World After World War I

A Look at the World Post 1918

What was the world like politically after WWI?

• Colonies’ participated in the war, which increased demands for independence – Mass amounts of colonial nationalism and resistance to

imperial rule begins• End of the Russian Imperial, Ottoman, German, and

Austro-Hungarian empires– Eastern Europe looks much different now

• Enormous cost of the war in lives, property, and social disruption – Hurts the political power of European nations

The Mandate System• During World War I, Great Britain and France agreed to

divide large portions of the Ottoman Empire in the Middle East between themselves.

• After the war, the “mandate system” gave Great Britain and France control over the lands that became Iraq, Transjordan, and Palestine (British control) and Syria and Lebanon (French control).

• The division of the Ottoman Empire through the mandate system planted the seeds for future conflicts in the Middle East.

Map of Mandates in Middle East

Financial Collapse

• The economy of the United States enjoyed a boom in the 1920s. But this growth hid problems.

• As the worry of war decreased, people began buying many products.

• For example, demand for home appliances increased, and many Americans bought such products on credit.

• In addition, overseas orders for American products increased as war-ravaged countries purchased goods from the United States because their own factory systems were destroyed.

Great Depression

• Factories in the United States went into full production to meet this increased postwar demand, both domestic and foreign.

• As war-torn countries rebuilt their factories, they began cutting their orders to American factories, which in turn contributed to American factories’ laying off workers or shutting down when their inventories stopped selling.

Roots of the Great Depression

• Efficient machinery led to overproduction• Uneven distribution of wealth added to the

country’s problems. (5% of households earned 30% of the county’s income)

• Low consumption added to economic problems

• As sales decreased, workers were laid off, resulting in a chain reaction

Roots of the Great Depression

• Installment plan, paying a little at a time, left little money to purchase other goods

• Hawley-Smoot Tariff intensified the Depression by raising the tax on imports

• Americans purchased less from abroad, in return foreign corporations did not buy American exports.

• Federal reserve lowered interest rates instead of raising them, encouraging banks to make risky loans and business thinking economy was growing

The Roaring 20’s• The new concept of

“credit” • People were buying:

– Automobiles– Appliances– Clothes

• Fun times reigned– Dancing– Flappers– Drinking

Why was this bad?• Credit system

– People didn’t really have the money they were spending

• WWI– The U.S. was a major

credit loaner to other nations in need

– Many of these nations could not pay us back

Dawes Plan

•Germans receive money from US

to repay reparations

•Germans give moneyto France and Britain for WWI reparations

•French and British receive reparations payments from Germany

•French and British repay debts to US with money from Germany

*Americans are lending money to the Germans to repay reparations

*Americans are owed money from Britain and France for WWI debts

The Stock Market• People bought stocks

on margins– If a stock is $100 you

can pay $10 now and the rest later when the stock rose

• Stocks fall– Now the person has

less than $100 and no money to pay back

And then….

• With people panicking about their money investors tried to sell their stocks– This leads to a huge decline

in stocks– Stocks were worthless now

• People who bought on “margins” now could not pay

• Investors were average people that were now broke

Depression

• Black Tuesday, October 29, 1929, stock prices fell drastically (stocks lost $10-$15 billion in value)

• This stock market crash did not cause the depression, but it weakened the nation’s banks

• Because the government did not insure bank deposits, customers lost their money.

• $30 billion was lost, (roughly equal to the total wages earned by Americans in 1929), as stock prices had dropped by over 1/3.

Causes of the Great Depression

• Over speculation in the stock market• Over borrowing• Over production in factories and farms• Uneven distribution of wealth• Failure by the Federal Reserve to monitor

banks• High protective tariffs

Causes of the Depression

• Overproduction and low demand leads to employee layoffs

• Low wages reduce consumer buying power• High tariffs restrict foreign demand for

American goods (Hawley-Smoot Tariff)• Unemployment reduces buying power further

The Impact of The Great Depression

• Unemployment increased• Homelessness increased• Workers became more militant • Farmers lost their farms• Workers migrated in search of jobs

How was the world affected economically?

• Hits the rest of the world too (global depression)– Unemployment reaches

new heights (1932)• Ex – US – 24%

– Great Britain – 22.5%– Germany – 30%– Italy – 20.5%

What was Happening in France after WWI

• France won but…– Land destroyed in north– Large number of dead young men– Economy weakened severely

• Problems for France– High Prices - inflation– US debt – debt plus high interest– Maginot Line – huge military expense

• Leads to social unrest in country**

Destruction of French Cities and Land

Maginot Line – system of detailed trenches built by the French

What is happening in Britain after the War?

• Britain’s problems– High Debt just like with France– Outdated industrial technology– High tariffs worldwide hurt British trade

• Britain’s Labor issues– After War many people unemployed

• 24% in 1921

• British slowly losing control of its Empire– Its colonies are fighting for independence and

there is not much Britain can do

India Rebellion• Britain relied on its empire to get

support for WWI– promised to give more self government

rights to colonies• India - led by Mahatma Gandhi

– Both British and Indians are split on issue– passive resistance (boycott goods/refuse

taxes)• British try to repress it – leads moderates

to join nationalist• True independence wont happen until

1947

British empire losses continued…• Middle East – Arabs feel betrayed by West

– Gave independence to Iraq and Jordan (kept military presence)

– Had an issue with Palestine though – promised to both the Arabs and the Jews

• “Zionism” = desire for a Jewish homeland (in Israel)• Balfour Declaration (1917)

– Statement made by the British saying that they desired to create a Jewish homeland in Palestine (modern day Israel)

– Realized that both (Palestinians and Jewish People) cannot live side by side though… big problem in the future

British Empire after WWI• British give independence to four other colonies in 1931

– “British Commonwealth of Nations” • South Africa, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia

– What do all these areas have in common?

What is going on in China?• Remember the Boxer Rebellion…• New nationalist movement started

– Kuomintang – leader is Sun Yixian• Industrialize, modernize and unify country

– 1912 – Qing Dynasty overthrown• China becomes a republic (early years unstable though)• 1925 Sun Yixian dies and Chiang Kai-shek takes over

nationalist party (more of a dictator)– Military campaign to unite country (successful)

• Another group arises out of the nationalist party– Chinese Communist Party (founded in 1921) *Shanghai*– Splits nationalist party into two (Kai-shek tries to suppress

communist though)

Sun Yixian Chiang Kai-shek

Communist come to power in China• Inspired by Russian revolution and ideas of Marx

and Lenin– Wanted to free country from foreign dependence and

backwardness– Kai-shek wanted to eliminate communist

• 1927 – Communist executions in Shanghai– Kai-shek continues trying to eliminate communist– Long March – 100,000 communist marched 6,000

miles for over a year• Constantly chased by Kai-shek and nationalist troops• A new leader arises from this march – Moa Zedong

Mao Zedong’s rise to power• Mao is born in south east china• Believes that Chinese peasants

are the key to starting communist revolution– Opposed idea that proletariats had

to start it• Starts gathering peasant support

in eastern China– Listens to peasant demands and

helps reform their lives– Fights Nationalist troops and starts

civil war– Civil War is stopped by oncoming of

WWII and threat of Japan

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was created in 1922.

Ukraine Russia

Transcaucasian Region Belarus

Russia

• The people of Russia were divided.• The peasants were hungry and desired more

rights and better treatment• Over time the country had been through

confrontations that placed a burden on the poor and they wanted change.

Russian Revolution

– Czar Nicholas II’s reforms were too little too late– No industrial power = no national power– Loss to the Japanese was humiliating

announcement of weakness– WWI participation sucked Russia dry and made

civil war inevitable – Weak resistance to well organized and mobilized

Bolshevik radicals– Total abdication and assassination end the

Romanov Dynasty

1918: Lenin Begins to Change Russian Society

Treaty with Germany cedes land in exchange for peace.All industry nationalized.Independent labor unions banned.Grain requisitions: armed officials seize grain from farmers to feed the poor.Housing space seized and distributed.

"Comrade Lenin Cleanses the Earth of Filth" Communist poster, 1920

Leninism: The Telescoping of HistoryKarl Marx, considered the father of communism, wrote that history proceeds through distinct stages: feudalism, capitalism, imperialism, etc. Only after going through these stages, Marx thought, could society advance to communism.Lenin argued that under the right circumstances, such as those of Russia in 1917, the intermediate steps could be skipped.

Marx wrote about the dictatorship of the proletariat, a period in which the working class would govern society while the ultimate classless society of communism was developed.To Lenin, the dictatorship of the proletariat meant that a small group of dedicated individuals would lead society forcefully so that the groundwork could be laid for the future ideal society.

Worldwide Appeal of Communism

Russia was the first country to attempt to put the theory of socialism into practice.Many workers and intellectuals around the world thought that at last there was a chance to overcome the inequality and exploitation of market capitalism and build a society in which everyone was respected and cared for.

Communist parties emerged in the U.S. and Europe, and also in Asia, Africa and Latin America, where many countries suffered from

poverty and the remnants of colonialism.

Maoist demonstration, Nepal

Leon TrotskyTrotsky was a key figure in

the Russian Revolution, second only to Lenin.From 1918 to 1925, he was

People's Commissar for Army and Navy Affairs and commander of the Red Army.

When Lenin died in 1924, Trotsky was widely expected to assume leadership of the country. Instead, that role went to Joseph Stalin, General Secretary of the Central Committee.As leader of the Left Opposition, Trotsky opposed Stalin. He was

purged from the Communist Party in 1927 and exiled in 1928.From exile, he continued to oppose Stalin and Stalinism.Trotsky was assassinated by Stalinists in 1940 at his home in

Mexico City.

"Have you signed up as a volunteer?"

Civil war recruitment poster

Lenin, Trotsky and soldiers of the Red Army, 1921

Coat of Arms of the Soviet

Union

War Communism and the New Economic Policy

From 1918 through 1921, the Bolsheviks implemented radical economic changes. Under "War Communism," all industry was nationalized, private enterprise was made illegal, and economic planning was centralized.The results were disastrous for the Russian economy and led to a major famine in 1921.In 1921, Lenin introduced the New Economic Policy (NEP). The state retained control of banking and major industries, but small business ventures were allowed, farmers were allowed to sell surplus production, and trade restrictions were loosened."We are not civilized enough for socialism," Lenin said. In 1929, Stalin abolished the NEP.

Famine of 1921-1922Causes:

Disruption of agricultural production by WWI, the revolution and the civil war.War Communism economic policy.Drought of 1921.Under War Communism, the Bolsheviks requisitioned grain from the peasants to support the war effort. Many peasants rebelled and either cut back on grain production or sold it on the black market.

Results:Approximately five million deaths.

Lenin believed that the Russian Revolution was merely the first step in a worldwide workers’ revolution.

Permanent Revolution vs. Communism in One Country

Stalin believed that the opportunity for worldwide revolution had passed, and that the USSR should concentrate on building communism in one country.

Trotsky believed that the Russian Revolution could only succeed in the context of permanent worldwide revolution.

Stalin Creates a Totalitarian StateInstituted one-man rule.

Eliminated/murdered political opposition.

Used secret police and informers to spread terror and insure obedience.

Ordered massive deportations and executions.

Extended state control over every aspect of Soviet society.

Communism under Stalin• Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin died shortly after Communist Soviet Union formed,

1924• Joseph Stalin became new Soviet leader after struggle for power

The Five-Year Plans• Major part of Stalin’s plan to strengthen communism, modernization of economy• First Five-Year Plan began 1928, factories and mines had production goals

Different Approach• Karl Marx predicted state would wither away under communism• Stalin took different approach, worked to return Soviet Union to totalitarian state,

controlling all Soviet life

Stalin’s Soviet Union

Stalin’s Soviet Union

5-Year Plans reflected Soviet system of central planning • Government makes major decisions about production of

goods • Differs from capitalist economic system, where market forces

are major influences on production• Plans did lead to increases in Soviet industrial output• During first two Five-Year Plans, oil production doubled, coal

and steel production quadrupled• Demands on Soviet workers were high

Political Purges• Stalin, absolute power, but feared people plotting against him• Began campaign called Great Purge, to get rid of people, things undesirable• During Great Purge, thousands executed, sent to the Gulag

Cult of Personality• Portraits of Stalin decorated public places, creating heroic, idealized image• Streets, towns renaming in Stalin’s honor, created cult of personality• By ruthlessly removing opposition, Stalin gained stranglehold over society

Totalitarian Rule• Stalin’s regime dominated Soviet life• Children encouraged to join youth organizations, taught attitudes, beliefs• Religion discouraged, churches closed

Stalin’s Soviet Union

• Peasants resisted, Stalin responded violently

• Executed thousands, sent more to Siberian system of labor camps, called the Gulag

• Resistance continued, particularly in the Ukraine

• Stalin refused to send food during 1932 famine; millions starved to death

Peasant Reaction• Stalin believed millions of small,

individually owned Soviet farms would be more productive if combined into larger, mechanized farms

• Combining small farms called collectivization

• Stalin tried to take land back given to peasants after Russian Revolution

Increase Farm InputCollectivization and Famine

USSR during the interwar years• 1922 – USSR is founded with Lenin as leader

– New Economic Policy (NEP) – attempt to allow some free enterprise

• Collective Farming – get peasants to combine efforts on farmland

• 1924 – Lenin dies – power struggle afterwards– Leon Trotsky vs. Joseph Stalin– By 1928 – Stalin wins and Trotsky is exiled

• 1940 – Trotsky killed in Mexico on Stalin’s orders

Russia under Stalin• Economy – ends NEP program

– Command Economy – gov’t controls all decisions• Five Year Plan – ambitious growth plan

– 1st one in 1928 – Forced collective farming on peasants

• 90% of farmland turned into collective farming– Agriculture dips sharply (millions die from famine and crop failure)– The economy grows overall though

• 2nd Five Year Plan (1933) – more ambitious– USSR still grows as industrial country– People suffer many hardships though – scarce food and consumer goods– Life does not improve for regular citizens– USSR only cares about growth of industry though (best for country)

Government under Stalin• Politburo (Political Bureau) runs government in

Russia (Stalin controls them) – near absolute authority

• Uses fear to control people of USSR– He is a dictator (one of the worst)

• Government represses religion– Take all religious property, close churches, imprison

or execute church officials• Government represses art, music, and writing

– Only “Socialist Realism” allowed (Soviet propaganda)

The Great Purge• 1934 – important communist official is

assassinated– Stalin responds with purge of anyone he thinks is

an enemy of Communist efforts– Starts in the Communist Party and then moves on

to rest of population• Anyone who questions Stalin will either be

exiled, imprisoned, put into labor camps or killed– By 1939 he had supposedly gotten rid of 5 million

of his own people (killed, exiled, or imprisoned)

Fascism vs. Communism Differences

Fascism• Extremely nationalistic

(Fascism is for the good of a particular country alone.)

• Does not seek a “classless society”.

• Made up of aristocrats, industrialists, war veterans, and lower middle class.

Communism• Internationalistic (Communists

believe their system should spread throughout the world.)

• Seeks a “classless society”• Made up of urban working

lower classes (Russia) and peasants (China).

Fascism AND CommunismSimilarities

• Both were ruled by dictators.• Both allowed only one-party rule.• Both denied individual rights.• In both, the state was supreme.• Neither practiced democracy.• Both replaced religion with some kind of

competing belief system (atheism—in the case of the communists; religion of racial superiority—in the case of the Nazis)

Fascism

Social• Supported by

middle class, Industrialists,and military

Chief Examples• Italy• Spain

• Germany

Basic Principles• authoritarianism

• state moreimportant thanthe individual

• charismatic leader• action oriented

Economic• economic functions

controlled bystate corporations

or state

Political• nationalist

• racist (Nazism)• one-party rule

• supreme leader

Cultural• Censorship

• Indoctrination• Secret police

Mussolini Takes Control• Fascism fueled by Italy’s

failure to win large territorial gains at the Paris Peace Conference.

• Inflation and unemployment fuel Fascism.

• Mussolini promised to rescue Italy’s economy and rebuild armed forces.

• Mussolini founds the Fascist party in 1919.

• Economic downturn makes Fascists popular.

March on Rome

• October 27-29, 1922 Fascist “blackshirts” march on Rome an demand that King Victor Emmanuel III put Mussolini in charge of the government. He puts Mussolini in power “legally.”

After World War I, new ideas about government power promoted by Benito Mussolini led to drastic change in the Italian government.

• Mussolini wanted to build a great, glorious Italian empire

• Founded National Fascist Party, 1919– from Latin fasces, Roman symbol

for unity, strength– Fascism, authoritarian form of

government– Good of nation above all else

Fascist Ideology• Fascists significant force in Italian

politics, 1922• Mussolini wanted more, wanted to

rule Italy• Called March on Rome• Show of force convinced Italy’s king

to put Mussolini at head of government

• Mussolini moved to establish dictatorship

Mussolini in Power

Mussolini’s Italy

Mussolini’s Italy

Mussolini not satisfied merely with political control • Used threats, violence, political skill to outlaw all opposition

• Tried to influence Italians’ thoughts, feelings, behaviors– Government attempt to control all aspects of life, totalitarianism

– Used propaganda to promote Italy’s greatness

– Established festivals, holidays to remind Italians of proud Roman heritage

Il Duce’s Leadership

• Mussolini was now called “Il Duce” translated “the leader.

• Democracy was abolished along with all opposing political parties to the Fascists.

• Secret police jailed political opponents.• Radio and publications were forced to broadcast or

public Fascist teachings.• He sought to control the economy by allying Fascists

with industrialist and large landowners.

Fascist Flag• The original symbol

of Fascism, in Italy under Benito Mussolini, was the fasces. This is an ancient Roman symbol of power; a bundle of sticks featuring an axe, indicating the power over life and death. through unity.

League of Nations• Ethiopian leader Haile Selassie appealed to League to take action against Italy’s

aggression• No nation willing to get involved, to risk another world war• League placed economic sanctions on Italy, took no real action

Invasion of Ethiopia• Mussolini set out to make Italy strong military power• Looked for easy target, settled on Ethiopia • Ethiopia had two serious disadvantages, located between two Italian colonies,

military ill-equipped; Italian forces crushed Ethiopia, 1935

Germany underwent great changes after World War I. Like Mussolini and Stalin, Germany’s Adolph Hitler rose to power during a time of conflict and political instability.

• Germany formed new republican government, Weimar Republic

• Extremely unpopular• Germans blamed it for

humiliating Versailles Treaty

Postwar Germany• Blamed Weimar

Republic for economic problems

• Inflation soared• German mark virtually

worthless• Savings wiped out• Depression brought

more chaos

Economy

• Born Austria 1889• Served in German army

World War I• Soon joined Nazi Party• Discovered he had

knack for public speaking, leadership

Hitler’s Early Career

Hitler’s Germany

Hitler Rises to Power in Germany

• “When Mussolini became dictator of Italy in the mid-1920s, Adolf Hitler was a little-known political leader whose early life had been marked by disappointment. When World War I broke out, Hitler found a new beginning. He volunteered for the German army and was twice awarded the Iron Cross, a medal for bravery.” (p. 477)

The Rise of the Nazis• Hitler settled in Munich at the end of World War I. He

was appointed “police-spy” to investigate a small political party known as the “German Workers Party.”

• Hitler was impressed by the views of this party’s leader and joined the group.

• The group later changed its name to the National Socialist German Workers Party, Nazi for short. The policies of this party formed the brand of fascism called Nazism.

Symbols of Nazism

• The Nazi party chose the swastika as its symbol.– The swastika has been

used for thousands of years as a symbol of power.

Search for power• Became key figure in Nazi party• Wanted greater power• Attempted overthrow of government,

arrested, imprisoned, 1923

Hitler gains power• Continued to try to gain power after

released from prison• Economic effects of Great Depression

helped cause

Mein Kampf• Wrote book while in prison • “My Struggle” described major

political ideas• Nationalism, racial superiority of

German people, Aryans

Promises• Germans desperate for strong leader

to improve lives • Promised to rebuild military• Talk of mighty German empire, master

race, won supporters

Hitler’s Germany

The SA or “Brownshirts”• The Nazis set up a private

militia called the Sturmabteilung meaning “storm detachment” or “storm troopers.” They were also called “Brownshirts” because of the brown uniform they wore. The SA was mostly made up of working class Nazis. They were prone to street violence.

Beer Hall Putsch• Within a short time Hitler was chosen as the Führer

(the leader).• Hitler followed Mussolini’s example of the March on

Rome and plotted to seize power in Munich on November 8, 1923.

• Hitler wanted to use Munich as a base to overthrow the government in Berlin. This was called the Beer Hall Putsch.

• The attempted coup failed and Hitler was tried for treason and sentenced to five years in prison. He only served nine months of that sentence.

Mein Kampf (My Struggle)• Written during the nine months

Hitler served in prison.• The book set forth his beliefs and

goals for Germany.• He asserted Germans were a

“master race.”• He expressed his outrage over the

Versailles Treaty.• He declared Germany’s need for

“lebensraum” or “living space.

Hitler Becomes Chancellor

• The Nazis were the largest political party in Germany by 1932.

• Conservative leaders advised President Paul von Hindenburg to name Hitler chancellor thinking they could control him.

• Hindenburg appointed Hitler chancellor in January 1933.

Reichstag Fire

• Hitler immediately called for new elections hoping to win a parliamentary majority.

• Fire destroyed the Reichstag (parliament) building six days before the election.

• The Nazis blamed the Communists for this fire.• The Nazis won a majority of votes in the

Reichstag and were able to pass significant legislation increasing Hitler’s power.

The Reichstag Fire Decree• The Reichstag Fire Decree abolished civil rights

protections. The text reads:– § 1. Articles 114, 115, 117, 118, 123, 124 and 153 of the

Constitution of the German Reich are suspended until further notice. It is therefore permissible to restrict the rights of personal freedom [habeas corpus], freedom of opinion, including the freedom of the press, the freedom to organize and assemble, the privacy of postal, telegraphic and telephonic communications, and warrants for house searches, orders for confiscations as well as restrictions on property, are also permissible beyond the legal limits otherwise prescribed.

Enabling Act of 1933

• This act gave the Office of the Chancellor plenary powers (powers he could exercise without the review of the legislative branch).

• The law gave the Chancellor’s cabinet the power to enact their own laws apart from the Reichstag. Therefore, Hitler came to this absolute power in a “legal” manner.

Nazi Party Gains Strength• Many Germans wanted to believe Hitler’s words were true• Nazis continued to gain strength in early 1930s• Most popular of many German political parties• Hitler appointed as chancellor, 1933• Most powerful post in German government

• Began to crush opposition• Many opponents arrested, others

intimidated by Nazi thugs• Cult of personality built up glorifying

Hitler as the Führer, “leader”• Nazi youth organizations shaped minds

of young Germans

Hitler Controls Germany• Began to rebuild German military• Improved German economy• Strict wage controls, massive

government spending, reduced unemployment

• Much spending for rearmament• Also new public buildings, roads

Hitler’s Programs

Hitler’s Germany

Hitler’s Totalitarian State

• Hitler banned other political parties.• Hitler created the SS (Schutzstaffel, or

protection squad). The SS arrested and murdered hundreds of Hitler’s enemies.

• The Gestapo was established as the Nazi’s secret police.

• Strikes were made illegal.• Millions of people were put to work building

up the military.

The Führer Is Supreme

• Hitler used the press, radio, literature, painting, and film as his propaganda tools.

• Churches were forbidden to criticize the Nazis or the government.– Ministers were required to sign an oath of allegiance. This

was opposed in Germany by Deitrich Bonhoffer and the “confessing church.”

• The Boy Scouts was abolished in Germany. School children had to join Nazi organizations like the Hitler Youth.

Hitler Makes War on the Jews• Hatred of Jews, anti-Semitism, was a key part of Nazi

ideology.• Jews were used as scapegoats for all Germany’s

troubles since the end of the war.• Nazis passed the Nuremberg Laws depriving Jews of

most of their rights.• Violence against Jews grew. On November 9, 1938

mobs attacked thousands of Jewish owned buildings and businesses. This was called Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass).

Hitler’s Germany

Nazis mounted more direct attacks on Jews • November 9 and 10, 1938, anti-Jewish riots across Germany,

Austria• Attack known as Kristallnacht, Night of Broken Glass

– Nearly 100 Jews killed– Thousands of Jewish businesses, places of worship damaged,

destroyed

• Greater horrors yet to come• Hitler’s Germany about to lead world into history’s bloodiest

war

Nuremberg Laws defined a person as Jewish based on ancestry of grandparents—not religious beliefs.

A key component of the Nazi system was strong anti-Semitic beliefs. Anti-Semitism is hostility toward or prejudice against Jews. Hitler blamed Jews for many of German’s problems, including its defeat in World War I.

• Anti-Semitism had long history in largely Christian Europe

• Nazi anti-Semitism combined this with false beliefs that Jews were separate race

• Combined religious prejudice with hatred based on ancestry

Long History

Nazi Anti-Semitism

• Many laws passed excluding Jews from mainstream German life

• 1935 Nuremberg Laws created separate legal status for Jews

• Eliminated citizenship, civil and property rights

• Right to work was limited

Laws Excluding Jews

Nuremberg Laws• Prohibited marriages between Jews and German citizens.

• Prohibited sexual relations between Jews and German citizens.

• Jews were not permitted to hire German females as domestic servants under the age of 45.

• Jews were forbidden to display the national flag or national colors, but could display the Jewish colors identifying them as Jews.

• Punishment for violating these laws includes hard labor or imprisonment.

• Greater horrors yet to come• Hitler’s Germany about to lead world into history’s bloodiest war

Other Countries Fall to Dictators

• Poland: Marshal Jozef Pilsudski—seized power in 1926.

• Yugoslavia, Albania, Bulgaria, and Romania—kings turn to strong man rule.

• Argentina-Juan Peron is a fascist “strong-man”

Nazism in the United States

• German-American Bund, (earlier called the Friends of New Germany) headed by the “American Führer” Fritz Julius Kuhn.

• Kuhn was appointed because Hitler wanted an American citizen fronting the organization to make it look like there were Americans truly supportive of Nazi Germany.

• Kuhn was eventually convicted of embezzlement from his own organization when the Mayor La Guardia of New York ordered an investigation into the organization.

• Kuhn was arrested during World War II as an enemy agent and held in a detainment camp in Texas. He was later deported to Germany and died in Munich in 1951.

End of World War I• At end of war Japan stood as one of world’s foremost powers• Remarkable accomplishment • Had been relatively weak agricultural nation only half century earlier

Slowdowns • Many industries experienced slowdowns at end of war• Businesses laid off workers, unrest grew• Strikes, labor disputes increased sharply in 1920s

Economic Challenges• Nation’s economy first began to industrialize during Meiji restoration • Underwent many changes; rapid industrialization created problems• Peasants, rural workers had not shared new prosperity

Japan in the 1920s

Japan in the 1920s

Other economic challenges during the 1920s • Japan did not have natural resources needed to supply

modern industry– Forced to import materials– Sold manufactured goods abroad to pay for them

• Other countries passed tariffs to protect products – Japan had difficulty exporting enough goods to survive economically– Leaders decided nation must expand to support growing population

Fashions, beliefs• Some young people adopted Western fashions, beliefs, questioned traditional

Japanese values• Conservative Japanese, military leaders, resented changes• Believed straying from traditional beliefs, interests had corrupted country

Social Changes• Rapid shift from feudal agricultural nation to urban industrial country affected more

than economy• Universal education, new Western ideas also led to societal changes• Democracy began to flourish, political parties emerged

During economic crisis of 1927 and Great Depression, many lost faith in their government and looked to military for leadership.

• Military officers envisioned united Japan

• Society devoted to emperor, glory of nation ruled by military

• Began to seek more power over civilian government

The Military’s Vision• Military influence grew because of

public’s opposition to government’s foreign policy

• Civilian leaders had made several treaties limiting size of Japanese navy

• Agreements seemed to end overseas expansion

Foreign Relations

Growing Military Influence

Growing Military Influence

1924 U.S. law barred Japanese immigration • Deeply offended Japanese pride

– Came from one of Japan’s supposed allies

– Some began to question government’s policy of cooperation with West

• Japanese increasingly began to put faith in military– Military had nationalist vision of strong Japan

– Would not defer to other countries

End of 1920s• Japan’s military gained power • Widened the gap between the military

and civilian government• Without civilian controls, military

became more aggressive

Building a Fighting Spirit• To make up for industrial limitations,

focused on soldiers • Began to promote fighting spirit of

Japanese troops instead of modern weaponry

Modern Warfare• World War I showed modern war

would rely on technology, industrial power

• Japan could not compete with large industrial nations

Inspiring a Fighting Spirit• Surrender, retreat, defense all removed

from military manuals • Military personnel placed in public

schools to shape thinking of Japanese children

Japanese Aggression

Japan during the Interwar Period — Hirohito and Hideki Tojo

• Militarism• Industrialization of

Japan, leading to drive for raw materials (natural resources)

• Invasion of Korea, Manchuria, and the rest of China

• Manchurian Incident, 1931, Japanese military leaders decided to conquer Manchuria

• Resources would free Japan from reliance on Western trade

• Moved quickly to gain control; civilian government powerless

• Set up government in region, renamed Japanese-controlled state, Manchukuo

Conquering Manchuria

• Military leaders plotted to replace government with military dictatorship

• Believed aggressive nationalist leadership vital to future

• 1930s, military leaders, soldiers, others carried out series of assassinations

• Slowly government grew more dominated by military

Taking Over the Government

Japanese Aggression

Forming New Alliances• League of Nations condemned aggressive actions in Manchuria• Japan withdrew from League of Nations, 1933• Announced it would no longer limit size of navy, 1934• Made break with West, drew closer to Germany• Anti-Comintern Pact signed, 1936

• Japan, Germany agreed to work together to oppose spread of communism

• Each promised to come to aid of other in case of Soviet Union attack

• Italy joined pact, 1937

Anti-Comintern Pact

• Conflict between China, Japan grew worse

• Japan more aggressive, seized more territory

• Some worried Chinese Communists, Guomindang might join Soviet Union opposing Japan

War in China

Japanese Aggression

Summer 1937• Series of violent incidents between Chinese troops, Japanese forces in China led to

open warfare• Conflict became known as Second Sino-Japanese war

Massacre• Nanjing Massacre saw as many as 300,000 Chinese men, women, children killed• World reacted in horror to bloody incident

Early Battle• One of early battles occurred in Nanjing, also known as Nanking• Japanese troops captured city, went on rampage, killing Chinese soldiers and

civilians alike

Japanese Aggression

Japan had early victories in China, but subsequent battles did not go Japan’s way.

• China too large for Japan to conquer easily

• War turned into long, costly struggle• Japan looked to Southeast Asia to

supply resources for military needs• Region rich in rubber, oil, other key

resources

A Move to Wider War

• Group of nations proposed by Japan’s foreign minister, 1940

• Combined resources would allow independence from Western control

• Presented as economic benefit, but Japanese empire- building attempt

• Other nations viewed aggression in Asia with alarm

Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere

Japanese Aggression