The Fragile Peace and Economic Woes of the Interwar Years

1. Ch. 9: The West Between the Wars (1919 – 1939) 9.1: The Futile Search for Stability

2. I. Uneasy Peace in Europe • Treaty of Versailles left many nations dissatisfied largely as a result of new states & border disputes • League of Nations too weak to be effective • France & Germany, still bitter enemies • Nearly engaged in war along the shared border in the Ruhr Valley as German economic situation prevented them from making reparations payments

3. Weakness of LoN

4. Weak European Economy after WWI: • 1920s: rebuilding war-torn economies w/ loans from U.S. • Most major European countries bankrupt

5. A. Inflation in Germany • To pay for WWI & reparations, Germany did not raise taxes, Weimar Republic printed money, which added to severe inflationprocess already in process • German mark became worthless: • 1914: 4.2 DM = 1 USD • 1919: 9 DM = 1 USD • 1922: 500 DM = 1 USD • Jan 1923: 18,000DM = 1USD • July 1923: 350,000DM = 1 USD • Aug 1923: 5,000,000 DM = 1 USD • Nov 1923: 4,200,000,000,000 DM = 1 USD • People’s life savings gone & middle/working classes began to blame Weimar Republic & seek more radical political parties

6. B. Recovery: the Dawes Plan, 1924 - 1929 • Granted a $200mn. loan from U.S. banks to stabilize the German economy; re-scheduled reparations payments • Loan opened door to heavy American investment in Europe • Some politicians criticized the use of the Dawes Plan b/c it did not reduce amount of reparations & kept Germany dependent upon foreign investment Nazi Party election poster, 1924 depicting a Jewish banker controlling Germany (the large figure)

7. C. Post-war Peace • The Treaty of Locarno, 1925 • Peace b/w Germany & France negotiated by foreign ministers of each country • guaranteed Germany’s western borders w/ Belgium & France • Germany admitted to the L.o.N. (1926) • The Kellogg-Briand Pact, 1928 • 63 nations, including USSR, signed agreement to renounce war as an instrument of policy • No provisions if pact was violated • Nations refused to reduce military forces Briand & Stresemann shared the Nobel Peace prize in 1926 for their work on the peace pacts. President Coolidge signs the Kellogg-Briand Pact

8. Review Homework • 4. Summarize the intent of the Roosevelt administration’s New Deal. • 5. Determine the validity of the following statement: “Promises not to go to war were worthlesswithout a way to enforcethese promises.”

9. Review Homework • 4. A policy of active government intervention in the economy; featured increased public works and new social legislation that began the U.S. welfare system

10. Review Homework • “Promises not to go to war were worthless without a way to enforce these promises.” • 5. Do you think the statement is valid? Why or why not?

11. 7. Examine this photograph. How would you survive if currency became worthless? Who would be at an advantage?

12. II. The Great Depression, 1929 Causes: • Overproduction & Under-consumption: mid 1920s • Decline in manufacturing orders coupled w/ an agricultural surplus leads to decline in prices & inability to repay loans, which weakens banks • Stock Market Crash, October 1929 • Bull market in late 20s encouraged investors to buy on margin; when stock prices fell investors panicked & market collapsed The trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange just after the crash of 1929. On Black Tuesday, October twenty-ninth, the market collapsed. In a single day, sixteen million shares were traded--a record--and thirty billion dollars vanished into thin air. Westinghouse lost two thirds of its September value. DuPont dropped seventy points. The "Era of Get Rich Quick" was over. Jack Dempsey, America's first millionaire athlete, lost $3 million. Cynical New York hotel clerks asked incoming guests, "You want a room for sleeping or jumping?"

13. Images of the Great Depression

14. C. Depression Spreads Worldwide Blanche Grambs, No Work, 1935 Europe: • U.S. bankers & investors began to pull money out of Germany & Europe • U.S. market for European goods fell as tariffs were imposed & world trade fell by 65%, increasing unemployment & depression • Though W. European nations maintained democracies, there was renewed interest in Communism among workers & intellectuals & a willingness to give power to political leaders who promised solutions, but were dictators Diego Rivera, Frozen Assets, 1931

15. D. The Response • Europe: • Britain, France, & Scandinavian countries able to maintain democracies • Implemented programs to increase taxes, lower interest rates, labor reforms, & public works projects • Rise of Fascism in Germany, Italy, Spain • U.S.: • FDR elected 1932 & used idea of large government spending to promote economic recovery (Keynes Theory) • The New Deal: public works programs to provide jobs; created welfare, SSA, business/farm aid, stock & bank regulations Conrad Albrizio, The New Deal, 1934

16. 3. Keynesian Economics • Condemned Adam Smith’s “laissez-faire” theory of economics that, during a time of depression, gov. should not interfere & economy will recover on its own • Argued that unemployment did not come from overproduction, but from a decline in demand, which could be increased by putting people back to work building public infrastructure funded by the government (even if gov had to go into debt to create jobs).

17. Ch. 9.2: The Rise of Dictatorial Regimes

18. I. The Rise of Dictators • By 1939, only two major European states remained democratic (France & Britain) • Other European states were ruled by dictators, who led totalitarian states: • Communist States – USSR led by Stalin • Fascist States – Germany (Hitler), Italy (Mussolini), Spain (Franco)

19. A. Fascism • Beliefs & Policies: • Militant political movement emphasizing loyalty to the State & obedience/loyalty to the leader • Promises to revive economy, restore national pride • Ideas attracted people affected by the Depression & angry over Treaty of Versailles • Extreme form of nationalism & use of war as instrument of policy • Active involvement of masses through use of propaganda, rallies, uniforms, salutes

20. Similarities w/ Communism Dictators, one-party rule, censorship Supremacy of the State over the individual Use of Secret Police force Opposed to democracy & individual rights Differences w/ Communism F: social class divisions w/ power to middle-classes, industrialist, military, aristocrats C: classless society supported by workers/peasants F: extreme nationalists C: internationalists – sought worldwide revolution B. Fascism vs. Communism

21. Fascism Communism Create a Venn Diagram using the information you learned about the similarities & differences between Fascism & Communism

22. II. Fascism in Italy • Mussolini established the first European Fascist movement in the 1920s • Severe economic problems: unemployment & inflation led to industrial & agricultural workers’ strikes & talk of revolution • Middle-class industrialists & large landowners feared a Communist takeover & began to support Mussolini’s Fascist movement • Anger over the Treaty of Versailles created nationalism & converts to the Fascist Party, which promised more land for Italy

23. B. Il Duce • Mussolini’s followers formed armed bands of sqaudristi, Blackshirts, who attacked Communists & violently broke up workers strikes; as economic situation worsened, popular support for Fascists grew • By October, 1922: Mussolini threatened the King, Victor Emmanuel III, to march on Rome if not given power • The King made Mussolini Prime Minister of Italy: Il Duce

24. C. The Fascist State - Mussolini created a Fascist dictatorship • Gov had power to censor/suspend any form of media critical of Catholic Church, monarchy, or state • He had ultimate authority to create laws; Police could arrest & imprison people for any reason • All other political parties outlawed • Established secret police: OVRA used to monitor political activities & enforce policies • Used propaganda to spread Fascist goals “Mussolini is always right” • Creation of youth groups

25. D. Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939 Nationalists vs. Republicans • In 1936, under General Francisco Franco, the Spanish army revolted against the republican gov beginning a 3-year Civil War • Foreign nations aided the Republican gov, including the U.S., Britain, France, and the USSR • Fascist regimes in Italy & Germany aided Franco’s Nationalist forces • The new (1935) German Luftwaffe devastated Spanish towns & gained critical experience used later in WWII • By 1939, Franco captured Madrid & seized power ending the civil war & establishing a Fascist dictatorship that lasted until his death in 1975

26. Guernica, 1937, Pablo Picasso When asked to explain his symbolism, Picasso remarked, "It isn't up to the painter to define the symbols. Otherwise it would be better if he wrote them out in so many words! The public who look at the picture must interpret the symbols as they understand them."

27. Ch. 9.3: Hitler & Nazi Germany 1921 - 1939

28. I. Hitler & His Views • Austrian-born (1889 – 1945), failed as an artist, proudly served in Germany army in WWI & awarded Iron Cross • 1919: joined the German Workers’ Party, a right-wing nationalist party, later called the Nazi Party (National Socialist German Workers’ Party) • Goals: to overturn Treaty of Versailles & combat Communism • Party had own militia: the Storm Troopers, or Brownshirts, led by Ernest Rohm

29. C. The Beer Hall Putsch, Munich 1923 • Inspired by Mussolini’s march on Rome, Hitler attempted a coup against the Weimar Republic • Hitler tried for treason, but only sentenced to 5 years in prison, & only served 9 mos. • He wrote Mein Kampf in jail: extreme German nationalism, anti-Semitism & anti-Communism. Used Social Darwinism to justify the right of “superior” nations to lebensraum through territorial expansion to E. Europe & Russia. Outlined the belief in Aryan superiority & the German “master-race” and all non-Aryans (Jews, Slavs, Gypsies…) were subhuman

30. D. Rise of Nazism • Hitler & the Nazi Party did not gain popular support until 1932, when the effects of the Depression halted Germany’s economic recovery & U.S. loans were recalled • Unemployed was at 6mn by 1932 • Hitler’s speeches appealed to national pride, honor & militarism & gained support of industrial elites, landed aristocracy & military leaders. • By 1932, the Nazis were the largest party in the Reichstag, holding 37% of seats. • Conservatives, convinced they could control Hitler, pressured President Paul von Hindenburg to name Hitler Chancellor in Jan. 1933

31. E. The Enabling Act, March 1933 • One month after naming Hitler Chancellor, a “mysterious” fire burned down the Reichstag in Feb. 1933 – the Nazi’s immediately blame & begin arresting Communists • March, 1933: 2/3 of Reichstag vote to give Hitler dictatorial powers • He banned all other political parties • Created the SS (Schutzstaffel) to arrest & murder enemies • Use of the Gestapo, or secret police • Banned workers’ strikes, unions & gave gov authority over business & labor • Created millions of jobs in building & military, lowering unemployment to under 500,000 by 1937 Hermann Goring, Head of Gestapo Heinrich Himmler, head of SS

32. II. The Nazi State, 1933-1939 • Hitler creates a totalitarian state • He controlled all aspects of German life by using propaganda: burned books, monitored churches, children forced to join Hitler Youth • Concentration camps were built for opponents to new regime: 1st camp, Dachau built in 1933 • Anti-Semitism became part of Nazi policy: • Jews became scapegoats: blamed for defeat in WWI & economic troubles • 1935: Nuremberg Laws passed depriving Jews of citizenship “The Poisonous Mushroom” Children’s Book

33. In the chart, the white figures represent "full-blooded" Germans, the black figures "full-blooded" Jews, and the shaded figures "cross breeds"(Mischlinge). Stadtarchiv Bielefeld, Germany April 1, 1933 boycott of Jewish businesses A couple is publicly humiliated. The non-Jewish woman carries a sign reading "I am the greatest swine and sleep only with Jews." The man's sign reads, "As a Jew, I only take German girls up to my room." Hulton Getty Picture Collection, London

34. Book Burnings, May 1933 Goebbels, Nazi Minister of Propaganda, at a speech in Berlin to burn “un-German” & immoral books

35. B. Kristallnacht, Nov. 9, 1938 • “Night of the Broken Glass” • Nazi Youth & German mobs burned synagogues & destroyed Jewish businesses • 30,000 Jewish males were sent to concentration camps; nearly 100 died • Jews were blamed for the damage caused & money from insurance companies went directly to the State • Considered the actual beginning of the Holocaust • Jews were barred from public transportation, schools, & hospitals • Jews were encouraged to “emigrate” from Germany

36. Impact of Kristallnacht • By now it is clear to Hitler and his top advisors that forced immigration of Jews out of the Reich is not a feasible option. • Hitler is already considering the invasion of Poland. • Numerous concentration camps and forced labor camps are already in operation. • The Nuremberg Laws are in place. • The doctrine of lebensraum has emerged as a guiding principle of Hitler's ideology. • The passivity of the German people in the face of the events of Kristallnacht made it clear that the Nazis would encounter little opposition -- even from the German churches.

37. Jews were required to turn over all precious metals to the government. • Pensions for Jews dismissed from civil service jobs were arbitrarily reduced. • Jewish-owned bonds, stocks, jewelry and art works can be alienated only to the German state. • Jews were physically segregated within German towns. • The suspension of Jewish driver's licenses. • The confiscation of Jewish-owned radios. • A curfew to keep Jews of the streets between 9:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. in the summer and 8:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. in the winter. • Laws protecting tenants were made non-applicable to Jewish tenants.

38. Entartete Kunst (Degenerate Art) • The exhibition opened in Munich on July 19, 1937 and included more than 650 paintings, sculptures, prints, and books. Among the 112 artists whose works were exhibited by the Nazis for ridicule, only 6 were Jewish. • Hitler defined “degenerate art” as works that “insult German feeling, or destroy or confuse natural form, or simply reveal an absence of adequate manual and artistic skill.” • Hitler and Joseph Goebbels targeted modern “avant-garde” art and the exhibition was designed to show the inferiority of the artists. • Another exhibition, Deutsche Kunstausstellung (Great German Art Exhibition) ran simultaneously and showed Nazi-approved conservative art, although it received far less viewers. • Entartete Kunst traveled throughout Germany and Austria and was seen by 3 million viewers. • The curators deliberately hung the art askew and grafitti-ed around the paintings.

39. Marc Chagall was born in Russia in 1887. His life was deeply rooted in Jewish tradition and religion. His paintings are filled with a child-like glee, using crayon colors and joyous renderings, which appear to be seen through the eyes of a child. He believed that the spirituality of Art had to be universal and timeless. "It always seemed to me, and it still does, that the Bible is the greatest source of poetry that has ever existed. Since that time, I have been seeking to express this philosophy in life and art.” SURREALIST. (All text notes) http://fcit.usf.edu/HOLOCAUST/ARTS/ARTDEGEN.HTM#MOVIE http://www.mcs.csuhayward.edu/~malek/Chagal.html

40. The German painter-poet Max Ernst was a member of the dada movement and a founder of surrealism. He was a self-taught artist. He pioneered a method called frottage, in which a sheet of paper is placed on the surface of an object and then penciled over until the texture of the surface is transferred. In 1925, he showed his work at the first surrealist painting exhibition in Paris. http://www.mcs.csuhayward.edu/~malek/Ernst.html

41. Born in Moscow in 1866, Wassily Kandinsky played the piano and cello at an early age. The influence of music in his art was profound; many of his paintings had musical connotations: "Improvisations," "Impressions," and "Compositions." In 1895 Kandinsky attended a French Impressionist exhibition where he saw Monet's "Haystacks at Giverny." He was upset he had not recognized it as a haystack, and also thought the painter had no right to paint in such an vague way. Yet he was intrigued by the picture. A short time later he left Moscow for Germany to study sketching and drawing. He is considered to be one of the founders of abstract art. http://www.virtual-art-museum.com/u_03081_art_gallery.php

42. Paul Klee is ranked as one of the most original masters of contemporary art. He was born in Bern, Switzerland and lived for many years in Germany. He was one of the instructors at the Bauhaus. In 1931 he began teaching at Dusseldorf Academy, but he was dismissed by the Nazis, who termed his work "degenerate." In 1933, Klee went back to his native Switzerland. He died on June 29, 1940. http://www.virtual-art-museum.com/u_03014_art_gallery.php

43. Path to the Final Solution • One final note on the November 12 meeting is of critical importance. In the meeting, Goering announced, "I have received a letter written on the Fuehrer's orders requesting that the Jewish question be now, once and for all, coordinated and solved one way or another." The path to the "Final Solution" has now been chosen. And, all the bureaucratic mechanisms for its implementation were now in place.