Chapter 3 - Conflict Between the Wars: 1919-1939 International Confrontation ￢ idealists like Wilson hoped for peace ￢ League provided a way to resolve disputes through diplomacy (U.S. did not sign on) ￢ European powers were still divided ￢ newly created states unsteady: economically & politically ￢ rise of new ideologies and political philosophies ￢ Dictatorships arose in shattered countries The Politics of the Extreme Right and the Extreme Left ￢ these terms came from the seating plan of the National Assembly during the French Revolution: Right = conservative/traditional (monarchists) Left = liberal/less traditional (democracy) ￢ Why did the liberals want to change things? 1. they resisted the power of the aristocrats 2. they wanted more freedom for commerce 3. they were members of a rising middle class that was beginning to control commerce 4. they felt that “laissez faire” capitalism was more efficient 5. they wanted a free market, with only state involvement in legal matters ￢ moderates vs. extremists ￢ moderates favour freedom, compromise and democracy, refrain from political violence ￢ extremists are more rigid and therefore oppose personal
Transcript
Chapter 3 - Conflict Between the Wars: 1919-1939
International Confrontation
￢ idealists like Wilson hoped for peace
￢ League provided a way to resolve disputes through
diplomacy (U.S. did not sign on)
￢ European powers were still divided
￢ newly created states unsteady: economically & politically
￢ rise of new ideologies and political philosophies
￢ Dictatorships arose in shattered countries
The Politics of the Extreme Right and the Extreme Left
￢ these terms came from the seating plan of the National
Assembly during the French Revolution:
Right = conservative/traditional (monarchists)
Left = liberal/less traditional (democracy)
￢ Why did the liberals want to change things?
1. they resisted the power of the aristocrats
2. they wanted more freedom for commerce
3. they were members of a rising middle class that was
beginning to control commerce
4. they felt that “laissez faire” capitalism was more
efficient
5. they wanted a free market, with only state involvement
in legal matters
￢ moderates vs. extremists
￢ moderates favour freedom, compromise and
democracy, refrain from political violence
￢ extremists are more rigid and therefore oppose personal
freedom and democracy... more prone to accept
totalitarian ideologies such as: fascism (extreme right)
or communism (extreme left)... or even religious
fanaticism
￢ today the meaning of left and right has switched such that:
￢ right wing generally describes those that favour more
free market system
￢ left wing generally describes those that favour more
state involvement in the private sector
The Challenge of Soviet Communism
￢ “Seeds of Revolution” go back to 1905 after defeat by
Japanese... urban riots, peasant uprisings, military mutinies,
nationalist uprisings
￢ huge gap between poor peasants (serfs) calling for land
reform (still practising a feudal system) and the nobility
￢ czarist soldiers were brutal in condemning any dissent,
“Bloody Sunday”, Czar Nicholas II not the benevolent
dictator
The Seeds of Revolution
￢ WWI revealed the weakness of the Russian state, and the
incompetence of its’ leadership... by 1917 it was on its’ knees
￢ The leadership of the Czar is further questioned in his dealing
products in surplus cause price reduction, lower profits and
eventually lower production...
products in shortage cause price increases, higher profits and
eventually greater production
Adam Smith - “The Invisible Hand”
Command Economy - production levels are dictated by a
centralized government, surpluses and shortages be dealt
with by dictating new targets for production
￢ Stalin was creating a “Command” style economy
￢ forced collectivization (i.e. state owned farms) led to
the eradication of the Kulaks, the collapse of agriculture
and mass starvation... 6-7 million died in Ukraine
￢ however, the collectives eventually increased
production and eventually industrial development
increased sharply....Stalin had transformed Russia to a
peasant agricultural society to modern industrial
economy in a generation.
￢ by the late 30's industrial output exceeded France, Italy
and Japan
The Rising Tide of Fascism
The origins of Fascism
￢ spread across Europe in the post-war turmoil and chaos of
Great Depression
￢ appeals b/c: 1) offers “simple” answers, 2) often w/
scapegoats
￢ extreme right-wing ideology first used by Mussolini - Italy
￢ Adolph Hitler - Germany
￢ Francisco Franco - Spain
Principles and Policies
￢ Extreme Nationalism
￢ unquestioning loyalty and service to nation-state
￢ simplifies issues to good and evil
￢ clear sense of superiority over others
￢ reflects on glories of the past
￢ Racial Purity
￢ believe that multiculturalism and intermarriage
weaken and corrupt a nation
￢ Violence and War
￢ pacifism is a weakness, belligerence a virtue
￢ disdain for democracy, moderates,
parliamentarians and conciliators
￢ use democracy to win power, then destroy
democratic structures after
￢ Devotion to a Leader
￢ cult of the leader, absolute obedience, rigid
hierarchy
￢ Der Fuhrer, Il Duce, El Caudillo
￢ Creation of scapegoats
￢ identification, demonization, persecution of
“scapegoats” unjustly blamed for the nations’ ills
￢ ex: Jews, Weimar Politicians, communists
￢ led to the Holocaust
Why was Fascism Successful?
￢ Politics of 1920's Europe was very polarized between
Left Right
Communism Fascism
Why fascism?
￢ people looking for simple solutions and dramatic leaders b/c
they had little experience w/ democracy
￢ the immediate economic problems in the aftermath of war led
to impatience w/ moderates
￢ they were afraid of communism
￢ Mussolini seized power, swept away democracy and est. a
dictatorship in a few years.
Post-War Italy
￢ gained little from Versailles Treaty
￢ massive inflation second only to hyperinflation in
Germany.
￢ Benito Mussolini, editor of “socialist” newspaper
Avanti - Ironic?
￢ Nazi - National Socialist German Workers Party
￢ Mussolini opposed war, but then joined the popular pro-
war movement and served as a soldier until wounded
￢ after war he founded a right-wing, paramilitary
organization called the Fasci di combattimento (battle
squads) in 1919... the black shirts... very violent
￢ this militia burned offices of left-wing newspapers and
unions (remember labour unions close ties to socialism
/ communism), broke up strikes, and beat people @
political meetings of opponents
￢ supported by industrialists and wealthy landowners
who feared communism (they knew what happened in
Russia)
￢ Mussolini’s Black Shirts threatened and intimidated
opposition and bullied their way into power
￢ 25 000 “March on Rome”, Mussolini then offered
Prime Ministership by King Victor Emmanuel in 1922
￢ proceeded to eliminate opposition through further
intimidation and violence
￢ 1924... Giacomo Matteoti, leader of United Socialist
Party, was murdered.
￢ by 1925 he controlled press, police and govt.
￢ made opp. parties and strikes and lockouts illegal
￢ made Catholicism the state religion and negotiated the
Lateran Treaties making the Vatican and independent
state within Italy
￢ Il Duce’s dictatorship would last 21 years
￢ they did experience some economic recovery through
public works: housing, hydroelectric power, highways,
and land reclamation
￢ supposedly “the trains always arrived on time”
￢ however, Great Depression of the 30's hit Italy hard
which justified even more control of the economy
￢ His rule resulted in economic stagnation, brutal political
dictatorship, and military humiliation
The Nazi Party in Germany
· There was mass support for fascism in Germany, even more
so than in Italy.
· Like the Italian fascists, the Nazis denounced democracy,
liberalism, capitalism, and communism.
· There was a call for a powerful German state, strengthened by
unity of purpose and decisive action.
· At every chance, they increased the fear of communism and
decrease confidence in democracy.
Democratic Failure in Germany: The Weimar republic
· In 1918, German politicians eager for an end to WWI,
overthrew the Kaiser.
· A republic replaced the monarchy. However, this
institution was so weak that it was centered in Weimar
rather than Berlin, the former capital.
· People were upset with the Weimar republic because it
signed the Treaty of Versailles. It was believed that the
Weimar stabbed Germany in the back by signing the
treaty.
Threats to Weimar
1. Treaty of Versailles:
· Few Germans supported the Treaty of Versailles
because the war guilt clause was insulting.
· The loss of territory, colonies and pride was a
bitter pill to swallow.
· There was also the dismantling of their military
and their country was occupied for a time.
· In 1924, the government was unable to make
reparations payments and as a response, French
and Belgian forces occupied the Ruhr Valley,
Germany’s industrial heartland.
· It seemed that the new government was unable to
protect German borders or German pride.
· The result was that many people in Germany were
seeking revenge for their losses.
2. Economic Instability:
The stability of the government was to be tested
by the large task of rebuilding the German nation.
The economy was in ruins, there were huge war
debts, and reparations payments were too much
for the new treasury.
There came the undesired effects of hyperinflation
which made the German mark almost worthless.
The economy was so bad, people reverted to the
barter system.
Money was used for heating fuel, a wheelbarrow
of money was needed to buy a loaf of bread.
The life savings of many people was wiped out.
Those on pensions, including many soldiers were
reduced to poverty.
The result was an economic crisis that turned to
hatred for the Weimar republic.
3. Political Instability:
Germany did not have a long tradition of
democracy before WWI. The government was in
the hands of the elite, led by a hereditary
monarch.
The switch to democracy with a large number of
political parties was hard to get used to. There
was a trend of governments rising and falling
quickly.
Elections became propaganda games and bitter
fights.
Radical political parties like fascists and
communists fought in the streets.
This political maneuvering left many people with
little respect for democracy.
Politicians seemed to be more concerned with
their own success and showed little concern for
the citizens.
The result was a series of rebellions organized by
frustrated people; many led by former soldiers.
The Rise of Hitler
After a questionable early life, as soldier in WWI he joins the
National Socialist German Workers Party (Nazi Party)
▪ he provides organization, discipline and a clear political program
• he vilifies German democrats as spineless traitors
• he attacks the Treaty of Versailles and threatens to tear it up
• he introduces his racists ideas (Aryans, Master Race, anti-semitism
etc.)
• he identifies “inferior” groups: jews, homosexuals, gypsies,
communists, liberals etc. as scapegoats
• he is a powerful orator
• he boldly confronts the “communist threat”
The popularity of the Nazis grows rapidly as conditions of the
Great Depression worsen:
• 1928 – 12 seats
• 1930 – 107 seats
• 1932 – 230 seats
Germany becomes more polarized, Hitler makes strategic alliances
with business and the army eager to crush “the red menace”. Hitler
negotiates with President Hindenberg to lead a coalition of right-
wing parties and becomes Chancellor. Soon it would be the end of
democracy in Germany.
Hitler’s Germany:
After becoming chancellor in January 1933, Hitler took a
number of steps to guarantee a totalitarian state.
Emergency Decree and Enabling Law: response to failure to
win absolute majority in last free elections in the country.
These laws allowed Hitler to suspend the Weimar
constitution and rule by decree. This provided unlimited
power. All political parties except the Nazis were abolished.
When President Hindenburg died, Hitler combined the
offices of chancellor and president.
Night of the Long Knives: Hitler kills friends that he
believes that may challenge him.
Gestapo: Created to seek out dissenters and concentration
camps were set up to hold prisoners and undesirables.
The judiciary and civil service were purged of possible
dissidents.
Jews were removed from universities and public service.
Anyone could be arrested without charges and imprisoned
without a trial.
Why did the Crash start?
On 24 October 1929, some shareholders began to lose confidence and believing that the prices of
shares could not continue to rise forever, decided to sell. A panic began, and so many shares were
sold on that day that it became known as Black Thursday. The Wall Street Crash was under way.
By Tuesday 29 October so many shares were being sold that the teleprinters could not keep up,
share prices continued to fall, and people lost vast sums of money and were ruined.
Causes of the Wall Street Crash
The reasons that led to the Wall Street Crash can be put into two main categories:
Those to do with the overproduction of goods.
Those to do with money and the stock market.
Reasons linked to overproduction that led to the Wall Street Crash:
1. Companies were producing too many goods.
2. American goods could not be sold abroad because other countries had put tariffs (taxes) on them to make them more expensive.
3. When the demand for goods began to fall, workers' wages were cut and some workers became unemployed, which meant that they could no longer afford to buy the new consumer goods.
4. Farmers could not afford to buy the new consumer goods.
Reasons linked to money and the stock market that led to the Wall Street
Crash:
People were allowed to borrow too much money and they could not afford to pay it back.
People had taken out loans or invested their savings in the stock market, but there were too few controls on the buying and selling of shares.
The US President had not taken any notice of what was going on; he just left the businesses and banks to themselves.
Advertising and higher purchase agreements were not controlled, and this encouraged people to spend more.
Too many people thought that share prices could only go up, which encouraged them to invest more than they could afford in the stock market.
Banks did not have enough money in reserve to help businesses that were in trouble. This was because they had lent too much money but now the banks were facing difficulties because people could not afford to repay their loans.
Outcomes of the Crash
The Wall Street Crash brought the Roaring Twenties to an end and led to a Depression in
America. What effect did this have on American society?
Here are some examples of how times changed after the Wall Street Crash.
1. President Hoover and the belief in prosperity
2. The growth of shanty towns
3. Food shortages
4. Farming
5. Franklin Roosevelt - a new President
Read on to find out the reasons for these changes and what their effects were on society.
President Hoover and the belief in prosperity
Herbert Hoover became President in 1928. When the Wall Street Crash happened he tried to
reassure Americans that it was just temporary and that 'prosperity is just around the corner'.
Although things showed no signs of improving, he was reluctant to help those affected by the
Depression.
Unemployment rose, homelessness increased, and soup kitchens and bread queues became a
familiar sight in American cities, but still Hoover did very little to help. He believed in 'rugged
individualism' (people should look after themselves and stand on their own two feet). He
appealed to businesses and charities to do what they could to help. By the time his government
began to take action in 1932 it was too late. Hoover had lost the trust of the people. 'In Hoover
we trusted, now we are busted,' became a popular saying.
The growth of shanty towns
Hoovervilles were the names given to the areas where homeless people lived in shacks that they
had built out of wood, boxes and any other materials that they had managed to find on dumps.
Due to unemployment or the loss of life savings, these people could no longer afford to pay their
mortgages or rent. They had lost their homes and now had nowhere to live. The fact that these
areas were called Hoovervilles shows what the people thought of President Hoover. They even
called the newspapers that they covered themselves to sleep with 'Hoover blankets'.
Food shortages
Many unemployed people could not afford the basics and spent hours queuing for free soup or
bread, handed out by charities or businesses. Unemployed workers in America received no help
from the government. They had to resort to charity, begging and even theft to feed themselves
and their families. People were hungry and many felt worthless and ashamed.
Farming
Farmers, who had already missed out on the boom of the 1920s, were also affected by the
Depression. Low agricultural prices meant that in some places farmers could not afford to
harvest or market their crops, which were left in the fields to rot. With unemployment rising
throughout America, people could no longer afford to buy the farmers' produce, even at low
prices. In some areas, for example Oklahoma, terrible soil erosion meant that farmers could not
even attempt to grow any crops. Many of these, having lost their homes and farms, left with their
families to search for work elsewhere.
Franklin Roosevelt - a new President
On 9 November 1932, Americans voted in the presidential election. The Democrat Franklin
Roosevelt stood against Hoover. The voters did not believe that Hoover had taken the Depression
seriously enough or done enough to help them. Roosevelt was elected by one of the largest
majorities in American history.
Discrepancies Between the Ideals and practices of the League of
Nations
The League of Nations was originally formed to police the
world and settle international disputes. However, the absence of
the U.S. and the withdrawal of Japan in 1933 made the
organization relatively ineffective. There are several examples of
the League’s failure to deal with international aggression during
the 1930’s.
1. 1930 Japan invades Manchuria to secure coal and iron.
2. 1935 Hitler’s announcement of rearmament 9violation of the
Treaty of Versailles).
3. 1935 Italian invasion of Abyssinia 9Ethopia).
4. 1936 entry of German troops into the demilitarized Rhineland.
5. 1936 German and Italian military support of Francisco Franco
during the Spanish Civil War
6. 1937 full scale Japanese invasion of china
The League’s ineffectiveness was due to the absence of world
powers like the U.S., Germany and later Japan meant that there was
more power outside the league than inside it.
Without the U.S., the league seemed incomplete and was
missing its “cornerstone”.
This was clearly seen in the actions of Japan and Germany.
Japan took what it wanted in Asia and Germany in Europe with no
fear of reprise from the League. Knowing that the league could do
nothing, these countries used it as a doormat.
Japan: A Growing Power
Japan joined the allies in WWI and emerged from the war with
a prosperous economy.
Manufacturing allowed Japan to move into many Asian
markets that were once dominated by Britain.
This new Japanese economy produced a well-educated middle
class of people. These educated industrialists and businesspeople
thought Japan should model its government on the democratic
institutions of Europe and the U.S.
The power of the Japanese emperor was weakening.
Japan was hit hard by the depression; the value of exports fell
50%. High tariffs by other industrial nations on foreign goods
resulted in Japan losing foreign markets.
Many people, especially the military leaders, grew impatient
with the parliamentary system of government in Japan.
The government brought in a disarmament policy that would
see its navy become smaller than Britain and the U.S. this made
the military and nationalists upset, they had dreams of creating a
Japanese empire in Asia.
In November 1930, an extreme nationalist shot Prime Minister
Hamaguchi. Over the next few years other politicians would be
assassinated.
The Military in Power
In September 1930, the army defied the civilian government
and invaded Manchuria, a region of Northeastern china.
By May 1932, the military was in total control and established
a Fascist state. Unlike Germany or Italy, Japan did not have a
single leader or specific program. A small group of military
leaders dominated the government.
The constitution, parliament and political parties were kept, but
they had no control over the generals in the war department.
In the 1930’s, the Japanese military government arrested
critics, imposed censorship and dismissed liberal professors from
the universities. A secret police force punished enemies of the
state. The press and schools were totally obedient to the emperor,
