Capture of Power

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Under the inspiring leadership of Hitler, the Nazi Party grew in power and number. In the election of 1932′ the Nazi party became the 2″d largest

group in the German Parliament (Reichstag-LowerHouse). ln 1933, the Nazists became the largest party in the German  Parliament, and Hitler became the  Chancellor and Hindenburg as President.

On the death of President Hindenburg in August 1934, Hitler made himself President and Chancellor.

He abolished the Weimar Republic and proclaimed Third Reich (Empire) with himself as dictator. Thus Hitler became the Fuhrer (Leader) of Germany. Hitler declared,

‘One People’

‘One State’

‘One Leader’

Achievement of hitler

The Nazis glorified the German State, Hitler boasted about the superiority of the Nordic race which stood for the rise of all the great culture and had utmost contempt for the Semitic Jews.

He wanted to maintain a German race with Nordic elements. He ordered the Jews to be persecuted.

Hitler believed in action, force and terrorism. There was no scope for public liberty. Nazism was an one party state and all other parties were outlawed.

Parliamentary institutions were suppressed and the fundamental rights of the people were denied.

He gave a new status and position to Germany.   Federal   Nature   of   the

Constitution was set aside. He created a strong, unified and highly centralized despotic state.

In the economic field, his work was commendable. The  war  had completely shattered the economic system of Germany. But Hitler put the country on the path of prosperity.

He replaced Trade Unions by the Labour Front which consisted of the representatives from  both  the employers and the employees. It looked after the general welfare of the workers.

Strikes and lock-outs were outlawed. He made Germany economically  self-sufficient in food grains, raw  materials  and  industrial goods.

More lands were brought under cultivation, Scientific methods were introduced.

Defence industries and Rearmament Programme of Hitler gave employment to many people.

Many schools were opened and illiteracy was eradicated. The children were trained in the Nazi culture.

Only Nazi men were appointed as teachers and only Nazi books prescribed for study.

Women occupied a degraded place and they were treated as child­ bearing machines. All kinds of social organizations were dissolved.

Hitler’s Aggressive Policy

Hitler followed a forward and aggressive foreign policy. His aggressive imperialist policy brought danger and destruction to his country and sufferings and difficulties to the people all over the world.

Hitler introduced conscription and rearmed Germany. He followed the policy of aggression and conquered territories to accommodate the  growing population and to accumulate resources.

He pulled Germany out of the  League  of  Nations  in  1933.  In 1936, he reoccupied Rhine land, the demilitarized zone  and  violated the Locarno treaty of 1925.

In November 1937 Hitler formed an Alliance with Italy and Japan known as Rome­ Berlin-TokyoAxis.

He annexed Austria in 1938. When he wanted to annexe Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia, an agreement was signed between Germany and Neville chamberlain, the then Prime Minister of Great Britain at Munich in 1938.

By the Munich pact Germany was allowed to annex the Sudetenland but not to conquer any more territories.

In 1939, Hitler violated the Munich agreement by annexing the whole of Czechoslovakia. It greatly alarmed Britain and France.

Hitler demanded  the  right to construct a military road connecting East Prussia with Germany through Poland and also the surrender of Danzig.

Hitler sparked the Second World War by declaring war on Poland on 1st Sept. 1939 when Poland refused to consent to the demands of Hitler.

In 1941, Hitler invaded Russia, breaking the Non -aggression pact with Stalin. This invasion failed to achieve the quick triumph that Hitler wanted.

In 1945 the allied forces entered Berlin, Hitler having lost all hopes of success committed suicide in his bunker.

After the death of Hitler, the Second World War came to an end and the Nazi party was also fizzled away.

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Nazism in Germany ( A.D.1933 – A.D.1945)

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Germany, a powerful empire in the early years of the 20th century, fought the First World War (1914-1918) against  the  Allies  (England, France and Russia).

Germany made initial gains    by   occupying  France  and Belgium. However the Allies strengthened by the US entry in 1917, defeated Germany and the Central Powers in November 1918.

Defeat of Germany

The defeat of Imperial Germany and the abdication of the Emperor William II gave an opportunity to parliamentary parties to  recast German polity.

A National Assembly met at Weimar and established a democratic   constitution  with federal structure.

This  republic, however, was not received well by its own people.

The  Peace  Treaty  at  Versailles with the Allies was a harsh and humiliating one.

Germany lost its overseas colonies and one tenth of its population. The  Allied Powers demilitarized Germany to weaken its power.

Germany was forced to pay war compensation amounting to £6 billion.

The allied armies also occupied the resources rich Rhine land. Many Germans held the new Weimar Republic responsible for  not   only the defeat in the war but also the disgrace at Versailles.

The 1929   Great Economic Depression also affected the economy of Germany.

The Germans were expecting a great leader to save Germany from this agony.

Adolf Hltler (1889-1945)

Adolf Hitler was born in 1889 in Austria.  His father was a custom officer. He lost his parents very early. He went to Vienna for job.

At this juncture there emerged a great leader, Adolf Hitler.

He was a painter for sometime. He joined the army during the First World War and fought bravely for which he was awarded the Iron Cross.

After the war,he did not get any job and he took to politics. He organized  a group  of men called the National Socialists  in 1919, which became Nazist Party.

He gave   his   group   a   programme,   a symbol and uniform. The followers of Hitler were called ‘Brown Shirts’ and he was called  ‘Fuhrer’ (leader).

His party  emblem  was  Swastika() His secret police was Gestapo.

Hitler began his political career as an agitator. In 1923, he made an attempt to capture power.

It was known as  Hall Revolution’. But he failed and was arrested for high treason and sentenced  to  5 years  imprisonment.

While he was in prison he wrote a book called ‘Mein Kampf (My Struggle), which became the bible of Nazis. Soon he was released.

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Achievements of Italy under Mussolini

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Mussolini was a great leader. He wanted to make Italy a powerful nation. So, he adopted various  methods. Mussolini established peace and order and he provided a stable government.

Mussolini brought order and discipline in the industrial field. The “Charter of Labour” issued by him provided great relief to workers. Industries were freed from strikes.

Mussolini took several measures to increase production. Marshes were drained. Canals were dug. Reclamation projects  were launched. Hydroelectric schemes were undertaken.

Railways and other means of transportation were improved. A fair degree of self sufficiency was achieved.

As a realistic administrator, Mussolini patched up with the Pope. A conflict that had been going on for nearly 60 years between the Papacy and the Italian government came to an end by the Latern Treaty of 1929, signed  between the  Pope and Mussolini.

By this treaty Mussolini recognized the papacy of the Pope in the Vatican city and in turn the Pope recognised the sovereignty of the king in Rome.

The reconciliation with the Pope was a great victory and it increased the power and prestige of Mussolini.

Aggressive foreign policy that ends In disaster

Mussolini began to follow the vigorous and forward foreign policy.He was determined to raise the prestige of Italy in the eyes of the other powers of the World.

Mussolini’s slogan before the nation was altaly must expand or perish”. In 1936, he annexed Ethiopia.

He left the League of Nations in 1937. He captured Albania in 1939. Mussolini made common cause with Hitler, another war monger.

He joined the Rome-Berlin-Tokyo axis. The Second World War (1939-45) brought disaster to Italy. In 1941, Italy lost its territories in Africa. Mussolini  failed to cope up with the financial burden of the war.

The Allied forces heavily bombarded Sicily and landed in the island in 1943.

Mussolini was shot dead by his own country men in 1945. After his fall, Italy became a Republic, Fascism died out along with the death of its founder, Mussolini.

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Mussolini Benito (1883 -1945)

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Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was born on July 29,1883 at Romagna in East-Central Italy. His father was a blacksmith and  mother was  a elementary schoolteacher.

Mussolini graduated in 1902 and became a schoolteacher. He gave up that post and came to Switzerland.

He came into contact with Lenin and learned his ideology. He became an editor of Italian socialist paper in Austria.

He was expelled from Austria and returned to Italy. He edited a socialist paper called Avanti, the official voice of Italian Socialism.

During the first World War, he gave up his policy and joined the military.After the war he

gathered round him a band of young enthusiasts who came to be known as Fascists. With the help of the fascists, he organised the National Fascist Party in November 1921.

Saizuro of Power by the Fascists

On October 30, 1922,the Fascists organized a march to Rome and showed their strength. The government surrendered.

The emperor Victor Emanuel  II  invited Mussolini to form the Government. Thus the Fascist revolution became a spectacular success as the Fascists seized power without blood shed.

But the after math of revolution was marked by suppression, murder and exile. Fascist dictatorship under Mussolini came into existence.

He remained power from 1922 to 1945.

Fascist Party

The followers of Mussolini were called Black Shirts. He was called by his  followers  as  uouce”. His  secret police was known as OVRA (Voluntary Ogranisation for the Repression of anti-Fascists)

Alms of Fascism

‘Exaltation of the State Protection of Private property and Spirited Foreign Policy’

Motto of Fascism

‘Everything within the state Nothing against the state Nothing outside the state’

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Fascism in ltaly (A.D.1922- A.D.1945)

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The  term  Fascism is  derived from the Latin word ‘Fasces’ means  a bundle or group. Mussolini of Italy, who is associated with Fascism, organized in the beginning groups of young persons or gangs called the ‘fasces’,to create terror among the people who were considered enemies of the nation.

Fascism rests on four pillars of charismatic leadership, single party rule under a dictator, terror and economic control.

Mussolini believed in the efficacy of  these slogans and their accompanying action:·Believe,Obey, Fight and The More Force,The More Honour.

Reasons for the emergence of Fascism

The prevailing economic, social and political conditions were very favourable to the rise of fascismin Italy.

Economic crisis

Italy faced with a great economic crisis on account of the huge expenditure incurred on the war. The national debt increased manifold. There was social unrest and economic distress in the country, the prices of essential goods shot up. Cost of living rose very high. Socialism gathered new strength.

There was great dismay and frustration after the Treaty of Paris. Although a victor and constitute of the Allies, Italy did not gain substantially from thespoilsof war.Italy won the war but lost its peace.

Disruptive activities of the socialists

On account of the revolutionary ideas of the socialist, unrest had spread in the country.

Need for a charismatic leader

The situation demanded a bold leadership and the same was supplied by the fascist leader Mussolini.

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Franklin D Roosevelt

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• The policy formulated to overcome depression by Franklin D Roosevelt is known as New  Deal.  It  Includes Relief,Recovery and Reforms
• The  Tennessee Valley Authority was established for the promotion of construction of dams, power plants, navigation projects, flood control projects, soil conservation, and reforestation programmes.
• The  Federal    Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) was set up to provide with 500 million dollars to be given to the state and local governments.
• Federal Reserve Bank was set up to provide loans to banking institutions and industries.
• The Security Exchange Act 1934, issued license to stock exchange.
• The National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) was passed to reform the conditions of the workers by raising wages and lowering their working hours.
• The  Agricultural  Adjustment  Act (AAA) was passed to provide compensation to farmers who curtailed agricultural production there by to raise prices.

Effects

• Despite few limitations, the New Deal strengthened the American economy.
• It restored confidence among the people.
• It laid a firm foundation for industrial prosperity and led to increased production.

Many ideas of the new deal like,

1. Collective bargaining between the employee and the workers.
2. Regulation of stock exchange
3. Restriction on hours of work are now accepted as part of the American pattern of life. New deal has become synonyms with reforms through out the world. By 1940 there was normal economic activities in the USA.

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World Between The Two World  Wars (A.D.1919·A.D.1939) Economic Depression

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The economic depression in late 1929 was one of the most important events of the world between the two wars. It is called ‘Great’as it adversely affected almost all the great countries of the world except USSR. The Great Depression  which  began  in USA, extremely affected the European countries

Causes

The main cause of the depression was the collapse of American share market. The share market collapse was due to speculation on borrowed money.

In 1929 Herbert Hoover became the President of America. During his period the share market reached its zenith. Share market was the greatest craze in America. People from all walks of life bought shares not for the dividend but for resale value. They wanted to become rich quickly

“The Great Depression..began on Oct 24, 1929 with the fall in the prices of shares. It created panic and people began to sell their shares speedily which led to a further fall. This was followed by the failure of banks which led to the non availability of credit which affected industrial growth and agricultural produce.

Remedial measures of the American President Hoover

In 1932, Hoover, the American president adopted many remedial measures. He  set up  the Reconstruction  Finance  Corporation to lend money to banks and industries, but the people lost faith on Hoover.

When the Presidential election came in 1932. Franklin D. Roosevelt, commonly known as FOR became the President of U.S.A. In his election manifesto he  said ·1 pledge  you, I pledge, myself to a New Deal for the Americans”. He assumed office on March 4, 1933.

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Causes for the failure of the League of Nations

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The League of Nations did not succeed in its prime aim of settling disputes among nations through peaceful means. Its failure was not its fault. It was indeed the failure of the member nations because they were responsible for it.

1) The United States of America, whose President was responsible f o r founding the League of Nations, could not become a member. Hence the league looked like a building without deep foundation.

2) Whenever the member nations were not happy with the attitude of the League, they were permitted to leave the Organisation.

3) In 1931 Japan captured Manchuria and  renamed  it Manchuko and made it a puppet state. When the League protested against this, Japan resigned from the League. It weakened the League.

4)   The  League  of  Nations  did  not have a permanent force or army of i t s own to implement its policies.

5)  The rise of   dictatorship   in Italy, Japan and Germany weakened     t h e chances of  success of the League.

6)   The statesmen who dominated the League lacked  practical wisdom. Their approach remained somewhat  Utopian and it began to be called by some as “Geneva Conference of Fools”.

7) The above factors where responsible for the failure of league of nations. Yet it  tried its level best to solve international problems and paved way for the formation of U.N.O after the second world war.

First World War (1914-1918)

Central Powers	Allied Powers
Germany Austria- Hungary Bulgaria Turkey	Britain France Russia Romania U.S.A

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The Fundamental Principles of the League of Nations

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The  following were the fundamental principles of the League of Nations.

• It should promote unity among nations and keep peace and security in the world.
• The member nations of the League should respect and safeguard the frontiers of the neighboring nations without indulging in acts of aggression.
• The member nations should solve the problems arising among themselves only through the League of Nations. They should wait  atleast  for  three  months  to hear from the League of Nations.
• If any of the member nations would indulge in war violating the conditions of the League,  the affected nations would be saved, even by resorting to the weapons of war.
• All treaties contrary to the principles of the League of Nations should be given up.

Organs of the League of Nations

1. The GeneralAssembly
2. The Council
3. The Secretariat
4. An International Court of Justice
5. International Labour Organization.

Achievements of the League of Nations

The League of Nations succeeded in solving various problems during its existence for about 20 years which deserve appreciation.

1) It settled  a  problem  between Finland and Sweden regarding the ownership of Aaland  Island in Baltic.

2) It solved a boundary dispute in Silesia and  prevented a war between Poland and Germany.

3)  It settled a dispute between Greece and ltalyoverthe island of Corfu.

4)  It avoided a war between Greece and Bulgaria  over the border disputes.

5)  In 1926 Germany was admitted as a member of the League of Nations followed by Soviet Russia in 1934.

6) It solved a border issue between Peru and Columbia.

7) Through its other organs the League prevented the spread of many diseases.

8) It extended its helping hand in solving the problems of refugees  and lepors. It whole heartedly promoted cultural co-operation among the nations.

9)  It attempted to raise the standard of Education in various states.

10) The international Court of Justice handled more than thirty cases. It delivered judgments in some cases and in some others gave advisory opinions.

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THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS -1920

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In the flames of World War I, Europe was consumed. It made the western countries to realize some international organization must be set up to prevent  war in future.

On the initiative of Woodrow Wilson, the President of USA, in January, 1919 a Peace Conference was  held in  Paris and  the representatives of forty two countries took part in it.

A council of ten with two representatives each from America, Britain, France, Italy and Japan was formed.

They worked hard to make the council  function  well.  But  Francis Clemenceau of France, Lloyd George of England, Woodrow Wilson of America and Orlando of Italy, played a major  role  in  the  conference.

The League of Nations was founded on the basis of their ideas.

In the Paris Peace Conference a suggestion was  given  for the establishment of  an organization of nations.

It was thought that only such an organization could prevent any future wars in the world. Before the foundation of such an organization, other institutions also came up.

They were:-

The League of Nations Society (1915),The world League for Peace (1917),and The League of free nations Association (1918) and the League of Nations Union.

On the 14th  February, 1919  the Peace Conference examined a note on maintaining peace in  the world.

According to it on January,  20th 1920, the League of Nations was officially founded with its headquarters in Geneva,Switzerland.

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