responses to the great depression, 1929-1939 democracy under siege, 1929-1945 kagan, ch. 27 – pp....
TRANSCRIPT
Responses to the Great Depression, 1929-1939
Democracy under Siege, 1929-1945Kagan, Ch. 27 – pp. 775-781
What were the causes of the Great Depression?
1. US Stock market crash2. US call in short-term loans – hits German and
Austrian banks hard3. US banks begin to fail – European banks
begin to fail4. Businesses unable to pay workers – massive
lay-offs ensue (see Table 27.1)
An answer to Depression
• John Maynard Keynes– British economist– Encourages lending and government spending in
order to stimulate economic growth• Roosevelt’s New Deal
European Democracies’ Responses
• Two Big Mistakes– Tried to balance budgets and limit spending• Higher taxes on imported goods = decline in
international trade
– Governments became more conservative• GB’s Ramsay MacDonald – Labour Prime Minister, BUT
supported conservative fiscal policies = coalition government National Unity Government • Rise of Authoritarianism – Austria, Spain, Portugal
Adolph Hitler
• Lower-class Austrian with dreams of being an artist
• 1914 volunteers for Germany army in WWI – wounded and decorated
• Upset by Treaty of Versailles, still wants to serve for the good of Germany – joins National Socialist German Workers’ Party (Nazi)– By 1923 he is recognized as a
valuable party member
Beer Hall Putsch, 1923
• Failed attempt by Nazi Party to overthrow the Bavarian state government
• Hitler arrested– Writes Mein Kampf
• Aryan race and Lebensraum theories are outlined
Rise of Nazism
• “Failures” of Weimar Republic– Political and economic instability
• Growth of Nazi Party popularity– Charismatic leadership – Adolf Hitler– Simple Promises – restore Germany to its former glory;
provide jobs and stable economy; crack down on “enemies” (communists, Jews, profit driven capitalists) of the state
– Schutzstaffel (SS) unified group of body guards / followers– Pageantry, excitement, community
• Nuremberg Rally – Triumph of the Will
Hitler comes to Power
• 1932 – Nazi Party – strongest party in Reichstag
• 1933 Jan. - elected Chancellor• Feb. Reichstag fire = call for
emergency powers of decree; outlaws the Communist Party
• Enabling Act – Hitler given sole power (above the law) to make decisions of “national security”