Interwar Years 1 
Causes of the
Second World War
The Interwar Years
A Brief Period of Prosperity
• Some countries, like the U.S., were strong during the post-WWI era
• What is this time period known as in U.S.
History?
Problems in Germany
• The punishment of Germany goes too far and cripples their post-war economy in 1923
• Hyperinflation occurs
• German money is worthless (when the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services)
Worldwide Depression
•. Stock Market Crash of 1929
•
•
•
Buying stock on margin
A crisis in finance that led the
Federal Reserve to raise interest rates
Panic set in when stock prices crashed •. The depression in the U.S. spread to the rest of the world Rise of Fascism & Dictatorships
Benito Mussolini
1922
Country: Italy
Type of Government: Fascism (dictatorship)
Goals and Ideas:
• Centralized all power in himself as leader
(total control of social, economic, and political life)
• Ambition to restore the glory of Rome and create a vast Italian empire
• Invasion of Ethiopia
• Alliance with Hitler’s Germany
Il Duce
Joseph Stalin
1924
Country: Soviet Union
Type of Government: Communism (dictatorship)
Goals and Ideas:
• Crushed opponents and took control after Lenin’s death
• Held absolute authority; suppressed resistance
• Brought his country to world power status but imposed upon it one of the most ruthless regimes in history
• New Economic Policies (NEP)
• Collectivization: exported seized goods and gained enough capital to finance a massive industrialization drive • Rapid industrialization: three 5-year plans
• The Great Purges: KGB = secret police killed thousands of army officers and prominent Bolsheviks who opposed
Stalin
• Feared the growing power of Nazi Germany
Adolf Hitler
1933
Country: Germany
Type of Government: Nazism (dictatorship)
Goals and Ideas:
• Inflation and depression weakened the democratic government in Germany and allowed an opportunity for Hitler to rise to power
• Believed the
Second World War
The Interwar Years
A Brief Period of Prosperity
• Some countries, like the U.S., were strong during the post-WWI era
• What is this time period known as in U.S.
History?
Problems in Germany
• The punishment of Germany goes too far and cripples their post-war economy in 1923
• Hyperinflation occurs
• German money is worthless (when the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services)
Worldwide Depression
•. Stock Market Crash of 1929
•
•
•
Buying stock on margin
A crisis in finance that led the
Federal Reserve to raise interest rates
Panic set in when stock prices crashed •. The depression in the U.S. spread to the rest of the world Rise of Fascism & Dictatorships
Benito Mussolini
1922
Country: Italy
Type of Government: Fascism (dictatorship)
Goals and Ideas:
• Centralized all power in himself as leader
(total control of social, economic, and political life)
• Ambition to restore the glory of Rome and create a vast Italian empire
• Invasion of Ethiopia
• Alliance with Hitler’s Germany
Il Duce
Joseph Stalin
1924
Country: Soviet Union
Type of Government: Communism (dictatorship)
Goals and Ideas:
• Crushed opponents and took control after Lenin’s death
• Held absolute authority; suppressed resistance
• Brought his country to world power status but imposed upon it one of the most ruthless regimes in history
• New Economic Policies (NEP)
• Collectivization: exported seized goods and gained enough capital to finance a massive industrialization drive • Rapid industrialization: three 5-year plans
• The Great Purges: KGB = secret police killed thousands of army officers and prominent Bolsheviks who opposed
Stalin
• Feared the growing power of Nazi Germany
Adolf Hitler
1933
Country: Germany
Type of Government: Nazism (dictatorship)
Goals and Ideas:
• Inflation and depression weakened the democratic government in Germany and allowed an opportunity for Hitler to rise to power
• Believed the