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15.2 A Worldwide Depression. Ms. Bielefeld Spring 2012. Postwar Europe. Europe was bankrupt after WWI Monarchs & Emperors lose power & new unstable democracies are created Form coalition government—temporary, multi-party alliances Changes lead to instability.
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15.2 A Worldwide Depression Ms. Bielefeld Spring 2012
Postwar Europe • Europe was bankrupt after WWI • Monarchs & Emperors lose power & new unstable democracies are created • Form coalition government—temporary, multi-party alliances • Changes lead to instability 13thc. Cloth Hall & cathedral of Ypres, Belgium
Weimar Republic • Germany’s democratic government formed in 1919 that’s very weak • Inflation—value of money falls dramatically b/c of over printing • Hyperinflation—govt prints more money businesses raise prices govt prints more money businesses raise prices etc. • Eventually money becomes WORTHLESS • American loans help revive German economy • Germany & France sign treaty pledging no more wear
Children using stacks of money as blocks because they couldn’t afford toys & money was the most worthless thing in the market
German woman feeding a stove with currency notes, which burn longer than the amount of firewood they can buy.
America’s Financial Collapse • Uneven distribution of wealth • Overproduction & less demand • Farmers struggle to pay loans & lose land • Stock market crash October 29, 1929--“Black Tuesday” • Stock prices soar & people buy on credit (they don’t really have the $) • Stock market crashed & people lost their money
Images from the Great Depression Dorothea Lange photographed many and Is world-famous for it…look at their faces… Look where they lived…look at the dust! The shack is called “hooverville” after the President Hoover who the blamed
A dust storm approaches A car driving with its lights on during the day
A young boy shielding his mouth and face from the dust A farmer sifts the dust off the top of his dead crop
The Great Depression • Long business slump of 1930s • Marked by bank failure, loss of savings, unemployment • America’s economic problems create problems in other countries • World trade falls
Confronting the Crisis • Britain--Preserves democracy by avoiding political extremes • France—more self-sufficient than others & formed the Popular Front to preserve democracy • Denmark, Sweden, Norway—Socialist govt taxed the people to help the community & it worked • U.S. • Franklin D. Roosevelt—President during Depression & WWII • New Deal—FDRs program of gov’t reform to improve economy—Public Works, welfare, banking regulations • Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act (1930)—heavy taxes on goods imported into US to encourage buying American goods
People standing outside the bank in Berlin trying to get their money!