Interwar Period Overview

• Movements in art, philosophy, and literature during the 1920s are best described as disillusioned
• Sigmund Freud revolutionized how humans think about consciousness
• Friedrich Nietzsche valued pride, assertiveness, strength, and heroes
• Jazz music originated from the American South
• Women challenged social norms during the 1920s
• Cars changed American society by increasing social freedom and enabling moves to suburbs
• Radio created popular culture across the world
• The Weimar Republic faced a lack of democratic tradition, postwar blame, numerous parties, and a bad economy
• Inflation is an increase in prices and a decrease in money's buying power
• The flawed assumption with the Kellogg-Briand Pact and Locarno Agreements was that war can be fully eliminated
• Factors that contributed to the Great Depression in the late 1920s include stock speculation, overusing credit, and overproduction
• To buy on margin means buying stocks with a loan
• In the initial years of the Great Depression, banks crashed (run on banks)
• Tariffs of the early 1930s crashed world trade
• Franklin D. Roosevelt implemented the New Deal
• The New Deal helped put Americans back to work through public works projects
• Benito Mussolini became the fascist dictator of Italy
• Characteristics of fascism include nationalism, dictatorship, militarism and racism
• Patriotism is pride in your country, while nationalism is the belief that your country is superior to others
• Problems in Italy during the 1920s included disappointment over the Treaty of Versailles, inflation, unemployment and a weak government
• The purpose of the blackshirts was to serve as Mussolini's paramilitary force
• The result of the March on Rome was that Mussolini became Prime Minister
• The purpose of the Acerbo Law was to ensure the Fascists maintained power over government
• Mussolini limited opposition through threats, violence, secret police, banning parties, and banning parliament
• Adolf Hitler was the dictator of Germany from 1933-1945
• Hitler was introduced to the Nazi Party serving as a spy
• Many Germans were dissatisfied with the Weimar Republic due to a bad economy, decline of Germany, and humiliation over the Treaty of Versailles
• The result of the Beer Hall Putsch was that the Nazis were stopped by Munich police
• Mein Kampf was the novel Hitler published while in prison
• Hitler's plans and ideas in Mein Kampf included Aryan race, anschluss, remilitarization and lebensraum
• Hitler wanted more space for the German people to expand the Aryan race
• Hitler was appointed as chancellor to control him, and because he was popular
• Hitler blamed communists for the Reichstag fire
• Hitler created a totalitarian state through decrees, suspending civil liberties, controlling media and killing opposition
• Anti-Semitism is hatred of Jews
• On the night of the long knives, Hitler eliminated his opposition
• The Meiji Restoration restored the power of the Japanese emperor
• The United States forced Japan to open through gunboat diplomacy
• Japan sought to build an empire in Asia for security, economic needs and equal respect
• The civilian government was unable to control the Japanese military due to constitutional limits and no control over military
• The League of Nations responded to the invasion of Manchuria with condemnation but no action
• After the Japanese invaded the city of Nanjing, there was rape and murder of 200,000 civilians
• Appeasement is giving into an aggressor's demands to keep peace
• The Axis Powers were Japan, Italy, and Germany
• Mussolini invaded Ethiopia in 1935
• The Treaty of Versailles prevented remilitarizing of the Rhineland
• The two sides of the Spanish Civil War were Nationalists vs Republicans
• Hitler and Mussolini intervened in the Spanish Civil War by giving weapons to the Nationalists
• Franco became the dictator of Spain
• Before WWII, the United States embraced isolationism
• The Neutrality Acts prevented the American government from selling weapons to nations at war
• Hitler wanted to annex the Sudetenland to expand and for Anschluss
• Britain, France, Germany, and Italy participated in the Munich Conference
• The result of the Munich Conference was that Hitler promised not to take more land but failed to keep it
• Hitler wanted to avoid a 2-front war more than anything
• Under the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, Poland would be split between USSR and Germany
• On September 1, 1939, the invasion of Poland occurred
• Hitler used blitzkrieg ("lightning war") military strategy to quickly take Poland
• Winston Churchill always doubted that appeasement would work
• The USA will remain neutral when WWII begins

Writing section

• Factors that contributed to the Great Depression: Stock speculation, reliance on credit, overproduction
• Core tenets of fascism: nationalism, conquest, racial superiority, sacrifice for the state / dictator, return to past glory, dictator