Effects of the Great Depression

When was the Wall Street Crash?

1929

What was the impact of the Wall Street Crash in America?

Thousands of businesses went bankrupt and many banks collapsed

How many Americans were unemployed by 1933?

15 million

Why did the Wall Street Crash affect countries around the world?

America had loaned money to other countries throughout WW1 to help fund their respective armies and help build the economies of other countries devastated by reparations payments (such as Germany)

What caused the Great Depresion?

The Wall Street Crash - American shares decreased in value, so people had less money to spend on luxury items, which meant that industries all around the world lost a valuable marketplace for trade and their profits dropped. This meant that businesses had to fire workers, meaning that people got more desperate.

How did the value of cars change during the Great Depression?

The value for cars in exports dropped from 541 million dollars to 76 million dollars.

How did unemployment change in Germany during the Great Depression?

6 million Germans became unemployed - 1/3 of the population

Why did the Great Depression hit Germany so hard?

Germany had to repay more loans to America than any other country because the reparations agreed in the Treaty of Versailles were so high

How did the Great Depression impact Britain?

There was a focus on saving the empire and protecting the citizens within it. Britain had in previous years reduced its spending on the military, so it was wary of fighting Germany and Japan on its own, leading to more cautiousness.

Why did extremist groups become more popular during the Great Depression?

Many extremist groups, such as the Nazis, offered simple sounding solutions compared to the more confusing solutions given by the government at the time

What was the slogan used by Hitler promoting how he would end the Great Depression?

Bread, food, work - these were pleasing ideas to the German people

What else did Hitler promise the people as part of running for Chancellor?

He promised to take land by force so that the German population would have food, space and resources, and unite the German-speaking people under one country, and the promise of overseas victories distracted the people from their problems at home, and the victories would restore national pride.

What was another benefit of a dictatorship?

The government runs everything, so they are more likely to look after the unemployed - a population which was especially high in the Great Depression

How did the Great Depression ultimately impact the League of Nations?

As the Great Depression lead to an increase in popularity for extremist parties, it undermined the power of the League since its punishments weren’t effective

Why wasn’t moral condemnation an effective punishment against dictatorships?

Dictators aren’t afraid of using violence to achieve their aims and they aren’t interested in collective security or are scared by moral condemnation, so it would have no impact on their actions at all.

Why wasn’t military threat an effective punishment against dictatorships in the Great Depression?

Dictators aren’t afraid of risking war, so battles were inevitable in fighting an aggressive dictator. Since the League didn’t have its own army, it relied on member countries giving up their armies for the League to use - however, in the Great Depression, most countries didn’t want the expense of war, so they refused to lend their militaries for the League.

Why weren’t trade sanctions an effective punishment against dictatorships in the Great Depression?

As there was a time of economic crisis during the Great Depression, countries weren’t willing to stop trading with others as it would create more unemployment and hurt their own people - they were too busy with their own problems to deal with the League’s issues