reich
Genocide
Holocaust
The Third Reich
The Holocaust