UNIT 7. THE INTER-WAR YEARS.

THE ECONOMY IN THE INTER-WAR YEARS.

Phases of the economy in the inter-war years:

1. Post-war crisis (1918-1923)

Between 1918 and 1923, Europe experienced a big economic crisis characterized by:

o High levels of debts: loans given by USA to European countries that had to be paid.
o Shortage of products: the destruction of agricultural land, factories and transport
systems led to an increase in prices.
o German crisis: - Germany had to pay war reparations.
- To face the economic crisis, Germany circulated many bank notes
which had very little value so people needed a lot of money to buy
basic things. This is known as hyperinflation
- France occupied the industrialised German region of the Ruhr
provoking that German economy got worse.
2. Recovery in the 1920s (the roaring 20s). Roaring: estruendoso, ruidoso.
The United Sates recovered from the crisis very soon and they were able to help European
countries through:
o The Dawes Plan: a series of loans to reduce the war reparations. As a consequence,
Germany's economy started to recover.
o The United Stated also helped other European countries and the world economy began to
recover. This period is known as the 'roaring 20s'
o Economic prosperity brought:
 Enjoyment.
 New forms of entertainment.
 Consumerism
 Development of industry.
 Purchase of companies of the stock market.

3. The Wall Street Crash (1929).

In 1929 the Wall Stock Market in New York collapsed. The causes were:
o Industrial overproduction:
 USA increased production to supply Europe, but with the European recovery,
Europe started to buy less from America.
 Supply was bigger than demand and products accumulated. As a consequence,
prices fell and companies closed provoking unemployment and consumption
decrease.
o Agricultural overproduction:
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  USA increased production to supply Europe, but with the European recovery,
Europe bought less from America.
 Supply was bigger than demand and products accumulated. As a consequence,
prices fell and companies closed provoking unemployment and consumption
decrease.
 Mechanisation produced high amount of debts.
o Speculation on the stock market and excessive bank credit:
During the period of prosperity people bought shares of companies on the Wall Street Stock
Market. This lead to speculation because a great demand of the companies´ shares raised
their prices. When the crisis started, there was an excess of shares and their prices fell so
thousands of shareholders had to sell them very cheap. This was the Wall Street Crash.
4. The Great Depression of the 1930s.
The Great Depression of the 1930s started with the Wall Street Crash and quickly spread to
Europe. The consequences were:
 Companies closed because sales fall.
 Wages fell and unemployment increased.
 The world economy was affected.
 There was a decrease in the standard of living.

THE EVOLUTION OF DEMOCRACY.

5. European democracies.
o Great Britain: there were two political parties:
- The Liberal Party which tried to reduce unemployment and improved medical
services.
- The Labour Party, a working class party that gained popularity in this period.
o France: there were two political parties: the left-wing parties and the conservative parties.
o Germany: after the fall of the Second Reich, a constitutional democracy was established,
called the Weimar Republic. However, extremist and nationalist parties which opposed to
democracy raised.
6. Democracy in the United States.
There was a bipartisanship:
- The Republican Party (right-wing). It was a conservative party which defended
capitalism and free market economy and opposed to government intervention in economy.
- The Democratic Party (left-wing). They also defended capitalism but supported
government intervention in economy and the trade unions. They represented the middle
and working classes.

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 After the First World War, the Republicans governed, establishing a conservative policy,
isolationism and patriotism.
In 1932, the Democrat Roosvelt won the elections and he established the New Deal in
1933 (economic and social measures to end the crisis: página 55)

AUTHORITARIANISM AND TOTALITARIANISM

7. The USSR: Stalinism.
After Lenin´s death, Stalin took control of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU).
His government had the following characteristics:
o Stalin concentrated all power and he gained the control of the CPSU as secretary
general. He also:
- Approved the Constitution of 1936.
- Maintained the CPSU as the only political party (repression and propaganda).
- Tried to spread communism across Europe through the Comintern (Third
International).
o Economy. Stalin introduced a five-year plans whose objectives were:
- Collectivisation of lands: expropriation of properties by force and the obligation of
the workers to cultivate the land collectively. Lands could be Sovkhoz (state owned
the land and paid a salary to the workers), or Kolkhoz (a collective owned the land
and the workers received part of the harvest as a salary).
- Nationalisation of industries (the state owned the main industries).
o Social equality. It failed because there were differences between the governing elite
and the rest of the population.
8. Explain how propaganda and repression worked with Stalin. (extra, cuadro
página 60)
Stalin reinforced his power through propaganda and repression. It was very common to see
portrays of the dictator everywhere. Repression was carried out through purges
(purgas,exterminio) among the own members of the party, army and population because Stalin
was sure that they suspicious of conspiracy against him.
9. Italian Fascism.
An authoritarian regime was established by Benito Mussolini when he came to power in 1922.
Mussolini created a paramilitary group with ultranationalist ideology (Fasci combat groups). In
1921 he formed the National Fascist Party and in 1922 he forced the government to step
down.
Although the monarchy was maintained, Mussolini transformed the democratic state into a
dictatorship with the following measures:
o Politics: concentration of power in himself. He was leader of a single party and the
army. He started expansion into Abyssinia and Ethiopia.
o Economy: autarky (self-sufficient) was established and great public works started.
o Social policies: suppression of workers' rights, indoctrination in education and birth rate
increase owing to economic help to large families.

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*****Indoctrination: adoctrinamiento: los profesores enseñaban lo que el régimen les indicaban y
tenían que jurar lealtad al régimen

10. Nazi Germany.

Nazism was Dictatorship established by Adolf Hitler (the Führer) in Germany in 1933.
His victory can be explained by the humiliation the Germans felt with the territorial and
economic conditions imposed by the Treaty of Versailles.
Hitler became the leader of the National Socialist German Workers' Party (the Nazy Party)
based on the rejection of the Treaty of Versailles.
Hitler won the elections in 1933 establishing a dictatorship which adopted the following
measures:
o He established the Third Reich and the Nazi Party was the only political party. There
was an expansionist policy in order to recover German territories lost during the First
World War.
o There was great economic development: public works, arms industry and
unemployment decreased. Hitler believed in the Arian race was anti-Semitic (against
Jewse) so society became quite racist.
11. What were the public rallies of Hitler? (mítines) (cuadro extra, página 62).
Nazis used to prepare public rallies. They were meetings addressed to masses of people who
formed perfect squares on both sides and a central corridor where the parades (desfiles)
accompanied Hitler marching. At the end of the corridor there was a stage with enormous
loudspeakers and the symbol of the swastika.
There were always a lot of mass media (television, radio, etc) which glorified the Führer.

SPAIN: DICTATORSHIP AND DEMOCRACY.

12. The dictatorship of Primo de Rivera. (1923-1930) 1931???
In 1923, General Miguel Primo de Rivera led a coup and established a right-wing dictatorship.
The king Alfonso XIII accepted the dictatorship and Primo de Rivera was named president of
the government. The dictatorship was also accepted by almost all of the social sectors:
business owners, the church and the army because all of them thought that the order would be
restored.
His government had the following characteristics:
o Domestic policy. The Patriotic Union became the only official party whose objective
was to fight against anarchism, nationalism and communism.
o Foreign policy. Victory in the war in Morocco increasing the dictatorship prestige.
o The economy. Big public works started (roads, railways, etc) which created
employment. State monopolies were also created such as the Compañía Telefónica o
the petrol company CAMPSA.
The dictatorship started to face strong opposition from the army and some political powers and
in 1930 he resigned and a constitutional monarchy was restored.

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13. Name the three phases and the dates of the Second Republic. (1931-1936)
 The left-wing reformist biennium (1931-1933)
 The centre-right biennium (1933-1936)
 The Popular Front (1936)
14. The left-wing reformist biennium (1931-1933).
Niceto Alcalá Zamora was appointed president of the Republic and Manuel Azaña became
head of the government. One of the first measures they carried out was to write a new
Constitution in 1931. The most important reforms during this period were:
o Territorial reforms. Statute of autonomy for Cataluña, País Vasco and Galicia.
o Military reforms. Number of officers was reduced and there was priority for promotion
through academic qualifications.
o Agricultural reforms. Large lands were expropriated and divided among landless
peasants.
o Labour reforms. It was established the Law of Labour Contracts forcing land owners to
negotiate working conditions with the trade unions (eight-hour working day and a
minimum wage)
o Educational reforms. It was established that education would be secular (no religioso),
mixed gender, compulsory and free.
15. The centre-right biennium (1933-1936).
Elections were held and the centre-right biennium won establishing a conservative govenment.
The president of the Republic, Niceto Alcalá Zamora, appointed Alejandro Lerroux as the
head of government and one of the first measures was to suspend the reforms made by the
previous government.
The PSOE and the PCE along with the main trade unions organised a general strike in October
1934 known as the October Revolution which failed except for Asturias and Cataluña.
The army intervened and the revolution came to end but social discontent led to hold new
elections.
16. The Popular Front (1936).
Left-wing parties won the elections in 1936 (Socialists, Communists and Republicans) and
formed a coalition called the Popular Front. Manuel Azaña became president of the Republic
and Casares Quiroga became head of the government.
The agricultural reforms were retaken and the statute of autonomy of Cataluña was re-
established. However, social conflicts increased between the extreme right- wing (falangists)
and the extreme left-wing (anarchists and communists).
THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR (1936-1939)

17. Explain the reasons / causes of the civil war.

On 17 July 1936, a conservative part of the army rebelled in Morocco against the republican
government. This rebellion, led by Emilio Mola, José Sanjurjo and Francisco Franco, soon
spread to the peninsula (however, the military uprising failed in the most important cities such
as Bilbao, Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia).
The causes of the rebellion were:
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 o To end the public disorders (protests, strikes, attacks against politicians).
o The fear of the establishment of a communist government.
o To end with the left-wing government reforms (secularisation, expropriations, etc)
o To end with the republican government and re-establish the previous social and
political order
18. Explain the two sides that participated in the war and the international
support the got. (Cuadro extra página 66).
The military uprising of July 36 became a civil war because of the republicans' resistance and
Spain divided in two sides:
o The Republicans, Led by Azaña and supported by Stalinist USSR, from the
International Brigades (some European countries and USA) and Mexico.
o Nationalists, led by General Franco and supported by Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy,
19. Explain the development of the war.
During the conflict, both fronts got the following objectives:
o March to Madrid: Nationalists led by General Franco tried to occupy Madrid but they
were defeated.
o Northern campaign: Nationalists led by General Franco moved to Asturias, Cantabria
and País Vasco which were captured (Guernica -Vizcaya- was bombed in 1937).
o The Battle of the Ebro: Nationalists won the battle and entered Barcelona in 1939.
o The end of the war: in March the Nationalists took Madrid and on 1 April 1939, the war
ended.

20. Consequences of the civil war.

o Political: an authoritarian regime was stronger which wanted the Republicans to be
annihilated.
o Economic: there were economic losses owing to the destruction provoked by the war
(industrial areas, transport systems, etc). Agriculture and industry decreased.
o Demographic: half million people died during the war and other half million exiled to
Latin America and France.
o Cultural: ideological repression was established in education and culture (many
teachers or intellectuals were dismissed, executed or exiled).