The+West+between+Wars

 **1929-1939 **  **Ayushi, Rhiannon, Sadie **

All great movements are popular movements. They are the volcanic eruptions of human passions and emotions, stirred into activity by the ruthless Goddess of Distress or by the torch of the spoken word cast into the midst of the people. ~Adolf Hitler

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**__OVERVIEW:__** The uneasiness of the peace at the end of World War I was caused by several factors. First, the redistribution of land left everybody unhappy. Germany, especially, was on the worse end of the deal, losing sections of its land to Poland and also having captured land returned to France. Another reason for the instability of the peace was that the League of Nations was not effective. Its indecision and the fact that the United States was not included added to its weakness. Last, the huge amount of money that Germany was required to pay caused massive inflation in the country. This caused them to be able to pay even fewer of their debts to the League of Nations. Another unfortunate event during this time was the worldwide Great Depression. This was caused by a series of economic downturns in individual nations. For example, farm product prices were falling because of overproduction. The second major cause of this event was the US Stock Market Crash. The US had been lending money to many European countries, so when the US dollar suddenly became worth less, the economies of those countries dependent on American money crashed as well. These two events combined created rampant inflation and unemployment throughout Europe and the US. It has been shown that when times get tough, people turn to creative and drastic solutions. Examples of this are Italy's and Germany's responses to the Depression: Dictatorship. Italy turned to Fascism and the leadership of Benito Mussolini. Mussolini controlled his country with gangs of his men called squadristi. Eventually, Mussolini marched on Rome and was made Prime Minister. Germany's dictatorship story begins with Mussolini as well. Adolf Hitler was inspired by Mussolini's takeover of Italy. Using instead his own ideas of what caused a nation to be strong/to deteriorate, Hitler took over the German Workers Party and transformed it into the Nazi party. Hitler then staged an unsuccessful revolution, after which he spend time in jail, writing Mein Kampf. Realizing that he would have to gain power by legal means, Hitler then expanded the Nazi party until it grew so large that it became the majority in the lower German parliamentary house. President Hindenburg, under pressure, made Hitler the chancellor. His power was then guaranteed by the Enabling Acts, which let him do whatever he wished with the government. Hitler created a regime of racism and intolerance toward other races and religions using propaganda and his famously persuasive speeches.

__**TEN IMPORTANT PEOPLE:**__
 * 1) Hitler
 * 2) Benito Mussolini
 * 3) President Hindenburg
 * 1) President Hindenburg
 * 1) President Hindenburg

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