THE INTERWAR YEARS
INTERWAR PERIOD
WWI
WWII
1945
1939
1919
1914
POST-WAR (1919-1924)
THE RISE OF TOTALITARIANISM
YEARS OF RECOVERY (1924 - 1929)
CRASH 1929
First half of 20th century: 31 years -> 11 of war 100 million victims
1. THE POST-WAR (1919-1924)
The post-war period was particularly unstable for Europe. The shadow of the First World War remained omnipresent until 1924. There were political and economic problems.
- Europe's decline: after the war, Europe was desolated and took a back seat. Instead, USA become the world's leading economic power.
- Dissatisfaction with the Peace of Paris and specially the Treaty of Versailles (Germany), which did not serve to create a framework of stability.
- Ineffectiveness of the League of Nations in resolving the new international tensions of the inter-war period.
POST-WAR PROBLEMS
- Destruction from war: when the conflict ended, economies, especially those of European countries, faced serious problems.
- High unemployment.
- Debts: European countries ran up massive debts, especially with the United States.
- Inflation: the depreciation of the value of currencies and rising prices. This was specially serve in Germany (hyperinflation).
2. YEARS OF RECOVERY (1924 - 1929)
In economy
In politics
Dawes Plan
Treaties of Locarno
“Roaring twenties” (*Felices años veinte)
2.1. Plan Dawes plan (1924)
To stabilise European currencies, the Dawes Plan, created by Charles Dawes, was accepted in 1924, with the aim of helping the German economy, establishing a kind of money circuit in which the US would be the final recipient.
Charles Dawes Vice-president of USA
Problem
The world economy has become too dependent on the US. A crisis in the United States could quickly turn into a global crisis...
2.2. TREATIES OF LOCARNO (1925)
From the 1920s onwards, a new generation of more conciliatory politicians arrived. In 1925, these politicians signed seven treaties aimed at strengthening peace in Europe after the First World War in the Swiss town of Locarno, that is why they are called the Treaties of Locarno. As a result form these treaties:
- Germany was admitted to the League of Nations (1926).
- Germany accepted its western borders as approved at Versailles.
- Sixty-five countries signed a pact renouncing war as a means of resolving international conflicts.
2.3. The “Roaring Twenties”
The world economy experienced a period of expansion in the second half of the 1920s. In reality, however, this "era of prosperity" was limited to the United States. Between 1922 and 1929, the United States saw spectacular growth in its industrial production and exports, and its hegemonic role was strengthened.
Charleston dance
3. THE CRASH OF 1929
3.1. THE CRASH OF 1929
In October 1929, the New York Stock Exchange crashed, causing investment and economic activity in the United States to collapse. The crisis soon took on a global dimension as many countries were dependent on the US.
How did it all start? It was the so-called Roaring Twenties, a time of economic prosperity and apparent stability. New York had become the most important city and Wall Street a world reference for financial centres.
Wall Street
Shortly before, the US had entered the First World War as a major food producer and exporter. Farmers, seeing their profits grow, turned to banks for loans to further improve the productivity of their land.
Very high demand for products
Credits
Benefits
But the war was over, and with it, the demand for products and the crisis in the countryside began: the mismatch between US supply and European demand caused the value and price of American products to fall. And the farmers, seeing that they could not afford their loans, left the countryside for the city.
Meanwhile, the stock market seemed oblivious to everything. Shares were bought and sold at low prices, only to be sold at higher prices. This is called speculation (i.e. investing in the stock market just to make money).
Investors buying and selling shares
And those who could not buy shares borrowed money from the Bank to be able to do so, which got them massively into debt. But these credits were lent with the guarantee of the shares, which meant that the economy was no longer in touch with the reality of the country.
And so we come to "Black Thursday"... Since March 1929 there was a concern that the stock market shares were overvalued (that their price was above their real price).
Large investors
Wall Street
Smal investors
Shares
On Thursday, 24 October 1929, there was a sharp decline in stocks on the New York Stock Exchange. This caused panic and those who had bought the shares, tried to get rid of them as soon as possible to avoid losing more money and to be able to pay off their debts. Thus, on 24 October 1929, known as "Black Thursday", 13 million shares were offered for sale with almost zero demand.
The banks invested 30 million dollars to try to stop the stock market from falling. But the crisis had already begun.
It was rumoured that important business figures had committed suicide after losing everything.
On that day, the police had to clear the stock exchange due to the panic-induced riots.
La muchedumbre en la calle se concentró frente a la Bolsa de Valores de Nueva York, en octubre de 1929.
Multitud reunida en Wall Street después del crack de 1929.
That black Thursday was followed by a "Black Tuesday" (on the 29th of the same month) when another 16.5 million shares were put on sale. From then on, the stock market would fall until November, when it reached its worst figures, known as the "Crash of '29".
The United States was the world's leading economic power and financial engine, so the crisis soon spread to other countries with the same or more serious consequences.
3.2. THE GREAT DEPRESSION
The stock market crash triggered a chain reaction that collapsed the US economy and led to a long crisis known as the Great Depression.
Banks failed because their costumers withdrew all their money and many loans were not repaid. Some 9,000 banks failed and the savings of millions of citizens vanished.
Many companies closed and unemployment rose sharply. The number of unemployed reached 12 million in 1932. Millions of its citizens became homeless and struggled to survive: malnutrition, overcrowding in shantytowns, etc.
The crisis in the countryside was even worse: the misery in rural areas was even greater than in the cities because of the collapse in prices.
3.3. THE SOLUTIONS
The collapse of the system generated a debate on the revision of economic liberalism. It was the British economist Keynes who proposed greater state intervention in the economy, his main proposals were:.
- Give access to money (credits).
- Increase public investment in order to create jobs.
- Raising wages and improved working conditions.
Main goal: get people consuming again and stimulate the economy
In United States, President Franklin D. Roosevelt launched a program, called the New Deal in 1933 following Keynes´ ideas. These changes did not fully restore production to 1929 levels or eliminate unemployment, but they mitigated the most serious effects of the crisis and laid the foundations for the welfare state (*estado del bienestar).
F.D. Roosevelt
4. THE RISE OF TOTALITARIANISM
4.1. The crisis of democracies
By 1920, post-war Europe consisted of 28 states, all but two of which (Russia and Hungary) were democracies or parliamentary systems.
However, in 1938, there were out of the 28 states, seventeen were totalitarian regimes!
What happened to cause democracies to fail?
Large sections of the population believed that democracies were unable to face the new challenges.
What do I do?
On the one hand, there was the offer of the fascist movements (*movimientos fascistas) which advocated the need for strong states to solve problems. The middle classes joined this option.
On the other hand, there was the offer of the communists (*comunistas) who wanted to extend the Soviet revolution to the rest of the countries. This option was taken up by the lower classes.
Between 1922 and 1939,...
- 1920 Hungary: Horthy
- 1922 Italy: Mussolini
- 1922 USSR: Stalin
- 1923 Spain: Primo de Rivera
- 1926 Portugal, Poland and Lithuania
- 1929 Yugoslavia: Alexander I
- 1932 Hungary: Gömbos
- 1933 Germany: Hitler
- 1933 Portugal: Salazar
- 1933 Austria
- 1934 Bulgaria, Estonia and Latvia
- 1938 Romania: Carol II
- 1939 Spain: Franco
In 1939, most political systems in Europe were totalitarian.
4.2. what did all have in common?
All totalitarianisms shared the same ideas:
- Single party with one strong leader.
- Anti-communism and anti-capitalism.
- Nationalism.
- Racism.
- Violence.
They supported a dictatorial one-party political system. This party was based on the principle of leadership, according to which power rested with a strong leader. The personality cult of the leader was established.
Stalin 1922 - 1952
Mussolini 1922 - 1945
Hitler 1933 - 1945
Another characteristic was a radical anti-communism and, at first, anti-capitalism. Fascism was a "third way".
He maintained an aggressive, expansionist and militaristic nationalism, which demanded a new position for his nation in the world.
The fascists were all racists. In Nazism, racism became the central doctrine, based on the superiority of the Aryan race, which had the right to subjugate inferior races.
lustration from a German school textbook entitled The Poison Mushroom, published in 1938.
It advocated violence against political opponents. Violence was seen as a positive and even therapeutic value.
USSR
FASCIST ITALY
NAZI GERMANY
DO ACTIVITY 2.2. VIDEO Economic Depression and Dictators in the AULA VIRTUAL
4º ESO UNIT 6. THE INTERWAR YEARS
Guiomar Alburquerque
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Transcript
THE INTERWAR YEARS
INTERWAR PERIOD
WWI
WWII
1945
1939
1919
1914
POST-WAR (1919-1924)
THE RISE OF TOTALITARIANISM
YEARS OF RECOVERY (1924 - 1929)
CRASH 1929
First half of 20th century: 31 years -> 11 of war 100 million victims
1. THE POST-WAR (1919-1924)
The post-war period was particularly unstable for Europe. The shadow of the First World War remained omnipresent until 1924. There were political and economic problems.
POST-WAR PROBLEMS
2. YEARS OF RECOVERY (1924 - 1929)
In economy
In politics
Dawes Plan
Treaties of Locarno
“Roaring twenties” (*Felices años veinte)
2.1. Plan Dawes plan (1924)
To stabilise European currencies, the Dawes Plan, created by Charles Dawes, was accepted in 1924, with the aim of helping the German economy, establishing a kind of money circuit in which the US would be the final recipient.
Charles Dawes Vice-president of USA
Problem
The world economy has become too dependent on the US. A crisis in the United States could quickly turn into a global crisis...
2.2. TREATIES OF LOCARNO (1925)
From the 1920s onwards, a new generation of more conciliatory politicians arrived. In 1925, these politicians signed seven treaties aimed at strengthening peace in Europe after the First World War in the Swiss town of Locarno, that is why they are called the Treaties of Locarno. As a result form these treaties:
2.3. The “Roaring Twenties”
The world economy experienced a period of expansion in the second half of the 1920s. In reality, however, this "era of prosperity" was limited to the United States. Between 1922 and 1929, the United States saw spectacular growth in its industrial production and exports, and its hegemonic role was strengthened.
Charleston dance
3. THE CRASH OF 1929
3.1. THE CRASH OF 1929
In October 1929, the New York Stock Exchange crashed, causing investment and economic activity in the United States to collapse. The crisis soon took on a global dimension as many countries were dependent on the US.
How did it all start? It was the so-called Roaring Twenties, a time of economic prosperity and apparent stability. New York had become the most important city and Wall Street a world reference for financial centres.
Wall Street
Shortly before, the US had entered the First World War as a major food producer and exporter. Farmers, seeing their profits grow, turned to banks for loans to further improve the productivity of their land.
Very high demand for products
Credits
Benefits
But the war was over, and with it, the demand for products and the crisis in the countryside began: the mismatch between US supply and European demand caused the value and price of American products to fall. And the farmers, seeing that they could not afford their loans, left the countryside for the city.
Meanwhile, the stock market seemed oblivious to everything. Shares were bought and sold at low prices, only to be sold at higher prices. This is called speculation (i.e. investing in the stock market just to make money).
Investors buying and selling shares
And those who could not buy shares borrowed money from the Bank to be able to do so, which got them massively into debt. But these credits were lent with the guarantee of the shares, which meant that the economy was no longer in touch with the reality of the country.
And so we come to "Black Thursday"... Since March 1929 there was a concern that the stock market shares were overvalued (that their price was above their real price).
Large investors
Wall Street
Smal investors
Shares
On Thursday, 24 October 1929, there was a sharp decline in stocks on the New York Stock Exchange. This caused panic and those who had bought the shares, tried to get rid of them as soon as possible to avoid losing more money and to be able to pay off their debts. Thus, on 24 October 1929, known as "Black Thursday", 13 million shares were offered for sale with almost zero demand.
The banks invested 30 million dollars to try to stop the stock market from falling. But the crisis had already begun.
It was rumoured that important business figures had committed suicide after losing everything.
On that day, the police had to clear the stock exchange due to the panic-induced riots.
La muchedumbre en la calle se concentró frente a la Bolsa de Valores de Nueva York, en octubre de 1929.
Multitud reunida en Wall Street después del crack de 1929.
That black Thursday was followed by a "Black Tuesday" (on the 29th of the same month) when another 16.5 million shares were put on sale. From then on, the stock market would fall until November, when it reached its worst figures, known as the "Crash of '29".
The United States was the world's leading economic power and financial engine, so the crisis soon spread to other countries with the same or more serious consequences.
3.2. THE GREAT DEPRESSION
The stock market crash triggered a chain reaction that collapsed the US economy and led to a long crisis known as the Great Depression.
Banks failed because their costumers withdrew all their money and many loans were not repaid. Some 9,000 banks failed and the savings of millions of citizens vanished.
Many companies closed and unemployment rose sharply. The number of unemployed reached 12 million in 1932. Millions of its citizens became homeless and struggled to survive: malnutrition, overcrowding in shantytowns, etc.
The crisis in the countryside was even worse: the misery in rural areas was even greater than in the cities because of the collapse in prices.
3.3. THE SOLUTIONS
The collapse of the system generated a debate on the revision of economic liberalism. It was the British economist Keynes who proposed greater state intervention in the economy, his main proposals were:.
Main goal: get people consuming again and stimulate the economy
In United States, President Franklin D. Roosevelt launched a program, called the New Deal in 1933 following Keynes´ ideas. These changes did not fully restore production to 1929 levels or eliminate unemployment, but they mitigated the most serious effects of the crisis and laid the foundations for the welfare state (*estado del bienestar).
F.D. Roosevelt
4. THE RISE OF TOTALITARIANISM
4.1. The crisis of democracies
By 1920, post-war Europe consisted of 28 states, all but two of which (Russia and Hungary) were democracies or parliamentary systems.
However, in 1938, there were out of the 28 states, seventeen were totalitarian regimes!
What happened to cause democracies to fail?
Large sections of the population believed that democracies were unable to face the new challenges.
What do I do?
On the one hand, there was the offer of the fascist movements (*movimientos fascistas) which advocated the need for strong states to solve problems. The middle classes joined this option.
On the other hand, there was the offer of the communists (*comunistas) who wanted to extend the Soviet revolution to the rest of the countries. This option was taken up by the lower classes.
Between 1922 and 1939,...
In 1939, most political systems in Europe were totalitarian.
4.2. what did all have in common?
All totalitarianisms shared the same ideas:
They supported a dictatorial one-party political system. This party was based on the principle of leadership, according to which power rested with a strong leader. The personality cult of the leader was established.
Stalin 1922 - 1952
Mussolini 1922 - 1945
Hitler 1933 - 1945
Another characteristic was a radical anti-communism and, at first, anti-capitalism. Fascism was a "third way".
He maintained an aggressive, expansionist and militaristic nationalism, which demanded a new position for his nation in the world.
The fascists were all racists. In Nazism, racism became the central doctrine, based on the superiority of the Aryan race, which had the right to subjugate inferior races.
lustration from a German school textbook entitled The Poison Mushroom, published in 1938.
It advocated violence against political opponents. Violence was seen as a positive and even therapeutic value.
USSR
FASCIST ITALY
NAZI GERMANY
DO ACTIVITY 2.2. VIDEO Economic Depression and Dictators in the AULA VIRTUAL