interwar period (1918-1938)

interwar period (1918-1938)

\ treaty of versailles, great depression, and the rise of totalitarianism

**left off with:

an armistice went into effect on november 11, 1918 and the terms of peace were far from over

paris peace conference - 1919

  • 32 nations and nationalities arriver to the conference; initially to be dominated by what’s referred to as the big 4 - us, britain, france, and italy
  • conference will be remembered for it’s failures as “the allies won the war but lost it’s peace”
  • historian’s blamed this gathering for putting europe on the path to ww2

woodrow wilson (1913-1921)

  • united states president
  • had a plan called wilson’s 14 points   * released last year of the war - plan for lasting peace and “to make the world safe for democracy”   * points included topics like     * freedom of the seas     * league of nations     * disarmament     * Self-determination
  • wilson’s idealism would clash with the political realities of a continent that had just gone through one of the bloodiest wars in history   * europe wanted payback   * italy walked out, when they realized that they wouldn't be getting the land tey were promised; ended up switching sides

conference’s true power brokers

  • britain: lloyd george   * the political situation pushed lloyd george feel the need to get something out of the germans
  • us: woodrow wilson   * wilson didn’t care about getting retribution
  • french: francis clemenceau   * clemenceau was the most adamant that the germans should pay for the west

**all had different ideas on how the peace settlement should go

wilson’s self determination aspect

  • concept that people should have the right to choose their own governments and this didn’t turn out the way he intended; asian and african nations were in support because they were under british and french rule

treaty of versailles

  • germans forced to sign a separate treaty under threat of resumption of war
  • terms of treaty would become a source of resentment - cause of ww2
  • german humiliation
  • territorial losses
  • demilitarization of the rhinelands and minimal army
  • starting wwi must take the blame
  • pay financial reparations to the victors

league of nations

  • an international body where delegates could resolve disputes peacefully through diplomacy
  • was almost doomed from the beginning
  • was not able to stop ww2 as germany would just quit; behavior came under criticism
  • in the league - the interwar period would showcase the increasing divide between the western democratic states
  • rise of authoritarian

new countries

  • czechoslovakia, hungary, yugoslavia   * problems     * multi-ethinic     * no experience with democracy     * germany and russia (ussr) want their land back     * becomes more repressive during the great depression

german aftermath

  • taken over by weimar republic
  • to pay for reparations they print more money leading to massive inflation
  • us enacts dawe’s plan to aid and stabilize germany
  • great depression started 1929

the great depression

  • started in 1929
  • spread very fast   * worldwide depression = breeding group for dictatorships     * italy, germany, soviet union, japan
  • massive turning point for the world - questioning the capitalist economic system
  • keynesian economies: increase government spending to fill void in consumers

popular front france (1936) left with perks/reforms, 40-hour work weeks, paid vacations, unions (most still in effect)