the interwar period 1920-1939 economic disaster rise of dictators tensions lead to conflict
TRANSCRIPT
The Interwar Period
1920-1939
Economic Disaster Rise of DictatorsTensions lead to
Conflict
The Economics Crisis
• There was no reserve of capital• Foreign investment
disappeared• Europe was in debt –
weakened currency• German reparations were not
the solution to the problem
Europe was No Longer the World’s Banker
The Economic Crisis - 2
• Europe was replaced by The U.S. and and Japan in heavy industry
• European share of the world market decreased
• Europe was not prepared for the new consumer industries: film, radio, and automobiles
Industrial Decay
The Economic Crisis - 3
• New countries established tariffs• Treaty shift in boundaries shifted
both resources and talented populations
• Labor unrest – increase in strikes• Women demanded equal
opportunity• Reparations destroyed German
ability to rebuild
The New Map
John MaynardKeynes
• British economist• Wrote – The Economic
Consequences of Peace
• Linked European economic growth to German economic growth
• Thought reparations were a bad idea
• Attacked Classic Economics1883-1946
Classic Economics vs. Keynes
• Classic economics argues that a economic crisis is something that the market must sort out without government interference
• Keynes argued that an economic crisis could be resolved by government decisions
• Governments should increase spending (‘Prime the Pump’) even if it had to borrow the money
• Governments should focus on short term solutions to problems
Dawes Plan• Dawes was Vice-President• In 1924 he agreed to a
U.S. loan of 800 million marks backed by gold
• Goal was to assist German economic recovery
• Germans used the money to make reparations payments
• British and French used reparations payments to pay debt to U.S.
• Replaced by Young Plan in 1929
Coolidge and Charles Dawes
The Depression and Government
• Depression impacted Democratic more than Totalitarian governments
• Unemployment• Social Despair … thus• Socialism and Fascism grew in
popularity – strong leaders looked attractive
Change - Social Structure
• Middle Class developed (White Collar workers)
• Right-Wing politics emerged• Paramilitary groups formed• Victorian morality disappeared.
‘Roaring 20s’• Speed (communications and
transportation dictated change)
Edward VIII
1936
The Lost Generation• Coined by Gertrude Stein referring to
Americans living in Paris in 1920’s• But, applied to all those disillusioned by
the slaughter of WWI• Ended any vestige of Victorian morality• New art (Modernism), music (Jazz), and
literature (Kafka, Joyce, Pound)
Communism- Growth
• Workers were disillusioned with economic and social conditions
• Communist Parties developed in virtually every nation
• Political leaders assumed Russian subversion
The Treaty System
Flawed Diplomacy
Conference of Genoa
• 1922 in Genoa, Italy• 34 nations• Attempt to reconstruct European
commerce• First Soviet attempt at European
diplomacy – key issue - Czarist debt• Other nations were not prepared to
grant Russia economic concessions
Rapollo Treaty
Rapollo Treaty Specifics
• 1922• Between Germany and Russia in
Rapallo, Italy• Germany recognized Russia• Cancelled mutual debts• Created trade agreements• Granted German army right to
train and test weapons in Russia
Locarno Pact
The Locarno Pact• 1925• Germans asked for agreement to
protect borders of Rhineland. A Demilitarized region.
• Offered hope for long-term peace. Nations agreed to allow protection of common borders.
• Mutual defense agreements signed• 1936-Hitler remilitarized the
Rhineland
The Kellogg-Briand Pact
Aristide BriandFrench Foreign
Minister
Frank KelloggU.S. Sec. Of
State
The Kellogg-Briand Pact• 1927, Briand suggested a treaty
between France and U.S. outlawing war. Kellogg extended it to a treaty with all nations
• Signed in Paris between U.S. and others renouncing war as an element of policy. 62 nations ultimately signed.
• Never made contribution to peace• Did establish international
standard of ‘crime against peace’.
Britain
Trouble in the Commonwealth
AndTrouble with the Economy
Between the Wars• Debtor nation with antiquated industrial
machinery• High inflation and unemployment• Problems controlling Commonwealth
nations• Internal political crisis; Labour and
Conservative Parties; Socialists; and Communists
• Changes in social standards – The Jazz Age
Ramsey MacDonal
d
• First Labour Prime Minister
• Served from 1924 –1935 between Stanley Baldwin
• Opposed WWI• Established trade
with Soviets• Followed Keynes -
increased spending to improve economy1866-1937
Stanley Baldwin
• Conservative Leader• Served 3 terms as P.M.• Strikes plagued first
administration• Expelled from party for
creating coalition with MacDonald’s Labour Party
• Served as de facto P.M. during MacDonald senility
• Foreign Policy crisis later – forced resignation 1867-1947
England and The Irish Republic
1916 – Beginning of the New
Troubles
Home Rule – Too Little, Too Late
• Gladstone failed to gain approval in 1893 (House of Lords rejected it), but was approved in 1914 (House of Lords lost power)
• Conflict grows between Orange (Unionists) and Catholics (supporters of Home Rule)
• WWI saw suspension of Home Rule – Irish separatists argue that Home Rule has no real meaning. Only solution is Irish separation from England.
North – South Conflict• Belfast v. Dublin, Protestants v.
Catholics, and Orange v. Green.• The Partition Act split six counties in
the North (52 MPs), 26 counties in the South (128 MPs). MPs set by the Government of Ireland Act in 1920.
• Divided national economy.• Open warfare by 1921.
Irish Political Terms• Sinn Fein – political arm of the Irish
Independence Movement• IRA – Military arm of Sinn Fein• Black and Tans – British forces in
Ireland (included Irish citizens)• Irish Free State and Erie – titles for
the new nation of Ireland• N. Ireland (Ulster) and Belfast – still
a part of British commonwealth
The 1916 Easter Uprising
Easter Uprising Specifics
• By Irish nationalists in Dublin in 1916• Goal of establishing an Irish Republic• British suspended Home Rule• Irish took control of the post office,
British responded and succeeded in ending the revolt
• 15 were executed• The first step toward independence
Eamon de Valera • Born in Manhattan, but
raised in Ireland• Math professor• Early leader of
revolution• Arrested, sentenced to
death• Sentence commuted,
exiled, returned and elected first President
• Kept Ireland neutral in WWII
1882-1975
Served until
1973
Michael Collins
• Leader of revolution – organized intelligence
• Officer of Sinn Fein• Leader of Easter
Rebellion• Ordered by de Valera to
negotiate with British to form the new Irish Republic
• Killed in 1922 – rumored to have died at hand of those angry with the ‘new’ Ireland
1890-1922
Irish Move to Freedom
• 1919-1922, Irish Revolution• 1922-1937, Irish Free State, a
provisional government with some political rights
• 1937-1949, Erie, constitution that created a sovereign state. No reference to Great Britain
• 1949 – Republic of Ireland, free from British, member of the U.N.
Irish Republican Army• Officially formed in 1969, but
claims a history over a century old
• Radical terrorist group as the armed wing of Sinn Fein
• Dedicated to removing British from Northern Ireland
• Efforts to end violence through negotiation began in 1994
The Middle East
The Greek-Turkish Crisis
Founder – Turkish Republic
1881-1938
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk
Hero of Gallipoli
Turkey Post-War• Trouble with Greeks – encouraged by
Britain to invade in 1922 (thus Greek crisis)• Moves for independent rule• Ataturk elected President in 1923• Non-Muslims migrate out/Muslims migrate in• Progressive reforms: elimination of
polygamy, women’s rights (including right to vote), Latin alphabet, and European dress standards (no fez and veil)
T.E. Lawrenc
e
• Archaeologist who became an expert on Arab nationalism
• Served in British army • Argued for the creation of
an Arab free state at the Versailles Conference
• Unsuccessful – lands went to France and England
• Wrote about his experience• Joined Royal Air Force• Died in motorcycle
accident1888-1935
Zionism• Political movement
holding that the Jewish people are a nation entitled to a homeland.
• Prompted by Dreyfus Affair and Pogroms in Russia
• Formally created in 1897 by Herzl, a lawyer and journalist
• Since 1948 movement has focused on defense of Israel
1860-1904
TheodoreHerzl
Palestine
Balfour Declaration
The Creation of Israel• British supported concept in 1917• Immigration began in 1920’s• Immigration restricted in 1939 and
renewed following WWII• United Nations established Mandate
of Palestine, 1947 – set Jewish and Arab states
• Jerusalem to be an international city• Israel proclaimed a nation - May
1948
France
France between Wars• 600,000 widows and 750,000
orphans• Terrible labor shortage• Strikes and inflation• Communist concerns• Quick changes in leadership, until
some stability under Poincare• Military manpower shortages and
poor tactical decisions
RaymondPoincare
• Lawyer, government minister beginning in 1883
• Elected President of France in 1913
• Supporter of Guilt Clause
• Served two terms as Prime Minister
• Considered responsible for the restoration of French economy1860-1934
Maginot Line
Charles de Gaulle
• Military academy graduate• Wounded/POW in WWI• Fought against Red Army• Criticized Maginot Line,
supported tank warfare• Fled to England during
WWII German occupation• Recognized as leader of
“Free French”, and led French forces
• Elected French President
1890-1970
Germany
The Weimar Republic
Gustav Stresemann
• Successful businessman• Elected to Reichstag in
1907• Supported German
policy during WWI• Organized Post-War
Government at Weimar• In 1924 his successor
named him Minister of Foreign Affairs
• Negotiated the Dawes Plan
1878-1929
Paulvon
Hindenburg
• Served in Franco-Prussian War
• Retired in 1911• Recalled during WWI• Won decisive Russian
victories, Chief-of-Staff• Served two terms as
President of Germany• Figure-Head• Did not oppose Hitler
1847-1934
The Weimer Republic 1919-1923, Part 1
• Named for city where post WWI constitution was produced
• Under pressure from Left and Right• Numerous ‘Putschs’ – rebellions• General strikes and Communism• Defaulted on reparations(1923) –
Ruhr was occupied by French and Belgians
Hyperinflation
• Strikes (workers had not been paid) added to German woes in Ruhr
• German government simply printed money
• Exchange rate moved from 4.2 marks per dollar to 4,500,000,000,000 per dollar
• Reparations payments resumed, and Ruhr was troops were removed
• But, long term economic consequences
The Weimar Republic - 2
1923-1929, Better Times• The era of Gustav Stresemann
• Fewer political crisis’ and appearance of economic recovery
• Improved relations with other nations
• Largely illusionary – increased overseas loans, decreased trade, and greater debt
• Illusion ends with Stresemann’s death in 1929
Rise of Dictators