An Age of Anxiety

Chapter 34

Intro: Probing Cultural Frontiers• War shock the European worldview• Revolutions in science, psychology, art and

architecture

Postwar Pessimism • “a lost generation”: American expat writers in

Paris (Hemingway, Fitzgerald, etc.)– Disillusioned by war, focus on decline of society

• Religious uncertainty: criticized liberal Christianity

Postwar Pessimism • Attacks on Progress: destroyed idea of the

universality of human progress (war = progress??)• Belief in democracy fading:– Intellectuals: more political participation = “tyranny

of the average person”– Common people: political parties and corruption

Revolutions in Physics and Psychology• Uncertainty in science: – Einstein: theory of relativity; and others

• Psychology: – Freud linked mental disorders to psychological issues

(esp. conflict between conscious and unconscious) -> psychoanalysis

Experimentation in Art and Architecture• Lots of variety, but artists shared disdain for realism and

concern for freedom of expression: expressionism, cubism, dadaism,

surrealism, etc.– Focus on color and shape, plus influences from Asian, Pacific, and African societies

• Bauhaus: architecture influenced by design and art for urban-industrial landscape– Functional, simple, glass and steel, very urban

Intro: Global Depression• Countries attempted to rebuild their economies• Temporary success in the 1920s• 1929 -> Great Depression begins

The Great Depression• 1920s: industrial production increased (after

repairs), but problems remained• Economic problems: – Germany and Austria: relied on U.S. loans for war

reparations– France and G.B. used reparations to repay their U.S.

loans– 1928, U.S. banks withdrew capital form Europe

The Great Depression (cont.)• Other problems: – As industry improved, less raw materials were need (=

drop in prices – rubber, coal, cotton)– Agriculture: during war, non-European countries had

to produce more; once Eur. Was producing again, too much supply -> low prices• -> farmers couldn’t afford to buy manufactured

goods -> businesses cut back production -> unemployment increased

The Great Depression (cont.)• 10/24/1929: Black Friday – U.S. stock market

crashed as investors suddenly dumped stocks due to economic slowdown and overvalued stock prices– Investors called in loans, business activity slowed,

wages decreased, unemployment increased– Demand decreased, continuing the cycle

The Great Depression (cont.)• Spread around the world through 1930s, but to different

degrees• Germany and Japan suffered because they were dependent on

exports to import fuel and food• Countries that depended on raw material export, too• Banks tried to raise money by calling in loans and liquidating

investments -> collapse of Austrian and German banks -> decrease in industrial production and increase in unemployment

United

States

Great Britai

nFranc

eGermany

Industrial production –46% –23% –24% –41%

Wholesale prices –32% –33% –34% –29%

Foreign trade –70% –60% –54% –61%

Unemployment +607%

+129%

+214%

+232%

The Great Depression (cont.)• -> economic nationalism (tariffs, import quotas,

prohibitions) for self-sufficiency• Backfired, because other countries did the same -

> decrease in international trade -> decrease in production and income

Despair and Government Action• Lots of personal suffering: loss of jobs, savings,

homes, dignity, hope– -> shantytowns, breadlines, decrease in marriages,

births, divorces, increase in suicides, increase in class conflict

Economic Experimentation• Theoretically, capitalism is self-correcting• 2 gov’t responses: first, did nothing; second,

focused on balancing budgets and stopping public spending (=austerity measures)…. Both worsened the effects

• Economist Keynes’ solution: gov’t should stimulate the economy by increasing the money supply to lower interest rates and encourage investment

Economic Experimentation (cont.)• Keynes also encouraged public works projects to

provide jobs and redistribute income through tax policy

• Even though this meant budget deficits, it would lower unemployment and increase demand, leading to economic recovery

The New Deal• Keynes ideas weren’t widely adopted until after WWII• U.S. president FDR initiated similar ideas: jobs, farm

subsidies, collective bargaining, minimum wage, social security– These social and economic reforms = New Deal– Fundamental idea: gov’t should intervene to protect the social and economic welfare of the people – Depression really didn’t end until increased military spending of WWII

Intro: Challenges to the Liberal Order • Some though capitalism/democracy were dying• Russia: rule of the proletariat• Fascism as an alternative to social and democracy

in Italy and Germany

Communism in Russia• Lenin and the Bolsheviks had taken over, but there

was still opposition -> civil war (Reds vs. Whites)– Bolsheviks used Red Terror, executed czar and his family– Allies helped Whites, but Reds won because Whites

were too diverse– Results: Many died of disease and starvation and political oppression became the norm

Russia’s Economy• War communism: gov’t took over banks,

industries, private property, crops• By 1921, had to rebuild society, but strikes,

rebellions, mutinies -> temporarily restored market economy and some private enterprise

• Lenin’s New Economic Policy: state “capitalism”, electrification, technical schools, then, he died

Stalin• Stalin takes over as dictator• First Five Year Plan for rapid econ. Dev.: product

targets in all econ. spheres, esp. heavy industry (instead of consumer goods)

• Also, collectivization of agriculture: to feed workers and increase efficiency -> protests, migration, starvation

• Results: full employment, cheap housing and food (when available), little material benefit

• => command economy – maximum centralization

The Great Purge• Some wanted plural gov’t• 1934 Communist Party Congress: rift in party ->

treason trials and purge of 2/3 of delegates, military, and gov’t officials -> executions and labor camps

The Fascist Alternative• Reaction against liberal democracy and socialism• Attractive to middle class and rural population

due to fear of class conflict and to nationalists (glorifies the state)

• Common features: veneration of the state, devotion to strong leaders, emphasis on ultra-nationalism, ethnocentrism,

and militarism

Italian Fascism• Perfect conditions: disillusionment, weak political

leaders, ineffective government, economic turmoil, social discontent, fear of socialism, disappointment with outcome of war

• Benito Mussolini: 1919, established Italian Combat Veterans League – gained support and members in parliament – used Black Shirts against socialists -> chaos – 1922: marched on Rome -> King Victor Emmanuel III

appointed Mussolini prime minister

The Italian Fascist State• 1925-31: fascists consolidated power legally ->

one-party dictatorship– 1926: Mussolini seized power as Il Duce (outlawed

personal freedoms)– Dissidents were exiled or faced capital punishments– Aligned with business and landlord interests– -> corporatism: all societal interests under the control

of the state• 1939: signed alliance with Germany

German National Socialism• 1921: Hitler becomes chair of Nazi Party and tries

to overthrow the gov’t (=Weimar Republic) -> sent to prison

• Focuses on “path to legality”– Conditions were right: disillusionment, alienation, fear of socialism, humiliating treaties, economic issues– Promises greatness for Germany: racial doctrines,

attracted all classes, but esp. lower middle -> radicalization of the people

Hitler’s Germany• 1930-32: Nazi party gains seats in parliament;

President Hindenburg made Hitler Chancellor• Imposed his rule by declaring “state emergency”,

eliminated opposing parties, took away personal (including workers’) rights, highly centralized, purged judiciary and civil service, control of police, imprisoned or murdered enemies

• Focus on racial superiority and purity: eugenics

Hitler’s Germany (cont.)• Nazis started campaign to increase birthrate

among “racially valuable”– Women’s role = wife and mother – Policies: Tax credits, child allowances, marriage loans,

divorce only if wife was sterile, banned abortion and birth control, pronatalist propaganda, awards for having lots of children

– Results: birthrate didn’t actually increase much

Hitler’s Germany (cont.)• Eugenics: – 1933: compulsory sterilization for people with

hereditary disease– 1935: abortions for “hereditary ill” and “racial aliens”– 1939-45: murder of those deemed useless to society (= physically and mentally handicapped)

Hitler’s Germany (cont.)• Anti-Semitism: prejudice against Jews = key to Hitler’s

new racial order– 1933: discriminatory laws to humiliate, impoverish, and

segregate Jews– 1935: Nuremburg laws: no citizenship, prohibited

intermarriage or sex• Goal: Jewish emigration• Result: many left, esp. intellectuals, scientists, and artists, and, esp. after Kristallnacht in 1938 (= pogrom)