Download The United States and Europe Between the Wars

The U.S. and Europe Between
the Wars
Mr. White’s World History
Main Idea

This period was an era of intense
economic, political, social, and cultural
change that:
◦ Resulted in changing lifestyles for people in
the western democracies
◦ Saw democratic governments in the United
States, England, and France struggle to
preserve democracy
◦ Created fascist and communist dictatorships
in Europe
New technology, science, and culture changed the world
after World War I.
SECTION 1: CULTURE
AND SOCIETY
Changing Lives for Women

Women began to
challenge old social
norms following the war
◦ Many had worked in war
industries, and had
demanded equal pay to
men
◦ Many began to demand,
and won, the right to vote

Many women adopted
new fashions and social
behavior
◦ Increased use of make-up
in public (considered
indecent before)
◦ Openly drinking, smoking,
casually dating men
Popular Technology

New technology in
communication and
transportation increased the
pace of life and the
interconnectedness of society
◦ Automobile – increased mobility
and freedom for people (mostly
for the wealthy at first)

The beginning of popular radio
led to a homogenization of
culture
◦ Stimulated the desire for
consumer goods
◦ Psychology was used in
advertisements to convince
people to buy
Leisure Time
New labor-saving devices such as
electronic appliances (vacuum cleaners,
toasters, refrigerators, etc.) led to a
growth in leisure time
 Leisure activities such as spectator sports,
athletic activities (biking, tennis), and
popular reading grew in popularity

Science

New advances in
science changed the
way that people
viewed the world
◦ Albert Einstein
developed the theory of
relativity – governs the
laws of motion and
energy
◦ Sigmund Freud
developed theories on
the human mind and
subconscious to explain
human behavior –
growth of psychology as
a discipline
Literature

Many authors of the time began to pick
new techniques and subjects to portray
◦ Writers were often critical of the society of
the time – materialism, middle class values
◦ James Joyce – “Ulysses,” pioneered a style
known as “stream of consciousness”
◦ Many writers became interested in writing
about social issues of the time
Painting

New techniques in painting challenged old
conventions about art
◦ Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque developed
a style known as cubism – broke human and
still-life forms into fragments
◦ The Dada school of art stressed absurdity, and
was “anti-art”
◦ Surrealism developed as an offshoot of
Dadaism – portrayed a surreal view on life
Les Demoiselles D’Avignon, Pablo Picasso
This, one of
Picasso’s most
famous paintings,
shows early
elements of Cubism,
which involved
breaking up forms
into shapes that
distorted them.
Music
Sergei Prokofiev composed driving and
dissonant music – often criticized
 Arnold Schoenberg of Austria used 12note harmony to compose music
reflecting what he saw as the decline of
Western culture
 Jazz developed in the U.S. as a popular
style of music, incorporating West African,
rhythms, classical music, etc.

Dance
Sergey Diaghilev developed modern ballet
by blending classical ballet elements with
modern dance styles
 Isadora Duncan and Martha Graham
pioneered styles that laid the foundation
for modern dance

Architecture
The Bauhaus school of architecture linked
beauty to practicality, and avoided using
classical styles as patterns
 Frank Lloyd Wright of the U.S. blended his
structures with their natural surroundings
– organic architecture

The Bauhaus school
of architecture grew
in Germany as a
break from the
traditional styles
and forms of the
past, and tied
architecture to the
function of the
building.
The Bauhaus Dassau
Popular Culture
Hollywood productions began to
dominate movie theaters of the time
 Silent movies were popular, at the
beginning
 The beginning of sound in films increased
their popularity – musicals, gangster films,
and horror movies
 Dance bands popularized the dance music
of the era – jazz, swing

After World War I, the United States isolated itself from
foreign influences and eventually slipped into an economic
depression.
SECTION 2: U.S.
ISOLATIONISM AND
DEPRESSION
Woodrow Wilson
As WWI ended, Woodrow Wilson tried
to keep the U.S. involved in world affairs,
specifically the League of Nations
 Congress had to vote by 2/3 to join the
League of Nations for it to go into effect

◦ Wilson refused to compromise and work
with Congress
◦ Then, Wilson suffered a stroke

The U.S. did not join the League of
Nations
Red Scare and the KKK
Americans began to fear foreign
influences after World War I
 The spread of communism in Russia made
many Americans afraid that it might
spread to the U.S. – “red scare”
 The Ku Klux Klan rose again with support
from people who feared non-American
influences

Post-war Prosperity
World War I had given much of the
economy, especially manufacturing, a
boost
 Many Americans had a great deal of
confidence in the economy

◦ Some industrial workers had increased wages
◦ Many people began to buy on credit or
speculate in the stock market
Weaknesses of the Economy

However, the economy had many
underlying weaknesses
◦ The farming sector of the economy was not
doing well
◦ Demand for products and the increase in
wages across the economy were not keeping
up with production – factories were making
more than could be purchased
Stock Market Crash

In 1929, the stock market crashed, and
this signaled the beginning of the Great
Depression
◦ Loan brokers called in the collection of loans
◦ Financial panic resulted in a run on the banks
– not enough cash to cover
◦ As banks failed, businesses closed, wages fell,
workers lost their jobs

The U.S. government mostly stayed out of
providing assistance, at first
FDR and the New Deal


In 1932, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was
elected president of the United States
Roosevelt and Congress worked together to
pass laws that provided assistance to the
economy
◦ Regulated banks and the stock market
◦ Established production guidelines
◦ Sponsored public works programs to provide
jobs

Later laws also created social security and
unemployment insurance
After World War I, Great Britain experienced a loss of
global power because of mounting debt and industrial
competition with the U.S. and Japan.
SECTION 3: GREAT
BRITAIN
Economic Competition

During the war, Great Britain had to turn
all of its resources to fighting the war
◦ Had to borrow money from the U.S. when it
ran out
◦ When Britain turned most of its factories to
war production, it was no longer able to
produce to trade with its partners
◦ These trading partners eventually started
trading with the U.S. and Japan, instead
The Commonwealth of Nations

Great Britain reorganized its government
into the Commonwealth of Nations
◦ Voluntary linking of Great Britain with its
colonies on an equal basis
◦ After a series of resistances and uprisings by
Irish nationalists in British Ireland, Britain
granted self-government to the southern
counties of Ireland – northern six counties
remained in Great Britain
After World War I, France struggled to recover.
SECTION 4: FRANCE
France’s Troubles

France had suffered greatly during World
War I
◦ Much French farmland was destroyed
◦ Cities and towns along the battlefield were
mostly reduced to rubble
◦ Much of France’s infrastructure was
destroyed, which made it harder to recover
◦ Half of the males aged 18 to 32 were killed
Economic and Political Problems

France faced economic and political
trouble after World War I
◦ Unemployment, inflation, war debts
◦ Unable to rebuild infrastructure
◦ Political parties competed for votes, and these
coalitions quickly fell apart
◦ Extremist groups such as communists,
socialists, fascists, anarchists, and nationalists
began to struggle for power
Keeping the Peace

France worked to try to maintain peace with
Germany through different ways
◦ League of Nations and the international
community
◦ Forming strategic alliances with other nations in
case of German attack
◦ Construction of the Maginot Line – defense line
along the border with Germany

France also tried to work with the
government of Germany to maintain peace
Benito Mussolini and the Fascist party took power in Italy
following World War I.
SECTION 5: ITALIAN
FASCISM
Totalitarianism
During World War I, many governments
had adopted increased control over most
aspects of life to support the war effort
 After the war, many non-democratic
nations adopted this approach to
peacetime government, as well
 Totalitarian governments resulted, in
which the government sought to control
every aspect of its citizens lives

Italy’s Problems

Many Italians were unhappy after World
War I
◦ Thought Italy had been cheated at the Paris
Peace Conference
◦ Heavy unemployment for returning soldiers,
strikes, peasants seized land

The Italian government wasn’t able to do
anything to relieve these problems
Benito Mussolini
In
1919, Benito Mussolini, a former
socialist, formed a new political party –
the Fasci di Combattimento (Fascist
party)
Totalitarian government that supported:
◦
◦
◦
◦
Glorification of the state
Single-party system with strong ruler
Aggressive nationalism
Expand and increase glory through war, if
necessary
Mussolini and the Blackshirts
Mussolini, as head of the
fascist party, was able to
use the unrest and
discontent, plus the
violence of the fascist
blackshirts, to take power
as prime minister
 1924 election – Blackshirts
used intimidation and
beatings to make sure
people voted only for
fascist candidates
 Mussolini and the fascists
worked to end democratic
government in Italy

Mussolini’s rule
Many Italians opposed fascism – Mussolini
and the fascists responded by saying that
“the masses must obey.”
 Most Italians supported Mussolini

◦ Opposed communism and revolution
◦ Brought order to the nation

Mussolini rekindled feelings of patriotism
in Italians and spoke of a future of
renewed Italian power
Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party took power in Germany.
SECTION 6: NAZI
GERMANY
Weimar Republic
Germany had adopted a democratic form
of government after the war known as
the Weimar Republic
 This government struggled with
Germany’s post-war problems and tried
to hold onto power

◦ In 1920, nationalist army officers tried to
overthrow the government; failed
Germany’s Problems
 German
war reparations had been set at
$35 billion – German government, in 1922,
said it couldn’t pay the reparations
 France sent troops into Germany and took
over coal mines and steel mills; German
workers went on strike
 To make the payments, the German
government began to print more money –
inflation soared
 In the mid 1920s, Germany and France made
an agreement to decrease the payments –
Germany began to recover slightly
Hitler and the Nazis
 Many
different political parties opposed the
Weimar government – among them was the
Nationalsozialistische Deutsche
Arbeiterpartei
 Adolf Hitler joined the Nazi party after
World War I, and formed the Sturmabteilung
(SA), or brownshirts, a paramilitary group of
young veterans and street thugs
 Hitler attempted to seize power in 1923, but
was arrested
Mein Kampf
 In
prison, Hitler wrote
Mein Kampf, a book that
outlined the basic beliefs
of Nazism
◦ Communists, Jews, and
other groups were
responsible for Germany’s
defeat in World War I
◦ Germans made up a
master race that should
rise in power and expand
 Hitler
and the Nazis
created a false history
behind why the Germans
were a master race
Hitler’s Rise
 After
Hitler got out of prison, he continued
his leadership of the Nazi party
◦ During the Great Depression, he promised to
end unemployment in Germany
◦ Also promised to restore Germany’s military
power
 In
the early 1930s, the Nazis gained a large
number of seats in the Reichstag, Germany’s
law-making lower house
 In 1933, Hitler was appointed Chancellor of
Germany
Reichstag Fire
 Hitler
still didn’t have enough power to set
up a totalitarian government
 A week before new elections were to be
held, the Reichstag building burned to the
ground – Hitler blamed communists
 The SA forced German voters to back the
Nazis, who took many more seats in the
Reichstag
 After the elections, Hitler was granted
emergency powers to deal with the
“communist threat.”
Nazi Reforms
All parties except the Nazi party were
banned
 Freedom of speech, press, religion, and
assembly were limited
 Nazi government took over factories and
production, also controlled churches

Nuremberg Laws
1935
– Nazis passed the Nuremberg
Laws, taking away citizenship from Jews,
banning them from schools
November 9 and 10th, 1938 (Kristallnacht)
– Nazis attacked Jews on the streets and
vandalized Jewish property; Gestapo
(Geheime Staatspolizei) arrested Jews and
political opponents, some shot
Jews and others were rounded up and
sent to concentration camps
Hitler’s Rule
Now with absolute power, Hitler adopted
the title, “der Fuhrer” – leader
 Set about to restore Germany’s power

◦ Ignored the Treaty of Versailles and ordered
German factories to begin building weapons,
ammunition, planes, tanks, etc.
◦ Stopped payments to the Allies
Nazi Controls
 To
glorify Nazism, the Nazis brought all art,
architecture, learning, etc., under the control
of the government – many of Germany’s
brightest minds left
 Propaganda praising the government flooded
the population
◦ Stressed the importance of devotion to the
nation
 The
Nazis even set up youth organizations
to teach young children the beliefs of
Nazism (Hitlerjugend)
Lenin and Stalin worked to increase the power of the USSR,
and the power of the communist government.
SECTION 7: THE USSR
Lenin and the USSR
 V.I. Lenin
had taken power in
Russia as part of the
communist revolution
 Lenin brought all major
industries under state control,
but early in his rule, allowed
some small industries to
operate privately
 Russia changed its name to the
Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics, USSR
 In theory, the state was
controlled by the workers, but
in reality, it was controlled by
the government and the
Communist party
Josef Stalin
Lenin dies of a stroke; in 1922 Josef Stalin
takes over
 Stalin thought the USSR should
concentrate on growing strong, and that
this would encourage communist
revolutions in other nations
 Stalin was a capable administrator, and
was also paranoid, cold, and ruthless

Five Year Plans
Stalin wanted to transform
the USSR into an industrial
power
 Announced Five Year Plans
to reorganize industrial
and agricultural production
under government control

◦ Built heavy industry and
collectivized farming at the
expense of consumer goods

The Five Year Plans and
Stalin’s reign were
characterized by tight
control and careful
planning – often inefficient
and clumsy
Farm Collectivization
Stalin
brought farms under government
control; thought it would be more
efficient and would allow for a surplus
He also used collectivization to intimidate
anti-Communist peasants
Many collectivizations resulted in revolts
by the peasants; the government put
down this resistance and often sent these
people to prison camps or starved them
into submission
Terror and Control
Stalin demanded complete obedience
from his people and used terror as a
government tool
 Used secret police to keep an eye on
people and their actions
 Stalin purged the government and
Communist party of elements that he
thought might be disloyal; extremely
paranoid

Before
After
In Soviet Russia, the picture
Photoshops YOU!