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Great depression and international relations and politics
Impacts of great depression
Impacts of great depression
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The rise of the Nazi regime in Germany in the early part of the 20th century was an impressive, and nearly unforeseen incident that had long-lasting implications on the rest of the Western world. While the Nazi party was extreme in their ideologies, the circumstances in which they came to power were dire; Germany had been crippled by a massive depression and was being forced to pay reparations through the “Young Plan” which required Germany to pay the Allied forces “a series of annual payments extending until 1988”(Bullock, 160). The German people were left without any leadership in a time of disparity, but naturally, a strong leader filled this vacuum. Even though the actions of the Nazi party were extreme and unjustifiable, they needed to dig their country out of the massive debt that they had incurred as a result of World War I, and the Nazi party was able to revitalize Germany’s economy, and arm the nation in the process.
Immediately following the First World War, the Allied nations met at Versailles and, except for the United States, were unwavering in their decision to demand reparations from Germany (Briggs & Clavin, 205). The Treaty of Versailles and the Young Plan put an incredible amount of stress on the already withered German economy. The initial payment to the Allied nations was “a thousand million pounds of gold”, which meant a lot more repayment was yet to come. Forcing Germany to pay reparations led to anger and frustration among the German people, who had suffered enough through World War I; no one saw
the benefit of paying an absurd amount of reparations because they simply could not pay for the cost of the war. Reparations led to a vengeful feeling among the future leaders of Germany; the Nazi party. This ri...
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...was created so that nothing like World War II would happen again; and there are alliances such as NATO, which provide assistance in times of multinational conflicts. Although the United Nations is based on the League of Nations, there is participation by every country in the world to avoid another horrer like World War II. Today, the global community is so connected and dependent on each other, whether through monetary aid after a natural disaster, or the everyday activities of international trade, that if a regime of this intensity attempted to rise in the
Western world today, the rest of the international community would suppress it quickly and efficiently.
Works Cited
Briggs, Asa, and Patricia Clavin. Modern Europe, 1789 - Present. London: Pearson Longman, 2003. Print.
Bullock, Alan. Hitler and Stalin: Parallel Lives. New York: Vintage, 1993. Print.
John Merriman, A History of Modern Europe, Volume 1, (London, New York). Class Notes Class Documents HI 4712 Class Readings HI 4712
Gottfried, Ted, and Stephen Alcorn. Nazi Germany: The Face of Tyranny. Brookfield, CT: Twenty-First Century, 2000. Print.
Nazism possess the core features of totalitarianism, however has a few differences which distinguishes it. Totalitarianism, by the Friedrich-Brzezinski definition, is when the government establishes complete control over all aspects of the state,maintaining the complete control of laws and over what people can say, think and do. Nazi Germany satisfies most of this criteria, as they had a one party system without political opposition. Moreover, they had a single unchallenged leader, in Hitler, to whom the entire nation conformed to. Furthermore, the party had nearly complete control over the country, controlling what people thought through propaganda and censorship, as well as what people could do through fear and terror. However, there are
At the end of World War One, Germany was required to pay a large sum of money to the Allies consequently resulting in the German Depression. The sum Germany had to pay was set after the Treaty of Versailles was enacted at approximately six billion, six hundred million – twenty-two billion pounds, (World War Two – Causes, Alan Hall, 2010). The large amount of reparations that Germany had to pay resulted in a depression and angered the Germans because they thought it was an excessive amount of money to pay, (World War Two – Causes) The Germans hatred of the Treaty of Versailles was of significant importance in propelling the Nazis to power. Germany could not pay their reparations and was forced into a depression, (World War II – Causes). The Treaty of Versailles deprived Germany of its economic production and its available employments, (World War II – Causes). The German Depr...
“The British Prime Minister, David Lloyd George, recognized the feelings of the British people when he said ‘the Germans are going to pay every penny: they are going to be squeezed … until the pips squeak” (. This was the general conscious the British and the French people had because they felt they were owed for all of the wartime damages that occurred, the civilian and Soldiers lives that were lost, and because of the recourses the allies used to fight central powers. Ultimately the British and the French wanted revenge on Germany and for the first time they were in the power to do it. “Germany was not invited; as the defeated party, it was only required to sign the treaty once the cost of defeat had been established”2. The German s had no say at the negotiating table at the treaty of Versailles and because of this the “Big Four” ultimately and the power to punish Germany however they sought fit. This was a long shot from “Wilson’s proposed, “peace among equals,”2 and created much resentment from the German people. “Acceptance of blame appeared in Clause 231 of the treaty, later known as the ‘War Guilt clause’. Once Germany was made to acknowledge that it was responsible for the
In addition, having lost the war, the humiliated Germans were forced by the Allies to sign the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 that officially ended World War I. According to the harsh terms of the treaty, Germany had to hand over many of its richest industrial territories to the victors, and was made to pay reparations to the Allied countries it devastated during the war. Germany lost its pride, prestige, wealth, power, and the status of being one of Europe's greatest nations. (Resnick p. 15)
at least another few years. So, up to 1939, I think that life was a
Centuries later and the name Adolf Hitler still rings volumes till this present day: discussed in history books, talked about amongst intellects and commoners alike, and despised by many for years to come. Upon hearing his name many may think of all the negative things Hitler has done, but few fail to analyze just how one man created such controversy amongst a nation without being stopped. The question then lies how does a man reign over country and devastate it for years to come? Adolf Hitler, a man who excelled in persuasion and charisma was able to reign over Germany for years. Born in Austria April 20th 1889, Hitler grew up with many hardships in his life.
“On June 28, 1919, the German delegates reluctantly signed the Treaty of Versailles” (Bulliet et al. 763). The Peace Treaty of Versailles obliged the Germans to accept “responsibility for causing all the loss and damage” of the war (Bulliet et al. 763). The hostile Germany was humiliated and forced to pay for a large deal of war reparations. The open hostility and simmering feelings of revenge in German soldiers after the treaty foreshadowed the start of World War II.
In the aftermath of WWI, Germany was thoroughly humiliated. The propaganda put out by the German government assured its citizens that Germany was crushing its opposition- the English, French, and Americans. Germany was defeated on the field of battle, however, which caused the German people great shock. As a consequence of this defeat, on July 18, 1919, Germany was forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles, causing further emotional turmoil in Germany due to the terms of the Treaty. The Treaty forced the German army to surrender their armaments and topped it off with massive financial penalties which greatly damaged the German economy. The German commanders quickly claimed it was not their fault, but the Jews, communists, and left-wing politicians ...
Despite the treaty’s financial burden on Germany, the country’s war-fatigued economy would have eventually led to World War II. Even before the Treaty of Versailles was in place, Germany had just faced a war loss; the country had spent 170 billion marks (the equivalent to about 593 billion modern U.S. dollars) on the war. This removed Germany from first place in the world’s greatest economies, as Germany was the top spendthrift of World War I. With or without the Treaty of Versailles, the overall cost of the war was still a major blow to the Germans’ financial situation.
One of Germany’s greatest downfalls during this period was the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, in early 1919. With this, the country was forced to cede some of its best industrial areas to the victors of the war, as well as pay huge reparation costs. In fact, in 1923, one million marks were needed to equal the buying power of just one pre-treaty mark. Due to this, Germany lost much of its prestige and power, which has a trauma like effect on all citizens and people. Eventually, ‘legend’ grew that the defeat was due to select civilians back-stabbing the country, in a sense. Such people include the Jewish, liberal politicians, and communists. Eventually, the myth became an article of faith among all Germans, because of their craving for
MODERN HISTORY – RESEARCH ESSAY “To what extent was Nazi Germany a Totalitarian state in the period from 1934 to 1939?” The extent to which Nazi Germany was a totalitarian state can be classed as a substantial amount. With Hitler as Fuhrer and his ministers in control of most aspects of German social, political, legal, economical, and cultural life during the years 1934 to 1939, they mastered complete control and dictation upon Germany. In modern history, there have been some governments, which have successfully, and others unsuccessfully carried out a totalitarian state. A totalitarian state is one in which a single ideology is existent and addresses all aspects of life and outlines means to attain the final goal, government is run by a single mass party through which the people are mobilized to muster energy and support.
Stott, Anne. "Europe 1700-1914: A Continent Transformed." europetransformed.blogspot.com. University of London, 7 March 2011. Web. 30 November 2013.
The reparation, no doubt, is only another indirect way of limiting Germany's growth in any field possible and has added another pair of shackles to the already weakened German economy, some historians believe that this action has indirectly caused the rise of the Nazi Party, but opinions regarding this issue are still widely divided.... ... middle of paper ... ... The problem of Asia has also aroused in the Paris Peace Conference, whether or not China should return its sovereign authority from Japan. Chinese outrage this problem through a cultural movement, the May Fourth Movement, that influenced China not to sign the treaty.