T H E P O L I T I C A L , E C O N O M I C A N D C U LT U R A L R E A C T I O N S O F W W I : P E R S U A S I V E LY A R G U I N G D O C U M E N T S

POST-WWI AGE OF ANXIETY

ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT DOC #1

• Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front; landmark novel about a young man’s experiences in WW I, anxiety about the future, all I know is killing; POV: Remarque is German and wrote the novel based on his own experiences, undergoing the chaotic struggle for political identity and power in post-war Germany

DOCUMENT #2 THE CULTURE OF TIME AND SPACE: STEPHEN KERN

• History about changes in thought and attitude based on cultural and scientific discoveries in the late 19th, early 20th centuries. These discoveries unhinge traditional models of thought – nothing is certain; POV – historian, using changes in technology to prove point – may be biased towards his own thesis

SENATOR HENRY CABOT LODGE SR., (R – MA); 12 AUG 1919 DOC #3

 

• Republican U.S. Senator arguing against the Treaty of Versailles and specifically the provisions calling for the League of Nations; POV – Republicans were vehemently against Wilson’s League; American nationalist and isolationist

DOC #4 TREATY OF VERSAILLES

• Treaty of Versailles – ignoring Wilson’s ideas outlined in his Fourteen Points, the British and French hammered home a treaty which laid the entire blame of the war on Germany and extracted from her an enormous reparations payment. This was, with the connivance of the Weimar Republic gov’t, to bankrupt Germany, causing massive inflation and unemployment. This, in turn, would lead to conditions favoring the rise of the Nationalist Socialist party – Hitler’s Nazi party. POV: French – payback for Franco-Prussian humiliation and for the war, which was fought mostly on French soil; British – to keep Germany in check

DOC#5 FROM PUNCH MAGAZINE 1920Political cartoon lampooning the effectiveness of the League of Nations. Without the Americans, the League had no effective military or political strength. While it accomplished much against slavery and disease, it did nothing to prevent international strife in the name of nationalism or imperialism. POV – Punch is a satirical British magazine poking fun at any and all absurdities in both international and national affairs. Note – the rabbit is using the snake’s “technique”; also that the rabbit is “dressed up” for dinner.

DOCUMENT 6: THE WASTELAND BY T.S.ELLIOT

• T.S. Eliot, a British poet – one of a new breed of artistic figures breaking new ground. His use of imagery and metaphor and historical references earns him a Nobel prize in literature. Perhaps Eliot’s most famous work, this controversial poem details the journey of the human soul searching for redemption. The Waste Land is known not only for its probing subject matter but also its radical departure from traditional poetic style and structure incorporating historical and literary allusions as well as unconventional use of language. POV – Eliot was born American, but became a British citizen. He lived in London during the war and witnessed both its savagery and its aftermath.

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DOCUMENT #7 TREATY BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, THE BRITISH EMPIRE, FRANCE, ITALY, AND JAPAN, SIGNED AT

WASHINGTON, FEBRUARY 6, 1922

• Washington Naval Treaty – signed by the major powers, it was an attempt to limit the size of national navies. It was a disappointing affair for the Japanese who were deemed lesser powers. POV – attempt at arms reduction in a spirit of peace; Japan – did not like the treaty and openly abrogated it later. Note that neither Germany nor Russia is a signatory

DOCUMENT #8JAMES N. ROSENBERG, OCT 29 DIES IRAE ("DAYS OF WRATH"), 1929

 Sketch by Rosenberg, a bankruptcy lawyer in Manhattan who witnessed the event, depicting the Wall Street crash of 1929. It is done in a modernist, expressionist mode; note the crows which look like warplanes, the “earthquake” depiction of the event, the jumping bodies, panic and an almost deathlike crowd (some look like The Scream); lightning strikes, broken church – no faith?; The Great Depression will spread across the globe causing widespread poverty, unemployment and discontent; POV – artist, exaggerating the event to make it look worse than it was? Note the title – Days of Wrath – indication of God-like anger at wealth – maybe a socialist? 

DOCUMENT #9 THE DOCTRINE OF FASCISM BY BENITO MUSSOLINI

• Mussolini – written 10 years after assuming power. Apologia for fascism. Note the extreme nationalist viewpoint. Mussolini – who got his ideas from many sources to include early communists and socialists in Germany and from Lenin in Russia created the first “fascist” state. Although admired at first, his regime’s brutality and utter contempt for individual rights quickly alarmed the more democratic French, British and Americans. POV – secure in his power, Mussolini is using his own media platform to justify his actions

DOCUMENT #10: A JAPANESE BOOKLET FOR CHILDRENJapanese booklet for children

produced in 1938. Note that this is before Japanese imperialistic designs were clearly evident in places other than China. Careful examination shows native peoples welcoming the Japanese as if freeing them from Western control – and the destruction of British and American forces. Chamberlain and Roosevelt look sadly and confusedly from the corners. POV - Propaganda, Japanese indoctrination of children - maybe also teachers, parents, and perhaps other people in the region; obvious nationalism and imperialistic designs

DOCUMENT # 11 PABLO PICASSO GUERNICA 1937

Painting by Picasso – Guernica; his subject is the village of Guernica which was used by German and Italian warplanes to test new bombs and tactics. About 1600 civilians died in the unprovoked attack. POV – Picasso was disgusted with the Spanish Civil War and especially Franco. Anti-war

DOCUMENT 12:AGREEMENT CONCLUDED AT MUNICH, SEPTEMBER 29, 1938, BETWEEN GERMANY, GREAT BRITAIN, FRANCE AND ITALY

• Munich Agreement – British and French appease Hitler by giving him the Sudetenland. Hailed as peacemakers, the British and French ministers are soon assailed (criticized) as Hitler abrogates (breaks) the agreement and invades all of Czechoslovakia. POV – Appeasement; desperate to avoid war; note that Czechoslovakia is not a signatory

BREAKDOWN

• Docs 1, 3, 6, 7 ,11 – anti war• Docs 1, 2, 6, 8, 11 – pathos, anxiety of the age• Docs 3, 4, 5, 9, 10, 12 – all indications of war or

inability to politically control war• Docs 3, 4, 5, 7, 12 – international agreements –

all of which fail• Docs 3, 4, 5 – all dealing with Treaty of Versailles•  

ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTS

• Russian - nothing about communism or Lenin / Stalin• China – no mention of China except in Doc 10• Woman – all authors are men, woman artist, poet,

nationalist, etc.• Key figure – Churchill, Roosevelt, etc. – definite

views on what was going on• Nothing from countries denied nation-state status

– India, Vietnam, etc.• Farmer or ordinary worker during Depression

THESIS

• World War One had tremendous political, economic, and cultural impacts on the entire world. There were, however, many other events between 1919 and 1939 that led to the anxiety of the time and that directly or indirectly contributed to the inevitability of World War Two. These included the failure of the Treaty of Versailles to provide for an effective peace, the Great Depression, and the failure of international diplomacy outside of the League of Nations to impede designs on extreme nationalism or imperialism. The art of this time poignantly reflects these failures and the pathos of the interwar years. An additional document that could help answer this question would be one from leaders in the China reflecting on their attempts to build a viable nation-state in China while holding off Japanese aggression.