The Great War was from 1914 to 1918, and barely twenty years later, it seemed another war was on the horizon. At least that's how we read history these days, events and dates carefully delineated for our memorization. The treaties following World War I were great in theory but was the war really over? This peace (namely The Treaty of Versailles)-- "eternal peace" as it was named by British diplomat Harold Nicolson-- " perished in frustration and violence almost before the negotiators got home. Starting with Russia, one nation after another exchanged the evils of war for those of revolution and counter revolution... In these and other countries where peace alone had proved no cure for misery, people erupted in frantic epidemics of strikes and street fighting." (Prelude to War by Time Life Books, page 58.)
Conflicts and Wars in the Aftermath of WWI
For centuries most of continental Europe was governed by old empires, imperialistic and monarchic (mostly by primogeniture-- the father to first born son model). World War I brought about the death of empires, four specifically: the Hapsburg, Ottoman, Russian, and German Empires. In the wake of these shattered empires, the vacuum of new ideas-- "isms" of the 20th century-- created and propagated chaos. New ideologies (the body of doctrine, myth, belief, etc. that guides an individual, social movement, institution, class, or large group) sprang up, each vying for the popular opinion/vote. The video above lists the "isms": fascism, futurism, communism, internationalism, republicanism, feminism, liberalism, nationalism, socialism, pacifism, imperialism, and others. What do these have in common? The ideals are highly specific, with little to no wiggle room, and most of them are "all in" ideologies. For every one "ism" above, there were dozens of splinters. No one could decide what they wanted, and no one was willing to negotiate. For countries, such as Germany, there were dozens of differing political parties... from the socialists to the communists to the national socialists-- and everything in between: right, far right, center, left, far left. Most of continental Europe was experiencing a malevolent identity crisis.
Of the "isms", three of them would fight for the majority: fascism, nazism, and communism.
Fascism:
1) nationalist; devoted to the State before individual wants/needs
2) centralized rule under a dictator who has complete political authority (totalitarian)
3) militaristic; using violence to persuade
4) glorified youth culture
Looming Face of Fascism: Benito Mussolini
Nazism:
1) fascist but radicalized by racial supremacy/purity; based on Darwinism
2) first goal was to undo the Treaty of Versailles: one German nation, all German speaking people within the same geographical perimeters
3) put itself off as "scientific"
4) simplified government
The Story of Fascism: Hitler
Communism:
1) economic system of government-- Karl Marx and Frederich Engels
2) against the exploitation of the worker to the benefit of the employer model
3) believed that to "reset" society to a theorized "utopian society", they needed to remove imperialism; the absence of money and ownership would establish one social order/class
4) Leninism: the ideology that a constant state of revolution/chaos moved society in the direction it needed to go
5) the dominant party (Communist, of course) would act in the best interest of the people
As Hitler quickly overturned the points set forth in the Treaty of Versailles, the European response was lackluster. This disinterest in forcing Germany to maintain the the Treaty became known as the Policy of Appeasement.
Appeasement 1935-1939
Hitler pressed rearmament, then retook control of the Rhineland (a chunk of land rich in resources that Germany lost in the Treaty) in 1936. This was a direct violation of the Treaty but only garnered some protest. In March 1938, Hitler marched troops into Austria to "help" with the election to force unification between Germany and Austria-- this was known as the Anschluss. Again, Britain and France protested, but did nothing. In September 1938, Hitler moved on Czechoslovakia to gain the strip of bordering land known as the Sudetenland, as this was the home to many German speaking people. Neville Chamberlain, Prime Minister of Britain, flew to Munich to meet with Hitler and Mussolini, with the hope to preserve peace. The Munich Agreement ceded the Sudetenland to Germany on the promise that Hitler would not seek further territorial expansion.
Chamberlain returned home to London where he proclaimed the agreement as "peace in our time".
Neville Chamberlain Returns from Germany with the Munich Agreement
As an aside, the German-Soviet pact of non-aggression was called the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact (or Pakten).
Next week: the second world war begins
The book for this class is World War II: A Very Peculiar History by Jim Pipe.
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