Interwar Politics

Post-World War I treaties leave problems unsettled

• Four empires collapse: German, Austro-Hungarian, Russian, Ottoman; new countries established from old empires: Hungary, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Poland

• Creation of Yugoslavia combines Serbia with former Austro-Hungarian territories of Croatia, Slovenia, and others

• Border wars continue in Eastern Europe

• New countries supposedly created along ethnic lines, but many contain discontented ethnic minorities

• Eastern European countries try to modernize, educate, collect taxes, but are hampered by political division

• 1920s–1930s: Poland, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Romania become dictatorships; Czechoslovakia remains democratic

Economic problems make capitalism appear weak

• Industry, productivity, and consumption down due to war

• 1923: France occupies Ruhr region of Germany demanding reparations payments; causes rampant inflation

• 1929:Great Depression begins

League of Nations: International organization meant to arbitrate between nations to prevent future war

• Given no military power to enforce decisions

• Germany initially not allowed to participate

• 1922: Germany and USSR meet at Rapallo, make economic and strategic agreements

• 1925:Locarno Agreements: Spirit of reconciliation among Germany, Britain, France; all want fresh start

• 1928:Kellogg-Briand Pact: European powers, Japan, and U.S. renounce war

France: Conservatism in 1920s, political instability in 1930s

• 1934: Right-wing anti-parliamentary riots

• 1936: Leftist Popular Front government under Léon Blum gives first paid vacations

Britain: Class tension and troubled victory

• 1916: Irish nationalist uprising

• 1921: Creation of Irish Free State leads to two-year civil war

• 1924: First Labour Party government forms

• 1926: Two-week general strike fails

• 1931:National Government, a coalition of parties, tries to deal with economic depression