◄UNIT 3: CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR (1914–1918)UNIT: 5 CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR (1939–1945)►

UNIT: 4 BETWEEN TWO WARS

  • UNIT: 4 BETWEEN TWO WARS

    Key unit competence: To be able to explain the causes and effects
    of the 1929 economic crisis and the rise of totalitarian regimes in

    Europe: Fascism and Nazism

    Introductory Activity 4.1

    Using internet or library explain the World between the Two

    Wars

    Introduction

    Events during the period between two wars led to the Second World
    War. During this period, the world witnessed a heavy economic
    crisis in 1929, which was a result of the destruction of industries,
    communication lines, airports and cities during the First World War.

    Measures were taken to overcome the effects of this crisis, the major
    one being the “new deal programme” by the new American President
    Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1932. However, the effects were serious
    and this led to the rise of totalitarian regimes like Fascism under

    Benito Mussolini and Nazism under Adolf Hitler.

    4.1. World Economic Depression (1929–1935)

    Learning Activity 4.1 

    State the causes and effects of the economic depression or

    crisis of 1929. Thereafter, present your results to the class.

    The world economic depression was an economic stagnation which
    was experienced globally from 1929 to 1935. It was characterised by
    total breakdown in the production processes, unemployment, low
    incomes, and general lack of effective demand, low prices, low investment
    and low economic activities in general.

    It began from the Canadian agricultural sector but the most
    disastrous period started from the USA after the “Wall Street crash”
    or stock market crash, on October 24th, 1929 and spread to Europe

    and the whole world.

    Causes of the great world economic depression

    The consequences of the First World War: These include
    destruction of industries, communication lines, airports and cities and
    loss of lives, which had a negative effect on production and the ability to

    purchase goods, hence leading to the depression.

    The Rise of economic nationalism and isolationist/protectionist
    policy led by USA    : This policy was used by USA to protect infant
    industries at home and it was adopted by other countries mainly in
    Europe. This eventually worsened the international trade situation, leading
    to the economic depression.

    General reduction in the level of international trade during and after
    the First World War    : The world trade remained low because nations
    were unable to import in large quantities. This was due to the low
    level of consumption and that was why the depression started in

    America whose manufactured goods could not be brought.

    Payment of the war indemnity by Germany: This was imposed by
    the victorious powers during the signing of the 1919 Versailles
    Peace Treaty and it greatly affected the German economy; they
    printed many bank notes leading to inflation. This contributed to the
    outbreak of the economic depression.
    Overproduction mainly in the agricultural sector: This was
    experienced by various capitalists during the inter-war period in USA,
    Britain and Canada. However, when international trade was paralyzed
    and there was “no buying and no selling” this resulted in the economic

    depression.

    System of high taxation in order to escape from “after war
    situation”    : This policy was adopted by many countries to help their
    economy recover from the after effects of the First World War. However,
    these heavy taxation policies were too harsh and distracted investment
    which also led to the increase of unemployment, low circulation of
    money and inflation, leading to economic depression.

    Poor trading policy adopted after the First World War: The
    defeated powers were not allowed to export to victorious powers and, 
    worse still, the victorious powers started selective trade as punishment

    to defeated ones which led to the economic depression.

    Unfair income distribution: This existed especially in USA where
    between 1923 and 1926 big companies were owned by a few
    capitalists. They provided employment to the few people who
    also earned low salary. This led to low purchasing power and lack
    of effective demand which contributed to the world economic
    depression.
    Gold standard system operating in world economies by 1929:
    Under this system each economy was supposed to have money in
    circulation that was equal to the total value of gold in its reserves. This
    system limited money supply for some countries that had small
    gold reserves and caused low aggregate demand, leading to the

    world economic depression.

    The Crash of the world stock exchange in USA, October 24, 1929 (Black
    Thursday)    : This led to the closure of 4,200 banks and people who had
    kept their money in these banks suffered great losses. The industries
    could no longer secure loans, yet their products could not sell and
    eventually they also closed down. This led to huge unemployment,
    surplus products, low purchasing power and, consequently to the

    world economic depression.

    Measures to overcome the world economic depression

    After the occurrence of the economic depression, different countries started
    to look for various measures to control and fight it.

    Germany, on her part, attempted to solve the economic depression by
    violating the 1919 Versailles Peace Treaty terms when she stopped

    paying the war indemnity and also started serious industrialization.

    USA fought the economic depression by using the “New Deal”
    programme introduced by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt

    in 1932. By this programme, new laws were made to regulate the

    stock market and protect bank depositors’ savings. Other steps
    included creation/establishment of programmes which created jobs
    for the unemployed like the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), and
    construction of schools and hospitals. The USA also set up a social
    security system and depreciated the value of her dollar so as to

    increase the purchasing power of the Americans.

    Basically, Roosevelt had three aims:

    • Relief: To give direct help to the poverty-stricken millions who
    were without food and homes
    • Recovery: To reduce unemployment, stimulate the demand for
    goods and get the economy moving again
    • Reform: To take whatever measures necessary to prevent a

    repeat of economic disaster

    The gold standard system was stopped since this played a role in the
    outbreak of the world economic depression.

    A world economic conference was held at Geneva in 1933, Switzerland
    and was attended by 66 countries that worked out different solutions
    to end the economic depression. These solutions included removing
    obstacles to free trade, and implementing a uniform tax on imports

    and exports.

    World powers attempted to solve the economic depression by
    invading weak states so as to solve the problem of lack of raw
    materials and markets for their goods. For example, in 1935 Italy
    invaded Ethiopia, in 1936 Germany invaded Czechoslovakia and in

    1939, Poland.

    Different countries formed regional economic integration as a
    solution to end the economic depression. The Scandinavians formed
    the Oslo Block, USA and South American states also formed an

    economic block.

    Unemployment relief schemes were adopted by various countries 
    such as USA, Britain and France to benefit the unemployed citizens
    above 18 years.
    Most European countries made efforts to improve on their agricultural and
    industrial sectors in order to increase the level of production as a way of

    addressing the problem of low supply and inflation.

    Dictatorship was resorted to by most of the European leaders to
    suppress demonstrations and strikes.

    Some countries restricted borrowing and lending of money on
    grounds that the money borrowed for investment ended up being

    consumed. This reduced on the debt burden in various countries.

    Effects of the world economic depression Content


    • The world economic depression led to human suffering due to
    unemployment, low incomes, and lack of basic facilities.
    • The economic depression led to the rise of dictators in Europe
    such as Adolf Hitler in Germany, Benito Mussolini in Italy and
    General Franco in Spain.
    • The economic depression contributed to the weakness of the
    League of Nations as various member states could not meet the
    financial obligations of the League.
    • The economic depression led to international aggression by
    powerful countries against the weak ones as a way to solve
    their economic problems; For example Japan and China, Italy
    and Ethiopia and Germany and Austria.
    • The economic depression led to the decline in world trade as the
    affected countries started trade protectionism; for example, USA.
    • The economic depression led to the formation of regional
    economic integration as a way of promoting trade among the
    different countries.
    •The economic depression led to the end of the use of the gold
    standard system.
    •The economic depression caused a severe fall in the standards of
    living of people as the cost of living became higher after the closure

    of many businesses and this affected production levels.

    The economic depression increased the popularity of some
    economists such as John Maynard Keynes who introduced
    an economic theory popularly known as “Keynesian theory of
    unemployment” after analyzing the causes of the economic

    depression.

    The economic depression led to the outbreak of the Second World
    War because of the rise of dictators, and weaknesses of the League of
    Nations which failed to check aggression.
    Effects of the Economic Depression in Africa Between 1929 and
    1932

    The Economic Depression of 1929 had greatly impacted African
    continent. For example, the world prices for sisal, coffee, maize and
    hides fell by 70 per cent while cotton prices fell by over 60 per cent.In addition, to some extent the region benefited from efforts elsewhere to
    counter the depression. From 1932, the British Empire provided shelter
    to the producers of coffee and sisal. The abandonment of the gold
     standard by Britain in 1931 and by the USA in 1933 caused the price
    of gold to rise by two-thirds between 1931 and 1935. This stimulated
    the exploitation of East Africa’s scattered deposits and by 1938 gold

    was the second largest export from both Kenya and Tanganyika.

    Meanwhile, some imports became cheaper. Despite imperial
    preference, East Africa was prevented by the Congo Basin treaties
    from discriminating against cheap Japanese manufactured goods,

    and these became available in large quantities.

    In the course of the 1930s, Japan captured much of the East African
    market for cotton and silk goods, and for the great mass of consumers
    this was clear gain. Government revenues, between 1929 and 1932, fell
    on average by 15 per cent but they too had fixed debt charges to pay,
    such as pensions. So there were cut-backs in administration and social
    services. On reduced incomes, most Africans had to pay as much
    tax as before, while most European farmers had large debts to service.
    Financial constraints reinforced the political arguments against any

    comprehensive scheme for closer union in East Africa.

    In East Africa, Tanganyika suffered most from the depression.
    Between1929 and 1931 exports slumped from £3.8m to
    £1.7111, and government revenue fell by a quarter from 1925 to 1929).
    The government already spent one-quarter of its revenue on debt
    charges, but it had to borrow heavily in 1932 from the British Treasury,

    which enforced stringent policies.

    At the same time, the railway lost its share of the Katanga copper
    traffic (which in 1930 supplied half its freight earnings) to the new
    Benguela railway. In 1930 the Tanganyika Sisal Growers Association
    was formed, mainly to reduce wages; its president was the unofficial
    leader in the legislative council, and in 1937 British settlers dominated
    a government commission on labour. In 1932 the government
    launched a ‘plant more crops’ campaign, but it was chiefly directed
    at those areas in the north and north- west where export crop-
    production was already established. The persistent decline in coffee

    prices aggravated tensions between chiefs and other farmers.

    Application Activity 4.1

    1. Explain two causes of the world economic depression
    2. How was the economic depression controlled or

    solved?

    4.2. Totalitarian regimes in Europe

    Learning Activity 4.2 

    In your exercise book do the following activities:
    1. Define a totalitarian regime
    2. Name the totalitarian regimes in Europe between the

    two World Wars.

    Most western countries were governed by elected representatives.
    From the 1900s some people began to feel that a government made up
    of such a large body of people spent too much time debating and
    wondered if was not better to have one strong leader who could
    make decisions for them. A single leader could act quickly to solve a
    country’s economic problems during world economic depression.
    These regimes were known as “totalitarian regimes”. In Italy it
    developed under Benito Mussolini and was known as Fascism. In

    Germany it developed under Adolf Hitler and was known as Nazism.

    Totalitarianism (or totalitarian rule) is a political system where the state
    recognises no limits to its authority and strives to regulate every
    aspect of public and private life wherever feasible. Totalitarian regimes
    stay in political power through an all-encompassing propaganda
    campaign, which is disseminated through the state- controlled
    mass media, a single party that is often marked by political repression,
    personality cultism, control over the economy, regulation and restriction
    of speech, mass surveillance, and widespread use of terror. It is not
    synonymous with dictatorship, as authoritarian regimes also exhibit
    dictatorial features, but do not create an ‘all-controlling, all-politicised’

    society.

    Characteristics of Nazism and Fascism
    Two totalitarian regimes, Nazism and Fascism, developed in different
    countries and were led by different leaders but had the same and
    common characteristics or principles such as:
    •Extreme nationalism i.e. emphasis on rebirth of the nation after
    a period of decline with an implication that one’s own state is
    superior to all.
    •Dislike of the importance of Human Rights (abuse of Human
    Rights).
    • Identification of enemies or scapegoats as a unifying cause in
    order to divert the people’s attention from other problems.
    •Supremacy of the military or avid militarism because the ruling
    elites were always identified closely with the military and the
    industrial infrastructure that supported it.
    •Rampant / extensive sexism where males dominated and these
    regimes inevitably viewed women as second class citizens
    •Over-control of mass media through the control of licensing and
    access to resources, economic pressure, appeal to patriotism,
    and implied threats.
    •Obsession with national security, that was under direct control
    of the ruling elite. It was usually an instrument of oppression,
    operating in secret and beyond any constraints.
    •Defence and protection of religion because fascist regimes
    attached themselves to the predominant religion of the country
    and wanted to be considered as militant defenders of the religion.
    •Suppression of intellectuals and artists because intellectual
    and academic freedom were considered subversive to national
    security and the patriotic ideal. To these regimes, art and
    literature should either serve the national interest or they had
    no right to exist.
    • Fraudulent elections in form of plebiscites or public opinion
    polls which were usually bogus. When elections with actual
    candidates were held, they would usually be perverted by the
    elite to get the desired result.

    Rise of Fascism and Mussolini in Italy

    The term Fascism is derived from the latin word fasces. The fasces,
    were a bundle of rods tied around an axe, as a symbol of a magistrate’s
    authority in ancient Rome. They were carried by his agents and could
    be used for corporal and capital punishment at his command. The word
    fascismo also relates to political organisations in Italy known as fasci,

    groups similar to guilds or syndicates.


    The symbolism of the fasces suggested strength through unity: a
    single rod is easily broken, while the bundle is difficult to break.
    Background of Mussolini
    Benito Mussolini: was an Italian politician who led the national fascist
    party, ruling the country from 1922 to his ousting in 1943, and is credited
    with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism.

    Mussolini was born in a small town of Romaginia in Italy on July 29th,
    1883. His father was a blacksmith and a socialist, while his mother was
    a devout Catholic schoolteacher. Owing to his father’s political leanings,
    Mussolini was named Benito after Mexican reformist President Benito
    Juárez, while his middle names were from Italian socialists. Mussolini was
    the eldest of his parents’ three children.


    At the age of 9, Mussolini began his education and graduated as a
    teacher with a diploma in education in 1907. He later abandoned
    his education career and joined journalism as a newspaper editor.
    Mussolini fought for Italy in the First World War and was wounded.
    In March 1919, at Milan city in Italy, he formed a political movement
    called the fasci italiani di combattimento (Italian combat leagues
    or squad) whose members became known as fascists. It was
    composed of frustrated jobless youth, industrial capitalists and the

    middle class.

    In 1922, Italy witnessed a successful fascist revolution that led to the

    rise of Mussolini supported by the black shirts or army guards.

    On October 28th, 1922 he organised a “March to Rome” and when King
    Victor Emmanuel III was convinced by the parliament to suppress
    the marchers and he refused, the cabinet under Prime Minister Luigi

    Facta resigned without firing a shot.

    King Victor Emmanuel then handed over power to Mussolini by
    inviting him to form a new government on October 28th, 1922 and
    the fascist party took control of Italy. Mussolini was supported by the

    military, the business class, and the liberal right-wing.

    Factors for the rise of Mussolini and Fascism in Italy
    Mussolini rose to power due to strong support from the Italian
    peasants by exploiting the bad social and economic conditions of
    the time. Through his speeches to the Italians, he promised them
    better conditions and employment for all; and as a result, the majority of
    Italians supported him as a promising leader.

    Mussolini had a strong personality and it was very instrumental in
    his rise to power. He was a good orator who spent most of his time
    broadcasting his ideas to the Italians. This made his fascist party 
    attractive to many sections of the Italians like the middle class, the

    unemployed, ex-soldiers and industrialist capitalists.

    The influence of the communists and socialists in Italy forced the
    middle class and industrialist capitalists to support Mussolini who was
    anti-communist. With this support, he overthrew the government

    of Victor Emmanuel III.

    World War I had weakened the Italian economy and the King failed to
    carry out the necessary socio-economic reforms. Mussolini used this
    to denounce the government and mobilised a lot of support that

    helped him to rise to power.

    Corruption and embezzlement of public funds by the officials in the
    democratic government of Victor Emmanuel III also paved the way
    for Mussolini’s rise to power in 1922 because these officials were not

    interested in solving the problems of the time.

    King Victor Emmanuel III was very weak in maintaining order in
    Italy and this assisted Mussolini to come to power. When he used
    violence as a means to end the political chaos he was supported by

    the young people.

    The formation of a Fascist terrorist group known as “Black Shirts”
    helped Mussolini to attain power. This group used a lot of violence
    throughout Italy and killed many people who opposed Mussolini and
    the king failed to control the situation. To avoid prolonged violence
    Italians supported Benito Mussolini to overthrow the government
    of Victor Emmanuel III.

    The parliamentary elections in May 1921 increased the number of
    fascist MPs from 2 to 35. They increased propaganda against the

    regime of Victor Emmanuel III.

    The 1919 Versailles Peace Treaty, which unfairly rewarded Italy made
    the democratic government of Victor Emmanuel II unpopular and this
    contributed to the rise of Mussolini to power.

    The king was politicaly inefficient and refused to use force against
    Mussolini. Handed over power to him in 1922.

    Mussolini’s internal policy and his methods to consolidate himself in power

    After Benito Mussolini rose to power on October 28th, 1922; his regime
    from 1922–1943 was built on the principles of Fascism that centred on
    extreme nationalism and totalitarianism. Mussolini did not believe in any

    form of democracy.

    In order to consolidate his power in Italy Mussolini used the following

    methods:

    He employed force and violence to get rid of any form of opposition. The
    socialist newspaper offices were attacked and closed down. Hundreds
    of anti-fascist elements were arrested and killed on his orders and
    others were sent exile on Lipali islands in the Mediterranean Sea.
    Strict censorship of the press was imposed from 1925 onwards for

    the purpose of controlling public opinion.

    Mussolini banned all political parties and this left the fascist party
    unchallenged. He put an end to free election rights in Italy in order to

    maintain the fascist party’s domination in parliament.

    He created the fascist army, spies and “ovra” or secret police and
    encouraged the Black Shirts to terrorise and control the opposition

    leaders.

    Mussolini entered an agreement known as Lateran pact in 1929
    with Pope Pius XI. His target was to solve the long term problems
    between the Catholic church and the state. By this treaty, the
    prisoners of the Vatican were set free and Catholicism was recognised
    as the state religion. The Vatican became an independent state 
    within Italy and in return the Papacy recognised the Italian state and

    the fascist government of Mussolini.

    He abolished intellectual freedom, institutions were to teach
    according to fascist ideologies and teachers and university
    professors had to swear that they would never teach materials not
    in line with the fascist government. Whoever disobeyed his principles
    was dismissed automatically. This system of intimidating especially
    the university professors ensured minimal opposition to the fascist

    government.

    Mussolini undertook public programmes, which created jobs for
    the unemployed. This was propaganda to prove that the fascist
    government was providing employment to all, thus capturing

    majority support from the Italians.

    Mussolini went ahead to form an all-inclusive government by
    including members of the opposition in his government. He did
    this to make it easy to eliminate them and their influence. This in a way
    eased the tension from the opposition and led to the success of Benito

    Mussolini and his fascist regime.

    In 1923 Mussolini acquired the town of Fiume from Yugoslavia with
    the signing of the treaty of Rome which made the Italians happy

    and in turn increased support for Mussolini’s regime.

    Mussolini carried out fundamental reforms in the industrial sector

    whereby old industries were rehabilitated and new ones were built.

    These included FIAT (Fabrication Italienne Automobile à Turin)
    company, oil refineries, and iron and steel industries which increased

    Mussolini’s fame.

    Failures of Benito Mussolini

    Mussolini established the fascist state in Italy based on dictatorship and
    leadership by decree. This inflicted a lot of suffering on the Italian
    masses. He denied Italians their democratic rights. Leadership 
    through elections came to an end with his coming to power and

    referendums were introduced.

    He made Fascism the only political system. Political pluralism was
    suffocated and in 1925 the party system was abolished. This was
    brought about by repressive measures on communist supporters

    many of whom were imprisoned.

    Mussolini denied Italians all freedom. There was censorship of the
    press, no freedom of speech, association and worship, among others.

    Injustice was widespread and majority of Italians lived like prisoners.

    Mussolini failed to control malpractices within the government.
    There was rampant corruption and embezzlement of government

    funds. By 1930, the Italian economy had deteriorated by all standards.

    He failed to stabilize the exchange rate and he devalued the Italian currency.
    Italian wages and standards of living were the lowest in Europe at the

    time.

    Discrimination was rampant in all sectors of the society. Even social

    services were not extended to the poor in the rural areas.

    He promoted anti-semitism, which was the negative attitude, hatred and
    segregation against the Jews. The union between Mussolini and
    Hitler and their ideology were hated throughout Europe and this
    forced European communities to unite and fight against them and

    eradicate their ideologies of Nazism and Fascism.

    Mussolini followed aggressive policies when he involved Italians in
    hostilities and military confrontation with other Europeans, leading
    to the outbreak of the Second World War. He was therefore responsible

    for the disastrous war between 1939 and 1945.

    Rise of Adolf Hitler and Nazism in Germany

    Background of Adolf Hitler and Nazism

    Adolf Hitler (1889–1945) was an Austrian-born German politician
    and the leader of the National Socialist German workers party,
    commonly referred to as the Nazi Party. He was Chancellor of
    Germany from 1933 to 1945 and dictator of Nazi Germany from 1934
    to 1945. Hitler was at the centre of the founding of Nazism, the start of

    Second World War, and the holocaust.

    Adolf Hitler was born on 20 April 1889 in Austria-Hungary. He was
    the fourth of six children. When Hitler was three, the family moved to

    Passau in Germany.

    After his father’s sudden death on 3 January 1903, Hitler’s
    performance at school deteriorated. His mother allowed him to quit

    in autumn 1905.

    From 1905, Hitler lived a casual life in Vienna, financed by orphan’s
    benefits and support from his mother. He worked as a casual

    labourer and eventually as a painter, selling watercolors.

    In May 1913, Hitler moved to Munich in Germany and at the outbreak
    of the First World War, Hitler was a resident of Munich and volunteered

    to serve in the Bavarian army as an Austrian citizen.

    After the First World War Hitler returned to Munich. Having no formal
    education and career plans or prospects, he tried to remain in the
    army for as long as possible. In July 1919, he was appointed intelligence
    agent to influence other soldiers and to infiltrate the German workers’
    party. While monitoring the activities of the Germany Workers’ Party, Hitler
    became attracted to the founder Anton Drexler’s anti-semitic, nationalist,

    anti-capitalist, and anti-marxist ideas.

    To increase its appeal, the Germany Workers’ Party changed its
    name to the National socialist German workers party, known as
    NAZI. Hitler designed the party’s banner of a swastika in a white circle

    with a red background.

    Like Mussolini, Hitler organised his supporters into fighting squads,
    the Nazi storm troopers who battled in the streets against communism
    and others they saw as enemies. On November 8th, 1923, Adolf Hitler
    attempted a coup d’état against the Bavarian government, but the

    police foiled it.

    Hitler was arrested on April 1st, and sentenced to five years’

    imprisonment.

    While in prison, Hitler dictated most of the first volume of Mein Kampf
    (My Struggle). The book, was an autobiography and an exposition
    of his ideology. The book laid out Hitler’s plans for transforming

    German society into one based on race.

    Mein Kampf reflects Hitler’s obsessions, extreme nationalism through
    the concept of lebensraum (living space), racism and anti-semitism.
    He said that the Germans belonged to a superior “master race” of
    Aryans or light-skinned Europeans, whose greatest enemies were the

    Jews.

    The Bavarian supreme court issued a pardon and he was released
    from jail on December 20th, 1924. Hitler had served just over one year
    in prison. Thereafter, he became the “principle leader” of the Nazi
    party.

    By 1933, the strength and the threat of Hitler’s Nazi party forced
     the president to appoint him as a chancellor, which favoured his rise to power.
    When President Hindenburg died on August 2th, 1934 Hitler became
    führer (leader and chancellor) and supreme commander of the armed

    forces.

    Factors for the rise of Adolf Hitler to power in Germany
    In order to achieve his goal of building Germany and uniting all
    Germans in one great nation, Hitler realised that Germany needed a
    strong and able leader or führer. He was determined to become that

    leader. The following factors helped him to rise to power:

    Weakness of the Weimar Republic: This republic was unpopular
    as it failed to secure better terms from European powers in the 1919
    Versailles treaty. It lacked able leadership that could suppress violence

    which Hitler exploited to rise to power.

    Effects of World War I and unfair terms of the 1919 Versailles
    settlement over Germany    : The First World War left Germany
    economically weak and the Versailles settlement imposed heavy war
    reparations that caused socio-economic problems to the Germans.
    Hitler based his ideas on this to blame the government, promising to
    liberate the Germans from such misery through Nazi leadership.
    This attracted the middle class, the jobless, and industrialists making

    his party strong by 1933.

    Effects of the world economic depression of 1929: During this
    economic depression the Nazi party became popular with more
    followers as Hitler emphasized that problems like unemployment
    with 6 000 000 unemployed Germans was due to the Versailles

    settlement; and Germans looked at Hitler as their saviour.

    Role of the Nazi Storm Troopers: This Nazi terrorist squad was
    organised by Hitler’s supporters. In the 1932 parliamentary elections
    their presence at polling stations intimidated many voters who
    ended up by voting for Nazi representatives. The Storm Troopers also
    threatened President Hindenburg that he either appoints Hitler as
    a Chancellor or risks countrywide violence. And then Hindenburg

    resigned in 1933 which helped Hitler to rise to power.

    Hitler’s personal talent: Hitler was a gifted demagogue with rare
    skills; a propagandist and a man who knew what he wanted and
    had the ability to know how to get it. He was a great orator and many

    people supported him.

    Hitler’s own writings and the Nazi 25 manifesto: While in prison in 1923,
    he wrote his book Mein Kampf in which he set out his ideas about
    the future Nazi party, thus convincing the middle class and the jobless
    to support the Nazi party. By their 25 point-programmes, the Nazi party
    called for German nationalism, elimination of Jews and improving the
    social life conditions of the poor, which attracted massive support to the

    Nazi party;

    Role of the Nazi party: The Nazi members accused the Jews of
    betraying Germany in the First World War. The Nazi also defeated
    communism. As a result, the majority of Germans, especially middle

    class, industrialists and large landowners, supported Hitler.

    Traditions of Germans: The Germans had no respect for
    democratically elected governments like the Weimar republic. They had
    a strong tradition for authoritarian governments led by powerful army
    officers like Otto Von Bismarck, who gave them security and military

    glory more than political freedom and democracy.

    Unpopulality of communists and socialist in Germany: This forced the
    middle class and industrial capitalists to support Adolf Hitler who

    was anti-communism.

    Death of President Hindenburg: This created a fertile ground for
    Hitler’s rise to president by making the post of president vacant

    which Hitler added to himself as the new German ruler.

    Consolidation of Adolf Hitler in power in Germany from 1933 up to 1945

    Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany on January 30th, 1933 and
    assumed full authority after the death of Hindenburg on August 2nd, 1934.
    To retain or consolidate his power, Hitler took a number of steps as

    discussed below.

    He imposed a strict ban on all other political parties. He dissolved the
    Socialist Democratic party on May 22nd, 1933, the Communist Party
    on May 26th, 1933 and the Catholic Democratic and Nationalist
    party in June 1933. The last political party to be dissolved was the
    People’s Party on July 4th, 1933. Hitler declared those political parties

    unconstitutional and only promoted the Nazi party.

    On March 23rd, 1933 the Nazi Grand Council passed an “enabling
    act” in the German parliament, transferring law-making powers from
    the parliament to cabinet, thereby suspending the parliamentary

    Government.

    He centralised all powers and changed the administrative structures in
    Germany. He passed the special laws of April, June and July 1934 by
    which the Jews and socialists were removed from the civil services.
    He created new ministries for propaganda, culture, agriculture and
    labour. He rewarded the Nazis with white collar employment and

    dissolved the trade union movement in June 1933.

    He used suppressive policies like Geheime Staatspolizei/ the Secret state

    police (Gestapo) and special spies to eliminate his political enemies. 

    During the night of the long knives alone, the regime executed at

    least 85 people for political reasons.

    He suppressed the press, broadcasting, literature, drama, music,
    painting, public films and only publications reflecting Hitler’s tastes were
    allowed in Germany. This was intended to keep the masses ignorant
    of his failures. All books which had anti-Nazi ideas were collected and

    burnt in a huge fire in Berlin in 1935.

    The clergy and professional teachers had to sign an oath promising
    never to teach materials that were against the Nazi Party. He
    controlled the Catholic Church through the concordat of 1933 with the

    Pope.

    He built a strong army that was used against internal and external
    enemies. He transformed the Storm Troopers into a highly

    disciplined and equipped army.

    Hitler overcame the pre-1933 economic problems, which earned
    him more support from Germans and no one would think of fighting or

    opposing him.

    He created a system of the youth movements of boys and girls of
    14 years called the “Hitler youth” and “league of German maids”
    respectively who were taught that Hitler was ever right and were also told

    to report their parents if they were anti-Nazi to the secret police.

    He violated the Versailles Treaty and used an aggressive foreign and
    revenge policy, re-armed Germany, withdrew Germany from the
    League of Nations ,and expanded Germany by attacking Austria,
    Czechoslovakia and Poland. This earned Hitler more support from the

    Germans, although it contributed to his downfall in 1945.

    Factors for the downfall of Adolf Hitler and Nazism in 1945

    Adolf Hitler eventually met his downfall largely because of World War
    II which we will study in Unit 7. In addition he had other problems

    as discussed on the next page:

    Dictatorship coupled with excessive oppression like the banning
    of political parties, and harassing and killing of his political opponents,

    caused Germans to turn against him.

    The size and heterogeneous nature of the German Empire
    which by 1942 included Germans, Austrians, Poles, Dutch and
    Czechoslovakians, became too big and diverse for Adolf Hitler to

    control.

    Hitler had a poor political agenda and weak principles. He allowed the
    radical ex-service men of the First World War who were not politically

    informed to dominate the Nazi Party.

    Hitler’s withdrawal of Germany from the League of Nations isolated him

    from global affairs, making him unpopular.

    The aggressive foreign policy of Hitler especially in Austria,
    Czechoslovakia and Poland contributed to the outbreak of the

    Second World War that eventually led to his downfall.

    The decline of the Germany economy due to the bombardment of
    factories and industries by the allied forces of Britain, France and USA

    during the Second World War harmed Hitler’s popularity.

    As we will see later, the Germans were eventually defeated in Second
    World War and Hitler committed suicide in Berlin as his enemies
    advanced on him. It is necessary to note that before Hitler committed

    suicide, senior army officers had made several attempts on his life

    Application Activity 4.2

    1. Determine the common characteristics of Nazism and
    Fascism in European affairs
    2. Discuss the factors for the rise of Benito Mussolini in

    Italy in 1929

    Unit summary

    The period between the two wars was marked by; the 1929 economic
    depression and the rise of totalitarian regimes like Fascism of Benito
    Mussolini and Nazism of Adolf Hitler. The rise of Fascism in Italy and
    Nazism in Germany compromised peace in Europe due to the effects
    the 1929 economic crisis. This situation led to the outbreak of the

    Second World War which lasted for five years.

    Glossary

    Banner: Symbol or emblem of an organisation.
    Censorship: the suppression or prohibition of any parts of books,
    films, news that are considered a threat to security or unacceptable.
    Demagogue: a political leader who seeks support by appealing to
    popular passions and prejudices
    Disdain: lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike
    Fraudulent: intended to deceive
    Indemnity: a sum of money paid in compensation for loss or injury
    Inflict: cause of something unpleasant or painful to be suffered by
    someone
    Ousting: the act of ejecting someone or forcing them out
    Pervert: distortion or corruption of what was first intended
    Plebiscite: a vote by the electorate determining public opinion on
    a question of national importance
    Rampant: unrestrained or unchecked
    Subversive: a radical supporter of political or social revolution or in
    opposition to a civil authority or government

    Suicide: the act of killing oneself

     End of Unit Assessment

    1. What does “world economic depression” mean?
    2. Explain the causes of the world economic depression of
    1929
    3. Identify the consequences of the economic crash on
    USA and world economies?
    4. Examine the factors for the rise of Benito Mussolini in Italy.
    5. Account for the rise and fall of Adolf Hitler and Nazism in

    Germany.

    ◄UNIT 3: CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR (1914–1918)UNIT: 5 CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR (1939–1945)►