The Great Depression and the Rise of Facism Flashcards
Why did the Great Depression occur?
Not just because of the American stock market crash and the failure of banks, the Great Depression stemmed from a lack of consumer demand, tariffs between America and Europe, and a decrease in agricultural production.
How was the perception of the 1920s different from the reality?
The 1920s are understood to be the Jazz Age under the novels of F. Scott Fitzgerald. However, the world had really been devastated from war, and in many places it was a time of economic stagnation. Postwar recovery in Germany was dependent on American loans, which was in turn lent to the newly merging eastern nations at high interest rates. This led to what looked like financial gains in both the United States and Germany, but it was a false prosperity. The decline in available credit brought on by the collapse of the American stock market caused the veneer of prosperity to fade.
How did the Great Depression unfold?
The collapse of Vienna’s most powerful bank, Credit-Anstalt, caused a series of banks to fail in Germany and eastern Europe. People withdrew their savings rapidly, depleting bank reserves who eventually could not return depositors’ money. Banks stopped making loans and people tried saving money, decreasing demand for industrial goods. There was a corresponding decrease in employment.
How were problems in the Great Depression exacerbated by countries remaining on the gold standard?
By remaining on a fixed exchange rate between their currencies and gold, it prevented countries from using controlled inflation and therefore advanced monetary policy. It also generated the belief that the way to deal with an economic depression was to tighten the supply of money.
How did governments attempt to react to the Great Depression? Who argued against their fiscal policy?
Governments tried to reign in spending to balance their budgets, which only suppressed overall demand while also exposing unemployed workers to greater suffering. John Maynard Keynes dissented against this policy.
What did John Maynard Keynes say governments should do?
He said that governments could fix the lack of private sector demand by deficit spending, providing people with jobs and income to provide a spending recovery.
How did governments make the Depression worse?
Governments took misguided measures like raising tariff barriers to protect domestic manufacturing. It was first done by the United States, but soon followed by most countries in Europe, even Britain.
What were the effects of the Great Depression?
The economies of Europe and America operated at half of the level of three years ago. The depression hit America and Germany the hardest, where almost one third of the workforce was unemployed. In America, FDR was elected and implemented his New Deal, as it was a stable democracy. In Germany, a shaky democracy, the crisis resulted in the death of republican institutions and the triumph of fascism.
Why did fascism become popular?
As democracy appeared to be faltering, millions of people looked to fascism as a way to rebuild their shattered lives.
What is fascism?
The goal of fascism is to destroy the notion of the individual and push for a common community, with this community being one rooted in extreme nationalism and often mystical racial heritage, like Volkish ideology pursued by German fascists. Fascists were deeply antagonistic to the idea of parliamentary democracy, instead favoring the idea of a strong leader that represented the desires of the nation. They also hated socialism. They were against political emancipation of women, art, and hated Jews.
What was the fascist concept of the corporation?
It was an association of employers and workers within each industry that would iron out all contentious issues regarding production and wages.
What was the first state to develop a fascist government?
Italy.
How did fascism emerge in Italy?
Fascism emerged out of a deep national dissatisfaction with its participation in WWI. Italy entered the War on the Entente side because it wanted to take Italian-speaking lands from Austria-Hungary, but their military campaign failed miserably. However, they stayed in the war and expected to be justly compensated; with the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian state, they thought they should be entitled to more.
How did politics in Italy evolve after WWI?
The political system adopted proportional representation, which favored mass parties like Mussolini’s Fascist movement. Italian politics also witnessed a series of factory occupations by workers who seemed to proceed the establishment of a Bolshevik state. Landowners and businessmen then began to turn against democratic politics, and they found their political solution in fascism.
Who was the founder of the the Italian fascists?
Benito Mussolini. He initially was a socialist, but became fascist after WWI.
