Unit 8: 20th Century Global Conflicts (1914-Present)

Lead-up to WWI

• Triple Alliance formed between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy

• Triple Entente formed between Britain, Russia, and France

• assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

• Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia with support from Germany

WWI (1914-1918)

• new warfare tech like machine guns and barbed wire; used trench warfare

• use of airplanes and German U-boats

• aka a total war as all of a nation’s resources were used to support the war

• US joined war in 1917 on the Triple Entente side

• ended with Treaty of Versailles (1918)

Treaty of Versailles (1918)

• marked the victory of Triple Entente

• US emerged as a global power

• the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires were dissolved after the war which led to reorganization of territories in Europe

• Germany faced heavy reparations and territorial loses in Europe

• lead to redrawing of the map of Europe

Russian Revolution (1917)

• February Revolution (1917)—food shortages and Nicholas II abdicated the throne where the Russian legislature, Duma, took power

  • led to creation of a provisional gov’t

• October Revolution (1917)—the Bolsheviks that was lead by Lenin overthrew the provisional gov’t; marked the beginning of communist rule in Russia and the creation of the Soviet Union

New Economic Policy (NEP)

• Lenin introduced the NEP which limited capitalism and was a temporary compromise to stabilize the economy and prevent rebellion

War Guilt Clause

• placed the entire blame for WWI on Germany…contributed to the rise of fascism in Germany

League of Nations

• int’l organization to promote peace and cooperation among countries but US never joined

• led to the collapse during WWII

• replaced by United Nations in 1945

Dawes Plan (1924)

• financial plan to help stabilize Germany’s economy for Germany only needed to pay what it could afford

Great Depression (1929)

• causes of the depression:

  • war debt, tariff policies, overproduction, speculation

Fascism & Totalitarianism

• fascism—far right ideology that emphasizes nationalism, dictatorship, and suppression of opposition (ex. Mussolini and Hitler)

• totalitarianism—leader has absolute control over all aspects of life

• rose in Germany where Hitler used propaganda like radio and film to strengthen his control over Germany; also used secret police force (SS) to enforce policies thru terror

• Mussolini established it in Italy thru modern tech and propaganda, secret police

• fascism spread to Spain where Francisco Franco won the Spanish Civil War and established himself as ruler of Spain

• after Lenin’s death, Stalin came to power as leader of Soviet Union (established thru Russian Revolutions of 1917) who was known for brutal policies

  • The Great Purge—Stalin initiated a campaign to eliminate all of his perceived enemies from the party and state

Interwar Period

• Hitler reversed the Treaty of Versailles (1918) where he began to rearm Germany and expand its territory

• fascism expanded beyond Germany such as Italy

• Germany’s remilitarization of the Rhineland (1936)—Hitler violated the Treaty of Versailles with the re-militarizing of the Rhineland

WWII (1939-1945)

• WWII was triggered by Hitler’s invasion of Poland

• Allied Powers—Britain, France, Soviet Union, US (comes later)

• Axis Powers—Germany, Italy, Japan

• Hitler invaded Soviet Union with Operation Barbarossa (1941)

• ended with atomic bombing in Japan with defeat of Axis Powers

• led to creation of United Nations

Holocaust

• belief in superiority of Aryan race and viewed Jewish population as the biggest threat to this race

• Nuremberg Laws (1935)—made it illegal for “pure-blood” Germans to marry Jews