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TRANSCRIPT
Chapter 16
You will talk about the circumstances that led to
the beginning of World War I
You will explain why World War I was so bad and
the results of the war
You will describe how the Russian Revolution
ended a 300 year dynasty
You will explain what led to the Great
Depression
You will describe totalitarian governments such
as the Nazis and the holocaust
Despite nationalism, European nations still allied with each other over access to colonies and trade rights Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy: The Triple Alliance
France, Great Britain, Russia: The Triple Entente
Socialist movements within nations were also growing more powerful
Except for Britain and America, each nation had built a large army through a draft
Throughout the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, little skirmishes throughout Europe made nations distrustful and antagonistic
It would start in Sarajevo, Serbia
In 1914, the Balkan states (on the Balkan/Greek peninsula) had two major ethnic groups: the Balkan, nationalist majority and the Slavic minorities
On June 28, the Archduke of Austria-Hungary, Francis Ferdinand, and his wife Sophia were visiting Sarajevo (currently in the country of Bosnia + Herzegovina).
Their visit was announced ahead of time, so a group of six Bosnian men planted themselves at various spots on the route as assassins. Ferdinand was the head of the Intelligence Department and heir to
the throne, so he was a strong symbol of power to be “taken down.”
The first two assassins, for whatever reason, did not act on their tasks
At 10:10 AM, The third assassin threw a time bomb at the car, but his aim was off and it hit the side, bounced away and exploded 16 people were injured, and the assassin attempted suicide by
cyanide and drowning. Both attempts failed and crowd the crowd apprehended the suspect
The motorcade, now aware of an assassination
attempt, sped off too fast for the final three
assassination attempts.
Believing they had escaped the attempt,
Ferdinand, his wife, and the mayor of Sarajevo
resumed their meetings.
They then decided to visit the hospital where
those wounded by the bomb were being treated
instead of the original plan of going to a museum.
The motorcade agreed on an alternative route to
the hospital, but the driver of the car carrying
Ferdinand and his wife didn’t get the message
Meanwhile, 19-yo assassin Gavrilo Princip, went to Schiller’s deli located on the original route to try one more time.
On their drive the Governor of Bosnia who was riding with the Ferdinand's realized the driver was still on the original route and ordered him to turn around and head toward the hospital.
The driver stopped the car and turned around slowly in the narrow street at the Latin bridge
Schiller’s deli was located on the edge of the Latin bridge
Princip thought he’d have to hit a moving target. Instead, the motorcade stopped right in front of him.
Princip grabbed his pistol, ran out of the deli and shot and killed the Archduke and his wife.
Serbia immediately denied knowledge of the plot.
Austria-Hungary began an investigation, hoping to
reveal Serbian government involvement.
Privately, on July 5 Germany offered A-H a “blank
check” of support if they declared war on Serbia
In the past 35 years Europe had seen 10 “crisis” or
“conflicts” and war seemed imminent. Germany was
strong in 1914 and wanted to attack with the upper hand
The leaders of A-H were conflicted on how to
respond
Too strong and they risk the support of European allies
Too weak and their European enemies might see it as an
opportunity to attack A-H.
By July 13th, A-H’s investigation showed that Gavrilo
Princip was part of a terrorist group called “the Black
Hand” and not the Serbian government
A-H lost their impetus for war. Back to the discussion table.
Germany had hoped for a quick attack, but by now
word had spread throughout Europe of the partnership
On July 22nd Russia, a major enemy of Germany,
publicly agreed to an ally status with France
The next day, A-H officially gave Serbia their response
to the assassination
To account for the involvement of Serbian citizens, A-H
required Serbia meet 10 demands including removal of all
negative press and schoolbooks on A-H, accept A-H presence
in Serbian government, and turn over a prepared list of
government officials suspected of participating in the
assassination (though no evidence indicated they were).
The deadline to accept or deny the terms was July
25th, only 48 hours later. Otherwise A-H would invade.
European nations were furious and began pleading with
Germany, A-H’s ally, to stop this, not realizing Germany was
pulling the strings.
Russia offered services to Serbia if they would agree to the
terms
The hope was it would stop the immediate war, and
international pressure would force A-H to back off
Over the next 48 hours Britain, France, Germany, A-H
and Russia all prepared for war internally but did not
actually mobilize the economy or military.
To mobilize is to convert economic resources and manpower
to a military effort. It’s an obvious action.
“Mobilization” is an act of war. Everyone stopped just short.
On July 27th, Britain begins to suspect Germany’s aid to
A-H and warns them to back off or they’d join the crisis
On July 28th, Serbia agrees to all terms except one,
which allowed Austria to stage a police force in Serbia.
For Germany and A-H, this refusal to accept terms gave them
the excuse for war.
Britain’s King George V telegrams Germany offering to
be a mediator in talks if they will hold off on war.
The message was sent at 10:49 AM, the “11th hour.”
At 11 AM on July 28th, 1914, Austria-Hungary declared
war on Serbia.
On July 30th, Germany had yet to agree to war
according to the promise they gave A-H.
They were hoping Russia would mobilize and give Germany
the excuse to go to war as a defender and not aggressor.
Germany promised to declare war at noon on July 31st
On July 31st, at 9 AM, Russia officially mobilized.
Overjoyed, Germany declared war on Serbia citing Russian
aggression (remember Germany’s tactics later).
August 1st: Germany declared war on Russia for defending
Serbia.
August 3rd-4th: Germany declared war on France (for allying with
Russia) and Belgium (to protect German territory)
Britain orders Germany to retract their attack by the end of the
day on Belgium as Belgium had declared itself a neutral party.
They refused. On August 4th, Britain declared war on Germany.
Aug 6th: A-H declared war on Russia; Serbia declared war on
Germany
On August 11th and 12th, France and Britain officially declared
war on Austria-Hungary. The sides were set. World War I
officially had begun.
Both sides of the war believed that the conflict
would be over by Christmas.
None of the conflicts in Europe in the past 30 years
had lasted longer than a couple months, and it had
been a century since the last “war.”
Most of World War I (called “The Great War at the
time) would be characterized by trench warfare.
Both sides began their efforts by digging trenches
in the ground for protection, shelter, and
accessing armies
The downside of trenches is they’re not mobile.
By the end of the war, both armies would hardly
have advanced from their starting positions
The trenches of World War I would eventually
stretch for hundreds of miles all throughout the
continent
Trenches were lined with heavy barbed wire
The area between the two side’s trenches was
called “no man’s land”
At first, armies would barrage a trench to try and
break up the barbed wire, then would charge the
trench
This tactic failed nearly 100% of the time.
The new tactic became a War of Attrition, or the
winner wears the other side down first
World War I was the first war after the invention
of the airplane.
At first, they were simply used to provide
intelligence
Later planes were outfitted with machine guns so
pilots could fight other planes in the air
The Red Baron, a German WWI fighter pilot, was
credited with 80 kills before he himself was shot down
Zeppelins were also used for carrying large
quantities of bombs to drop over large targets,
like London or Dresden
The US at first remained neutral. The war was on the other side of the planet.
Germany and Britain had set up naval blockades against each other using submarines
One submarine attacked the British ship Lusitania on May 7, 1915, with more than 100 Americans on board
To avoid American retaliation, Germany agreed to suspend their submarine attacks unless provoked.
By 1917 though, Germany wanted to continue what they called “unrestricted submarine use”
This act was enough for the US and they joined the war in April
The war lasted years when it was supposed to last
months, and millions of people were dying.
Nations needed more soldiers, and they needed
them to be willing to fight hard
Nations created propaganda campaigns, designed
to curb national opinion toward a common
thought
With all the men fighting, women were also
enlisted to serve.
Although widely recognized as temporary, women
took jobs in factories and took the place of the
men in the workforce.
By 1916, even though their allies were doing ok, Russia was soundly losing the war.
While Czar Nicholas II was off leading the army in the war, his wife Alexandra was left to run the affairs of the nation.
She became devoted to an advisor named Grigory Rasputin, who supposedly cured her son of his hemophilia.
Other members of government sensed the influence that Rasputin had in what decisions Alexandra made and arranged for his assassination
After multiple attempts, they succeeded in December
The revolution that Rasputin started did not go
away though. By 1917, the citizens were still
miserable
On March 12 the workers initiated a nation-wide
factory strike.
By March 15, with no political support, the Czar
stepped down.
Many groups vied for power, but the Bolsheviks
emerged with it.
The Bolsheviks were Marxist socialists led by
Vladimir Ilych Lenin
Lenin had tremendous faith in the people of his
ethnicity, called Soviets.
Under his leadership, the party grew from 50,000
to 240,000 members in only a few months.
Throughout a brief civil war, the Bolsheviks seized
more and more power within Russia and made
peace by giving up large portions of land held in
the west
Lenin believed that the spread of communism would
be so rapid that anything he gave up would be quickly
recollected again.
In 1918 he also had the Czar and his family
executed in Yekaterinburg
The soviets took control of the nation in such a
quick time thanks to commissar Leon Trotsky.
Trotsky and Lenin also created the Red Police, to
seek out and remove any dissidents within Russia
itself.
By 1921, the communist control of Russia was
complete.
In 1918 the triple alliance (Germany, Austria-
Hungary, and Italy) and triple entente (Britain,
France and Russia) were at a stalemate. Then the
US entered the war.
By September it was obvious to the Germans that
they had lost and must ask for peace.
The armistice, or truce, symbolically went into
effect at 11 am on November 11th
All that was left was for the victors to decide how
the losers should pay up
Final toll: 9 million
Why were there so many deaths?
New technology, such as the howitzer and armored
tanks, allowed multiple casualties from a distance.
Chemical warfare, including chlorine and mustard gas,
was employed for the first time
Submarine and aircraft battles
Flamethrowers were a helpful tool for the trench
warfare.
Heavy genocides, particularly in Belgium, occurred
Besides wanting lands, many of the leaders of the entente wanted a more lofty purpose to the war
President Woodrow Wilson of the United States stole the show.
When he arrived in Paris he carried with him a copy of surrender terms that he called the 14 points. Peace agreements should be open
Freedom of the seas
Reduction of armaments to the bare minimum
Establishment of trade and colony rules
Nine points on how to divide up European lands
Establishment of an organization of nations
Despite his idealism, Britain and France had no desire for a fair and moral peace treaty. No one had seen a war with this level of death and
destruction. Germany pushed A-H into it. Germany had to pay
The French, directly, had suffered the most of any allied nation. They demanded reparations, or payment to cover the cost of the war.
For most of the peace conference, Britain, France and USA argued over the terms while Germany and Austria-Hungary were without a voice
Wilson believed that if point #14, an organization of states, was met, then all other issues could be fixed at a later date.
The Great War officially ended with the Treaty of
Versailles.
Germany and Austria were forced to admit guilt at
starting the war for no good reason.
They were required to pay reparations to cover the
entire war—a cost that could never be met
Again, a symbolic reference to the demands that started the
war in the first place.
Germany had to reduce it’s army and eliminate it’s air
force
France was given back the Alsace and Lorraine
territories
The establishment of the League of Nations, Wilson’s
14th point.
Germany agreed, but bitterly
The new nations of Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Austria and Hungary emerged.
Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia combined to form Yugoslavia
The Ottoman Empire was officially broken
France got Lebanon and Syria, Britain got Iraq and the Palestine**
World War I was the first time that a majority of the world mobilized toward a common task
It was believed that no war would ever be as great or vast
Although Germany surrendered, the Germans were bitterly against the Treaty of Versailles…
Despite President Wilson’s fervor, the American
senate refused to ratify the treaty of Versailles.
The US could not join the League of Nations
Without the US’s influence as peace broker, the
bad feelings at the end of World War I remained a
part of the League.
France began with the demand that Germany pay
the $33 billion and set up annual payments
Germany made the first deadline, but by 1921 the
country was bankrupt
Only after receiving a loan from the US in 1924
did Germany’s economy begin to improve
From 1924-1929 Europe was relatively prosperous
The Treaty of Locarno ended border disputes
between Germany and France
The Kellogg-Briand Pact, signed by 63 nations,
stated that war would no longer be an instrument
for diplomacy
It did not, however, say what would be done if
someone breaks the agreement
The world was experiencing yet another time of
enormous financial and social growth called the
“Roaring 20’s.”
Entertainment
Fed up with war, most Americans and Europeans felt
little guilt in indulging themselves.
Sound technology was added to movies
Mickey Mouse appeared in Steamboat Willie, the first
profitably marketed cartoon in history
Radio shows became nightly family activities
Technology
New medicines such as penicillin made illnesses end
faster
Charles Lindbergh and Amy Johnson became famous
for their solo flights from New York to Paris and Britain
to Australia
Basic inventions like toasters and telephones became
household objects
Society and Politics
Having spent their impressionable years at war, many
men and women in their 20’s became disillusioned
with the world and refused to “re-enter” life
“The Lost Generation” believed that life was too
short and complex, and better lived indulging in
simple pleasures and relationships
Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, F. Scott Fitzgerald
Others felt the need to repair the errors of the world
Suffrage was finally granted to all adult women in most
countries, including America.
In Harlem, New York, a series of prominent African
American leaders rose.
The “Harlem Renaissance” built business leaders in the
African community in sports, music, and publishing
America is credited with four major inventions in history: the
constitutional government, professional sports, national
parks, and Jazz.
Most African American musicians were not allowed to play in
traditional symphonies.
They began to gather in major cities to form their own music
based on traditional African cultures using modern
instruments
When prohibition began in 1920, underground illegal bars
called “speakeasies” formed. Many of these bars hired Jazz
musicians
Though it spread as an “illicit” activity, Jazz also spread as a
new “hip, young” medium
The people who called Jazz “immoral music of the youth” were the
same people who got us into war in the first place, so what did they
know?
Everything was going splendidly up until 1929.
In the 1920’s, most banks and stock brokers were
offering stocks on margins.
A stock is a percentage of a company.
Stocks are expensive, but if you can sell your stocks
then you have lots of money for your business
Most people can’t afford stocks, so companies offered
margins
A margin is collateral. The broker agrees to give you
stocks NOW and when the stock reaches a certain
amount of growth, you pay him back.
Meanwhile, the broker can spend the money as a
CREDIT (it doesn’t actually exist).
The United States had government loans, public and private businesses, and interests in Europe all tied up in stocks
The problems started when the stocks failed to rise as high as the margin prices they set.
The brokers could not get back the money they counted on, so they were forced to take loans from banks to keep the businesses going
Too many businesses were being run without any cash to support them. On October 29, 1929, the stock market crashed. Since Europe had multiple loans from the US, as the
US crashed so did the rest of the world
Except for Britain and France, the major powers
of Europe switched from democracies to
totalitarian states in the 1930’s
A totalitarian state is run by a single leader, a
single political party, and they control all aspects
of the country.
These countries relied on a heavy use of
propaganda to persuade their citizens to accept
almost a total lack of freedom
Italy formed a fascist state run by Benito
Mussolini
Fascism is putting the state above the individual
Italy was on the losing side in World War I, but
they were basically ignored in the negotiating
tables at Versailles.
Mussolini used this resentment as a “second-
class” nation to rise to power with public
support.
He also won support from the Catholic Church by
declaring the area of the Vatican a sovereign
nation
In Russia, Lenin had succeeded in improving the
economy.
Lenin organized the communists and formed the
Union of Soviet Socialist Republic, or USSR.
While the country was on the rebound, members
of the government body called the Politburo
began to quarrel
On one side: Leon Trotsky. The other: Joseph Stalin.
Trotsky ran the military, but Stalin was the
political secretary and had more overall control
Stalin began his move for takeover by instituting
his Five Year Economic Plans
Stalin’s plan called for government control of
farms and factories and increased production of
each of them
Peasants revolted against this new supposed
leader, killing their own crops and refusing to
obey orders
Stalin sent any dissidents to labor camps in the
middle of Siberia, where most remained until
their deaths
Adolf Hitler was born April 20, 1889.
By age 31, Hitler had joined a socialist movement
called the German Worker’s Party and become
their leader.
The party was renamed to the National Socialist
German Worker’s Party, or NSDAP (NAZI’s)
Hitler bit off more than he could chew and
organized a revolution in Munich in 1923.
It failed, and Hitler was put in prison where he
wrote an autobiography, Mein Kampf
In it, Hitler writes his theories on German
nationalism and anti-semitism
In prison, Hitler came to the conclusion that his
revolution would be a legal one.
Three years after he was released from jail he
had grown the Nazi party large enough that they
held a majority in parliament
They elected Hitler, the leader of their party, as
the Fuhrer (Emperor) of Germany
Within two months, Hitler passed a law called the
“enabling law,” which essentially gave Hitler
“temporary” total power until the Great
Depression was fixed.
“Aryan” is a term describing people who speak
European languages, but Hitler misused it to
mean anyone who is a descendent of the true
Europeans, the Greeks and Romans
Hitler won support from the Germans by
convincing them that all true Germans were
superior human beings
They removed most civil freedoms from Jews,
Gypsies, and other non-Aryans and built
concentration camps to hold the dissidents
Hitler set up the Schulzstaffen (SS), a special
guard to patrol the Jewish population and keep
them in order.
SS had execution rights, or the legal authority to
imprison, assault, or kill anyone not following the
laws of the state.
The SS also passed the Nuremburg laws, which
outlined who was defined as a Jew
Jews could not be citizens
Jews could not marry non-Jews
Jews could not take part in government
Jews must carry identification cards and armbands
The true “holocaust” is recognized as beginning on November 9th, 1938
This night is called Kristallnacht, or “night of broken glass.”
Nazi’s had always persecuted Jews. That night they arrested 30,000 Jews, destroyed 7,000 Jewish businesses, and outright murdered more than 100
Jews could no longer legally own their own businesses and had separate schools and hospitals.
The holocaust would go unnoticed by Europe for 6 years.
