Democracy, Totalitarianism &World War II, 1919-1945

Chapters 26 & 27

Enforcing the

Treaty of Versailles

An Uncertain Peace

France & the Treaty• France tried to enforce the treaty

– US & GB returned to isolationist policies– Bolshevik Revolution knocked out Russia

• Many in Europe looked to the L of N– The League lacked enforcement ability

• France forms “Little Entente” w/Eastern Europe

• 1922 Rapallo Pact – Germany agrees to supply manufactured goods to

USSR & engage in joint military maneuvers

The Advance of Democracy• Short lived trend to democracy after WWI

– Women got the vote in many countries– Labor unions got more power– Social legislation helped civilians

• Eastern Europe sees new states with democratic governments– All had ethnic minority issues– Conservatives && Socialists opposed democracy– Land reforms failed to end underdevelopment– Only Czech. Seemed to work

Weimar Republic• Two major problems:

– Faced numerous economic & political problems– Extremists on the left & right wanted to overthrow it

Weimar Politics

• Founded by two political parties: – Social Democratic Party - left centered

• No longer Marxist – wanted to advance a German welfare system

– Catholic Center Party – right centered

• Neither party wanted a Communist or right-wing takeover

Attempted Coups

• 1919 Communist Spartacists tried a coup– They were captured & executed by the right-

wing Freikorps

• 1920 the Freikorps tried to overthrow the Weimar – Kapp Putsch – Prime Minister Ebert called for a general strike

which prevented the rebels from being able to move

Weimar Constitution• Representatives to the Reichstag were

chosen by proportional representation– 10% of the vote = 10% of the seats– Allowed a diversity of views – made it difficult

to establish a stable majority government• Easier for extremists to gain a voice

• President of the republic could suspend parliamentary rule in emergencies– “suicide clause” allowed democratic rule to be

undermined

Most Damaging . . .• Weimar government was associated with

the Treaty of Versailles – All saw it a diktat – a dictated peace

• Demagogues perpetuated the myth that Germany had been on the brink of winning the war in 1918– Claimed “Jews, socialists, communists

democrats” sold them out to establish a republic– Made the Weimar Republic the scapegoat for all

problems

Reparations and the Ruhr

• 1932 Germany fell behind on its reparations payments– France & Belgium invaded the Ruhr Valley

• Wanted to extract payments in coal & steel– Germany encouraged workers to resist (passively)– Weimar had to pay the workers benefits & wages in

more & more paper money

• By Nov. 1923 the value of the mark was at an all time low

Hyperinflation

• $1 = 4,000,000,000,000 Deutsche Marks– Overnight wealth became worthless– Confidence in the government plunged

• Hitler attempted to overthrown the Bavarian government in the Beer Hall putsch (1923)– The coup failed – Hitler served 5 years

• Hitler wrote Mein Kampf while in prison

Dawes Plan

• Great Britain criticized France and Belgium for their invasion

• The US intervened– Our former allies said they could not pay back

our loans if Germany didn’t pay them • US gave loans to Germany

– This was the Dawes Plan – helped for a while

• US rescheduled loan repayments in exchange for French withdrawal from the Ruhr

The Spirit of Locarno

• 1924-1929 was a period of peace & hope– Diplomats turned to negotiation not war

• Locarno Pact– Streseman – Germany & Briand – France

• Germany accepted the loss of Alsace-Lorraine• Germany worked with Poland & Czech to make

new borders– Germany entered the League of Nations in 1926

Kellogg-Briand Pact, 1928

• 65 nations signed the pact– Condemned all war– Had no power to enforce itself

• Like the League of Nations

• Japan invaded Manchuria (’31) & Italy invaded Ethiopia (’35) but there was no punishment

• 1930 France began work on defensive forts along the German border– Maginot Line ~ symbol of false security

Causes

• Strong Inflationary Pressures– Rationing & borrowing, devalued currencies

and inflation

• Disrupted Markets– India & others replaced Europe during WWI

• Agricultural Depression– Glut on the grain market meant price drop

More Causes

• Economic Nationalism– Many countries passed high tariffs to protect their

industries

• Reparations– World capital flowed from US to Germany; from Germany

to France & Britain and back to US

• Credit financing– Advent of payment plans allows deferred payments– Buying stock “on Margin” allowed borrowing up to 90% of

the stock’s value – when it crashed . . . .

Effects

• Investment & world trade plummeted

• Unemployment reached all time highs– US & Germany were at 35% unemployment

• Unstable credit caused bank failures

• Currencies were devalued– Wrecked the gold backed system

• First Britain then the US dropped the gold standard ’31

• Trade reverted to bilateral agreements or barter

Democratic Responses• Usual economic methods

failed to help• John Maynard Keynes

offered an idea– Argued gov’t needed to

“prime the pump”• Use deficit financing, cut

taxes, increase gov’t spending on aid programs

• This approach becomes the norm after 1945

Democratic Response: GB

• Great Britain was most dependent on trade

• 1926 General Strike caused by conflicts with industry– Squashed by government

• Labour Party replaced the Liberal Party and worked to increase the rights of workers

• Britain gave autonomy to many areas under their control

• They were in a weakened position

Democratic Response: France

• Hit less hard than GB since they were less dependent on trade

• President Poincaré stabilized the value of the franc – made French goods cheaper to buy

• There was a rise in right-wing political power

• Left-wing coalition Popular Front took power from 1936-38 & made some reforms– Lost power as tensions increased after the start

of the Spanish Civil War

Democratic Response: US

• FDR’s New Deal started in1933– Government $ was injected into society

• These provided some relief, but unemployment spiked again from 1937-38

• According to most historians, only WWII truly brought the US out of the Great Depression

Democratic Response: Scandinavia

• Norway, Sweden and Demark combine socialism and democracy

• Embraced Keynesian and creative approaches– Used producers’ cooperatives to regulate the

prices of agricultural products and state ownership of key industries

Totalitarianism Grows

• Mass politics and intellectual trends after 1870 contributed to “irrational ideologies”– Anti-Semitism, anarchism’s glorification of

violence and the rabid nationalism associated with imperialism

– Darwinian evolution was used to justify the strong dominating the weak

– Post WWI growth of radio & motion pictures were used to control people

Totalitarianism V. Absolutism

• Absolute monarchs got power from traditional institutions– Extended power to areas vital to the state

• Taxes, trade, religion• Geography & communication issues hindered

centralization

• Dictators used mass media to mobilize people to fanatical support – Every aspect of life must be subordinated to the

party, movement and leader

Passive Obedience

Total Control of Society

Fascism

• Fascism was an interwar European phenomenon– It was not the liberalism of democracy or the

revolutionary class-based Marxism– This “third way” was based in the 19th century’s

irrational ideologies• Fueled by the instability of the 20th century

Fascist Ideology• Militarism

– War is the proving ground of national identity

• Glorification of the state– State=all powerful – culmination of evolution

• Fuhrer Principle– Voice of the people was most potent in 1 man

• Antidemocracy– Democracy=weakness

• Anticommunism– Condemned class warfare

• One-Party Rule– Suppressed elections, free press, multiparty systems

The Rise of Italian Fascism• Italy was mad that it had been a “winner” but

got no prize– Not allowed to reclaim lost lands– Had unemployment, inflation & high deficits

• Lots of problems for the parliamentary democracy

• Benito Mussolini was left-wing journalist– Became right-wing after WWI– Used the squadristi to intimidate opponents

• Mussolini was seen as a champion of law & order

• 1922 King Victor Emmanuel III was intimidated into naming BM premier

Italy Under Mussolini• Acerbo Law gave 2/3rds of parliaments seats

to the party that had the most votes– 1924 Fascists gained control of the parliament

• Giamoco Matteotti (Soc leader) was assassinated by fascists– Had exposed corruption & violence in the gov’t– Public demanded Mussolini’s resignation

• Used the incident to secure power

• By 1926 the press was censored, there was only 1 party & the secret police (OVRA) were everywhere

Economy Under Il Duce• Pluralistic society becomes singular

• Mussolini introduced the corporative state– Economy was run as 22 separate corporations

• Each had representatives from business, fascist-organized labor unions & the state government

• The state decided policy & production priorities– Private property & profit were allowed

• Failed to address the problems of the GD– Created a program of public works – “Mussolini made the trains run on time”

• Needed colonies to survive

Society Under Il Duce• Mussolini & RCC signed the Lateran Accords

– Recognized Vatican City as separate from Italy• Papacy vows to stay out of Italian politics

• Mussolini offers incentives to families with more children, awards for fertile moms & holidays to honor motherhood– The role of women was to have healthy kids

• Healthy kids needed physical fitness– Dopolavoro was the state sponsored fitness movement

Nazi Germany

Hitler’s Early Years

• Hitler = Nazism in the minds of the world

• Originally Austrian– Embraced anti-Semitism of Vienna’s mayor

• Hated the “mongrel” Habsburg Empire– Ethnically diverse with aristocratic snobs

• Moved to Bavaria to avoid Austrian draft– Enlisted in Bavarian army – served well– Message runner – victim of poison gas

Hitler & the Rise of Nazism• Post-WWI he joined the NSDAP (National

Socialist German Workers’ Party)– His speaking ability made him leader

• After the failure of the Beer Hall putsch he focused on “legality strategy”– Nazi message was simple: Weimar = rule by

the worst – democrats, socialists, Jews – Germany needed strong national government based on race

Hitler & the Rise of Nazism• Hitler laid out the need for lebensraum (living

space) in Mein Kampf– As a superior race, Germany should take the

land to the east

• Treaty of Versailles was Hitler’s constant focus for blame

• Brown Shirts (Hitler’s S.A. – Stormtroopers) started street fights & generally got off – Targeted workers who only gave him 3% in ‘28

Hitler & the Rise of Nazism• Political turn around caused by

– Great Depression– Switch in tactics to appeal to the middle class

• Nazis used modern tactics to win votes– Hitler visited 50 cities in 15 days by plane– Portrayed as party of youth & dynamic leadership– Had 37% of the vote (230 seats) by 1932

• Now the largest party• Some saw Hitler as the best hope against Communists

The Nazi Total State

• The Reichstag caught fire– Nazis blamed Communists

• Banned the party & arrested the leaders• Still only gained 45% of the vote

• Rammed the Enabling Act through– Hitler gets right to rule by decree for 5 years

• Hitler=dictator• Passed the Civil Service Act in 1933 – al gov’t

employees had to swear personal loyalty to AH

Removing all Obstacles

• 1934 Hitler smoothes his path– All political parties EXCEPT the NSDAP are

declared illegal• Federal governments (such as Bavaria & Saxony)

were abolished – now there is 1 German gov’t

– Leaders within the S.A. & all political opponents were executed

• June 30, 1934 – Blood Purge

– Hindenburg died 2 months later – AH = Prez

Terror is the Trick• Secret police (Gestapo) arrested all

perceived threats– Sent to concentration camps

• SS (Schutzstaffel) replaced the SA– Eventually absorbed the Gestapo– Ran the death camps & promoted Aryan elite

• All social & civic groups were run by Nazis– All for the state & its goals– See the film, “Triumph of the Will”

Solving the Economy?

• Nazis used the “pump priming” concept– 1936 Hitler enacted the 4-Year Plan to

promote autarky (self-sufficiency) in fuel & rubber – 2 strategic commodities

– Promises of gov’t contracts won industry– Independent unions were replaced by Nazi

controlled unions• Only union members could get jobs

– Built the Autobahn

Racial Policy

• Boys joined Hitler Youth• Girls joined League of German Maidens

– Promoted “church, kitchen & children”

• Nuremburg Laws 1935– At first Jews were excluded from civil service

& the army– Defined who was a Jew – striped Jews of

citizenship – prohibited relationships with Aryans

Kristallnacht

• Jews hoped the anti-Semitism would fade

• Nov 1938 – it turns violent– Synagogues were burned– Businesses destroyed– Hundreds of Jews were

killed or arrested

T-4 Program

• “Unfit” were sterilized

• Terminally ill, insane & physically deformed were euthanized

• Approximately 200,000 were killed from 1939-1941– Protest by Catholic & Protestant religious

groups slowed & eventually halted this

USSR Under Stalin

Socialism in One Country

• 1928-1938 was a period of intense modernization

• Trotsky was expelled

• NEP was ended

• It became clear there was no impending world revolution of workers

• Stalin took Trotsky’s ideas on strong central planning & implemented them

Five Year Plans 1928• The Goal:

– Build a strong base of heavy industry– Aim for self-sufficiency– Create modern infrastructure

• Gosplan (central planning agency) was in full control – Could not borrow $ - repudiated tsars debts– Relied on agricultural sector

Forced Collectivization• NEP had created a class of wealthy land

owning peasants – the kulaks– Kulaks were widely resented

• Stalin forced all peasants – including kulaks – onto collective farms– Kulaks resisted by destroying crops & killing

livestock

• By 1932 collectives were the norm– Millions had died resisting– Millions died from famine – especially the Ukraine

Effectiveness• USSR avoided the biggest problems of the

Great Depression• Became world’s leading producer of tractors

& locomotives– Overall US & Germany surpassed USSR in total

industrial production– Often Soviet quality was poor & few consumer

goods were produced

• Massive growth is explained by its low start point

Soviet Totalitarianism

• Independent political parties, labor unions & free expression were eliminated

• Government controlled cultural life– Art, literature & film were for propaganda

• Socialist realism – glorification of factories & workers

• Cult of Personality– Huge posters of Stalin everywhere

Great Purges

• All the old Bolsheviks were targeted– Got rid of anyone who had supported Trotsky– Got rid of any lingering capitalists

• Great Terror 1934-1938– 4 million were charged with “crimes” – 8 million were executed

• Basic standard of living improved

• Women lost rights– Wanted to increase population – still had to work

Culture of the Interwar Period

Mobilization of Home Front• Germany did not mobilize effectively for

wartime production– Hitler did not want to promote women in the

workforce• Hesitated to ration consumer goods – saw what

happened a the end of WWI

• Germany relied on slave labor from conquered territories

• 1942 Albert Speer was asked to centralize production of armaments

Mobilization of Home Front• In USSR WWII = “The Great Patriotic War”

– Billed as a fight for survival – not like WWI– More than 20 million Soviets died

• Most of any nation

• Moved entire factories inland when the Nazi had conquered the best farmlands

• Stalin urged supercentralization around the production of war goods

• Leningrad endured a 900 day siege– Survived on mice

• Women served as combatants in the military

Mobilization of Home Front

• Great Britain also centralized for war– All adults assisted– Senior citizens in the Home Guard & women

in the factories

• People planted victory gardens and many items were rationed – Rationing continued until 1951

Mobilization of Home Front

• US became the “arsenal of democracy”– No nation produced more tanks, planes &

ships– Never entered a complete wartime production

• Used rationing much less extensively than in Europe

• Japanese Americans on the West Coast were forced into internment camps to prevent them from “conspiring with the Japanese Empire”

Collaboration & Resistance

• Europeans in occupied nations had stark choices:– Collaborate – help or passively accept the

enemy– Resistance – engaged in acts of sabotage,

hindered production, helped prisoners escape• More popular as the tide of war turned

Collaborators• Conservatives in many nations welcomed the

order the Nazis brought with them– Often created puppet governments

• In Norway Vadkun Quisling led the Nazi controlled government– To call someone a quisling is to call them a traitor

• In France the Vichy government was Nazi• In the Balkans the Ustashe (nationalist, Catholic

government of Croatia) led reprisals against the Orthodox Serbs

Resistors• Charles de Gaulle led highly organized French

Resistance fighters• General Tito in Yugoslavia was so successful

against the Nazis they needed no help to liberate themselves

• The Polish council, Zegota, saved hundreds of Polish Jews

• The leaders of the White Rose in Germany were executed when they were caught distributing anti-Hitler pamphlets

Holocaust

• The Final Solution was intended to “cleanse” society of undesirables

• 1942 Reinhard Heydrich led the Wannsee Conference– Created death camps to eliminate Jews and

others– Stepped up executions as Germany started

losing– 6 million Jews & 5 million from the other

groups were murdered