Genesis of WWII: Nations of the Modern World

1. Genesis of WWII: Nations of the Modern World Germany Italy Great Britain Japan The Great Depression France

2. The Uneasy Peace • The Treaty of Versailles was really nothing but a patch over a festering wound • It did not settle the border disputes that caused WWI • The industrial and mineral “heart "of Germany was occupied by France (the Ruhr Valley) • French began operating the factories here to pay for the Reparations of the Treaty of Versailles

3. Germany • The German Weimar Republic was created in 1918 and did not have a strong leader at the outset of the Great Depression • It faced many economic problems • Inflation • Millions of Unemployed • Food shortages and riots • Collapsed banking systems • Government was unable to do anything and the country was on the brink of shutting down

4. German Response • German workers went on Strike • Government paid them by printing more money • This lead to Inflation • By 1923 in took 4 trillion German Marks to = $1.00

5. Dawes Plan • The German People were suffering badly • American Diplomat H.W. Dawes instituted a plan: • America loaned German $200 Million • American investors began to help German factories • Reduced reparation payment to what Germany could afford

6. Recovery • In 1925 Germany and France signed The Treaty of Locarno. It guaranteed the German Western Borders and return of the Ruhr Region • Germany joined the League of Nations in 1926 • Germany signed the Kellogg-Brand Act of 1928, joining 63 nations in outlawing war • However, Germany was still in a lot of Economic trouble and was just starting to get better when October 1929 hit.

7. Germany • Just as things started to get better the Great Depression Hit • As Bad as things were before they got worse • Unemployment hit 42% • Food riots continued throughout the country • People wanted a strong leader and feared a communist take over

8. The Great Depression • Depression – a time of low economic activity and high unemployment. • It started in the USA, but quickly spread to Europe and then the world. • American Investors pulled their money out of German Factories and effectively destroyed German production- the country could not afford to keep the factories open • This started the unemployment process

9. The Great Depression • To protect their own companies and jobs countries started to raise High Tariffs and lower pay for employees • The global trade network shut down, things got worse • This lead to more job loss, in average as high as 25% • Streets started to fill with the poor and unemployed • Governments did not know what to do

10. France • Post WWI it was a strong Imperial and European power • In 1932 it could no longer escape the effects of the great Depression and became politically unstable • In 1936 a group called the Popular Front (A workers communist group) began fighting for workers rights using Collective Bargaining • This is a process of Unionization where all employees are represented by this group and receive the benefits of its work • They got all French workers a 40 hour work week, two weeks of paid vacation and a minimum wage • But all this did was slow down the depression, it did not solve it

11. Great Britain • Britain never really recovered from the loss of life in WWI and had a slow economy going into the Great Depression • At the onset of the depression many more people lost their jobs and demand for goods sank • John Maynard Keyes identified this problem and stated that the reason the depression existed was that people were not buying goods and that as soon as people started buying goods again the depression would dissipate.

12. Great Britain • He proposed that government start public works jobs • Build Highways and power plants • This would get people jobs and get people to buy goods • Then private industry would need more employees for its factories as the people will want to buy more goods • This would cause governments to take on deficit spending • The spending of money that the government does not have today but will repay-itself later or going into Debt to itself

13. Italy • Post WWI it was in political, social and economic upheaval • Politically people feared a communist take over like in Russia • Economically they could not get the soldiers coming home the jobs that they needed and lead to high unemployment • Socially the farming system was in chaos as many of the young men died in the war and food was a scarce resource

14. Rise of Japan • Post WWI was a good time for Japan • Industry Increased as did trade • Zaibatsu- large financial and industrial business emerged • 4 of these including Mitsubishi and Honda would dominate Japanese Industry

15. Rise of Japan • To run these industries Japan needed more raw materials • Began more trade with the USA • Helped to enforce China’s “open door policy” • But they wanted more

16. Rise of Japan • Wealth became concentrated among a few • So when the Great Depression hit it caused • food shortages • Inflation • Unemployment • People called for a return to Traditional Values

17. Rise of Japan • In 1929 a group of Army Officers gained control of Japans political system • They decide to invade all of Manchuria and make it “Japanese” • They wanted to end all contact with the west and make “Asia for Asians” • The people supported these military groups and expanded the role of the Military in Japan

18. Rise of Japan • With the invasion of Manchuria the threat of Depression did not hit Japan as hard as the rest of the world • Japan then set its sites on China and prepared to wage war for more raw materials and Military greatness