The onset of the Great Depression in 1929 hit Europe just as the economies of many nations were improving. Europe again was plunged into a period of declining production and trade and high unemployment. The situation was worsened by the increase in protective tariffs in Europe and the United States.
Benito Mussolini became the leader, in 1919, of a political movement called the fascio di combattimento. He capitalized upon Italy's failure to achieve nationalistic goals during World War I and on the social unrest brought about by poverty and economic stagnation. By 1922 his political movement was strong enough to threaten the government and force the parliament to appoint him as prime minister.
The former huge empire of Austria-Hungary was reduced to the small, landlocked country of Austria after World War I. The many non-Germanic nationalities in the former empire became citizens of different independent nations under the principle of self-determination.
Adolf Hitler was appointed by the president of Germany as the chancellor, or prime minister, when the National Socialist Party he led won the largest number of seats in the Reichstag, the German parliament.
NOT a constitutional monarchy France had been a republic since the last monarch was deposed in 1870. Great Britain, the Netherlands, and Norway had constitutional monarchs who reigned but did not rule. Real power was exercised by prime ministers chosen by elected parliaments.
One of the following members of the - The League of Nations was established in 1919 by the Treaty of Versailles. France was one of the signers of the treaty and an original member of the League of Nations. The United States did not ratify the treaty, communist Soviet Union was an outcast among nations until 1934, and Germany was excluded from membership in the League until 1926.
Fascists oppose democratic government because democracy requires rule by the majority and assumes the equality of all races and nationalities. Fascists believe that "superior" ethnic groups and individuals should lead the masses. They also believe that the nation should maintain a strong military establishment and go to war to achieve national goals.
The Weimar Republic was the democratic government of Germany established after World War I. German representatives met in the city of Weimar in 1919 to draft a democratic constitution which provided for an elected parliament and protections of the rights of individuals. This constitution was the basis of government in Germany until it was suspended by Hitler in 1933.
Adolf Hitler wrote "Mein Kampf" while he was in prison for leading an attempted military takeover in 1923. The book outlines his anti-democratic beliefs, his hatred of the Jews, and his plans to gain power and spread German domination over the non-Germanic nationalities in Europe.
Hitler promised to revise the Treaty of Versailles when he gained power. He claimed that the treaty unfairly took away German land, placed Germans under foreign control, and unjustly required Germany to acknowledge sole responsibility for beginning World War I. Many Germans who opposed other parts of his ideology agreed with Hitler's attack on the treaty.
The Nazis believed- The role of women in Nazi society was very limited. Women were encouraged to become wives and mothers, and to give birth to Aryan babies. Rewards were offered to women to have pure Aryan children. Women were not encouraged to attend universities or to prepare to become scientists, engineers, doctors, or even teachers. As the need for manufacturing and the production of war