Post World War I Europe

1. Post World War I Europe

2. Trends • New states • Republics, written constitutions • Work to modernize industry and toward land reform • Women gain right to vote (Britain, U.S., Germany, Russia) • Entrenchment of welfare state

3. Germany • Leading party – Social Democrats • Weimar Republic created – July 1919 • Constitution grants universal suffrage, proportional representation, 8 hour work day • Few elements of socialism

4. Little acceptance of Versailles Treaty • France feared for own security – make alliances with Eastern Europe • U.S. and Britain move toward isolationism • Germany resumes diplomatic relations with Russia in Treaty of Rapallo (1922)

5. Inflation Crisis • Germans refuse to pay reparations • France sends army into industrial Ruhr District • German workers strike – Weimar Republic prints money to pay them benefits • By 1923, 4 trillion marks = one dollar • Dawes Plan – French leave Ruhr, reparations cut down, Germans arrange to borrow abroad

6. Political Settlements • “Spirit of Locarno” • Germany agrees to alter boundaries of Poland and Czechoslovakia only with international discussion • Germany and France agree to common border • Britain promises military aid if boundaries of France or Belgium are threatened • Germany joins League of Nations 1926 • Kellogg – Briand Pact • 15 countries renounce war as instrument of foreign policy

7. Great Depression • Great Depression in U.S. triggers worldwide depression • Caused by: • Easy credit for expansion and stock purchases • Overproduction by farmers (especially wheat) • American investment/purchases in Europe declines after Stock Market Crash

8. Reactions • Move toward economic nationalism • Bilateral trade • Protective tariffs (U.S. – Hawley Smoot) • More realist literature/art • General anxiety/political extremism