Transcript 31.1 Postwar Uncertainty

Do Now: In your notebooks…
1). What do you think of when you hear the term “Great
Depression?”
2). “The Great Depression of the 1930s was a worldwide
phenomenon composed of an infinite number of separate
but related events.”-What does this quote mean?
Chapter 29
The World Between the Wars: Depression & Authoritarian
Response
A Revolution in Science & Arts
 Einstein
-Albert Einstein radically changed the
field of physics
-Theory of relativity: Idea that space and
time are not constant
-Questioning of accepted ideas
-Resulted in more
uncertainty
 Existentialism
-No universal meaning to life; each
person creates own meaning
 Surrealism & Jazz
-Challenge established conventions
Society Challenges Convention
Women’s Roles Change
-Work during war
-Decisive in gaining right
to vote
-1920s: Women adopt
freer clothing, hairstyles
(“Flappers”)
-Represents independent
spirit of the time
-Some women seek new
careers (Medicine,
education, journalism)
A Worldwide Depression
 Postwar Europe
-Rise of new, unstable
democracies (Little experience with
democracy)
-Coalition Governments:
Temporary alliances between parties
to form parliamentary majority
-Failures pushed people to
authoritarian regimes
 Weimar Republic
-1919: Germans blamed
Weimar government for problems
-Suffered hyperinflation (Never
raised taxes, simply printed more
money)
The Debacle
 A Flawed U.S. Economy
-Uneven distribution of wealth,
overproduction, less buying
-Most families too poor to buy
goods
Factories lay off
workers
-Failure to repay loans (Farmers)
 The Stock Market Crash
-1929: Stocks purchased on
margin
-Investors began selling stocks
due to high prices
-Panic resulted and the market
crashed on October 29th
The Great Depression
 Great Depression
-Severe economic slump
 Global Impact
-Stock market crash had global repercussions
-American bankers called in loans and withdrew
financing
-Placed high tariffs on imported goods
-World trade dropped 65% and led to economic
downturn
 Results
-Banks collapse in Europe, Asian farmers and
urban workers suffer as value of exports dropped,
demand for Latin American products fell sharply
Responses to the Depression
 Europe
-Britain elects multiparty coalition (National
Government)
-Passed high protective tariffs, increased taxes,
regulated currency, lowered interest rates
-Scandinavia
-Socialist governments built on existing
programs of public works, pensions for elderly, and welfare
benefits
-Democracy remained in tact
Continued
 France
-Popular Front: Multiparty coalition
designed to win majority in parliament
-Unable to take strong measures
due to power of conservatives and
authoritarian right
-Fell in 1938
 United States
-FDR and the New Deal
-Public works projects,
welfare and relief programs, government
regulation of banks, and expansion of
federal agencies.
Do Now: Multiple Choice
1). What event historically triggered the Great Depression?
A. Collapse of the American stock market
B. World War I
C. World War II
D. The Long March
2). In the aftermath of World War I, parliamentary governments were
A. Nowhere visible in western Europe
B. Rapidly replaced by increasingly liberal governments
C. Strengthened by the success of the allies
D. Weakened by the existences of radical groups of the left and right
The Authoritarian Response
 Fascism
-Militant political movement that emphasizes extreme
nationalism and loyalty to an authoritarian leader
-Differs from Communism because of belief in a stratified
class system and focus on nationalism
Fascism in Italy
 Italy
-Fascism fueled by the bitter
disappointment of Versailles negotiations
-Rising inflation and unemployment led to
growing social unrest
 Benito Mussolini
-Vowed to revive Italian economy and
rebuild military
-Founds Fascist Party in 1919
-1922: 30,000 Fascists marched on Rome
and demanded power handed over to Mussolini
-Il Duce (Leader): Abolish democracy,
outlaw all political parties, jailed opponents,
censored media, outlawed strikes
Hitler Rises to Power
 Adolf Hitler
-1919: National Socialist German Workers
Party (Nazi Party)
-German form of Fascism was Nazism
-Private militia of storm troopers
(Brown shirts)
-Hitler chosen as der Führer (Leader)
 Nazi Ideology
-Racial ideology (supremacy of Aryan race)
outlined in Mein Kampf
-Lebensraum: Germany was overcrowded
and needed living space
Continued
 Election of 1932
-Nazis largest political party by 1932
-Hitler failed to win the presidency, but won
37% of votes in parliament
 January 1933
-Hitler made Chancellor of Germany
-Calls for new elections
-Prior to elections, fire destroyed the
Reichstag
-Hitler blamed the Communists which
resulted in more support for the Nazis
-Uses power to turn Germany into totalitarian
state
-Creates SS and Gestapo in 1934
Fascism and the Spanish Civil War
 Civil War in Spain
-1931: Monarchy replaced with republic
-1936: General Francisco Franco led a Fascist
revolt against the republic
-Three year civil war
 Hitler and Mussolini
-Sent troops, tanks, and planes to assist Franco’s
Nationalists
-Support for Republicans was minimal (Only from
Soviet Union and United States
-1939: Republican resistance collapsed and
Franco became dictator
Brazil and Argentina
 Brazil
-Getulio Vargas became president in 1929
-Centralized political power
-Created constitution in 1937 based
on fascist Italy
-Economy strictly monitored by
government and little opposition allowed
 Argentina
-1943: Populist government headed by
Juan Peron
-Improved status of workers
-Nationalized foreign owned
companies
-Pay back foreign debts until
economic problems in 1949