Between the wars
The years from 1919 to 1939 brought economic disaster, the rise of totalitarian dictatorships, and the failure of efforts to keep the peace.
Post-war instability
Many new democracies in Central and Eastern Europe struggled. Germany's Weimar Republic faced uprisings, resentment of Versailles, and hyperinflation in 1923, when prices rose so fast that money became nearly worthless. Italy's fascists, led by Benito Mussolini, took power in 1922 after the 'March on Rome'.
The Soviet Union under Stalin
After Lenin's death in 1924, Joseph Stalin took control of the Soviet Union. His Five-Year Plans rapidly industrialised the country, and forced collectivisation of agriculture caused famines that killed millions, including the Holodomor in Ukraine (1932-1933). In the Great Terror (1936-1938), hundreds of thousands were executed and many more sent to Gulag labour camps.
The Great Depression worldwide
The Depression that began in 1929 spread globally through trade and finance. World trade collapsed, unemployment soared, and governments raised tariffs. Economic despair made extremist movements more attractive, especially in Germany, where unemployment reached about six million by 1932.
Hitler and Nazi Germany
Adolf Hitler's Nazi Party exploited resentment and economic crisis, becoming the largest party in the Reichstag. Hitler became chancellor in January 1933 and quickly established a dictatorship, banning other parties, suppressing opponents, and persecuting Jews through the Nuremberg Laws (1935) and the violence of Kristallnacht (1938). Germany rearmed in defiance of Versailles.
Totalitarianism
Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany, and Stalin's Soviet Union are often described as totalitarian: one-party states that sought total control over society, using propaganda, secret police, terror, and cults of personality around their leaders. Their ideologies differed: fascism glorified the nation and race; Soviet communism claimed to pursue a classless society.
Japan's militarism
In Japan, military leaders gained power in the 1930s amid economic crisis. Japan seized Manchuria in 1931 and invaded China in 1937, committing atrocities such as the Nanjing Massacre. When the League of Nations condemned the Manchurian invasion, Japan left the League.
The failure of collective security
The League of Nations lacked an army and key powers: the US never joined, and Germany, Japan, and Italy left. It failed to stop Italy's invasion of Ethiopia (1935-1936). Britain and France pursued appeasement, culminating in the Munich Agreement (1938). The Nazi-Soviet Pact (August 1939) cleared the way for Germany to invade Poland.
Worked example
German hyperinflation in 1923 shows how economic chaos undermines democracy. A loaf of bread that cost about 250 marks in January 1923 cost around 200 billion marks by November. Savings were wiped out, especially for the middle class. Although the economy stabilised later in the 1920s, memories of this crisis, followed by the Depression, eroded faith in the Weimar Republic.
Key takeaways
New democracies struggled; Germany suffered hyperinflation in 1923 and Mussolini took power in Italy in 1922. Stalin's industrialisation and collectivisation caused famines, and the Great Terror killed hundreds of thousands. The Depression fuelled extremism. Hitler took power in 1933 and persecuted Jews. Totalitarian states sought total control. Japan's militarists invaded Manchuria and China. The League failed, appeasement failed, and the Nazi-Soviet Pact preceded war.
Flashcard
German democracy, 1919-1933
Check your understanding
Why did the League of Nations fail to stop aggression in the 1930s?