1 / 14

The Interwar Period

The Interwar Period. 1919-39. Post WWI. Following the War, EVERY major European country was left nearly bankrupt. Only 2 countries came out prosperous: The US and Japan. WHY? European countries got loans from the US. Governments changed from Empires to Democracies- difficult change- Why?

stacey
Download Presentation

The Interwar Period

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. The Interwar Period 1919-39

  2. Post WWI • Following the War, EVERY major European country was left nearly bankrupt. • Only 2 countries came out prosperous: The US and Japan. WHY? • European countries got loans from the US. • Governments changed from Empires to Democracies- difficult change- Why? • Discuss the implications.

  3. Weimar Republic- Germany • 1919- was organized. • Weak democratic tradition • Blamed for WWI b/c they signed the Treaty of Versailles. Were they really at fault for WWI? • Large reparations print more$ INFLATION

  4. Inflation • The government was printing more money to pay debt that was not worth anything. • Example: in 1918 a loaf of bread cost less than a mark (German dollar) • 1922- it cost 160 Marks, and 200 BILLION by 1923. • People took wheelbarrows of $ to buy food.

  5. Kids stacking money- Money was worthless. People burned it for heat.

  6. The Great Depression • The World’s economy was dependent on the US economic prosperity. • 1920’s- Roaring 20’s- US producing ½ of worlds industrial goods. • Wall Street in NY financial capital of the world. • Booming US Economy led to High stock prices

  7. Stock Market Crashes. • Middle- income Americans bought stocks on margin--- they paid a small percentage of a stock’s price as a down payment and borrowed the rest from a stockbroker. • OK- if stocks rise, but if they fall… • Prices plunged on Tuesday, October 29th- “Black Tuesday” • 16 Million stocks were sold—and the market collapsed.

  8. Effects • Factory production cut in half • 1000’s of businesses failed • Banks closed • 9 million people lost all of the $ in the savings • Many farmers lost their land • By 1933, ¼ of all Americans had no jobs.

  9. Shanty Town- where homeless lived

  10. Children Playing in the Street

  11. Breadline

  12. A Global Depression • Germany and Austria hit hard because of their dependence on American loans • Japanese economy also slumped • Fell heavily on Latin America • Hit Britain severely- passed protective tariffs, increased taxes, and regulated the currency, lowered interest rates to encourage industrial growth.—Slow steady recovery. • FDR- the New Deal-

More Related