interwar period between world wars

7/21/2019 Interwar Period between world wars

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The Interwar Years

1919 - 1939

Saeed Memon

Madam Shaista Zafar

Area Study Centre for Europe



•Public optimism based on Wilson’s 14 Points, amon them! self"determination of nationalities# open diplomacy# eneraldisarmament# and a $eaue of %ations•&mportance of '(he %ational )uestion* + its complications•

Specter of Communism! Soiet -nion + .unary /0ela un2

Paris Peace Conference /13132

(he '0i our*

•5aid $loyd6eoreof 0ritain•7ittorio 8rlandoof &taly•6eoresClemenseauof rance•Woodro9 Wilsonof the -nited

States



Treaty of Versailles

Extremely harsh conditions

• Signicant territorial concessions

• !"ge re#arations

• Se$ere limitations on military

• %erman admission of res#onsi&ility for war

'e#arations

• ()9 &illion gold mar*s +,) . then/ ,03 . today2

• ater red"ced to 11( . gold mar*s + ,()4) . /13:32

• E5"i$alent to ,3)6 . today 2Many feel this led to the economic colla#se of the19(67s that sewed the seeds of 8ascism



Treaty of Versailles

Military ro$isions

• %erman army restricted to 166/666 men +long termcontract

• :o conscri#tion or training

• :o tan*s or hea$y artillery • :a$y limited to 1;/666 men

• ) small &attleshi#s/ ) cr"isers/ 1( destroyers/ no <-&oats

• :o air force



;ealities of the Paris PeaceConference

•

5ecisions usually made by 0i our + their'e<perts* lead to resentment amon the losers

• Con=ictin concerns of the ictors – rance need security, Enland needs reparations, -SA

needs in=uence

• eatures of the Peace (reaties />une 13132

– .arsh treatment of 6ermany! demilitari?ed#occupied# hue reparations# 9ar uilt /Clause:@12

– $eaue of %ations set up /13:2 9ith Beystates missin + 9ithout sharp teeth

– Map of Europe redra9n, creatin ne9 countriesat Austria’s + ;ussia’s e<pense



Europe, post"1313



• (he ascists !

– (ended to be eterans 9ho opposed 7ersailles settlement

– 8rani?ed into armed bands# 9ore distinctie blacB shirts

–

(ended to be anti"union, iolently breaBin up meetins• $ed by 0enito Mussolini! opportunist, self"promoter,

nationalist

• 6ained support as centrist parties unable to halt economicdo9nturn! 1313":1

Mussolini and the Blackshirts

8ascism inItaly



•

eelins of betrayal after the 1313 peacesettlement &talians felt they had beendepried of territory they had been promisedto them by the other Allies

• &talian oernment e<periencin parliamentarychaos and had no clear political proram

• ascism seemed to promise a 9ay out of theseeconomic and political troubles &taly 9asfacin in the post"World War & era

• Played on middle and upper classesD fearsabout in=ation and concerns about theirproperty rihts

ctors for M"ssolini7s 'ise to ower



•

(he State is paramount – 'ascism is for liberty the liberty of theState and of the indiidual 9ithin the State*

– '(he Beystone of ascist doctrine is theconception of the State, or its essence, of itstasBs, of its ends or ascism the State isan absolute before 9hich indiiduals androups are relatie*

– '(he ascist State has a consciousness of itso9n, a 9ill of its o9n, on this account iscalled and ethical state*

• Corporatism• %ationalism• War as the natural state of society• Promotes forein e<pansion! Ethiopia, Albania

Components of ascism



• Weimar’s built"in instability

–

Constitution! President and;eichsta 9ith Proportional;epresentation + Article 4F

– Attempted reolutions from$eft and ;iht

•

Aner at 7ersailles (reatyClauses! reparations bill and uilt

• rench under Poincare inade the;uhr 7alley, 13:@":G

– 6ermans hold eneral striBe

–

.yperin=ation• Stability comes ia the 5a9es

Plan, 6usta Stresemann, the$ocarno Pact /13:G2, + ello"0riand Pact /13:32

The Mask Falls

SeeBin Stability in Weimar 6ermany



• 0erlin a culturally decadent,

ibrant, lonely city• American money and culture

=o9in in until 13:3

• &mpact of 6reat 5epression

– Party coalitions unable to

deal 9ith crisis – -nemployment ro9s

from ::Gm /13@2 to Hm/13@:2

• President, ield Marshall Paulon .indenbur started torule by decree and to rely ona small circle of adisors

• &n early 13@@, .indenburcalls on Adolf .itler tobecome ne9 Chancellor

“Cabaret to Beauty” by Otto Dix (1922

(he 5emise of Weimar



ro&lems in %ermany• (he punishment of 6ermany oes too far

and cripples their post"9ar economy in13:@

• .yperin=ation occurs –

6erman money is 9orthless /9hen the eneralprice leel rises, each unit of currency

buys fe9er oods and serices2



The NaziParty

!itler7s rise in:a=i



• %ational Socialist 6erman WorBers’ Party /f 13132! souhtrepudiation of 7ersailles# uniIcation of Austria and 6ermany#e<clusion of >e9s from 6erman citi?enship# land reforms and

encouraement of small businesses – Party had paramilitary component! the SA under Ernst

;oehm

– 0eerhall Putsch /13:@2

• .itler had Joined in 13: + rose to leadership

(he %a?is + Adolf .itler /1FF3"134G2



•;estructure Europe to beneIt theracial hierarchy –Mein Kampf places Aryans at top!

'.e furnishes the iantic buildin"

stones and also the plans for allhuman proress*

–-nite 'ethnic* 6ermans/7olBsdeutsch2 in a '6reater

6ermany* –Lebensraum or '$iin Space*! Must

moe east9ard and push out thosealready liin there

What 9as the %a?i 7isionK



!ryans"#er$ans

“%e$i&!ryans” (%candina'ians

!nlo&%axons ) other *uro+eans

“,nter$enschen”

-er$in. /e0s #y+sies #ays

i$$ler s+oke o3

the 0ar in the east

as a “0ar o3

exter$ination4”

What 9as the %a?i 7isionK

%a?i ;acial&deas



Emergence of a %lo&alEconomy

• 6ermany’s hyperin=ation means it cannotpay 9ar reparations to the 9inners of WW& – What eLect 9ill this hae on those economiesK

• (he -S had a ery stron economy afterWW&, so they bean to lend money to6ermany, 9hich helps end 6ermany’shyperin=ation – %o9, 9ho 9ill start ettin their reparation

payments aainK

The End of ros#erity>



The End of ros#erity>19(9

• &n 8ctober 13:3, the -S StocB

MarBet crashed What does thismeanKSpeculation! When a potential buyer

of stocB buys it in e<pectation of itreachin a hiher price per share

Marin! (he buyer does not pay fullalue for the stocB# the balance /9hatis not paid for2 is borro9ed &f thestocB price oes up, this beneIts thebuyer 9ho completely o9ns the stocB

and has potential for proIt /9ithoutpayin completely for it2 .o9eer, ifthe stocB price falls, the buyer notonly suLers a loss, heNshe still mustpay the money borro9ed for thebalance (his can be ;&SO and it

9as this practice that contributed to

? f @ ld id



?a"ses of @orldwideAe#ression

– 6erman reparations

– E<pansion of production capacities anddominance of the -nited States in the lobaleconomy

• 0ritain and rance o9ed hue 9ar debts to the -S

• 0etter technoloies allo9ed factories to maBe moreproducts faster, leadin to oerproduction

– E<cessie e<pansion of credit /people spendinmoney they don’t hae2

–

StocB MarBet Crash of 13:3• 0uyin stocB on marin

• A crisis in Inance that led the ederal ;esere toraise interest rates

• Panic set in 9hen stocB prices crashed

– &nability of the $eaue of %ations to stop



• $imits to control, een after Ciil War

– H, 0olsheiBs out of 1H million population – -se of army + secret police /the CheBa, later

%75, much later 602

• %e9 Economic Policy /13:12

–

Allo9ed for some priate o9nership in smallshops

– ulaBs! peasants farmin for proIt

– ;esults! more stable food supply + industrialcapacity bacB to pre"9ar leel by 13:

• $enin dies /13:42, sets up leadership strule

– (rotsBy s Stalin

(he Soiet -nion! rom $enin to Stalin



i ; l ti hi b t &t l d 6



itler in 5o$e 6 May 1976

o9in ;elationship bet9een &taly and 6erma



.enito M"ssolini19((

?o"ntry> &taly

Ty#e of %o$ernment> ascism/dictatorship2

%oals and Ideas>

8 Centrali?ed all po9er in himself asleader /total control of social,economic, and political life2

8 Ambition to restore the lory of ;omeand create a ast &talian empire

8 &nasion of Ethiopia

8 Alliance 9ith .itler’s 6ermany

Il A"ce

B h S li



Bose#h Stalin19( ?o"ntry> Soiet -nion

Ty#e of %o$ernment> Communism/dictatorship2

%oals and Ideas>

8 Crushed opponents and tooB controlafter $enin’s death

8 .eld absolute authority# suppressedresistance

80rouht his country to 9orld po9erstatus but imposed upon it one of themost ruthless reimes in history

8 :ew Economic olicies +:E

8 Collectii?ation! e<ported sei?ed oodsand ained enouh capital to Inance amassie industriali?ation drie

8 ;apid industriali?ation! three G"yearplans

8 The %reat "rges> 60 Q secretpolice Billed thousands of army oRcersand prominent 0olsheiBs 9ho opposedStalin

8 eared the ro9in po9er of %a?i

6ermany



Cdolf !itler1933

?o"ntry> 6ermany

Ty#e of %o$ernment> %a?ism/dictatorship2

%oals and Ideas>

8 &n=ation and depression 9eaBenedthe democratic oernment in6ermany and allo9ed an opportunity

for .itler to rise to po9er8 0elieed the 9estern po9ers had no

intention of usin force to maintainthe (reaty of 7ersailles

8 Anti"Semitism! persecution of >e9s

8 E<treme nationalism! %ationalSocialism /aBa %a?ism2

8 Aression! 6erman occupation ofnearby countries

8 $ebensraum! unite all 6ermanspeaBin nations

8Anschluss! 6erman union 9ithAustria



!ide*i ToDo?o"ntry> >apan

Ty#e of %o$ernment> Militarism

%oals and Ideas>

8 (houh >apan had an emperor, themilitary had taBen control of theoernment

8 Emperor .irohito could not stand upto the po9erful enerals, but he 9as9orshipped by the people, 9ho oftenfouht in his name

8 &ndustriali?ation of >apan, lendin toa drie for ra9 materials ho9 do

you et ra9 materialsK &MPE;&A$&SM8 >apan conducted aressie

imperialistic policies in Asia! inasionof orea, Manchuria, and the rest ofChina /the $eaue of %ations didnothin2!ide*i ToDo/ Military eader of

Ba#an

!irohito/ Em#eror of Ba#an

interwar period between world wars

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