Between the wars Flashcards
What was the treaty of versialles?
At the end of WW1 leaders from 32 countries met at the Paris Peace Conference, (in the Palace of Versailles) to discuss the treaties to be made with each of the defeated powers.
Negotiations were dominated by Britain, France, Italy, Japan and the US.
A document known as the Treaty of Versailles was written and presented to the Germans who had no choice but to sign.
Germany was severely punished under the Treaty’s peace terms
What are the roaring twenties?
The years between the wars were times of great hope as the “war to end all wars” was over and soldiers were returning from war all over the world.
Mood?
Decade of hope
Attempting to enjoy life after WW1
Change in old values
The conservatives?
A group that opposed the new social change
WOWSER stood for We Only Want Social Evil eRadicated
Church leaders blamed the social change as the cause of evil
WOMEN?
Became acceptable for women to drink, smoke etc. in public
Able to go out alone and be sexually active before marriage
Liberated from restricting clothing such as long skirts and extravagant hairdos
Returning soldiers?
Over 260000 soldiers had to be brought home and be provided with jobs, housing and re introduced into normal society
Many faced hardship with disease, disabilities, PTSD etc.
CHANGING TECHNOLOGY?
New innovations and invention of products made life easier for all australians
Electricity caused the biggest change in homes in the 20s
Transport became easier with the widespread use of cars and the adaption of planes to carry people
Boom in entertainment industry
FOOD?
Price of food decreased
Food production became more efficient
Loss of profit for farmers lead to people moving into the city for work
GRIEF AND SUFFERING?
Grieving the many lives lost at war
Returned soldiers struggled to forget war
Small farmers also struggled as profits began to fall
What was the great depression?
Loans dried up, unemployment rose, families were evicted from their homes ending up in shanty towns, health levels dropped and many children had to give up their education
What happened due to the overconfidence in the 20s?
People invested a lot of money in different businesses, particularly ones with new inventions and appliances.
People believed that all the shares they had bought would rise in the future.
Shares were steadily increasing fast throughout the 20s
People were borrowing money from the bank to buy shares
Panic in the stock market?
People began to lose confidence in the American economy and became worried that profits would fall in the business that they had shares in.
This panic led to more selling than buying in the stock market meaning the share price crashed.
People and companies all went bankrupt and were forced to close down.
What lead to the banks collapsing?
People became fearful that what happened to businesses would happen to the banks.
Everyone tried to withdraw their savings but the banks could not meet the sudden demand for cash.
This produced more panic leading to more money withdrawals causing banks to become bankrupt.
People who still had money in banks lost all their savings.
5 Experiences of the greta depression?
High unemployment (reached 29%)
Sustenance payments from the government (“susso”)
Moving to try to find work (“jumping the rattler”)
Increasing divide between rich and poor
Sport was a morale booster
