INTERWAR PERIOD

• INTRODUCTION

This period of history was marked by turmoil, as Europe struggled to recover from
the devastation of the First World War. In United States the first half of this period
was one of considerable prosperity (the Roaring Twenties), but this changed
dramatically with the onset of the Great Depression in 1929.

The convulsion, brought on by the worldwide depression, resulted in the rise of

Fascism in Italy and Nazism in Germany. It was at this time that the Weimar
Republic in Germany gave way to episodes of political and economic turmoil.

In Asia, Japan became an ever more assertive power, especially with regards to
China.

The interwar period was marked by a radical change in the international order, away
from the balance of power that had dominated pre-World War I Europe. One main
institution meant to bring stability was the League of Nations (Sociedad de
Naciones), created after the First World War with the intention of maintaining world
security and peace and encouraging economic growth between member countries.
The League was undermined by the bellicosity of Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan, and
Mussolini's Italy, and by the non-participation of the United States, leading many to
question its effectiveness and legitimacy.

A series of international crises strained the League to its limits, the earliest being
the invasion of Manchuria by Japan, and the crisis of 1935/36 in which Italy invaded
Abyssinia, one of the only free African nations at that time. The League tried to
enforce economic sanctions upon Italy, but to no avail. The incident highlighted
French and British weakness, exemplified by their reluctance to alienate Italy and
lose her as their ally. The limited actions taken by the Western powers pushed
Mussolini's Italy towards alliance with Hitler's Germany anyway. The Abyssinian war
showed Hitler how weak the League was and encouraged his participation in the
Spanish Civil War. He also remilitarized the Rhineland in flagrant disregard of the
Treaty of Versailles. This was the first in a series of provocative acts culminating in
the invasion of Poland in September 1939 and the beginning of the Second World
War.
• THE ROARING TWENTIES AND THE GREAT DEPRESSION:

After the WWI, the economy boomed and America began the age of
consumerism: many Americans bought cars, radios, fridges etc. Major cities such
as New York and Chicago grew rapidly and the building of skyscrapers like the
Empire State Building, which was completed in 1931, seemed to show the self-
confidence of American society. The emphasis on having fun and spending money
has led to the 1920s being called the Roaring Twenties.
However, for many Americans, the 1920s was a decade of poverty. Generally,
groups such as African-Americans, women and farmers did not enjoy the
prosperity of the Roaring Twenties. More than 60 per cent of Americans lived just
above the poverty line. Life was particularly hard for African-Americans in the
Deep South states where the majority of black people endured a combination of
poverty and racism.
When the Wall Street stock market crashed in October 29, 1929 (Black Tuesday),
the world economy was plunged into the Great Depression. By the winter of
1932, America was in the depths of the greatest economic depression in its
history. The number of unemployed people reached upwards of 13 million and
many people lived in primitive conditions close to famine.

Causes of the Great Depression:

• There were too many goods being made and not enough people to buy them.
• Farmers had produced too much food in the 1920s, so prices for their produce
became steadily lower.
• Too much speculation on the stock market - the middle class had a lot to lose
and they had spent a lot on what amounted to pieces of paper.
• The Wall Street Crash of October 1929 was a massive psychological blow.
• America had lent huge sums of money to European countries. When the stock
market collapsed, they suddenly recalled those loans. This had a devastating
impact on the European economy.
• The collapse of European banks caused a general world financial crisis.

Effects of the Depression:

• Unemployment: 13 million people were out of work.

• Industrial production dropped by 45 per cent.
• House-building fell by 80 per cent.
• The entire American banking system collapse and 5000 banks went out of
business.
• Starvation lack of nutrition.
• ROOSVELT’S NEW DEAL

In 1932 the Democratic leader, Franklin D Roosevelt, became the new president of
the United States.
While Republican President Herbert Hoover was personally blamed for failing to
deal with the consequences of the Wall Street Crash of October 1929, the
Democratic candidate, Franklin D Roosevelt promised, "A new deal for the American
people."

Following a landslide election victory, Roosevelt faced the enormous task of

restoring confidence in a shattered economy.
As he entered the White House, the scale of the problem he faced was immense. By
the winter of 1932-1933, the country seemed to have reached rock bottom.
Roosevelt's personal solution, the New Deal was the largest, most expensive
government programme in the history of the American presidency. However,
historians do not necessarily agree as to whether the New Deal was a success or a
failure.

Successes:

• Roosevelt restored confidence in the American people.

• Millions of people were given work in government projects.
• A lot of valuable work was carried out by the in building schools, roads and
hospitals.
• Roosevelt rescued the banking system from collapse and saved capitalism.

Failures:

• There was a new recession - the 'Roosevelt recession' in 1937.

• Unemployment was not conquered by the New Deal.
• Many of the jobs created by the New Deal were only temporary.
• The New Deal was the most costly government programme in American History
and some of its projects could be accused of wasting money.
• MUSSOLINI

Benito Mussolini (1883 – 1945) was an Italian politician who led the National
Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of
Fascism.

Mussolini became the 40th Prime Minister of Italy in 1922 and began using the
title Il Duce by 1925. The King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy gave him supreme
control over the military of Italy. Mussolini remained in power until he was
replaced in 1943; for a short period after this until his death, he was the leader
of the Italian Social Republic.

Mussolini was among the founders of Italian Fascism, which included elements
of nationalism, corporatism, national syndicalism, expansionism, social progress
and anti-communism in combination with censorship of subversives and state
propaganda. In the years following his creation of the Fascist ideology, Mussolini
influenced, or achieved admiration from, a wide variety of political figures.

Among the domestic achievements of Mussolini from the years 1924–1939

were: his public works programmes, the improvement of job opportunities, and
public transport. Mussolini also solved the Roman Question by concluding the
Lateran Treaty between the Kingdom of Italy and the Holy See. He is also
credited with securing economic success in Italy's colonies and commercial
dependencies.

On 10 June 1940, Mussolini led Italy into World War II on the side of the Axis
despite initially siding with France against Germany in the early 1930s. Believing
the war would be short-lived, he declared war on France and Great Britain in
order to gain territories in the peace treaty that would soon follow.

Three years later, Mussolini was deposed at the Grand Council of Fascism,
prompted by the Allied invasion of Italy. Soon after his incarceration began,
Mussolini was rescued from prison in the daring Gran Sasso raid by German
special forces. Following his rescue, Mussolini headed the Italian Social Republic
in parts of Italy that were not occupied by Allied forces. In late April 1945, with
total defeat looming, Mussolini attempted to escape to Switzerland, only to be
quickly captured and summarily executed near Lake Como by Italian partisans.
His body was then taken to Milan where it was hung upside down at a petrol
station for public viewing and to provide confirmation of his demise
• JAPAN UNTIL WORLD WAR II

Until the mid 18th century, Japan was still a country with a feudal system. However,
after 1854, Japan undergoes a radical transformation. The Meiji Restoration
transformed the Empire of Japan into an industrialized world power that embarked
on a number of military conflicts to expand the nation's sphere of influence. After
victories in the First Chinese-Japanese War (1894–1895) and the Russo-Japanese
War (1904–1905), Japan gained control of Taiwan and Korea.
The early 20th century was a period of expansionism and militarization: Japan
continued its expansionist policy by occupying Manchuria in 1931. As a result of
international condemnation for this occupation, Japan resigned from the League of
Nations two years later. In 1936, Japan signed the Anti-Comintern Pact with Nazi
Germany, and in 1940 signed the Tripartite Pact (Italy, Germany and Japan).

In 1937, the Empire of Japan invaded other parts of China, precipitating a new war
against China. In 1940, the Empire invaded French Indochina, after which the United
States placed an oil embargo on Japan. On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked the
United States naval base in Pearl Harbor and declared war on the United States. This
act brought the United States into World War II.
• GERMANY

In 1933, Hitler became democratically leader of Germany. Why the German people
entrusted with government to Hitler?

• Germany had lost the WWI and had to sign the Treaty of Versailles. The Germans
felt humiliated and wanted revenge.
• The political weaknesses of the Weimar Republic. After the World War I,
Germany becomes a republic: Weimar Republic. Germany's period of liberal
democracy lapsed in the early 1930s, leading to the ascent of Adolf Hitler in 1933
and his Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, (National Socialist German
Workers' Party, abbreviated NSDAP, commonly known as the Nazi Party). Although
the constitution of 1919 was never officially repealed, the legal measures taken by
the Nazi government, meant that the government could legislate contrary to the
constitution. The constitution became irrelevant; thus, 1933 is usually seen as the
end of the Weimar Republic and the beginning of Hitler's Third Reich.
• The economic problems of the Weimar Republic worried most Germans:
reparations leading to the French invasion of the Ruhr (1923); hyper-inflation
(1923); high unemployment during the Great Depression (after 1929)
• Political opposition to the Weimar Republic and the idea of democratic
government. Opposition came from right-wing nationalists and left-wing Marxists.
• The effective propaganda of the right and left-wing opponents of democratic
government.
• The appeal and growing popularity of Hitler and the Nazis from 1929 to 1932.
Hitler was a popular and effective public speaker, at a time when politicians had to
speak at public meetings on a regular basis. He told many Germans wanted they
wanted to hear e.g. that the Germans were the 'master race'; that the German
government should smash the terms of the Treaty of Versailles; that Germany
needed 'living space' or lebensraum in eastern Europe.
• Hitler's storm troopers or S.A. were effective in attacking the Nazis' political
opponents.
• The Nazis received financial support from some wealthy German businessmen.
This money was used to pay for very expensive election campaigns in the years
leading up to 1932.
The Nazi ideology:

• Lebensraum: the need for 'living space' for the German nation to expand.
• A strong Germany: the Treaty of Versailles should be abolished and all German-
speaking people united in one country.
• Führer: the idea that there should be a single leader with complete power rather than
a democracy.
• Social Darwinism: the idea that the Aryan race was superior and Jews were
'subhuman'.
• Autarky: the idea that Germany should be economically self-sufficient.
• Germany was in danger: from Communists and Jews, who had to be destroyed.

The Nazi Party had policies that were:

• Socialist: farmers should be given their land; pensions should improve; and public
industries such as electricity and water should be owned by the state.
• Nationalist: all German-speaking people should be united in one country and there
should be special laws for foreigners.
• Racist: Jews should not be German citizens and immigration should be stopped.
• Fascist: a strong central government and control of the newspapers.

The Road to War:

During the 1930s, Britain (Chamberlain) and France (Daladier) followed a policy of
appeasement. They gave Hitler what he wanted in order to keep the peace.
In March 1938, Germany annexed Austria (Anschluss), again provoking little response
from other European powers. Encouraged, Hitler began pressing German claims on the
Sudetenland, an area of Czechoslovakia with a predominantly ethnic German population;
and soon France and Britain conceded this territory to him, against the wishes of the
Czechoslovak government, in exchange for a promise of no further territorial demands
(Munich Agreement, September 1938) In March 1939, Germany invaded the remainder
of Czechoslovakia.
Alarmed, France and Britain guaranteed their support for Polish independence.
In August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union signed the Treaty of non-aggression. The
parties gave each other rights, (western Poland and Lithuania for Germany, and eastern
Poland, Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Bessarabia for the USSR).
On 1 September 1939, Germany invaded Poland. On 3 September 1939 after Germany
failed to withdraw in accordance with French and British demands, France and Britain
declared war on Germany.
Date Event What happened
1933 League of Nations Hitler leaves the League of Nations.

Hitler tries to take power in Austria. Austrian Nazis

1934 Austria murder the chancellor, Dolfuss. Italy moves its army to
the border and Hitler backs down.

Hitler increases the size of the German army to half a

1935 Rearmament
million members. Britain, France and Italy do nothing.
German troops re-occupy the Rhineland. They are given
1936 Rhineland orders to retreat if France offers any resistance. France
does nothing.

Hitler tests his armed forces when German bombers,

which are helping the Fascists in the Spanish Civil War,
1936 Guernica
bomb the Spanish town of Guernica. Civilians in Britain
and France are frightened.

1937 Anti-Comintern Pact Alliance of Germany, Japan and Italy against communism

Hitler occupies Austria. First, Hitler encourages the

Austrian Nazis to demand a union with Germany. Then he
invades when the Austrian chancellor announces a vote
1938 Anschluss
to see what Austrians want. After the German invasion,
99 per cent of Austrians vote "Ja". Britain and France do
nothing.

Hitler bullies France and Britain into giving him the

1938 Sudetenland
Sudetenland.
1939 Czechoslovakia Hitler invades Czechoslovakia and takes control.
Hitler invades Poland and provokes the Second World
1939 Poland
War, on 1 September 1939