New States: Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Yugoslavia, and the Baltic States

Russia in Civil War

People in Central Europe suffered from famine caused by wartime blockade of food

Returning soldiers faced unemployment

Major Flu Epidemic in 1919 killed as many as the war itself

Cities and infrastructure had been destroyed by the War

Results of WWI

The U.S. emerged from the War as the world’s greatest economic power.

Americans faced a brief recession when the war ended, but consumers soon began buying mass-produced goods made in American factories.

One of the most important factors in promoting American prosperity is the Automobile.

Consumers also benefitted from new electric appliances such as the vacuum cleaner, refrigerator, toaster, and radio.

Prosperity soon spread throughout the world.

During the war, women had worked in place of men during the war.

They also now had received the right to vote in 1919 in the United States.

They enjoyed greater freedom than ever before. More women also pursued a higher education.

As a result, fashion and culture changed in the 20s- hemlines crept higher and modesty was less important.

Chicago Clip

Boardwalk Empire

1920s

In October of 1929 a stock market crash in New York started a chain reaction that sent the world economy into a Great Depression.

People who lost money on the stock market stopped spending.

As many as 40 million people were soon unemployed in the United States, Germany, Japan, and other industrialized countries.

Why? Over-speculation- Investors borrowed money to

invest in order to make a quick profit- not a true reflection of the market.

Overproduction- Soon, production of consumer products became greater than people had money to buy.

The New Deal- While many leaders stopped spending, tightened

credit and cut off international trade, which made the recession worse, FDR instituted the New Deal.

Attempted to put many to work on public works projects, created a safety net for people so this couldn’t happen again- FDIC, Social Security, unemployment insurance, etc.

Based on the Treaty of Versailles, Germans had to make huge reparations payments to France and Britain, which slowed the German economic recovery.

Germany tried to print extra money to pay the debt, but that triggered hyper-inflation.

It was known that workers would collect their wages in suitcases and then immediately spend it.

The Weimar Republic came to power in Germany

Two days before Germany surrendered in WWI, the Kaiser fled the country and German Leaders formed a republic.

A National Assembly was elected to write a new constitution- one that was surprisingly democratic.

Women gained the right to vote and the head of the government would be elected.

Trouble faced by the Weimar Republic:

Some of its leaders had signed the despised Treaty of Versailles

Food Shortages and unemployment

The Chaos that erupted after the War inspired radicalism in German society, both on the Left and on the Right. In Munich, Adolf Hitler, the leader of the right-wing National Socialist German Workers; Party saw an opportunity in the unrest caused by the economic crisis.

Nationalism- Fascists were extreme nationalists, who believed that the

highest value was the nation. They took this belief to the extreme, claiming that

their nation was superior to others. Fascists were also strongly opposed to

Communism.

Unity of All Social Classes- Fascists felt a single national party should unite all classes. They also believed that the

strong had a natural right to dominate the weak. They opposed worker unions

and strikes.

All-Powerful Leaders- Fascists believed that a single all-powerful leader, like

Mussolini or Hitler, could best represent the national will and lead the nation.

Extreme Militarism- Fascists used violence to defeat their political

opponents and prepared to use war for national expansion. Fascists saw war as a

glorious experience.

European Fascism

Anti-Semitism- Hatred of Jews was common among

Europeans.

Their unique customs and beliefs made them easy targets of discrimination.

In the Late 1800s Jews were blamed for the disruptions caused by the rapid industrialization of Europe.

Racism- European Racism was strengthened by

the experiences of overseas imperialism and by the spirit of nationalism

Social Darwinism Racism and Anti-Semitism were made

respectable by applying Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution to human society. Social Darwinists believed that all human groups competed for survival and that stronger groups had the right to succeed over weaker groups, who deserved to die out.

You will receive a “Mask” of a famous person from this time period.

Your task is to BECOME this person. You may use your technology to research your person.

Find interesting facts about this person. Ideas they promoted, ideas they were against. Where were they from? What side of the war were they on? Etc….

Charles de Gaulle

Yamamoto

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Truman

Winston Churchill

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Tojo

Rommel

David Lloyd George

George Patton

Stalin

Hitler

Mussolini

Emperor Hirohito

Weimar Republic Collapses

By the late 1920s, the Weimar Republic created a new currency and achieved some stability.

However, when the Great Depression spread to Germany in the 1930s, the leaders could not agree on how to best deal with the Depression.

In the New elections, more voters turned to more radical solutions offered by both the communists and the Nazi Party.

Nazi Party

Condemnation of the Weimar Republic- Hitler

blamed Germany’s humiliation at Versailles on Weimar

leaders. He urged Germans to return Germany to glory under

a strong leader.

Aryan Race- Hitler believed that Germans were a superior “Aryan Race” that should rule

the world. He planned to eventually wipe out Slavic

peoples like the Poles to make room for further German

developments.

Anti-Semitism- Hitler called the Jews an “evil race” that

should be destroyed for causing Germany’s defeat in the war.

He saw communism as a Jewish plot to control the world.

Hitler’s Vision for Germany- Spelled out in Mein Kampf

The Nazis build up their private army of “Brown Shirts” made up of former soldiers and unemployed workers.

After the Great Depression the Nazi Party became the largest party in the Reichstag (legislature)

This support allowed Hitler to be appointed chief minister in 1933. Germany Under Nazi Control In the following months, the Fascists took over every aspect of German social, economic, and

political life. In order to bring about dictorial rule, Hitler and the Nazis did every thing to bring about chaos

and to bring the republic down.

Human Rights Violations

• People were arrested and executed without trial.

• Rival political parties, unions, and independent newspapers closed down and were replaced by pro-Nazi ones.

Persecution of Jews

• Jews were thrown out of governments jobs

• They lost their citizenship, were forced to wear yellow stars, and were banned from marrying other Germans.

• Later, Jews were forced to live in Ghettos or sent to concentration camps.

Economic Changes

• Hitler made use of public works projects.

• Economic prosperity returned to Germany

Secret Police

• Information was highly controlled by the Nazi Party.

• The Gestapo arrested suspected opponents who were then thrown into concentration camps.

• Dachau was the first of such camps and opened in 1938

Why might many Germans admire Hitler? Restored full employment

Told Germans they were the superior race

Overturned the humiliations of the Versailles Treaty

Restored German military might

Propaganda Young children were enrolled as Hitler Youth

All art and theater was directed towards celebrating Nazism

No other ideas were tolerated

• Mussolini invaded Ethiopia

• Hitler helped Francisco Franco of Spain

• Hitler demanded Austria and a part of Czechoslovakia

• France and Britain, in hopes of avoiding War, tried to appease Hitler with the Munich Pact.

• The League of Nations failed. Hitler- in violation of the Treaty of Versailles- began to rebuild his armies.

• The League could do nothing to stop him because its member states refused to take action.

• In 1939, Hitler demanded Danzig, Poland. This time, Britain and France refused to give in.

• Hitler made a deal with the Soviets= Soviet Non-Aggression Pact

• Germany took Poland.

New technologies made new forms of warfare possible.

The German army developed the blitzkrieg- the use of planes, tanks, and motorized troop carriers to advance quickly into enemy territory.

By the end of 1940, Germany controlled most of Western Europe.

Winston Churchill led London’s resistance against Germany.

Britain’s advantages include: Use of radar

Bravery of British air force

Britain’s island location

King George VI-

In any country where the Germans occupied, there were underground resistance movements.

Germany Invades the Soviet Union

By 1940, Hitler had conquered all of Western Europe, so he turned his attention to the East.

In 1941, Hitler betrayed Stalin by launching a surprise attack on the Soviet Union.

Germany was successful until the winter of 1941.

Turning point was Stalingrad. The Germans were defeated definitely here.

Soviet military and civilian wartime losses amounted to 21 million dead.

December 7, 1941 Japan decided to bomb the US at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.

Hitler quickly joined Japan by declaring war on the US

This brought the United States into the War.

Allied powers strategy during the war was to focus on Germany first and then turn their focus on Japan.

The holocaust refers to the genocide of the Jews of Europe during WWII

The Final Solution- refers to the Nazi’s plan to execute all Jews. Decided upon at the Wanese Conference.

Concentration Camps- Places where Germans sent the Jews to work or to die.

Human Toll – It is estimated that six million Jews, two-thirds of those living in Europe were killed in the Holocaust; six million gypsies, Slavs, political prisoners, elderly, and mentally-disabled.

Normandy Part II On D-Day in June 1944, allied troops

landed in Normandy in Northern France.

This was the largest amphibious assault in history.

The war had finally turned in the allies’ favor.

The Soviet Union had greater manpower and the U.S. had greater manufacturing capabilities than Germany.

Atlantic Charter Promised self-determination to all

peoples and future disarmament.

On April 30, 1945 Hitler committed suicide. Soon after, German military leaders surrendered.

Many important Nazi leaders were tried and convicted by an international tribunal at Nuremberg.

These trials revealed the full extent of Nazi atrocities- slave labor, medical experiments on humans, forced starvation, and genocide.

As a result, Germany was divided into separate zones occupied by the four victorious Allied Powers.

Nuremberg

Japan

Japans military began to influence Japanese national policy during the 1930s.

Traditional samurai beliefs of martial discipline and loyalty were glorified.

Japan saw the war in Europe as a way to gain control of mainland Asia.

They hoped for a short war when they attacked the United States.

Pearl Harbor

More than 2400 Americans were killed in this attack.

The War in Asia and the Pacific

Japanese leaders badly miscalculated the ability of the United States.

Initially, the Japanese were very successful

Tide Turns against Japan

Battle of Midway gave the United States the edge.

American forces began island-hopping and liberating islands as they go.

Albert Einstein played a key role in developing the atom bomb.

Due to Einstein’s letter encouraging the development of an atom bomb, Roosevelt authorized the Manhattan Project.

After the sudden death of President Roosevelt, the new President Truman authorized the use of the Atomic Bomb against Japan in Hiroshima and Nagasaki

The League of Nations had failed

Churchill and Roosevelt decided to launch a new international peace-keeping organization in 1945 known as the United Nations.

Its purpose is to: Maintain peace

Encourage friendship and cooperation

Members agree to give up use of force, except in self-defense

Seeks to eliminate hunger, disease, and ignorance