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Mr. Dunbar AP European History Chapter 26: Political Experiments of the 1920s Section One: Political and Economic Factors After the Paris Settlement Section Overview o From Ireland to Russia, new governments were seeking to gain the active support of their citizens and to solve economic problems the war had caused. In the Soviet Union, the Bolsheviks constructed a vast authoritarian state apparatus with the purpose of establishing communism. Liberal reforms dominated politics throughout the rest of Europe as women and previously disenfranchised men were given the right to vote Parliamentary democracies, however, would not prevail as important sectors of the citizenry believed this style of government to be corrupt or feeble. Demands for Revision of the Paris Settlement The Paris treaties became a hotly contested domestic issue throughout the world during the 1920s as Germans thought the provisions were too harsh, France was frustrated that the treaty was not being properly enforced, and national groups who felt they were not granted the right to selfdetermination agitated for revising the treaty. Post War Economic Problems There was a general desire to return to the economic “normalcy” of the prewar era but this would prove impossible. Casualties in World War I were in the millions which eliminated from the talent pool and also was a loss of consumers. Whereas Europe served as the world banking center prior to the war, most European nations were deep in debt to the US by 1918. As a result of the lack of international economic cooperation, many nations felt compelled to pursue nationalistic economic aims. Many of Europe’s mines, transport facilities, and industry had been damaged during the war. New political boundaries in eastern and central Europe separated raw materials from the factories that used them. Nations raised new customs barriers where before there had been none. New Roles for Government and Labor o Labor unions supported the war effort and were rewarded with better wages and their leaders were appointed to high political councils. Cooperation between labor unions and national governments destroyed the prewar internationalism of the labor movement. o In reaction to the improvements in the status of labor, middle class European voters became increasingly conservative and were deeply apprehensive about the Communist government in the Soviet Union. Section Two: The Soviet Experiment Begins Section Overview o The consolidation of the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia and ins formation of the Soviet Union of Socialist Republics was the single most transforming element on the postWorld War I European international scene. o The Communist Party of the Soviet Union retained power from 1917 until the end of 1991. o Communist leaders of the Soviet Union viewed their work as an epochmaking event in the history of the world and development of humanity and, therefore, sought to aggressively export this ideology. War Communism o Within the Soviet Union, the Red Army, under the organizational direction of Leon Trotsky (18791940), eventually suppressed internal and foreign military opposition to the new government.
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Chapter 27--Europe and the Great Depression of the 1930s Outline

Nov 11, 2014

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Page 1: Chapter 27--Europe and the Great Depression of the 1930s Outline

Mr.  Dunbar  AP  European  History  Chapter  26:  Political  Experiments  of  the  1920s    Section  One:  Political  and  Economic  Factors  After  the  Paris  Settlement  

• Section  Overview  o From  Ireland  to  Russia,  new  governments  were  seeking  to  gain  the  active  support  of  their  citizens  and  to  

solve  economic  problems  the  war  had  caused.  § In  the  Soviet  Union,  the  Bolsheviks  constructed  a  vast  authoritarian  state  apparatus  with  the  purpose  

of  establishing  communism.  § Liberal  reforms  dominated  politics  throughout  the  rest  of  Europe  as  women  and  previously  

disenfranchised  men  were  given  the  right  to  vote  § Parliamentary  democracies,  however,  would  not  prevail  as  important  sectors  of  the  citizenry  believed  this  

style  of  government  to  be  corrupt  or  feeble.    

• Demands  for  Revision  of  the  Paris  Settlement  § The  Paris  treaties  became  a  hotly  contested  domestic  issue  throughout  the  world  during  the  1920s  as  

Germans  thought  the  provisions  were  too  harsh,  France  was  frustrated  that  the  treaty  was  not  being  properly  enforced,  and  national  groups  who  felt  they  were  not  granted  the  right  to  self-­‐determination  agitated  for  revising  the  treaty.    

• Post  War  Economic  Problems  § There  was  a  general  desire  to  return  to  the  economic  “normalcy”  of  the  prewar  era  but  this  would  prove  

impossible.  § Casualties  in  World  War  I  were  in  the  millions  which  eliminated  from  the  talent  pool  and  also  was  a  

loss  of  consumers.  § Whereas  Europe  served  as  the  world  banking  center  prior  to  the  war,  most  European  nations  were  

deep  in  debt  to  the  US  by  1918.  § As  a  result  of  the  lack  of  international  economic  cooperation,  many  nations  felt  compelled  to  pursue  

nationalistic  economic  aims.  § Many  of  Europe’s  mines,  transport  facilities,  and  industry  had  been  damaged  during  the  war.  § New  political  boundaries  in  eastern  and  central  Europe  separated  raw  materials  from  the  factories  

that  used  them.  § Nations  raised  new  customs  barriers  where  before  there  had  been  none.  

 • New  Roles  for  Government  and  Labor  

o Labor  unions  supported  the  war  effort  and  were  rewarded  with  better  wages  and  their  leaders  were  appointed  to  high  political  councils.  

§ Cooperation  between  labor  unions  and  national  governments  destroyed  the  prewar  internationalism  of  the  labor  movement.  

o In  reaction  to  the  improvements  in  the  status  of  labor,  middle  class  European  voters  became  increasingly  conservative  and  were  deeply  apprehensive  about  the  Communist  government  in  the  Soviet  Union.  

 Section  Two:  The  Soviet  Experiment  Begins    

• Section  Overview  o The  consolidation  of  the  Bolshevik  Revolution  in  Russia  and  ins  formation  of  the  Soviet  Union  of  Socialist  

Republics  was  the  single  most  transforming  element  on  the  post-­‐World  War  I  European  international  scene.  o The  Communist  Party  of  the  Soviet  Union  retained  power  from  1917  until  the  end  of  1991.  o Communist  leaders  of  the  Soviet  Union  viewed  their  work  as  an  epoch-­‐making  event  in  the  history  of  the  

world  and  development  of  humanity  and,  therefore,  sought  to  aggressively  export  this  ideology.  • War  Communism  

o Within  the  Soviet  Union,  the  Red  Army,  under  the  organizational  direction  of  Leon  Trotsky  (1879-­‐1940),  eventually  suppressed  internal  and  foreign  military  opposition  to  the  new  government.  

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o Military  threats  to  the  new  government  allowed  the  Bolsheviks  to  pursue  authoritarian  policies  more  rapidly  than  they  otherwise  would  have  been  able  to  do.  

o Cheka,  the  Bolshevik  secret  police,  helped  ensure  the  success  of  the  revolution.  o All  decisions  came  from  the  top  in  a  non-­‐democratic  manner.  o Throughout  the  civil  war,  the  government,  headed  by  Lenin,  repressed  all  actual  or  potential  sources  of  

opposition.    

• The  New  Economic  Policy  o Internal  enemies  force  Lenin  to  take  swift  action  on  adopting  a  new  economic  policy  

§ Rural  peasantry  was  enraged  for  having  their  grain  taken  to  feed  the  urban  population  § Baltic  fleet  mutinied  in  March  1921,  but  it  was  crushed  

o The  New  Economic  Policy  § Other  than  banking,  the  government  vowed  to  be  tolerant  of  private  enterprise  in  heavy  industry,  

transportation,  and  international  commerce.  § Likewise,  peasants  could  farm  for  profit.  

o Major  problems  with  the  NEP  § Peasants  remained  incapable  of  purchasing  consumer  goods  on  the  profits  they  made  from  selling  

grain.  o Triumphs  of  the  NEP  

§ By  1927,  Russia  reached  the  industrial  production  it  achieved  in  1913.  § Russia  was  seemingly  transformed  into  a  land  of  small  farmers  and  owners  of  private  shops  and  

businesses.    

• Stalin  Versus  Trotsky  o Section  Overview  

§ The  NEP  caused  disputes  within  the  Politburo,  the  governing  Committee  of  the  Communist  Party,  as  some  believed  the  return  to  quasi-­‐capitalist  principles  betrayed  Marxist  ideology;  having  suffered  a  stroke  in  1922,  Lenin  died  in  1924.  

§ Two  factions  emerged:  one  headed  by  Leon  Trotsky  and  the  other  by  Joseph  Stalin.  o Trotsky’s  Position  

§ Believed  that  Russia  must  rapidly  industrialize  and  work  to  spread  revolution  as  Russia  needed  the  wealth  and  resources  of  other  nations  to  help  build  its  own  economy.  

§ Agriculture  should  be  collectivized  and  the  peasants  should  be  made  pay  for  industrialization  o Stalin’s  Rise  

§ Stalin  had  not  spent  time  in  exile  in  Western  Europe  like  other  communist  leaders  in  Russia  and  was,  therefore,  neither  as  intellectual  nor  internationalist  in  his  outlook.  

§ Stalin  worked  as  “commissar  of  nationalities”  under  Lenin  and  was  known  for  his  cruel  treatment  of  recalcitrant  nationalist  groups.  

§ Gained  power  due  to  his  command  of  bureaucratic  and  administrative  methods  which  he  manipulated  to  gain  the  support  of  the  lower  levels  of  the  apparatus  when  he  clashed  with  party  leaders.  

§ Nikolai  Bukharin,  the  editor  of  Pravda  (Truth)  which  was  the  communist  party’s  newspaper,  led  the  opposition  against  Trotsky’s  call  for  rapid  industrialization.  

§ Stalin  quickly  supported  Bukharin’s  opposition  to  Trotsky  and  added  that  the  success  of  Russia’s  communist  revolution  was  not  dependent  on  revolutions  elsewhere;  therefore,  Stalin  nationalized  the  scope  of  Marx’s  international  prediction.  

§ Stalin  used  his  control  over  the  Central  Committee  of  the  Communist  Party  to  edge  out  Trotsky  and  his  supporters;  and  by  1927  Trotsky  had  been  removed  from  all  his  offices,  kicked  out  of  the  party,  and  exiled  to  Siberia.  

§ Trotsky  was  forced  from  Russia  in  1929  and  moved  to  Mexico  where  he  was  murdered  in  1940  by  one  of  Stalin’s  agents.    

• The  Third  International  o In  1919,  the  Soviet  communists  founded  the  Third  International  of  the  European  socialist  movement,  better  

known  as  the  Comintern.  

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o The  goal  of  the  Comintern  was  to  work  to  make  the  Bolshevik  model  of  socialism  the  rule  for  all  socialist  parties  outside  the  Soviet  Union.  

o Twenty-­‐one  Conditions  of  the  Comintern  § Required  the  acknowledgement  of  Moscow’s  leadership  and  rejection  of  reformist  socialism  

o As  a  result,  separate  social  democratic  and  communist  parties  emerged  in  many  countries.  § Many  communist  pledged  loyalty  to  Moscow  § Social  democrats  attempted  to  pursue  both  social  reform  and  liberal  parliamentary  politics.  

o The  fear  of  a  Soviet  take-­‐over  of  the  government  can’t  be  underestimated  in  the  cause  for  the  rise  of  fascism  in  Europe  during  the  1920s  and  1930s.  

 • Women  and  the  Family  in  the  Early  Soviet  Union  

o Alexandra  Kollontai  (1872-­‐1952)  was  a  social  utopian  writer  who  wrote  Communism  and  the  Family  § She  envisioned  a  new  type  of  family—that  advocated  sexual  freedom  and  camaraderie—that  would  

liberate  both  men  and  women.  § Although  her  ideas  did  not  really  reflect  practice  in  the  Soviet  Union,  Kollontai’s  book  constituted  a  

social  vision  of  the  bold  new  life  being  forged  in  the  Soviet  Union.  o Family  Legislation  from  Reform  to  Repression  

§ Bolshevik  laws,  issued  in  1917,  made  divorce  far  easier  for  women,  marriage  was  no  longer  a  religious  ceremony,  legitimate  and  illegitimate  children  were  given  the  same  rights,  women  were  given  more  protection  in  the  workplace,  and  abortion  was  legalized  in  1920.  

§ Dislocation  from  civil  war,  the  confiscation  of  property,  and  the  shifting  economic  policies  of  the  1920s  took  its  toll  on  the  Soviet  family  as  domestic  violence  appears  to  have  been  common,  birthrate  fell,  and  housing  issues  caused  divorced  couples  to  continue  to  live  in  the  same  household.  

§ From  the  1920s  onward,  women  could  earn  leadership  positions  in  the  economy  and  the  party,  though  they  seldom  achieved  the  top  ranks.    

Section  Three:  The  Fascist  Experiment  in  Italy  • Section  Overview  

o Italy  witnessed  the  first  authoritarian  political  experiment  in  Western  Europe  that  arose  in  part  from  the  fears  of  the  spread  of  Bolshevism.  

o From  the  fascist  movement  in  Italy  of  Benito  Mussolini,  the  term  fascism  has  frequently  been  used  to  describe  a  number  of  right-­‐wing  dictatorships  that  arose  across  Europe  between  the  wars.  

o The  exact  definition  of  the  term  fascism  is  a  matter  of  debate  but  the  following  characteristics  are  often  associated  with  this  ideology:  anti-­‐democratic,  anti-­‐communist,  anti-­‐parliamentary,  and  frequently  anti-­‐Semitic.  

o Fascist  deplored  the  liberalism  of  the  19th  century  as  they  believed  parliamentary  politics  restricted  greatness  as  petty  disputes  thwarted  progress;  therefore,  they  sought  to  overcome  the  class  conflict  of  Marxism  and  the  party  conflict  of  liberalism  by  uniting  the  various  groups  and  classes  within  the  nation  to  achieve  national  purposes.  

o Fascist  political  movements  drew  upon  the  scorn  for  reason  in  political  life  that  many  late  nineteenth-­‐century  thinkers  had  voiced,  like  Hegel’s  notion  that  great  leaders  were  needed  to  effect  real  changes  in  history.  

o Memories  of  great  nineteenth  century  leaders  like  Garibaldi  and  Bismarck  paved  the  way  for  a  cult  of  heroes  to  emerge  in  Europe  during  the  twentieth  century,  starting  with  Mussolini  in  the  1920s  and  then  Hitler  in  the  1930s.    

• The  Rise  of  Mussolini  o Section  Overview  

§ The  Italian  Fasci  di  Combattimento,  or  “Bands  of  Combat,”  was  founded  in  1919  in  Milan  and  its  membership  came  largely  from  Italian  war  veterans  who  felt  the  Paris  conference  had  cheated  Italy;  they  were  particularly  angry  that  Italy  was  not  given  Fiume  (now  Rijeka  in  Slovenia)  on  the  northeast  coast  of  the  Adriatic  Sea.  

§ Mussolini—son  of  a  blacksmith—worked  as  a  teacher  and  day  laborer  before  becoming  active  first  in  socialist  politics  and  then  fascism.  

§ Mussolini  established  his  own  newspaper,  Il  Popolo  d’Italia  (The  People  of  Italy),  in  which  he  espoused  a  plan  to  transform  Italy  from  a  weak  liberal  state  to  a  strong  unified  nation.  

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o Postwar  Italian  Political  Turmoil  § During  World  War  I,  the  Italian  parliament  had  virtually  ceased  to  function  and  many  Italians  grew  

dissatisfied  with  the  parliamentary  system  and  nearly  all  Italians  felt  that  Italy  had  not  been  treated  as  a  great  power  at  the  Paris  Conference.  

§ Gabriele  D’Aunnunzio  was  an  extreme  nationalist  writer  who  seized  Fiume  with  a  force  of  patriotic  Italians  and  this  showed  the  Italian  government  how  a  nongovernmental  military  force  could  be  put  to  political  use.  

§ Industrial  strikes  were  common,  peasants  seized  uncultivated  land  from  large  estates.  § Socialist  Party  and  Catholic  Popular  Party  dominated  the  lower  house  of  the  Italian  Parliament,  the  

Chamber  of  Deputies,  but  neither  party  would  cooperate  with  the  other  which  resulted  in  parliamentary  deadlock  and  many  in  Italy  feared  this  inaction  would  lead  to  a  communist  revolution.  

o Early  Fascist  Organization  § Mussolini  discovered  that  many  upper  and  middle  class  Italians  sought  order,  rather  than  some  vague  

form  of  social  justice  and  he  began  organizing  attacks  on  Socialist  Party  meetings,  and  he  ordered  the  beatings,  and  intimidation,  of  socialist  leaders  

§ By  1922,  fascist  were  intimidating  local  officials  through  arson,  beatings,  and  murder  in  cities  such  as  Ferrara,  Ravenna,  and  Milan;  they  essentially  controlled  the  local  government  in  much  of  northern  Italy.  

o March  on  Rome  § Following  the  election  of  1921  when  Mussolini  and  34  of  his  followers  were  elected  to  the  Chamber  

of  Deputies,  the  growing  fascist  party  organized  a  haphazard  march  on  Rome,  which  became  known  as  the  Black  Shirt  March.  

§ King  Victor  Emmanuel  III—for  both  personal  and  political  reasons—refused  to  sign  a  decree  that  would  have  authorized  the  army  to  stop  the  marchers  and  then  proceeded  to  send  Mussolini  a  telegraph  which  asked  him  to  become  prime  minister.    

• The  Fascists  in  Power  o Section  Overview  

§ Mussolini  had  no  majority  or  nearly  a  majority  in  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  and,  therefore,  worked  to  sure  up  his  support  and  consolidate  his  power.  

§ On  November  23,  1922,  the  king  and  Parliament  granted  Mussolini  dictatorial  authority  for  one  year  to  bring  order  to  local  and  regional  government.  

o Repression  of  Opposition  § Change  in  voting  laws  in  1924  

• Previously,  parties  had  been  represented  in  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  in  proportion  to  the  popular  vote  cast  for  them.  

• According  to  the  new  election  law,  the  party  that  gained  the  largest  popular  vote  (if  they  won  at  least  25  percent)  received  two-­‐thirds  of  the  seats  in  the  chamber  

o Predictably,  in  the  election  of  1924,  the  fascist  won  complete  control  of  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  and  laws  passed  in  1925  and  1926  permitted  Mussolini  to  rule  by  decree.  

§ Fascists  were  put  in  charge  of  the  police  force  and  the  terrorist  squads  became  a  government  militia.  • In  1924,  the  fascist  police  murdered  Giacomo  Matteotti,  a  leading  non-­‐communist,  socialist  

leader  and  member  of  Parliament,  who  frequently  criticized  Mussolini’s  fascist  policies.  § A  cult  of  personality  developed  around  Mussolini  as  his  courage  was  admired  by  many  who  believed  

he  saved  them  from  Bolshevism.  o Accord  with  the  Vatican  

§ Lateran  Accord  of  February  1929  • The  Roman  Catholic  Church  and  the  Italian  state  made  peace  with  each  other  which  ended  a  

dispute  that  erupted  when  the  Italian  national  government  seized  papal  lands  in  the  unification  effort.  

• This  agreement  of  1929  recognized  the  pope  as  the  temporal  ruler  of  the  independent  state  of  Vatican  City.  

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• The  Italian  government  agreed  to  pay  an  indemnity  to  the  papacy  for  the  territory  it  seized,  and  the  state  also  recognized  Catholicism  as  the  religion  of  the  nation,  exempted  church  property  from  taxes,  and  allowed  church  law  to  govern  marriage.  

§ This  agreement  brought  further  respectability  to  Mussolini’s  authoritarian  regime.  • Motherhood  for  the  Nation  in  Fascist  Italy  

o Fascist  policy  encouraged  women  to  have  more  children  and  to  stay  in  the  home  and  rear  them  for  the  good  of  the  nation.  

§ Despite  the  encouragement  to  remain  in  the  home,  Italian  women  made  up  25  percent  of  the  Italian  workforce.  

§ Nonetheless,  by  World  War  II,  this  figure  dropped  to  10  percent.  o Legislation  outlawing  contraception  and  abortion  and  discouraging  the  publication  of  information  about  

sexuality  and  reproduction  made  it  difficult  for  women  to  limit  the  size  of  their  families.  o Italian  mothers  were  expected  to  see  that  their  children  attended  fascist  school  programs.  

 Section  Four:  Joyless  Victors  

• France:  The  Search  for  Security  o Section  Overview  

§ At  the  close  of  World  War  I,  as  after  Waterloo,  the  revolution  of  1848,  and  the  defeat  of  1871,  the  French  voters  elected  a  conservative  Chamber  of  Deputies.  

§ Conservatives  believed  that  France  and  the  Allies  were  too  lenient,  mainly  due  to  the  fact  that  French  representative,  Clemenceau,  failed  to  establish  a  separate  Rhineland  state  under  French  influence.  

§ Between  the  end  of  the  war  in  1918  and  January  1933,  twenty-­‐seven  different  cabinets  took  office  in  France.  

o New  Alliances  §  “The  Little  Entente”  

• France  sought  to  establish  new  alliances  in  the  east  to  replace  Russia  and  formed  a  network  of  alliances  with  Czechoslovakia,  Romania,  and  Yugoslavia.  

§ France  also  made  an  alliance  with  Poland.  § Germany  and  the  Soviet  Union  were  isolated  from  European  affairs.  

• While  European  states  were  holding  an  economic  conference  in  Genoa,  the  Russians  and  Germans  met  at  nearby  Rapallo  and  signed  a  treaty  of  their  own.  

• The  Rapallo  treaty  convinced  France  that  Germany  was  not  intending  to  abide  by  the  provisions  of  the  Versailles  treaty  and  this  led  France  toward  strong  action.  

o Quest  for  Reparations  § In  1923,  the  Allies,  led  by  the  French  prime  minister  Raymond  Poincare  (1860-­‐1934),  declared  

Germany  to  be  in  technical  default  of  their  payments  and  it  was  decided  that  a  coalition  of  French  and  Belgium  troops  would  be  sent  to  occupy  the  Ruhr.  

• German  government  encouraged  passive  resistance  and  many  German  workers  went  on  strike.  

o The  French  government  sent  French  workers  to  fill  the  positions  of  the  striking  German  workers.  

o The  French  were  successful  in  this  endeavor  but  the  alienated  the  British  who  felt  sympathetic  for  the  Germans.  

§ Poincare’s  conservative  ministry  gave  way  to  a  coalition  of  leftist  parties,  the  so  called  Cartel  des  Gauches.  

• Led  by  Edouard  Herriot  (1872-­‐1957),  this  new  cabinet  recognized  the  Soviet  Union  and  adopted  a  more  conciliatory  policy  toward  Germany.  

o Aristide  Briand  (1862-­‐1932)  was  the  foreign  minister  under  Herriot  who  championed  the  League  of  Nations  and  tried  to  persuade  France  that  its  military  power  did  not  give  it  unlimited  influence  in  foreign  affairs  of  Europe.  

§ As  a  result  of  inflation,  the  value  of  the  franc  fell  sharply  on  the  world  market  in  1926  and  Poincare  reemerged  as  the  head  of  the  national  government  of  several  parties.  

• The  value  of  the  franc  recovered  under  conservative  leadership  and  they  would  remain  in  power  in  France  for  the  remainder  of  the  1920s.  

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 • Great  Britain:  Economic  Confusion  

o Section  Overview  § World  War  I  profoundly  transformed  the  political  landscape  of  Great  Britain  as  Parliament  extended  

the  electorate  to  include  all  men  aged  twenty-­‐one  and  women  aged  thirty.  § British  politics  during  the  war  and  thereafter  

• A  coalition  cabinet  of  Liberal,  Conservative,  and  Labour  ministers  directed  the  war  effort  o The  war  further  divided  the  Liberal  party  

§ Until  1916,  Liberal  prime  minister  Herbert  Asquith  (1852-­‐1928)  had  presided  over  the  cabinet  but  disagreements  led  fellow  liberal,  David  Lloyd  Geroge  (1863-­‐1945)  to  replace  him.  

§ The  party  split  sharply  between  the  followers  of  the  two  men.  • The  split  in  the  liberal  party  led  to  a  majority  of  conservatives  elected  to  the  House  of  

Commons  § Britain’s  economy  plummeted  with  unemployment  rates  at  eleven  percent  and  the  government  

expanded  its  insurance  programs  to  cover  unemployed  workers,  widows,  and  orphans.  § Morale  was  low  in  Great  Britain  throughout  the  1920s.  

o The  First  Labour  Government  § Conservatives  replaced  David  Lloyd  George  with  Andrew  Bonar  Law  (1858-­‐1923),  one  of  their  own,  as  

prime  minister.  • A  liberal  would  never  again  be  prime  minister  of  Great  Britain.  • Law’s  successor,  Stanley  Baldwin,  attempted  to  abandon  free  trade  and  institute  protective  

tariffs,  but  this  led  to  the  loss  of  seats  for  the  Conservative  party  lost  its  majority.  § King  George  V  asked  Ramsay  MacDonald  (1866-­‐1937)  to  form  the  first  Labour  ministry  in  British  

history.  • The  Labour  party  was  socialistic  in  its  platform  but  democratic  and  distinctly  non-­‐

revolutionary  • MacDonald’s  program  consisted  of  plans  for  extensive  social  reform  rather  than  for  the  

nationalization  or  public  seizure  of  industry.  • Due  to  the  success  of  MacDonald’s  Labour  ministry,  most  liberals  had  made  the  conversion  to  

the  Labour  party  and  the  presence  of  liberalism  remained  a  weak  force  in  British  politics.  o The  General  Strike  of  1926  

§ The  Labour  government  fell  in  1926  after  charges  of  inadequate  prosecution  of  a  communist  writer  and  the  Conservative  Party  took  over.  

§ Conservative  government  returned  to  the  gold  standard  but  failed  to  set  the  value  of  the  pound  properly  which  led  to  increase  prices  of  British  goods  on  the  world  market;  consequently,  British  industrialists  lowered  employee  wages  in  an  attempt  to  reduce  the  cost  of  the  products.  

§ Strike  in  the  coal  industry  is  supported  by  workers  in  other  industries  § Despite  the  harsh  economic  climate  of  this  period,  the  average  standard  of  living  improved  for  most  

people  in  Britain  during  this  period.  o Empire  

§ Under  the  leadership  of  Ghandi,  India  gained  some  freedom  from  British  dominance  during  the  1920s.  

o Ireland  § In  1914,  the  Irish  Home  Rule  Act  was  passed  but  its  implementation  was  postponed  until  after  the  

war.  • As  the  war  continued  to  drag  on,  Irish  nationalists  revolted  in  Dublin  but  the  rebellion  was  

quickly  crushed  by  the  British  who  executed  the  nationalist  leaders.  § Leadership  of  the  nationalist  cause  in  Ireland  shifted  from  the  Irish  Party  in  Parliament  to  the  

extremist  Sinn  Fein,  or  “Ourselves  Alone.”  • Sinn  Fein  Party  won  all  but  four  Irish  parliamentary  seats  during  the  1918  election  but    

refused  to  go  to  Westminster  for  Parliament  and  instead  formed  an  Irish  Parliament.  § Sinn  Fein  declared  Ireland’s  independence  on  January  21,  1919.  

• The  military  wing  of  Sinn  Fein  became  the  Irish  Republican  army.  

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• The  first  president  was  Eamon  De  Valera  (1882-­‐1975)  • A  guerilla  war  broke  out  between  the  IRA  and  the  British  army.  

§ In  late  1921,  the  Irish  and  British  governments  worked  out  a  treaty  in  which  the  Irish  Free  State  took  its  place  beside  the  earlier  dominions  in  the  British  Commonwealth  like  Canada,  Australia,  New  Zealand,  and  South  Africa.  

• Northern  Ireland  was  permitted  to  remain  part  of  what  was  now  called  the  United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  with  provisions  for  home  rule.  

§ Civil  war  broke  out  in  Ireland  between  moderates,  who  supported  the  treaty,  and  diehards,  led  by  De  Valera,  who  wanted  complete  independence  for  Britain.  

• In  1933,  the  Irish  Parliament  abolished  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  British  monarchy.  • Ireland  remained  neutral  during  World  War  II  and  declared  itself  wholly  independent    in  

1949.    Section  Five:  Trials  of  the  Successor  States  in  Eastern  Europe  

• Section  Overview  o Nineteenth-­‐century  liberals  believed  that  only  good  could  come  from  the  destruction  of  Austria-­‐Hungary  as  

new  states—which  embodied  the  principles  of  self-­‐determination—could  provide  Europe  with  a  buffer  against  the  westward  spread  of  Bolshevism.  

o The  challenge  for  Germany,  Poland,  Austria,  Czechoslovakia,  and  other  successor  states,  was  to  make  new  parliamentary  governments  function  in  a  stable  manner.  

§ Keep  in  mind  that  although  Germany  and  Austria  both  maintained  parliaments  prior  to  World  War  I,  the  parliaments  in  these  nations  possessed  little  power.  

o Another  question  was  how  long  conservative  political  groups  and  institutions,  such  as  armies,  would  tolerate  or  cooperate  with  liberal  experiments.  

• Economic  and  Ethnic  Pressures  o World  War  I,  and  the  new  national  boundaries  produced  by  the  Paris  conference,  disrupted  the  previous  

economic  relationships  in  Europe  that  allowed  the  Continent  to  achieve  economic  prosperity  in  the  prewar  years.  

o Most  of  the  successor  states  were  completely  dependent  on  outside  loans  to  stimulate  their  economies  and,  furthermore,  nationalistic  antagonisms  often  prevented  these  states  from  trading  with  each  other.  

o Each  successor  state  included  minority  groups  that  agitated  for  independence  which  led  to  the  emergence  of  authoritarian  governments  in  central  and  eastern  Europe.  

• Poland:  Democracy  to  Military  Rule  o An  independent  Poland  had  been  one  of  Wilson’s  Fourteen  Points,  and  when  the  country  was  restored  in  

1919,  nationalism  proved  an  insufficient  bond  to  overcome  political  disagreements  stemming  from  class  differences,  diverse  economic  interests,  and  regionalism.  

§ Due  to  the  fact  that  Russia,  Austria,  and  Germany  had  ruled  over  the  different  parts  of  Poland  for  the  past  century,  the  separate  regions  had  few  common  economic  and  political  experiences  which  caused  problems  for  new  nation  in  1919.  

§ A  host  of  small  political  parties  prevented  the  Polish  Parliament  from  taking  any  significant  action.  o In  1926,  Marshal  Josef  Pilsudski  (1867-­‐1935)  carried  out  a  military  coup  and  ruled  Poland  until  his  death  in  

1935  when  power  was  passed  to  a  group  of  his  military  followers.  • Czechoslovakia:  A  Viable  Democratic  Experiment  

o Czechoslovakia  was  the  one  successor  state  that  escaped  authoritarian  government  in  the  interwar  period.  o It  possessed  a  strong  industrial  base,  a  substantial  middle  class,  and  a  tradition  of  liberal  values.  o Thomas  Masaryk  (1850-­‐1937)  provided  his  nation  with  fair  and  intelligent  leadership.  o Problems  in  Czechoslovakia  

§ Slovaks,  Poles,  Magyars,  Ukrainians,  and  Germans  in  Czechoslovakia  resented  Czech  prosperity  and  leadership.  

§ Germans  in  the  region  of  the  Sudetenland,  ceded  to  Czechoslovakia  at  the  Paris  conference,  looked  to  Hitler  for  help  in  achieving  reunification  with  Germany.  

o Munich  Conference  of  1938  § The  great  powers  met  and  decided  to  divide  liberal  Czechoslovakia  to  appease  Hitler;  they  then  sat  

idly  by  as  Hitler  occupied  most  of  the  country  by  1939.  

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• Hungary:  Turn  to  Authoritarianism  o Hungary  was  one  of  the  defeated  powers  in  World  War  I  and  achieved  long-­‐desired  separation  from  Austria,  

but  at  a  high  political  and  economic  price.  § In  1919,  Bela  Kun,  a  communist,  established  a  short-­‐lived  Hungarian  Soviet  Republic,  which  received  

socialist  support.  • The  Allies  sent  a  Romanian  force  to  remove  the  communist  danger.  

§ Admiral  Miklos  Horthy  (1867-­‐1957),  supported  by  the  landowners,  took  control  of  the  country  as  regent  for  the  Habsburg  monarchy  who  could  not  return  to  its  throne.  

• Thousands  were  executed  and  imprisoned  following  the  removal  of  Kun  from  office.  § Hungarians  were  angry  about  their  loss  of  territory  at  the  Paris  conference.  

• The  primarily  agrarian  Hungarian  economy  suffered  from  great  stagnation  during  the  1920s.  § Hungarian  government  in  the  1920s  and  1930s  

• Count  Stephen  Bethlen  presided  over  the  parliamentary,  yet  characteristically  aristocratic,  government  of  Hungary.  

• He  was  succeeded  by  General  Juliu  Gombos  (1886-­‐1936),  who  pursued  anti-­‐Semitic  policies  and  rigged  elections.  

• Austria:  Political  Turmoil  and  Nazi  Occupation  o Austria’s  landscape  after  World  War  I  

§ One  quarter  of  Austria’s  eight  million  citizens  lived  in  Vienna  which  created  an  impossible  economic  situation.  

§ Politically,  the  leftist  Social  Democrats  and  the  conservative  Christian  Socialists  contended  for  power.  • Both  groups  possessed  small  armies  to  terrorize  their  opponents  and  to  impress  their  

followers.  • In  1933,  Christian  Socialist  Engelbert  Dollfuss  (1892-­‐1934)  became  chancellor.  

o He  fought  against  German  Nazi  influence  which  had  surfaced  in  Austria.  o He  outlawed  all  political  parties  except  his  own  followers  that  were  known  as  the  

Fatherland  Front.  o He  authorized  force  against  the  Social  Democrats,  and  was  later  shot  that  year  

during  an  unsuccessful  coup  attempt  by  the  Nazi  party.  o His  successor,  Kurt  von  Schusnigg  (1897-­‐1977),  presided  over  Austria  until  Hitler  

annexed  it  in  1938.  • Southeastern  Europe:  Royal  Dictatorships  

o Yugoslavia  was  founded  by  the  Corfu  Agreement  of  1917  which  created  the  kingdom  of  the  Serbs,  Croats,  and  Slovenes  which  lasted  until  1929.  

§ The  Serbs  dominated  the  government  and  were  opposed  by  the  Croats.  • The  two  groups  clashed  but  the  Serbs  held  a  strong  advantage  since  they  had  an  

independent  state  prior  to  World  War  I  which  had  its  own  army.  § Cultural  differences  

• The  Croats  generally  were  Roman  Catholic,  better  educated,  and  accustomed  to  reasonably  incorrupt  government.  

• The  Serbs  were  Orthodox,  somewhat  less  educated,  and  considered  corrupt  administrators  by  the  Croats.  

§ Other  groups  and  their  role  in  affairs  of  state  • Slovenes,  Muslims,  and  other  small  nationalist  groups  often  played  the  Serbs  and  Croats  

against  each  other.  § Violent  clashes  among  ethnic  groups  led  to  the  seizure  of  power  by  King  Alexander  I  (r.1921-­‐1934)  

who  was  a  Serb.  • Alexander  was  assassinated  in  1934  but  authoritarian  rule  continued  under  a  regent  serving  

for  his  son  o Royal  dictatorships  were  established  elsewhere  in  the  Balkans  who  believed  that  they  were  preventing  

radical  groups  from  taking  control  of  government  and  quieting  uprisings  by  national  groups.  § Romania  by  King  Carol  II  § Bulgaria  by  King  Boris  III  § King  George  II  in  Greece.  

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 Section  Six:  The  Weimar  Republic  in  Germany  

• Section  Overview  o The  Weimar  Republic  was  the  triumph  of  Social  Democrats  in  Germany  amidst  the  collapse  of  the  monarchy  

and  revolution  against  the  Hohenzollerns.  o Social  Democrats,  representing  the  Weimar  Republic,  accepted  the  terms  of  the  Versailles  treaty  that  

everyone  found  appalling.  § They  signed  under  threat  of  Allied  invasion  and  the  continuance  of  the  naval  blockade.  

o Although  all  Germans  disagreed  with  the  Versailles  treaty,  some  thought  it  wise  to  oppose  the  treaty  only  when  it  tacitly  made  sense,  while  others  desired  complete  opposition  to  it.  

• Constitutional  Flaws  o Weimar  constitution  was  an  enlightened  document  as  it  guaranteed  civil  liberties  and  provided  for  direct  

election,  by  universal  suffrage,  of  the  parliament,  the  Reichstag,  and  the  president.  o Some  major  flaws  

§ The  Weimar  Constitution  provided  for  proportional  representation  in  all  elections  which  created  a  Reichstag  full  of  small  party  members.  

§ President  was  responsible,  alone,  for  appointing  and  dismissing  the  chancellor  § Article  48  of  the  Weimar  Constitution  allowed  the  president  to  rule  by  decree  in  an  emergency.  

• Lack  of  Broad  Popular  Supprt  o The  Social  Democrat  revolution  is  Germany  was  not  coupled  with  a  cultural  revolution  and,  therefore,  many  

schoolteachers,  civil  servants,  and  judges  of  the  republic  were  the  same  people  in  these  positions  under  the  Kaiser,  and  many  people  were  suspicious  of  the  government  

§ Discontentment  of  the  German  officer  corps  who  believed  politicians  at  home  betrayed  them  during  the  war  by  signing  the  armistice  which  led  to  the  dreadful  terms  of  the  Versailles  treaty.  

o Economic  instability  throughout  the  1920s  hurt  the  fledgling  Weimar  government  and  the  Social  Democrats  responsible  for  its  conception.  

o Kapp  Putsh,  or  “armed  insurrection”  of  1920  § This  was  an  attempted  coup  of  the  government  in  Berlin  in  1920—which  failed-­‐-­‐led  by  conservative  

civil  servants  and  supported  by  the  officer.  o German  government  was  presented  with  a  bill  for  132  billion  gold  marks  which  they  accepted  due  to  the  

threat  of  an  Allied  occupation.  § Numerous  assassinations  and  attempts  occurred  against  republican  leaders  

• Invasion  of  the  Ruhr  and  Inflation  o German  currency  problems  

§ Inflation,  caused  by  borrowing  to  finance  the  war  effort  and  continued  postwar  deficit  spending,  led  to  the  fall  in  the  value  of  the  German  currency.  

• By  early  1921,  the  German  mark  traded  at  a  ratio  of  64  to  1  against  the  America  dollar  whereas  it  had  been  4.2  to  1  in  1914.  

• In  November  1923,  an  American  dollar  was  worth  more  than  800  million  German  marks.  • Middle  class  savings,  pensions,  and  insurance  policies  were  wiped  out.  

§ German  bankers  believed  the  currency  would  not  recover  until  the  reparations  issue  had  been  solved.  

o French  invasion  of  the  Ruhr  in  January  1923,  and  the  German  passive  resistance  which  led  to  rampant  strikes,  created  a  new  drain  on  the  German  economy.  

• Hitler’s  Early  Career  o Background  

§ son  of  a  minor  Austrian  customs  official  § dream  of  becoming  an  artist  were  dashed  when  he  failed  to  gain  admittance  to  art  school.  § For  a  while,  he  lived  off  money  his  mother  sent  him  and  then  an  Austrian  “orphans  allowance.”  § Worked  as  a  day  laborer,  painted,  and  sold  postcards  

o Political  influences  § Hitler  learned  about  Vienna  Mayor  Karl  Lueger’  (1844-­‐1910)  Christian  Social  Party  and  its  anti-­‐

Semitic  ideology.    § He  absorbed  the  rabid  anti-­‐Semitism,  German  nationalism,  that  flourished  in  Vienna.  

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§ Hitler  moved  to  Munich  in  1920  during  a  tumultuous  year  of  postwar  conflict    and  became  associated  with  the  National  Socialist  German  Workers’  Party.  

o Origins  of  NAZI  Ideology  § IN  1920,  the  National  Socialists  began  parading  under  a  red  and  white  banner  with  a  black  swastika.  § Platform  of  the  NAZI  party  was  known  as  the  Twenty-­‐Five  Points  

• called  for  the  unification  of  Germany  and  Austria  •  advocated  complete  repudiation  of  the  Versailles  treaty  • demanded  the  exclusion  of  Jews  from  German  citizenship  • wanted  state  administration  of  giant  business  cartels  • suggested  the  replacement  of  department  stores  by  small  retail  shops  

§ Hitler  redefined  the  term  “socialism”—as  it  applied  to  his  party’s  name—by  strongly  connecting  it  to  the  idea  of  nationalism.  

• For  example,  the  “socialism”  Hitler  and  the  Nazis  wanted  was  not  state  ownership  of  the  means  of  production,  but  the  subordination  of  all  economic  enterprise  to  the  welfare  of  the  nation.  

o Following  the  publication  of  the  “Twenty-­‐Five  Points,”  the  Nazis  organized  the  storm  troopers,  or  SA  (Sturmabteilung)  under  the  leadership  of  Ernst  Roehm  (1887-­‐1934).  

§ SA  served  as  the  chief  instrument  of  terror  and  intimidation  before  the  party  controlled  the  government.  

§ In  response  to  the  formation  of  the  SA,  the  Social  Democratic  Party  and  the  Communist  party  organized  paramilitary  organizations  of  their  own.  

o Hitler  dominated  the  Nazi  Party  and  modeled  his  approach  after  that  of  Mussolini  in  Italy.  § both  men  recruited  from  disillusioned  veterans  of  the  world  war  § both  adopted  paramilitary  styles  of  organization  § both  disparaged  liberal  politics  of  incapable  of  achieving  great  national  ends  § both  exalted  the  idea  of  obedience  to  the  national  hero  

o Beer  Hall  Putsch  of  1923  § Hitler  and  a  band  of  followers,  accompanied  by  General  Ludendorff,  attempted  an  uprising  from  a  

beer  hall  in  Munich.  § Sixteen  Nazis  were  killed  when  the  German  authorities  crushed  it.  § Hitler  and  Ludendorff  were  charged  with  treason  and  put  on  trial  

• Ludendorff  was  acquitted  • Hitler  was  convicted  and  sentenced  to  five  years;  he  also  used  the  trial  as  a  platform  to  

express  his  vision  of  Germany.  o Hitler  wrote  Mein  Kampf,  or  My  Struggle,  while  in  prison  which  expressed  his  political  thoughts  

§ Advocated  fierce  racial  anti-­‐Semitism  § Opposition  to  Bolshevism  § Conviction  that  Germany  must  expand  eastward  into  Poland  and  Ukraine  to  achieve  greater  “living  

space.”  o Prison  Apotheosis—two  things  Hitler  realized  while  in  prison  

§ First,  he  came  to  see  himself  as  the  leader  who  could  transform  Germany  from  a  position  of  weakness  to  strength.  

§ Second,  he  determined  that  he  and  the  party  must  pursue  power  through  legal  means      • The  Stresemann  Years  

o Gustav  Stresemann  was  German  chancellor  responsible  for  reconstructing  the  German  republic  and  giving  it  a  sense  of  self-­‐confidence.  

§ He  abandoned  the  policy  of  passive  resistance  in  the  Ruhr.  § With  help  from  the  banker  Hjalmar  Schacht  (1877-­‐1970),  he  introduced  a  new  German  currency,  the  

Rentenmark  which  was  traded  at  a  rate  of  one  trillion  to  one  of  the  old  German  marks.  § Dawes  Plan  of  1924  

• Plan  outlined  by  the  American  banker  Charles  Dawes,  it  was  a  new  system  for  Germany  to  pay  off  reparations  which  allowed  the  Germans  to  pay  according  to  the  fortunes  of  the  German  economy.  

• The  last  French  troops  left  the  Ruhr  in  1925.  

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o In  1925  Field  Marshal  Paul  von  Hindenburg,  a  military  hero  and  conservative  monarchist,  became  president  when  the  Social  Democrat  president,  Friedrich  Ebert  (1871-­‐1925),  died.  

§ Hindenburg’s  conservative  government    was  responsible  for  economic  development  in  Germany  in  the  late  1920s.  

o Stresemann’s  later  career  was  marked  by  his  acceptance  of  the  treat  provisions  as  it  pertained  to  the  West,  but  he  had  aspirations  to  recover  German-­‐speaking  territories  lost  to  Poland  and  Czechoslovakia,  and  to  possibly  unite  with  Austria.  

• Locarno  o Locarno  Agreements  of  October  1925  

§ France  and  Germany  both  accepted  the  westward  frontier  established  at  the  Paris  conference.  § Britain  and  Italy  agreed  to  intervene  against  whichever  side  violated  the  frontier  or  if  Germany  sent  

troops  into  the  demilitarized  Rhineland.  § German  made  no  agreements  about  its  eastern  frontier.  § France  supported  Germany’s  admittance  into  the  League  of  Nations  and  agreed  to  withdraw  French  

troops  from  the  Rhineland  by  1935,  five  years  earlier  than  that  which  was  specified  by  the  Versailles  treaty.  

o Locarno  Agreements  brought  a  sense  of  hope  to  Europe  and  the  political  figures  responsible  for  its  completion  each  received  a  Nobel  Peace  Prize,  but  trouble  lurked  beneath  the  surface.  

§ France  proved  it  was  unable  to  coerce  Germany  without  help  from  other  powers.  § Britain  proved  its  unwillingness  to  enforce  the  Versailles  treaty,  especially  as  it  pertained  to  the  East.  § Germany  and  the  Soviet  Union  continued  to  form  closer  military  bonds.  

o The  Great  Depression  devastated  Europe  early  in  1930  and  destroyed  the  temporary  prosperity  and  optimism.    

     

   

 

   

Mr.  Dunbar  AP  European  History  Chapter  27:  Europe  and  the  Great  Depression  of  the  1930s  Outline    Section  One:  Toward  the  Great  Depression  

• Section  Overview  o Reasons  for  the  length  and  extent  of  the  Great  Depression  

§ Financial  crisis  that  stemmed  directly  from  the  war  and  peace  settlement  § Crisis  arose  in  the  production  and  distribution  of  goods  in  the  world  market  § Neither  the  major  western  European  powers  nor  the  United  States  offered  strong  economic  

leadership  or  acted  responsibly.  • The  Financial  Tailspin  

o Section  Overview  § Immediately  after  the  armistice,  there  rose  a  demand  for  consumer  and  industrial  goods  that  

drove  up  prices.  § German  inflation  peaked  peeked  in  1923  and  is  one  of  the  main  reasons  why  most  governments  

refused  to  run  budget  deficits  when  the  depression  struck.  o Reparations  and  War  Debts  

§ France  

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• France  had  paid  reparations  in  1815,  after  Napoleon’s  final  defeat,  and  again  in  1871,  after  the  devastating  loss  to  Prussia,  and  now  as  victor,  intended  to  receive  reparations  and  use  them  to  finance  its  postwar  recovery.  

• 1923  invasion  of  the  Ruhr  demonstrated  French  determination  to  exact  reparations  § United  States  

• US  was  equally  intent  on  collecting  the  money  it  was  owed  by  the  Allies.  § Governments  and  finance  

• Governments  exercised  control  over  credit,  trade,  and  the  currency.  • The  financial  and  currency  muddle  thus  discouraged  trade  and  production  and,  in  

consequence,  hurt  employment.  o American  Investments  

§ The  Dawes  Plan  reorganized  the  transfer  of  reparations  and,  consequently,  smoothed  the  dept  repayments  to  the  United  States.  

§ After  the  Dawes  Plan,  private  American  flowed  into  Europe,  and  particularly  Germany,  which  provided  the  basis  for  brief  prosperity  around  1925.  

§ Problems  arise  in  1928  • American  money  was  withdrawn  from  European  investments  and  moved  to  the  booming  

New  York  stock  market.  • US  banks  made  large  loans  to  customers,  who  then  invested  the  money  in  the  stock  

market,  and  when  stock  prices  collapsed,  the  customers  could  not  repay  the  banks.  o All  types  of  credit  that  had  been  available  disappeared.  o Banks  failed.  

• Little  American  capital  was  available  to  invest  in  Europe.  o The  End  of  Reparations  

§ When  the  credit  to  Europe  began  to  run  out,  a  severe  financial  crisis  struck  the  Continent.  § In  May  1931,  Kreditanstalt,  a  large  bank  in  Vienna,  collapsed.  

• It  had  been  the  primary  lending  institution  for  much  of  central  and  eastern  Europe.  § The  collapse  of  Kreditanstalt  put  enormous  pressure  on  the  German  banking  industry  and  in  1931,  

Germany  was  unable  to  pay  reparations  dictated  by  the  1929  Young  Plan.  § American  president  Herbert  Hoover  (1874-­‐1964)  announced  a  one-­‐year  moratorium  on  all  

payments  of  international  debts.  § Lausanne  Conference  

• In  the  summer  of  1932,  this  meeting  decided  to  end  the  era  of  reparations.  • Problems  in  Agricultural  Commodities  

o The  1920s  saw  the  market  demand  for  European  goods  shrink  relative  to  the  Continent’s  capacity  to  produce  goods.  

§ Better  methods  of  farming,  improved  strains  of  wheat,  expanded  tillage,  and  more  extensive  transport  facilities  all  over  the  globe  vastly  increased  the  world  supply  of  grain,  leading  to  record  low  wheat  prices.  

• Although  initially  good  for  the  consumer,  it  mean  lower  incomes  for  European  farmers.  § Higher  industrial  wages  raised  the  cost  of  the  industrial  goods  farmers  or  peasants  used.  

o Farm  problems  in  Eastern  Europe  § Democratic  governments  that  took  over  Romania,  Czechoslovakia,  and  Yugoslavia,  broke  up  large  

estates  and  replaced  them  with  small  peasant-­‐owned  farms.  • These  smaller  farms  proved  inefficient  and  farmers  in  these  regions  were  unable  to  buy  

consumer  goods  or  new  equipment  for  their  farms.  • Many  blamed  the  problems  in  the  farming  industry  on  democratic  politics.  

o Many  German  farmers  supported  the  Nazi  party.  o Economic  problems  outside  of  Europe  

§ People  who  produced  wheat,  sugar,  cotton,  rubber,  wool,  and  lard  in  underdeveloped  nations  in  Asia,  Africa,  and  Latin  America  could  no  longer  make  enough  money  to  buy  finished  goods  from  industrial  Europe.  

• Depression  and  Government  Policy  

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o The  Great  Depression  was  not  depressive  to  everyone,  as  those  with  jobs  always  outnumbered  those  without.  

§ New  economic  sectors,  such  as  the  production  of  automobiles,  radios,  and  synthetics,  continued  to  develop  during  the  depression.  

§ Economic  uncertainty,  though,  made  many  people  anxious  which  fueled  social  discontent.  o Emergence  of  a  body  of  economic  thought  

§ John  Maynard  Keynes  (1883-­‐1946)  • Author  of  General  Theory  of  Employment,  Interest,  and  Money  

o advocated  active  government  involvement  in  the  economy  and  encouraged  the  expansion  of  government  spending  in  times  of  economic  downturn.  

§ Private  economic  enterprise  became  subject  to  new  trade,  labor,  and  currency  regulations.  • New  economic  policies  usually  involved  further  political  experimentation.  

 Section  Three:  Confronting  the  Great  Depression  in  Democracies    

• Section  Overview  o In  Britain,  the  depression  led  to  a  new  coalition  government  and  the  abandonment  of  economic  policies  

considered  sacred  for  a  century.  o In  France,  economic  stagnation  gave  rise  to  a  bold  political  and  economic  program  sponsored  by  parties  of  

the  left.  • Great  Britain:  The  National  Government  

o In  1929,  a  second  minority  Labour  government,  headed  by  Ramsay  MacDonald,  took  office.  § Ministry  became  divided  on  how  to  deal  with  economic  problems  

• MacDonald  wanted  to  slash  the  budget,  reduce  government  salaries,  and  cut  unemployment  benefits.  

• Many  members  of  his  cabinet  refused  this  plan  as  they  believed  it  punished  the  poor  and  unemployed.  

o MacDonald  requested  the  resignations  of  his  entire  cabinet  and  arranged  a  meeting  with  George  V.  

§ To  settle  the  political  squabbles,  MacDonald  artfully  crafted  the  National  Government  which  was  composed  of  Labour,  Conservative,  and  Liberal  ministers.  

• Most  of  the  Labour  party  believed  MacDonald  had  sold  out.  o The  National  Government  fights  against  depression  

§ To  balance  the  budget,  it  raised  taxes,  cut  insurance  for  the  unemployed  and  elderly,  and  lowered  government  salaries.  

§ In  September  1931,  Britain  went  of  the  gold  standard.  • The  value  of  the  British  pound  dropped  by  30%  • However,  this  move  stimulated  exports  because  it  made  British  products  cheaper  for  

foreigners  to  buy.  • In  1932,  Parliament  passed  the  Import  Duties  Bill,  which  placed  a  ten  percent  ad  valorem  

tariff—a  tax  levied  in  proportion  to  the  value  of  each  imported  good—on  all  imports  except  those  from  the  empire.  

§ Gold  and  free  trade,  the  hallmarks  of  almost  a  century  of  British  commercial  policy,  were  abandoned.  

o The  National  Government  produced  great  results  § Britain  avoided  the  banking  crisis  that  hit  other  countries.  § By  1934,  industrial  production  expanded  beyond  the  1929  level.  § Government  encouraged  lower  interest  rates  which  led  to  the  largest  private  housing  boom  in  

British  history.  § Industries  related  to  housing  and  home  furnishing  prospered.  

o Social  contentedness  in  Britain  § Unemployed  protested,  but  social  insurance,  though  hardly  generous,  did  support  them.  

o Future  of  the  National  Government  

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§ When  MacDonald  retired,  Stanley  Baldwin  succeeded  him  as  prime  minister  and  then  Neville  Chamberlain.  

§ Chamberlain  was  a  Conservative  who  was  a  progressive  thinker  on  social  issues.  o Fascism  in  Great  Britain  

§ In  1932,  Sir  Oswald  Mosley  (1896-­‐1980)  founded  the  British  Union  of  Fascists.  • He  was  disgusted  by  the  Labour  government’s  feeble  attack  on  unemployment.  • His  followers  wore  black  shirts  and  staged  rallies.  • At  the  height  of  Mosley’s  popularity,  however,  his  party  was  comprised  of  only  a  few  

thousand  adherents.  • Mosley’s  anti-­‐Semitism  drove  people  away  from  and  he  became  a  political  oddity.  

• France:  The  Popular  Front  o Great  Depression  in  France  came  later  than  that  in  Britain,  and  also  lasted  longer.  

§ Unemployment  was  never  a  major  problem  in  France.  § Industries  did  lower  wages.  § The  government  raised  tariffs  to  protect  French  goods,  and  particularly  French  farmers.  

o French  politics  during  the  depression  era  § A  radical  coalition  government  was  victorious  in  the  elections  of  1932.  

• Radicals  pursued  a  deflationary  economic  policy,  lowering  government  spending  and  increasing  interest  rates.  

• The  same  year  the  radicals  took  office,  the  reparation  payments  from  Germany  ceased.  • This  caused  extreme  tension  in  French  parliamentary  and  political  life.  

o Right  Wing  Violence  § Action  Franchise  and  Croix  de  Feu  (“Cross  of  Fire)  were  the  two  largest  right  wing  French  groups  

•  some  of  the  ideas  of  these  groups  include  restoring  a  monarchy  and  others  wanted  what  would  amount  to  military  rule.  

• they  were  hostile  to  parliamentary  government,  socialism,  and  communism  § These  various  groups  succeeded  in  weakening  loyalty  to  the  republican  government  and  they  

embittered  French  political  life.  § Stavitsky  Affair  

• Serge  Stavisky  (1934)  was  a  small  time  gangster  who  had  good  connections  in  the  government.  

• He  became  involved  in  a  bond  scheme  and  when  police  went  to  arrest  him,  he  suspiciously  omitted  suicide.  

• The  official  who  was  handling  the  investigation  concluded  that  Stavisky  may  have  been  murdered  as  a  political  cover-­‐up.  

• To  the  right  wing,  the  Stavisky  incident  symbolized  all  the  immorality  and  corruption  of  republican  politics.  

§ In  response  to  the  Stavisky  Affair,  a  large  demonstration  of  right-­‐wing  leagues  took  place  in  Paris.  • The  crowd  attempted  to  storm  the  Chamber  of  Deputies,  the  lower  house  of  the  French  

parliament.  • Fights  broke  out  between  the  right-­‐wing  demonstrators,  leftists,  and  the  police;  fourteen  

demonstrators  were  killed.  § After  this  clash,  a  government  ministry,  composed  of  all  living  former  premiers  replaced  the  

Radical  ministry  of  Edouard  Daladier  (1884-­‐1970).  • Parliament  permitted  the  ministry  to  deal  with  economic  affairs  by  decree.  • This  frightened  members  of  the  left  who  now  believed  a  right-­‐wing  coup  was  possible.  

o Socialist-­‐Communist  and  Cooperation  § Between  1934  and  1936,  the  French  left  began  to  make  peace  within  its  own  ranks.  

• French  socialists  were  led  by  Leon  Blum  (1872-­‐1950)    • Socialists  became  the  major  target  of  the  French  communists  since  the  split  over  joining  

the  Comintern  in  1920.  • French  leftist  merged  to  form  the  Popular  Front  in  1932  with  the  purpose  of  preserving  the  

republic  and  to  press  for  social  reform.  o Blum’s  Government  

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§ Blum’s  taking  of  office  was  met  by  work  stoppages  and  strikes  in  many  French  industries.  § Blum  responded  by  working  with  labor  representatives  and  produced  an  accord  to  help  ease  

tension  between  workers  and  management.  • Wages  were  immediately  increased  between  7  to  15  percent.  • Employers  were  required  to  recognize  unions  and  bargain  with  them.  • Workers  were  given  annual  two  weeks  vacation.  • 40  hour  work  week  was  established  

§ Blum  angered  bankers  and  businesspeople—who  were  primarily  conservative-­‐-­‐  when  he  extended  government  loans  to  small  industry.  

§ Blum  was  forced  to  resign  and  the  political  future  of  France  could  go  in  either  direction.    

Section  Four:  The  NAZI  Seizure  of  Power  • Depression  and  Political  Deadlock  

o The  outflow  of  foreign—especially  American—capital  in  1928  undermined  the  brief  economic  prosperity  of  the  Weimar  Republic.  

§ This  economic  crisis  led  to  the  collapse  of  parliamentary  government  and  in  1928,  a  coalition  of  center  parties  and  the  Social  Democrats  governed.  

§ The  coalition  worked  until  the  depression  struck  when  the  different  groups  within  the  coalition  disagreed  on  how  to  resolve  the  economic  woes.  

o To  resolve  the  deadlock  of  the  coalition,  President  von  Hindenburg  appointed  Heinrich  Bruning  (1885-­‐1970)  as  chancellor.  

§ Bruning  governed  through  emergency  governmental  decree,  as  Article  48  of  the  Weimar  constitution  authorized  him  to  do.    

• Consequently,  the  Weimar  Republic  became  an  authoritarian  regime.  § Problems  faced  by  Bruning’s  government  

• Unemployment  rose  from  2,258,000  in  March  1930  to  more  than  6,000,000  in  March  1932.  • Economic  problems,  and  the  aforementioned  parliamentary  gridlock,  benefitted  the  more  

extreme  political  parties.  o In  the  election  of  1928,  the  Nazis  had  won  only  12  seats  in  the  Reichstag;  but  after  

the  election  of  1930  they  held  107  seats.  o In  1928  the  Communist  party  held  54  seats  and  after  1932,  77.  

o Nazi  political  strategy  § The  Nazis  sought  to  capture  power  legally  through  election  but  used  terror  and  intimidation  to  

accomplish  their  ends  which  caused  the  breakdown  of  civility  in  the  political  process.  § Thousands  of  unemployed  joined  the  SA  (storm  troopers)  which  had  100,000  members  in  1930  and  

1  million  in  1933.  § The  Nazis  staged  rallies  and  viciously  attacked  Communists  and  Social  Democrats.  § This  led  to  impressive  electoral  results  for  the  Naizs.  

• Hitler  Comes  to  Power  o Election  of  1932  

§ Hitler  ran  for  the  office  of  president  against  the  incumbent,  the  83-­‐year-­‐old,  Hindenburg  and  forced  a  runoff.  

• Hitler  earned  30.1  percent  of  the  first  vote  and  36.8  percent  in  the  runoff.  § Hindenburg  remained  in  office  but  the  results  convinced  him  that  Bruning  no  longer  commanded  

the  confidence  of  the  conservative  German  voters.  o On  May  30,  1932  Hindenburg  dismissed  Bruning  and  appointed  Franz  von  Papen  (1878-­‐1969)  as  chancellor.  

§ Von  Papen  was  an  extremely  conservative  advisor  on  whom  Hindenburg  increasingly  became  dependent.  

§ Hindenburg  and  von  Papen  realized  they  needed  the  popular  support  that  only  the  Nazis  could  generate  but  they  didn’t  want  to  give  Hitler  power;  instead  they  called  for  a  Reichstag  election  for  July  1932.  

• The  Nazis  won  230  seats  in  the  election.    • Hitler  demanded  to  be  chancellor  but  Hindenburg  refused.  

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o In  November  1932,  Papen  resigned  and  the  next  month  General  Kurt  von  Schleicher  (1882-­‐1934)  became  chancellor.  

§ Fear  of  civil  war  between  the  right  and  left  marked  the  political  climate  in  Germany.  § Schleicher  tried  to  negotiate  with  another  Nazi  leader  in  order  to  stabilize  Hitler’s  influence  in  

German  politics,  but  the  plan  back  fired  and  Hitler  gained  more  support  within  his  party.  § Due  to  the  circumstances,  Schleicher  retired  on  January  28,  1933.  

o Hindenburg’s  advisors  convinced  him  to  appoint  Hitler  chancellor,  and  on  January  30,  1933,  Adolf  Hitler  achieved  his  goal  and  became  chancellor  of  Germany.  

§ The  conservative  von  Papen  was  appointed  vice  chancellor  and  other  conservatives  were  appointed  to  cabinet  positions  in  an  effort  to  neutralize  Hitler’s  power.  

o Hitler  forged  a  rigidly  disciplined  party  structure  and  mastered  the  art  of  mass  politics  and  propaganda.  § Hitler’s  support  was  strong  among  farmers,  war  veterans,  and  the  young.  § There  was  some  opposition  from  Catholics  in  rural  areas.  

o Vision  of  Hitler’s  supporters  § Suspicious  of  big  business  and  giant  capitalism  § They  wanted  a  simpler  world,  one  in  which  small  property  would  be  safe  from  both  socialism  and  

big  business.  • Hitler  Consolidates  Power  

o Section  Overview  § Once  in  office,  Hitler  consolidated  his  power  with  lightening  speed,  following  a  three-­‐step  process:  

• First,  capture  full  legal  authority  • Second,  the  crushing  of  alternative  political  groups  • Third,  the  purging  of  rivals  within  the  Nazi  Party  itself  

o Reichstag  Fire  § On  February  27,  1933,  a  mentally  ill  Dutch  communist  set  fire  to  the  Reichstag  building  in  Berlin.  § The  Nazis  quickly  claimed  the  fire  had  been  set  by  communists  who  were  threatening  the  

government  and  German  citizens  feared  an  attack  from  communists.  §  Hitler  used  this  event  to  issue  an  emergency  decree  suspending  civil  liberties  and  arrested  

communists  or  alleged  communists,  authorized  Under  Article  48  of  the  Weimar  constitution.  o Enabling  Act  

§ On  March  23,  1933,  the  Reichstag  passed  an  Enabling  Act  that  permitted  Hitler  to  rule  by  decree,  and  thus  the  Weimar  constitution  became  a  dead  document.  

§ Then,  Hitler  moved  to  outlaw  any  institution  that  might  serve  as  a  rallying  point  for  opposition.  • The  Nazi  Party  seized  offices,  banks,  and  newspapers  of  the  free  trade  unions  and  arrested  

their  leaders.  • In  late  June  and  early  July,  all  other  German  political  parties  were  outlawed  and  by  July  14,  

1933,  the  National  Socialists  were  the  only  legal  party  in  Germany.  • Also  in  July,  the  Nazis  took  over  the  governments  of  the  individual  federal  states  in  Germany  

and  by  the  close  of  1933,  all  major  institutions  of  potential  opposition  had  been  eliminated.  o Internal  Nazi  Party  Purges  

§ Storm  Troopers  (SA)  • Membership  included  1  million  by  1933  and  several  more  reservists.  • Ernst  Roehm  (1887-­‐1934)  was  the  commander  of  the  SA  and  Hitler  feared  he  could  be  a  rival  

to  power.  o On  June  30,  1934,  Hitler  ordered  the  murder  of  key  SA  officers,  including  Roehm.  

§ Between  June  30  and  July  2,  more  than  a  hundred  people  were  killed,  including  former  chancellor  Kurt  von  Schleicher  and  his  wife.  

§ The  Germany  army,  the  only  institution  capable  of  preventing  the  murders,  did  nothing.  § On  August  2,  1934,  President  Hindenburg  died  and  Hitler  combined  the  offices  of  president  and  

chancellor  making  him  the  sole  ruler  of  Germany.  • The  Political  State  and  Anti-­‐Semitism:  Hitler  Fashion  a  Police  State  

o SS  (Schutzstaffel,  or  “protective  force”)  Organization      § Served  as  the  secret  police,  or  security  units.  § Commanded  by  Heinrich  Himmler  (1900-­‐1945)  

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• He  became  the  head  of  all  police  matters  in  Germany  • One  of  Hitler’s  closest  advisors  

§ Group  formed  to  serve  as  the  body  guard  for  Hitler  § It  became  a  much  more  elite  paramilitary  organization  with  52,000  members,  than  the  much  larger  

SA.  o Attack  on  Jewish  Economic  Life  

§ Anti-­‐Semitism  was  a  key  element  of  Nazi  ideology  • Based  on  19th  century  biological  racial  theories  

§ Three  stages  of  terror,  or  racial  discrimination,  of  Jews  § 1933-­‐exclusion  of  Jews  from  civil  service  and  boycotts  of  Jewish  shops  and  businesses  

o Racial  Legislation—stage  one  of  terror  against  Jews  § Nuremberg  Laws  of  1935  

• Robbed  German  Jews  of  their  citizenship  • Professions  and  major  occupations  were  closed  to  Jews  • Definition  of  who  was  a  “Jew”  was  confusing  and  complex  

o Took  into  account  number  of  Jewish  parents  and  grandparents,  as  well  as  whether  a  person  actively  practiced  Judaism  

o All  persons  with  at  least  three  Jewish  grandparents  were  defined  as  Jews  o Persons  who  had  two  Jewish  grandparents,  and  also  practiced  Judaism,  were  also  

considered  Jews  o See  page  920  for  more  info  defining  Jews  in  Nazi  Germany  

o Kristallnach  (“Crystal  Night”):  Organized  Persecution  of  Jews—the  stage  two  of  terror  against  Jews  § On  November  9  and  10,  1938,  under  Nazi  Party  orders,  thousands  of  Jewish  businesses  and  

synagogues  were  burned  and  destroyed.  § This  helped  instill  in  the  German  people  the  notion  of  a  master  race  

• Master  race  of  pure  German  “Aryans”  o The  Final  Solution—stage  three  of  terror  against  the  Jews  

§ After  the  war  broke  out,  Hitler  decided  in  1941  and  1942  to  destroy  the  Jews  in  Europe.  § More  than  six  million  Jews  were  murdered.  

• Racial  Ideology  and  the  Lives  of  Women  o German  women  had  the  special  task  of  preserving  racial  purity  and  giving  birth  to  more  pure  Germans  who  

were  healthy  in  mind  and  body;  this  policy  of  selective  breeding  is  known  as  antinatalism.  § Nazi  journalists  frequently  compared  women  during  child  birth  to  men  in  battle  and,  in  both  cases,  

the  nation  was  more  important  than  the  individual.  § Nazi  policy  on  childbearing  disapproved  of  fostering  motherhood  among  Jews,  Slavs,  and  Gypsies.  § The  government  sought  to  prevent  “undesirables”  from  reproducing  as  they  were  responsible  for  

the  alleged  “degeneracy.  o Nazi  programs  were  designed  to  benefit  Aryan  families.  

§ Government  provided  loans  to  encourage  early  marriage  § Tax  breaks  were  given  to  families  with  children  and  child  allowances  were  available.  

o Although  the  Nazi  party  emphasized  motherhood,  the  party  vowed  to  protect  jobs  for  women  and  the  number  of  women  in  the  workforce  rose  steadily  in  Nazi  Germany.  

§ Agricultural  labor,  teaching,  nursing,  social  service,  and  domestic  service  were  jobs  deemed  fit  for  women  under  Nazi  policy.  

o Mothers  were  required  to  instill  love  of  nation  in  their  children.  o As  consumers  for  the  home,  women  were  to  support  German  owned  shops,  buy  German  made  goods,  and  

boycott  Jewish  businesses.  • Nazi  Economic  Policy  

o By  1936,  while  the  rest  of  Europe  was  still  experiencing  economic  hardship,  unemployment  and  other  difficulties  associated  with  the  Great  Depression  was  no  longer  haunting  Germany.  

o Hitler’s  success  in  confronting  the  depression  was  one  of  the  primary  reasons  Germans  supported  his  tyrannical  regime.  

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§ Nazi  economic  policy  proved  that,  by  sacrificing  all  political  and  civil  liberty,  destroying  a  free  trade  movement,  limiting  the  private  exercise  of  capital,  and  ignoring  consumer  satisfaction,  a  government  could  achieve  full  employment  to  prepare  for  war  and  aggression.  

o Nazi  and  ideology  and  free  trade  § Supported  private  property  and  capitalism  § However,  it  subordinated  all  significant  economic  enterprise  and  decisions  about  prices  and  

investment  to  the  goals  of  the  state.  § Massive  program  of  public  works  and  spending  

• Many  projects  related  to  rearmament  • Built  canals,  reclaimed  land,  constructed  extensive  highway  system  with  clear  military  uses  • Laborers  were  not  permitted  to  change  jobs  without  permission  

o In  1935,  the  renunciation  of  the  Treaty  of  Versailles  led  to  open  rearmament  and  military  expansion.    § Hitler  charged  Hermann  Goring  (1893-­‐1946),  former  head  of  the  German  air  force,  to  undertake  a  

four-­‐year  plan  to  prepare  the  army,  navy,  and  economy  for  war.  o Government  outlawed  trade  unions  and  dealt  with  labor  disputes  through  government  arbitration.  

§ Required  workers  and  employees  to  join  the  “Labor  Front,”  an  organization  designed  to  demonstrate  that  class  conflict  had  ended.  

• Labor  Front  sponsored  “Strength  Through  Joy,”  a  program  that  provided  vacations  and  other  recreational  opportunities.    

Section  Five:  Italy—Fascist  Economics  • Section  Overview  

o Discipline  was  a  substitute  for  economic  policy  and  creativity.  o Government  economic  recovery  plan  

§ Drained  the  Pontine  Marshes  near  Rome  and  built  settlements  § Subsidized  the  shipping  industry  and  introduced  protective  tariffs  § Wheat  farming  was  expanded.  

o Despite  these  efforts,  Italy  was  unable  to  avoid  the  Great  Depression.  • Syndicates  

o Economic  policy  of  fascist  government  in  Italy  was  known  as  corporatism;  this  promoted  an  economic  course  somewhere  between  socialism  and  a  laissez-­‐faire  system.  

o Major  industries  were  divided  into  “syndicates”  representing  labor  and  management  § The  two  parties  negotiated  labor  settlements  and  submitted  differences  to  compulsory  government  

arbitration.  § Government  insisted  that  both  management  and  laborers  keep  in  mind  the  end  goal:  the  

productivity  of  the  nation.  • Corporations  

o After  1930,  industrial  syndicates  were  reorganized  into  entities  called  corporations.  § Corporations  grouped  all  industries  relating  to  a  major  area  of  production  in  order  to  maximize  

efficiency.  § For  example,  industries  such  as  agriculture  or  metallurgy,  the  entities  that  produced  the  finished  

products  were  fused  with  those  who  extract  the  raw  materials.  § In  1938,  Mussolini  replaced  the  Italian  Chamber  of  Deputies  with  the  Chamber  of  Corporations.  

o Government  gained  further  economic  control  with  the  creation  of  the  Institute  for  Industrial  Reconstruction,  which  extended  loans  to  businesses  that  were  experiencing  financial  difficulty.  

o When  Italy  invaded  Ethiopia  in  1935,  the  economy  was  structured  for  war  time,  but  this  led  to  a  depressed  economic  situation.  

§ League  of  Nations  encouraged  boycott  of  Italian  products.  § Taxes  rose  in  Italy.  § Government  enforced  a  “forced  loan”  on  the  citizenry  § Wages  dropped.  

 Section  Six:  Stalin’s  Soviet  Union:  Central  Economic  Planning,  Collectivization,  and  Party  Purges  

• Section  Overview  

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o While  the  capitalist  economies  of  Western  Europe  floundered  in  the  Great  Depression,  the  Soviet  Union  undertook  tremendous  industrial  advance.  

o Russia  achieved  its  stunning  industrial  growth  during  the  1930s  at  the  cost  of  literally  millions—perhaps  tens  of  millions—of  human  lives.  

• Decision  for  Rapid  Industrialization  o In  1927,  Stalin  abandoned  the  NEP—which  he  used  as  his  political  platform  to  come  to  power  in  opposition  

to  Trotsky—and  geared  Russia  for  rapid  industrialization.  o Stalin’s  vision  for  Russia  

§ Have  the  communist  Soviet  Union  overtake  the  production  capacity  of  its  enemies,  the  capitalist  nations.  

o The  State  Planning  Commission,  or  Gosplan  § Called  for  the  rapid  construction  of  heavy  industries  such  as  iron,  steel,  machine  tool  making,  

electrical  generation  plants,  and  manufacturing  tractors.  § Plans  consistently  favored  capital  projects  over  the  production  of  consumer  goods  § this  new  economic  vision  created  the  first  large  factory  labor  force  in  Russian  history  and  rural  

laborers  were  recruited  from  the  countryside  • poor  standard  of  living  for  urban  workers  

o Communist  Party  and  Propaganda  § Government  boasted  of  the  plants  it  constructed  and  the  new  towns  being  organized  § Party  appealed  to  the  idealism  of  the  young  § Workers,  such  as  a  legendary  coal  miner  named  Stakhanov,  who  exceeded  their  assigned  goals  

received  rewards  and  publicity.  o In  35  years,  the  Russian  economy  grew  more  rapidly  than  that  of  any  other  nation  in  the  Western  World  

during  any  similar  period.  • The  Collectivization  of  Agriculture  

o Agriculture  and  the  NEP  § Government  purchased  grain  and  reduced  prices  from  farmers  and  the  farmers  sold  their  surplus  at  

market  price.  § Farmers  decided  to  hoard  their  surplus  

• Since  few  consumer  goods  were  available  for  consumption  in  the  countryside,  farmers  decided  to  hoard  their  grain  until  the  market  would  pay  higher  prices  for  it  or  so  they  could  begin  selling  once  consumer  products  became  available.  

§ Due  to  hoarding,  food  shortages  occurred  in  1928  and  1929  leading  to  social  unrest  in  the  cities.  o Stalin  reversed  the  agricultural  policies  of  the  NEP  by  the  end  of  the  1920s.  

§ Government  issued  a  list  of  problems  confronting  agricultural  production  • Traditional  peasant  holdings  were  two  small  to  be  efficient.  • Claimed  that  a  “class  enemy”  was  responsible  for  hoarding  and  for  what  they  regarded  as  

speculation  in  the  grain  trade  o Prosperous  peasants,  known  as  kulaks,  were  considered  the  enemy.  

§ Stalin  devised  a  program  of  collectivization  of  agriculture.  • Replacement  of  private  peasant  farmers  with  huge  state-­‐run  and  state-­‐owned  farms  called  

collectives  • Stalin  demonized  the  kulaks  and  vowed  to  dismember  this  class  which  came  to  include  any  

peasant  who  opposed  collectivization.  • Enormous  rural  turmoil  and  violence  resulted.  

§ Peasants  resisted  collectivization.  • Resistance  often  led  by  women  • Between  1929  and  1933  millions  of  horses  and  cattle  had  been  slaughtered  by  the  

resistance.  • As  a  result,  nearly  two  million  peasants  were  removed  from  their  homes  were  carted  off  to  

prison  camps  or  Siberia.  § Orthodox  priests  living  in  the  countryside  were  also  targeted  by  the  communist  party  because  

Soviet  Ideology  was  atheistic.  

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• Between  1926  and  1937,  the  number  of  priests  in  Russia—as  recorded  by  the  census—had  decreased  by  half.  

§ Soviet  government  organized  Motor-­‐Tractor  Stations  • Supplied  seed  and  equipment  for  several  collective  farms  in  a  region  and  oversaw  the  

collection  and  sale  of  grain.  § By  the  middle  of  the  1930s,  the  government  allowed  collective  farmers  to  also  farm  their  own  

personal  plots  for  their  families  and  local  sales.  • Flight  to  Soviet  Cities  

o As  a  result  of  collectivization,  between  1928  and  1932,  approximately  12  million  peasants  left  the  countryside  and  headed  for  the  cities.  

§ Most  were  young  males  leaving  a  disproportionate  number  of  women  and  elderly  people  in  the  villages  where  they  lived  in  extreme  poverty.  

§ Moscow’s  population  doubled  in  this  four  year  period  o Between  1939  and  1980,  the  proportion  of  the  Soviet  population  living  on  the  land  fell  from  two-­‐thirds  to  

one-­‐third.  • Urban  Consumer  Shortages  

o Housing  shortage  § Urban  workers  lived  in  barracks    § In  older  cities,  individuals  and  families  had  trouble  finding  apartments.  § Several  families  shared  kitchens,  baths,  and  toilets.  

o Chronic  shortages  of  the  most  basic  consumer  goods,  including  food  and  clothing—and  particularly  shoes.  § From  the  end  of  the  NEP  through  the  collapse  of  the  Soviet  Union  in  1991,  city  shops  had  few  

goods.  § Goods  that  did  appear  when  sold  exclusively  to  party  members.  

• The  small  minority  of  party  members  lived  at  a  much  higher  standard  of  living  than  the  general  Soviet  population.  

o Except  for  certain  showplaces  in  Moscow  and  Leningrad  (St.  Petersburg),  Soviet  cities  generally  lacked  the  kind  of  infrastructure  that  Western  European  cities  enjoyed.  

§ Even  important  cities  lacked  sewer  systems  in  the  mid-­‐1930s.  § In  the  new  industrial  cities,  running  water,  paved  streets,  and  electrical  lighting  were  rare.  

o The  black  market  flourished,  and  peasants  raised  food  on  tiny  plots.  § People  bartered  with  one  another.  

o Coping  became  known  as  the  blat—the  belief  of  the  Soviet  people  that  they  were  enduring  hardship  to  build  a  greater  socialist  future.  

• Foreign  Reactions  and  Repercussions  o Some  American  and  British  reactions  

§ After  a  trip  to  Russia,  the  American  writer  Lincoln  Steffens  reported,  “I  have  seen  the  future  and  it  works.”.  

§ Beatrice  and  Sidney  Webb,  British  Fabian  socialists,  spoke  of  a  “new  civilization”  in  the  Soviet  Union.  

o These  political  ideologues  did  not  know  that  the  transformation  of  the  Soviet  Union  came  at  the  cost  of  millions  of  lives.  

o Internal  difficulties  caused  by  collectivization  and  industrialization  led  Stalin  to  shift  his  foreign  policy  in  1934  as  he  ordered  the  Comintern  to  permit  communist  parties  in  other  nations  to  cooperate  with  non-­‐communist  parties  against  Nazism  and  fascism  

§ The  new  Stalinist  policy  allowed  the  Popular  Front  Government  in  France  to  come  to  power.  • The  Purges  

o Stalin’s  decision  to  industrialize  rapidly,  to  move  against  the  peasants,  and  reverse  the  Comintern  policy  aroused  internal  opposition.  

o In  1929,  Stalin  forced  Bukharin,  the  fervent  supporter  of  the  NEP  and  his  own  former  all  against  Trotsky,  off  the  Politburo.  

§ Some  lower  party  members  rallied  behind  Bukharin  but  their  opposition  was  modest  at  best.  o Great  Purges—Stalin’s  paranoia  of  threats  to  his  power  led  to  the  a  series  of  mysterious  and  horrendous  

human  rights  violations.  

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§ Beginning  of  the  Purges  • On  December  1,  1934,  Sergei  Kirov  (1888-­‐1934),  a  popular  party  chief  of  Leningrad  and  a  

member  of  the  Politburo,  was  assassinated.  § In  the  wake  of  Kirov’s  assassination,  thousands  of  people  were  arrested,  and  more  were  expelled  

from  the  party  and  sent  to  labor  camps.  • At  the  time,  many  thought  the  opponents  of  Stalin  assassinated  Kirov  • Today,  most  historians  believe  Stalin  ordered  Kirov’s  assassination  himself.  

§ Between  1936  and  1938,  a  series  of  spectacular  show  trials  were  held  in  Moscow  • Former  high  ranking  Soviet  officials—including  Bukharin-­‐-­‐publicly  confessed  to  political  

crimes  and  were  convicted  and  executed.  • Stalin  frequently  arrested  the  wives,  children,  siblings,  and  in-­‐laws  of  “traitors”  and  had  

them  shot  or  sent  to  die  in  labor  camps.  • Hundreds  of  thousands—perhaps  millions—of  regular  Russian  people  received  no  trial  at  

all  and  were  either  executed  or  deported  for  slave  labor.  • The  Soviet  government  then  tried  and  executed  army  and  navy  officials  they  believed  were  

traitors.  • Stalin  eventually  turned  against  the  central  party  elite,  his  own  supporters,  and  began  to  

find  or  pretend  to  find  enemies  within  its  rank.  o The  “old  Bolsheviks”  of  the  October  Revolution  in  1917  were  among  Stalin’s  earliest  targets  as  Stalin  sought  

to  promote  young  Soviets  who  were  not  committed  to  Leninist  principles.  o The  terror  executed  during  this  era  in  Russian  history  has  been  termed  “centrally  authorized  chaos.”