Inter War Years—1919-1939 Influenza epidemic: 20 million dead worldwide US 550,000 Britain 228,000

1. Inter War Years—1919-1939 • Influenza epidemic: • 20 million dead worldwide • US 550,000 • Britain 228,000 • ½ of those died under 35 • Disillusionment, dissatisfaction, undercurrents of tension throughout 20s and 30s. “lost generation.” • World War I as the “war to end all wars.”

3. Germany: defeat in war, governmental collapse at end of war • Weimar Republic: new start 1919-1933 • New government • New constitution • New capital of Weimar • More liberal and democratic • Monarchy abolished • Social Democratic Party in charge: Frederick Ebert, President

4. Unfortunately Weimar Republic was to govern during some of the worst years in modern economic history. • Germany never really recovered from World War I • Unstable economy • Unable to pay reparations led to tension with France and an unsuccessful invasion of the Ruhr region of Germany by France

5. Cycle of reparation payments a show of payments • Germans experienced hyper-inflation in 1923-24 as prices spiraled out of control and currency lost 99% value. • Government forced to keep printing money to pay workers • 4,200,000,000,000 marks = $1 • Savings of German citizens wiped out paying rent or buying groceries

8. Successful reducing of reparations payments in 1920s • Joined League of Nations • Signed several disarmament treaties • Appearance of a stable democracy • Yet Germany continued to have political and economic troubles throughout the 1920s.

9. Totalitarianism– type of governmental control over nearly all aspects of daily life: mass communication transportation industry religion Keep in control through use of: secret police terror censorship propaganda

10. One man control: • Benito Mussolini: Italy 1922—fascist style government of • Extreme nationalism • Use of violence to suppress opposition • Close relationship between government and business to control unions and the working class • Joseph Stalin: Soviet Union 1924—communist government of • In theory private ownership is abolished and industry and subsistence belong to the community • In reality governmental dictatorship

11. Great Depression: 1929-1940 • 1929 global economic crisis begins with crash of New York Stock Exchange in which • over $50 billion in stock value lost in few short months • businesses bankrupt • unemployment rates up to 50% • bank failures • World trade dropped 62% • Existing problems after World War I

12. Fear • Loss of control • Disbelief in democratic governments • Need for stability and control • Allowed for totalitarians style governments to do well in Italy, Soviet Union, Germany, Spain

13. Adolf Hitler: Germany 1933– National Socialism or (NAZI) party. • 1889-1945 • Born: Austria—parents died while he was in his teens • Rejected by Academy of Arts in Vienna • Early racist beliefs in Aryan culture or a ‘master race’ superior to all Europeans

14. 1914: World War I—enlisted in German army and fought on Western Front in France. • Rank of corporal in German army • Won Iron Cross twice for bravery in battle • Supposedly cried at the armistice and vowed revenge against those “November criminals” who signed peace agreement. • Moved to Munich, Germany after war and joined police force to monitor extremist political groups

15. Hitler quit the police and joined one extremist group the German Workers Party which he renamed the National Socialist German Worker’s party or NAZI party • Took on symbolism of red flag and swastika • Began as a very small extremist group with just a few members • Participated in the Munich Beer Hall putsch—failed attempt at the take over of city government by the Nazis. • Hitler jailed.

16. 1924 in jail wrote Mein Kampf or My Struggle — • Autobiography • “blueprint” or guide to Hitler’s intentions of European and world domination • Book of hate and racist views—anti-Semitism Racial aryan superiority Really just 600+rambling, poorly written pages of disconnected thoughts --only in retrospection is book given significance

17. Hitler realized upon release from jail that he could not take the German government over by force. Had to use the democratic process of winning votes and elections for his Nazi party. • The Nazis had to become the dominant political party in Germany—the majority party in the Reichstag (German legislature) so that Hitler could be named Chancellor of Germany. • Through combination of Hitler’s persuasive powers and the brutal tactics of his Nazi thugs he won control.

18. Hitler’s voice and persuasive power— • Spoke in terms German population understood • Hate of Treaty of Versailles • Need for revenge in World War I • Jobs, security in time of Great Depression • Instability of democratic government called for more control and security • Played on fears, hates, concerns

19. Any opposition were dealt with by the S.A. (Sturmabteilung) —Hitler’s para-military group of “brown shirts” a kind of personal army who beat up, shut up or killed those who disagreed. • January 1933 Hitler named Chancellor of Germany—many in the government believed it was better to bring Hitler into the German government than to keep him on the sidelines as an aggressive agitator.

20. 1934—President von Hindenburg died and Hitler was supposed to call new elections. He instead used powers under “enabling act” to name himself president of Germany. • 1934—Reichstag fire allowed Hitler to create special emergency powers which he never gave up.

21. 180,000 Jews fled Germany • 1935 Nuremberg Laws: • “non” Jew and Jew marriages forbidden • Wear Star of David • Loss of citizenship • No government jobs • ¼ Jewish blood • Separate living areas set up –ghettos • Use of Jews, Communists, Socialists, or other groups as reasons for Germany’s failures. • Get rid of them and Germany will “rise from the ashes” and become the “fear of the world.”

22. German or Hitler youth—young men age 7 and up integrated into school curriculum the indoctrination into Nazi philosophy • German Maidens for young girls. • Nazi indoctrination part of daily life. • 1936 Olympic Summer games in Berlin • Hitler convinced Germans will all gold medals • Jesse Owens (African-American) won 4

23. German economy did improve— • Unemployment rate better than any other country • Autobahn highway system • Military re-armament programs • Extensive public works projects • Why was this allowed to happen? • Great Depression hurt economies • Guilty about Treaty of Versailles

24. Appeasement policy —the settling international quarrels by negotiation and compromise in order to avoid war. • No one in Britain or France wanted another World War I—the generation that survived that conflict knew what real war was like and worked to avoid it all costs. • Problem—what price peace? How much can Hitler “get away with” before appeasement does not work.

25. 1935—Hitler begins to ignore Treaty of Versailles • Re-armament program for German military • New conscription program for army • 1936—remilitarization of the Rhineland— • German troops reoccupy zone between France and Germany. • Neither Britain nor France respond with force • 1936—Spanish Civil War- • Hitler supports Fascist leader Franco and tests weapons he will later use in WWII

26. 1936—Germany and Italy proclaim Rome-Berlin Axis alliance. • 1938 –Hitler invaded Austria— • Anschluss —Germany and Austria—the dream of Greater Germany. • Britain and France took no military action • Fall of 1938— • Czechoslovakia— • Part of Czechoslovakia is called the Sudetenland—has German speaking people. • Hitler wants to take over the Sudetenland and add it to that Greater Germany— • Lebensraum—“living room”—Germany deserves as much space/territory in Europe as it wants. • Czech government said no—you cannot have the Sudetenland—

27. Munich Conference – • 1938 created by the British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain (the founder of the appeasement policy) • Work out a compromise over the Sudetenland • Germany--Hitler • Italy--Mussolini • France—French president • British—Chamberlain • Czech government not allowed to have a representative • Compromise—Hitler got the Sudetenland on the promise that he not take any more territory in Europe or elsewhere. • Chamberlain goes back to Britain and states he has achieved “peace for our time.”

29. Spring 1939—Hitler took the rest of Czechoslovakia—the non-German speaking part of the country. • Raided the banks –gold reserves • Rail lines • Factories • Appeasement was over after the invasion of Czechoslovakia—even Chamberlain admitted they must now do something about Hitler. • Should Hitler make any move eastward or westward in Europe—war will begin. • Poland—rich in raw materials, gold reserves, population that could be used as slave labor in factories, ethnic group Hitler looked upon with contempt.

30. Summer 1939— • August 1939— Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact • Agreement between Hitler and Stalin to have neutrality between their nations—non-aggression—neither will declare war upon the other. • **Hitler needs this to avoid a two front war—a situation Germany had in WWI and had failed to win. • France/Germany/Poland/Soviet Union • Stalin signed off on the Pact— • Soviet Union per the agreement would receive land in Poland—Stalin, in other words, would get something out of the agreement.

31. September 1, 1939 Hitler invaded Poland. • **September 3, 1939 British government and the French government declared war on Germany. • World War II– 1939-1945 • “Phony War”—war was declared but nothing happened from Sept 1939 until spring 1940 • Spring 1940 Hitler ordered the German army to begin the assault on Western Europe—beginning in Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden) in order to raid the banks of reserves and get to raw materials. • The German army then moved on to Belgium and France

32. French invasion began in May 1940 and was over by June 1940 -- • The French government surrendered the country to the Germans and German army occupied most of France for the entire war. • A small fragment of opposition set up a temporary “Free French” government in London, England to aid the British against the Germans. • The English Air Force and Army troops that had been in France to fight had to be evacuated back to England. All 300,000+ troops were taken by boats, ships back to England from Dunkirk, France.

33. The British government and the island of Great Britain stood alone against Hitler’s Nazi Army. • The United States remained neutral as of 1940. • The new Prime Minister of Great Britain Winston Churchill –refused ever to give into Germany or fail in the survival of the British people against Hitler. He was just the kind of leader needed in World War II. • Hitler began the assault on Britain in the fall of 1940 to prepare for an all out invasion.