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Global Depression Between the Wars

Global Depression Between the Wars. Destruction. WWI destroyed homes, factories, and roads from France to Russia Many people became refugees Reconstruction was slow & expensive. WWI caused governments to collapse. Russia became the communist Soviet Union Italy became fascist

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Global Depression Between the Wars

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  1. Global Depression Between the Wars

  2. Destruction • WWI destroyed homes, factories, and roads from France to Russia • Many people became refugees • Reconstruction was slow & expensive

  3. WWI caused governments to collapse • Russia became the communist Soviet Union • Italy became fascist • Germany, Austria-Hungary and Ottomans lost empires • Great Britain & France developed coalition governments • Ex. France’s government changed 40 times from 1919-1939 • Many colonial lands freed

  4. WWI drained Europe’s resources • France’s coal/iron industries flooded by Germany

  5. WWI left every major European nation bankrupt • Germany, Great Britain, and France had most debt • Only 2 nations remained creditor nations: U.S. and Japan • Why? Both expanded trade to supply the Allies & WWI wasn’t fought on their land • European nations could not repay loans to US (over $10 billion owed) so they tried to raise revenue • Ex. Germany printed more money • Ex. Great Britain created protective tariffs and offered low interest loans to restart industry • Inflation (1921: 64 marks = $1; 1923: 4.2 trillion marks = $1) • Big Four nations went on gold standard to raise value

  6. WWI left the world skeptical & disillusioned • Modern warfare caused many to lose enthusiasm and add doubt • France build Maginot Line to prevent German invasion • 65 million served in WWI with 9 million battle deaths and 38million casualities (dead and wounded)- 3x population of NC- change in your notes! • US experienced Roaring Twenties (escapism) and Red Scare (fear of communism)- tried to choose isolation but center of power had shifted from Europe to the US

  7. Peace Attempts • League of Nations (1920) • What? Peacekeeping organization of 40 nations (US did not join- although it was Wilson’s idea) • Purpose? Aimed to settle conflicts without violence and to protect smaller nations against attack by stronger ones • Why failed? No power to stop attacks or prevent war (no military to back up claims)

  8. Peace Attempts • Locarno Treaties (1925) • What? Agreement signed by 7 European nations that settled German borders with France, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, & Poland • Purpose? Promised to respect borders and avoid war • Why failed? Didn’t permanently end German attacks

  9. Peace Attempts • Kellog-Briand Pact (1928) • What? Agreement signed by most nations (including US) to outlaw war • Purpose? To solve problems by peaceful means & limit size of many navies • Why failed? No agreements about limiting armies and no enforcement

  10. Role of the United States • World depended on US economy • Dawes Plan allowed US investors to lend money to foreign nations to help economies grow; US investors lent $7.8 billion ($4 billion to Germany) • Great Depression caused by: • Unequal distribution of wealth • Overproduction (farms & factories) • War debt • Stock Market Crash of 1929 • To keep money in the US, the government called in loans & passed protective tariffs • US economy collapsed • 25% unemployment until WWII begins

  11. Results of the Great Depression • US- creditor until depression; FDR’s New Deal took in public $ to use for welfare/relief, create jobs • Great Britain- dependent on exports so left gold standard & exports increase; unemployment cut in half by 1937

  12. Results of the Global Depression • France- kept going with $33 billion in German reparations until prices rose & wages dropped • Italy- angry over Treaty of Versailles; highest unemployment until Mussolini built military and industry • USSR- Lenin used NEP (New Economic Policy) to restore economy then Stalin replaced with Five Year Plans to collectivize farming and factories

  13. Results of the Global Depression • Japan- creditor until crop failures; urban unemployment & rural poverty; militarize & industrialize while looking for more resources • Germany- 30% unemployment; hyperinflation; people blamed Weimar Republic for accepting Treaty of Versailles; Hitler built military & industry

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