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The Great Depression and the Causes of World War II

The Great Depression and the Causes of World War II. 1929-1939. Objective. To understand the causes of the Great Depression To understand the effects of the Great Depression To understand how each country reacted to the Great Depression To understand how Adolf Hitler came to power

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The Great Depression and the Causes of World War II

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  1. The Great Depression and the Causes of World War II 1929-1939

  2. Objective • To understand the causes of the Great Depression • To understand the effects of the Great Depression • To understand how each country reacted to the Great Depression • To understand how Adolf Hitler came to power • To understand the causes of World War II

  3. The Great Depression • The 1920s were a period of economic prosperity • In Europe and the United States • US loans and investments kept European economy going • Prosperity based on American speculation • Mostly unregulated • People bought stocks on margin • Major speculation in real estate

  4. The Crash of 1929 • Major selling of stocks in Wall Street • Prices of stocks collapsed • People defaulted on loans • Major bank failures • Sources of capital vanished • Stock Market crash in Wall Street October 29, 1929

  5. The Great Depression • Massive shutdown of businesses • Massive unemployment in US, Europe, and elsewhere • Economic collapse threatened payments of reparations • No American capital to fuel European economic growth

  6. The Great Depression • Britain • Coalition government formed under Labour, Conservative, and Liberal parties • 2.5 million unemployed by 1931 • Abandons the gold standard • To make British exports cheaper • Raises tariffs • Except on imports from the Empire • Cuts government benefits • But prices were already low

  7. The Great Depression • France • Affected France in 1931 • Rise of right-wing groups • Socialists in power in 1936 • Coalition of left-wing parties to save the republic • Increase in government benefits • Recognition of trade unions • Public works programs • Reforms caused hostility among Conservatives and business

  8. The Great Depression • The United States • Old solutions could not battle depression • Expanded role of federal government • The New Deal under Franklin Roosevelt • Massive government spending • Public works programs • Reforms in banking and stocks • Social Security instituted

  9. Germany • Depression weakened support for the Weimar Republic • Mainstream politicians unable to provide solutions • Torn between Communists and Nazis • Middle class afraid of communist takeover

  10. Germany • Elections held in 1932 • Nazis won 37% of the seats in Reichstag • Hitler appointed Chancellor on January 30, 1933 • Had support of big business • Seen as having solutions • Campaigned on getting rid of the Versailles Treaty

  11. Germany • Hitler consolidates his power in 1933 • Reichstag fire, February 27, 1933 • Mentally ill Dutchman set fire to the Reichstag building • Nazis blamed the Communists • Hitler assumed emergency powers under the Weimar constitution • Enabling Act passed March 23, 1933 • Reichstag gives Hitler power to rule by decree

  12. Germany • Hitler eliminates internal competition • Purges Nazi party of SA (Stormtroopers) • “Night of the Long Knives” • June 30, 1934 • Hitler becomes both President and Chancellor on August 2, 1934 • Holds supreme power in Germany

  13. Germany • Hitler and Anti-Semitism • Blamed Jews for Germany’s problems • “Stabbed Germany in the Back” in World War I • Believed in eliminating Jews in his book Mein Kampf • Nazis passed Nuremberg laws (1935) • Stripped German Jews of citizenship • Relationships between Germans and Jews forbidden • Jews forbidden to go out in public

  14. Germany • Hitler’s Economic Policies • Tax breaks for families • To encourage women to have children • Paid vacations • Heavy government spending on public works to eliminate unemployment • The Autobahn • Military rearmament

  15. Italy • Mussolini and Fascists take over Italy in 1922 • One-party state • Fascists made deal with big business • Unions banned • High protective barriers • Wages fall • Prices rose • Signs agreement with the Vatican in 1929 • The Vatican recognizes Italian government in exchange for independence • To get support from the Catholic Church

  16. Soviet Union • Centralized Planning • Stalin takes over Soviet Union after Lenin’s Death • New Economic Policy discarded • Heavy industrialization begins • Five Year Plans, or quotas for industrial production • Collectivization of agriculture • Land taken away from peasants

  17. Soviet Union • Stalin’s Purges (1936-38) • Stalin eliminates potential rivals • Eliminated “Old Bolsheviks” • Mass arrest for thousands • Show trials for people arrested • Millions of people arrested, deported, executed, or disappeared

  18. Causes of World War II • Hitler begins to scrap Versailles after 1933 • Rearms Germany past limits permitted by Versailles • Builds up army past 100,000 troops • Builds up air force • Hitler remilitarizes the Rhineland in 1935 • Britain and France do nothing

  19. Causes of World War II • Appeasement • British came to the conclusion that Treaty of Versailles was unfair • Put off by French demands for revenge • Believed that treating Germany fairly would bring a lasting peace • France goes along with Britain • Could not stand alone • Tries to make alliances with new countries in Eastern and Central Europe • Builds Maginot Line

  20. Causes of World War II • Hitler redraws Germany’s borders • Austria (1938) • A small republic after World War I • Hitler wanted to unite all Germans (Anschluss) • Hitler joins Austria to Germany on March 1938 • Czechoslovakia • Democracy that emerged after World War I • Large German minority in Sudetenland • Hitler really wanted forts along German border • Hitler wants to annex Sudetenland • Britain and France do nothing

  21. Causes of World War II • Munich Conference • British, French, Italian, and German leaders meet to decide Sudetenland question • Czechoslovakia not allowed to participate • British Prime Minister Chamberlain agrees to let Hitler have Sudetenland • Hitler promises not to take any more territory • Chamberlain “brings peace for our time”

  22. Causes of World War II • Hitler breaks his promise • Dismembers Czechoslovakia • Hitler sets his sights on Poland • Polish Corridor separates province of East Prussia from Germany • Hitler wants to rejoin East Prussia with Germany • Britain and France make agreements with Poland • Hitler thought Britain and France would cave in again • Hitler invades Poland on September 1, 1939 • World War II begins

  23. Conclusion • The Great Depression affects Europe and the United States • The Great Depression causes countries to look at other alternatives • The Great Depression leads to rise of Hitler and the Nazis • Hitler scrapped the Treaty of Versailles • British appease Hitler in hopes of getting him to cooperate • Hitler breaks his promises and begins World War II

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