The West Between the Wars

1. The West Between the Wars Attempts at Peace * Following World War I, the leading democratic powers faced difficult political & economic challenges both at home & abroad. * After the horrors of World War I, nations wanted a lasting peace & made a number of attempts to avoid future conflicts: 1) League of Nations – est. in 1920; an international organization that aimed to settle conflicts without violence 2) Locarno Treaties – signed in 1925; settled German borders with neighboring nations & became symbol of era of peace 3) Kellogg-Briand Pact – signed in 1928; attempted to outlaw war as signatory nations agreed to solve problems by peaceful means

2. The Western Democracies * WWI cost Britain its position as a leading economic power in the world; economic problems plagued Britain throughout the interwar period. * WWI devastated France & left the country with severe social, economic, & political problems. * France attempted to avoid conflict at all costs, including constructing the Maginot Line during the interwar period.

3. * U.S. emerged from WWI in better shape than other allies; 1920s were boom years for American economy. Dawes Plan tied European economies to the U.S. * Oct. 29, 1929 “Black Tuesday” came as stock market crashed; by 1933, ¼ of America’s work force was unemployed. * 1932, FDR elected president & promised American people a “New Deal”

4. The Rise of Dictatorial Regimes Fascism in Italy • Economic & political problems facing Italy after WWI led Italians to turn to a fascist dictatorship; WWI aggravated Italy’s economic woes • 1919, Benito Mussolini formed the Fascist party; Mussolini promised “a little something to everyone” • 1921, fascism had become a major political force & the Blackshirts physically attacked political opponents • 1924, Fascists won a majority in parliament & gave Mussolini (Il Duce) dictatorial powers • Mussolini created a corporate state; majority of Italians supported Mussolini

5. New Era in the Soviet Union • 1918 to 1922, Bolsheviks transformed Russia into the USSR which was declared to be a Socialist state • 1922 to 1936, Joseph Stalin rose to power in the Communist party & then gained absolute power over the nation 1) 1922, Stalin became Secretary General of Communist party & began vying with Leon Trotsky for control of the party 2) 1924, Lenin died; Stalin gained power & exiled Trotsky 3) 1928, Stalin ended NEP & announced first five-year plan 4) 1934, Stalin carried out Great Purge of Communist party 5) 1936, Stalin purged Old Bolsheviks to remove any threat to his power

6. Hitler & Nazi Germany • Economic & political problems facing Germany during the interwar period led Germans to turn to Nazism in the early 1930s 1) 1919, Weimar Republic est.; political instability & violence threatened to destroy the new republic; National Socialist German Workers’ (Nazi) party created; Adolf Hitler joined Nazi party in Munich & formed the Brownshirts 2) Economic problems also threatened the republic due to reparations & soaring inflation in the early 1920s 3) 1923, Beer Hall Putsch failed; Hitler was arrested & wrote Mein Kampfwhile in jail 4) 1929, Great Depression brought Nazi party back to forefront

7. 5) 1932, Nazis became largest party in the Reichstag 6) 1933, Hitler became chancellor & the Reichstag passed the Enabling Act (allowed Hitler’s govt to ignore the constitution for 4 years); Hitler took title of Der Fuhrer, & proclaimed his govt to be the Third Reich • Under Hitler, the Nazi government used terror, repression, and one-party rule to establish a totalitarian state 1) 1935, Hitler & the Nazis passed the Nuremberg Laws 2) 1938, Kristallnacht occurred & concentration camps came into use

8. Cultural & Intellectual Trends • Mass Culture • The development of the radio & movies, as well as an increase • in leisure time, radically changed culture in the 1920s. • The Arts • In the artistic movement of Dada, artists were obsessed with the idea • that life has no purpose. • Surrealist Salvador Dali painted everyday objects separated from • their normal contexts.

9. James Joyce introduced the literary technique known as “stream of • consciousness”. • Hermann Hesse, author of Siddhartha & Steppenwolf, used • Buddhist ideas to show the psychological confusion of modern existence. • Science • 1927, Werner Heisenberg introduced the uncertainty principle • after observing the apparent randomness of subatomic particles.