Download Political Forces in the 1920s

Political Forces in the 1920s:
The Weimar Republic
Fascism in Italy
Interwar period
• Period of great contradictions
– Period of artistic experimentation, foundations
of modernity in art and architecture
– Brief era of prosperity followed by deep
depression
– Period in which some of 20th centuries most
horrendous regimes established
Germany: the Weimar Republic
• A Republic without Republicans?
• Besieged with economic problems, fragile
political support –
• challenges from revolutionaries on left,
nationalists on right
• At best contingent support from key groups in
German society
• Interplay between international issues
(Reparations, the peace settlement and domestic
politics)
Origins
• Collapse of German War effort in 1918
• Republic proclaimed following Kaiser’s
abdication
• Constitution drafted in 1919 in east German
city of Weimar
Political forces
• Extreme left:
– Communists committed to violent revolution
• Left:
– Social Democrats, committed to economic change, redistribution of
wealth – increasingly part of system
• Centre:
– Christian Democrats,
• Right:
– Liberals
– Conservatives
– Nationalists
• Extreme right: opponents of liberal democracy
Bases of support
• Pro-system: the ‘Weimar parties:’
– Social Democrats (SPD)
– Catholics (Centre Party)
– Liberals (DVP, DP)
• Republic opposed or at best tolerated by
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military
civil service
Judiciary
upper classes
Changes over time
• Initially, ‘Weimar parties’ enjoy strong support;
– But challenged from left and right: revolutionaries, free
corps, militias….
• Support narrows as early as 1920
– Communists and independent Socialists gain on the
left (20%)
– Nationalists gain on the right (33%)
• Further narrowing in 1925
– Hindenburg elected president
Three periods:
• 1918-1923 -- Shaky start
• 1924-1929 -- Normalcy
• 1929-1933 -- Great Depression and demise
1918-1923
• Problems of revolts from right and left
– Eventual suppression
• 1923 Ruhr crisis:
– France & Belgium occupy in order to extract
reparations
– Workers strike – with approval of German
government
• Inflation and hyper-inflation: money
printed to cover costs
Reparations conundrum
• Dawes plan (1924):
– Rescheduling of reparations payments – make
them manageable
– U.S. loans to Germany
• Enable Germany to make payments to France
• Enabling France to repay U.S.
1924-1929
• Stabilization of currency
• Attempts to make Weimar work:
– Broader coalition: centre-right parties such as
DVP join
• Period of relative success:
– Political stabilization
– Accommodations reached with neighboring
countries (Locarno Pact)
1929-1933
• US Stock Market Crash
• German dependence on American loans results in
shutdowns, mass unemployment
• Extreme parties – right and left – gain support
• Inability to sustain cabinets
– successive elections
– presidential intervention
– growth of support for Nazism
Fascism in Italy
Origins
• Short term:
– Italian disappointments in the peace
settlements, especially failure to obtain Fiume,
Dalmatian coast
• Longer term:
– Class, religious, regional divisions
– Incompleteness of Italian unification in 1860s,
1870s
– Weakness & ineffectiveness of the regime
Mussolini
• Former socialist
• Breaks with his party over support for
World War I
• Demagogic speaker
• Leader of squadristi – squads of thugs,
blackshirts
Coming to power
• Ongoing government crisis, widespread
social unrest, weak government during
World War I
• 1921: fascists elected to parliament
• 1922: March on Rome:
– Indecisive King, fearing army unreliable,
invites Mussolini to form of government
Consolidating the regime:
• Mussolini uses control of government to
establish dictatorship
– Modification of electoral law
– Successive elimination of opponents
– Suppression of independent forces
Building support:
• Mussolini builds support by modifying
positions, accommodating key groups
– Gains support of business by restricting unions
– Gains support of Church by
• abandoning anti-clerical positions
• embracing Catholicism,
• concluding Lateran pacts
The Fascist Regime
• Evolving type
• Glorification of nation/ leader
• Ostensible dispersion of power to
‘independent’ corporations running different
segments of the economy
• Emphasis both on resolving conflicts and
use of terror to marginalize opponents