CHAPTER 21Discontent & Experimentation

WEAKNESS WITHIN THE DEMOCRACIES

GREAT BRITAIN Decline of empire Economy in trouble: trade down, debt

up, unemployment, protective tariffs Welfare state Allowed independence of some colonies Statute of Westminster 1931 declared

Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa to be “autonomous communities within the British Empire.”

FRANCE Heavy losses in WWI Greater economic recovery: New

factories, added territory, less unrest among workers

Political instability: 40 prime ministers in 20 years between 1920 and 1940

Socialist and Communist parties gained support.

Formed more defensive alliances to protect against Germany.

Construction of the Maginot Line

MAGINOT LINE Along French/German border 560 miles long Underground chambers with power

stations, ammo supplies, hospitals, theaters, living quarters.

Confident that the Line would stop any German advance.

MAGINOT LINE

Tank Defenses on the Maginot Line (in snow)

Cutaway Diagram of Maginot Line Defenses

THE UNITED STATES “Return to normalcy” Isolation Decay in the moral life of the nation

(Roaring 20s) Stock market crash 1929 Debts of European Countries affecting

U.S. economy

THE UNITED STATES Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) – 1932

THE NEW DEAL Offered government solutions to

economic problems.Works Progress Administration (WPA)Agricultural Adjustment AdministrationSecurities and Exchange CommissionCivilian Conservation Corps.

Helpful or Harmful? Increased the power of the federal

bureaucracy.

RISE OF TOTALITARIAN

DICTATORSHIPS

THROUGH EYES OF FAITH What reason does the Bible give for the

continued existence of the Jews despite the many attempts to destroy them?

Romans 11:1,5, 26-29

CHARACTERISTICS OF TOTALITARIAN STATES Use of propaganda Use of secret police to eliminate

opposition Emphasizes the state rather than the

individual State control of every aspect of life Maintains government by force One-party political system with dictator

PROMINENT 20TH CENTURY TOTALITARIAN STATES Russia/Soviet Union – Lenin & Stalin Italy - Mussolini Germany - Hitler Japan- Tojo

THE SOVIET UNION

ITALY

GERMANY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZQ4

yQDIf5k

JAPAN

COMMUNISM IN RUSSIA Romanov czars were

oppressive Poverty Censorship Persecution of national

groups (Poles, Finns, Jews)

Forced “Russianization” of peoples

Other countries were becoming open, free, democratic, but not Russia.

Peasants in CzaristRussia.

COMMUNISM IN RUSSIA Discontent turns into revolution.

“Soviets in Action” 1918 photo by John Reed

COMMUNISM IN RUSSIA Social Democratic Party with two

factions:Mensheviks hoped to bring change

through peaceful measures.Bolsheviks believed violence was

necessary to change in Russia.

RUSSO-JAPANESE WAR

COMMUNISM IN RUSSIA Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905) –

unpopular with the people, brought Russian discontent to the surface.

The Russians were somewhat humiliated and lost territory to the Japanese.

COMMUNISM IN RUSSIA Bloody Sunday 1905 – a peaceful

protest turns violent when government soldiers open fire on the protesters.

This event further erodes support for the Czar.

Peasant uprisings, strikes, mutiny in the military.

Workers organize a soviet (council).

COMMUNISM IN RUSSIA Russia’s participation in WWI also

stirred unrest. Russians were dying in large numbers

fighting the Germans. They were unprepared to fight a war. Food was in short supply in the cities

because it was being sent to the soldiers.

When people are hungry, they get mad.

RASPUTIN

RASPUTIN A strange Russian Orthodox monk who

believed and taught that the only way to reach God was by sinning and then gaining forgiveness.

See Romans 6:1-2. Rasputin influenced the Czarina

Alexandra. His corruption and influence on the Czar

weakened support for the Czar even more.

He was murdered by Russian nobles.

THE REVOLUTION March 8, 1917 –

workers overthrow local authorities in St. Petersburg.

Czar tries to disband the Duma (national assembly)

March 15, 1917 – Czar Nicholas II abdicates, ending 300 years of Romanov rule. Portrait of the Czar slashed

in a riot at the beginning of WWI

Alexander Kerensky, a Menshevik, tries to restore order.

Sought to get Russia out of WWI immediately.

Wanted to implement radical social reforms.

Germans sent exiled Bolsheviks back to Russia to make trouble for the Mensheviks.

FOUNDING OF THE USSR Vladimir Lenin – leader of

the Bolsheviks Believed in absolute

necessity of violent revolution.

Believed that communism would spread when workers rose up everywhere under strong leadership.

“Dictatorship of the proletariat”

In reality – only a dedicated few would wield great power.

Nov. 7, 1917 the Bolsheviks seize the government in St. Petersburg.

Government officials are arrested.

Lenin is the dictator.

REASONS FOR LENIN’S SUCCESS People wanted an immediate end to

WWI, which the Bolsheviks supported. Discipline among the military was low;

no troop support for officers People expected immediate solutions to

Russia’s economic problems.

When the provisional government (after the czar abdicated) couldn’t deliver, people supported Lenin & the Bolsheviks.

RUSSIAN CIVIL WAR (1918-1921) Leon Trotsky organized the Red Army,

the military of the Bolsheviks. Opponents of the Bolsheviks were called

the “Whites.” They had the support of the Allies including the U.S.

Communists won.

Trotsky

RUSSIA BECOMES COMMUNIST Capital moved from St. Petersburg to

Moscow. Lenin died in 1924. Country renamed Union of Soviet

Socialist Republics (USSR) Central government controlled the 10

republics in the federation. People still have no voice.

COMMUNIST USSR – WAR COMMUNISM (CIVIL WAR) Nationalized Russian industry Demanded peasants give surplus crops

to the government People were forced to work No incentives to produce The economy went into steep decline.

COMMUNIST USSR The government abandons “war

communism” in favor of the New Economic Policy.

Retreat from communism so people wouldn’t overthrow the communist government.

Allowed some capitalism Economy recovers somewhat.

STRENGTHENING OF THE USSR Power struggle

between Leon Trotsky and Jozef Stalin.

Stalin won out, established as dictator 1927.

FIVE YEAR PLANS Government

production goals.

Turn back to socialism.

Shortages Inefficient Mismanagement

Resistance from the people.

Stalin cracks down.

Secret police Abuse p. 554. Famine

RESULTS OF 5 YEAR PLANS Some Western countries turned to

planned economies in the wake of the Great Depression

The state tightened its grip over the Russian people.

No liberty.

REIGN OF TERROR Stalin’s purges – 800,000 Communist

party members murdered. Attempt to wipe out Christianity. Read

Lenin quote page 555. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIj9B

dkS46E&feature=related

From a documentary on Stalin’s Purges.

SPREAD OF COMMUNISM The goal of the

Soviets was to spread communism to the rest of the world.

Comintern – Communist International stirred up discontent in other countries to foment revolutions.

FASCISM IN ITALY & GERMANY

ITALY Fascism (German fascism is called nazism.) The fascists feared communism and

promised stability & security. People’s lives are restricted and

controlled by the government in almost all aspects in both communist and fascist countries.

COMPARING:

Communism Fascism

Industry owned by government

Seeks a classless, international society

“Dictatorship of the Proletariat”

Ideally, the state will wither away and become unnecessary

Business privately owned, controlled by government

Nationalistic society

Governed by a military dictatorship

Glorifies the state

ITALIAN DISAPPOINTMENT After WWI:

Italy wanted to dominate the Adriatic Sea. Italy wanted control of Albania Italy wanted some of Germany’s former

colonies. (Britain & France took them.) Italians feared communist agitators.Socialists paralyzed the government.Little land was available to the poor.Strikes by labor unions brought industry to

a standstill.

ITALY Italy had lost

500,000 men in WWI and gained little in return.

Economy was in trouble: strikes, inflation, unemployment, debt.

Benito Mussolini

MUSSOLINI Son of a

blacksmith Young socialist Jailed because of

violent newspaper articles

Supported Italy’s involvement in WWI.

FASCIST PARTY Took its name

from the fasces the symbol of power and authority in the ancient Roman empire.

A fascist fez with the symbol of the fasces, worn by the Black Shirts

FASCIST RISE IN ITALY October 1922, the

fascists marched on Rome and demanded King Victor Emmanuel II to appoint Mussolini as premier (ruler) of Italy.

The king acquiesced.

MUSSOLINI & THE FASCIST STATE Turned Italy into totalitarian state. Appointed fascists to government

positions. Maintained “appearance” of a

representative government.

MUSSOLINI & THE FASCIST STATE The Party was the

real source of power.

Fascist Grand Council (20 people and Il Duce (Mussolini, the “Leader”)

Goal: Make italy economically self-sufficient.

MUSSOLINI No clearly defined political program. Suppressed freedom of speech, freedom

of the press, and opposition. “The fascist spirit is will, not intellect.”

LATERAN TREATIES Mussolini negotiated a truce with the

Roman Catholic Church. The pope agreed to recognize the Italian

government and relinquish claims on former papal lands in Italy.

Mussolini gave the pope $$$ and established an independent state known as Vatican City.

The pope rules Vatican City, and it is a separate country to this day.

VATICAN CITY

POST WWI GERMANY Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated at the end of

WWI. Weimar Republic established with a

constitution. Elections held for representatives and a

president. The president appointed a chancellor

from the party with the most members in the legislature.

GERMANY The legislature was called the Reichstag. The chancellor appointed a cabinet. Weimar constitution granted freedom of

speech, press, & religion.

Flag of Weimar Republic

WEAKNESSES OF THE WEIMAR REPUBLIC Germans were apathetic and didn’t

support the government. The people had no experience in self-

government. They had no attachment to republican

ideals. Numerous political parties meant none

had a majority, so they had to share power.

The weaknesses helped pave the way for Adolf Hitler to rise to power.

ADOLF HITLER Rejected as an

artist Deemed unfit to

fight for Austria in WWI

Volunteered for service in Bavarian Reserve

Wounded, promoted, 2 Iron Crosses

Joined the National Socialists (Nazis) in 1920

Became the leader of the Nazi party

Party formed the SA (storm troopers, brown shirts) to “preserve order” at their rallies.

Hitler felt threatened by the SA and had it purged, killing some of the leaders.

He created the elite guard, the SS, to protect Hitler and later to function as a secret police (Gestapo) to root out opposition and to manage the system of concentration camps.

The leader of the SS was Heinrich Himmler.

1923 Hitler was arrested after leading an insurrection (Beer Hall Putsch) to overthrow the Weimar Republic.

While in prison he wrote Mein Kampf, outlining his plans for Germany.Blamed Jews for Germany’s problemsDemanded the renunciation of the Treaty of

VersaillesClaimed the German people were a master

race.

Made speeches and gained public support.

Propaganda campaign to gain support.

Symbolism was important to the Nazis.

REASONS FOR HITLER’S RISE TO POWER Weakness of the Weimar Republic “War Guilt” Clause of the Treaty of

Versailles Inflation & Unemployment Anti-communist sentiments Hitler’s charisma, personal leadership,

and use of propaganda techniques

HOW DID HE GAIN POWER? By 1932, the Nazi Party had the largest

number of members in the Reichstag. President Paul von Hindenburg asked

Hitler, as leader of the largest party, to join a coalition government as vice-chancellor.

Hitler refused, so the Germans were unable to form a government.

New elections were held in November; Nazis gained FEWER votes than in July elections.

Nevertheless, Hitler demanded to be named chancellor.

President Hindenburg felt he had no choice and appointed Hitler chancellor on Jan. 30, 1933.

INCREASING HIS POWER Hitler called for new

elections in March. A mysterious fire broke

out in the Reichstag. Hitler blamed

Communists to whip up fear.

Nazis failed to get a majority, but managed to pass the Enabling Act, making Hitler dictator and suspending the republic.

Third Reich

GERMANY UNDER NAZI RULE Hitler blamed the Jews for the defeat in

WWI. Accused the Jews of corrupting the pure

Aryan race. He called them “wretched” and “the

enemy of the human race.”

KRISTALLNACHT

GHETTOS

(3) Elchanan Elkes, letter to his son and daughter living in London (19th October, 1943)

I am writing these lines, my dear children, in the vale of tears of Vilijampole, Kovno Ghetto, where we have been for over two years. We have now heard that in a few days our fate is to be sealed. The ghetto is to be crushed and torn asunder.Whether we are all to perish or whether a few of us are to survive, is in God's hands. We fear that only those capable of slave labor will live; the rest, probably, are sentenced to death.

We are left, a few out of many. Out of the thirty-five thousand Jews of Kovno, approximately seventeen thousand remain; out of a quarter of a million Jews in Lithuania (including the Vilna district), only twenty-five thousand live plus five thousand who, during the last two days, were deported to hard labor in Latvia, stripped of all their belongings. The rest were put to death in terrible ways by the followers of the greatest Haman of all times and of all generations. Some of those dear and close to us, too, are no longer with us. Your Aunt Hannah and Uncle Arich were killed with 1,500 souls of the ghetto on October 4,1941. Uncle Zvi, who was lying in the hospital suffering from a broken leg, was saved by a miracle. All the patients, doctors, nurses, relatives, and visitors who happened to be there were burned to death, after soldiers had blocked all the doors and windows of the hospital and set fire to it. In the provinces, apart from Siauliai, no single Jew survives. Your Uncle Dov and his son Shmuel were taken out and killed with the rest of the Kalvaria community during the first months of the war, that is, about two years ago.

Due to outer forces and inner circumstance, only our own ghetto has managed to survive and live out its diaspora life for the past two years, in slavery, hard labor, hunger, and deprivation. (Almost all our clothing, belongings, and books were taken from us by the authorities.) The last massacre, when ten thousand victims were killed at one time, took place on

October 28, 1941. Our total community had to go through the "selection" by our rulers: life or death. I am the man who, with my own eyes, saw those about to die. I was there early on the morning of October 29, in the camp that led to the slaughter at the Ninth Fort. With my own ears I heard the awe-inspiring and terrible symphony, the weeping and screaming of ten thousand people, old and young-a scream that tore at the heart of heaven. No ear had heard such cries through the ages and the generations. With many of our martyrs, I challenged my creator; and with them, from a heart torn in agony, I cried: "Who is like you in the universe, my Lord!" In my effort to save people here and there, I was beaten by soldiers. Wounded and bleeding, I fainted, and was carried in the arms of friends to a place outside the camp. There, a small group of about thirty or forty survived to witnesses to the fire.

CONCENTRATION CAMPS & DEATH CAMPS

WHY DIDN’T THE CHURCH HELP? Nazis closed church-run schools. Pastors and others who opposed the

Nazi state were arrested.

WHY DIDN’T THE CHURCH HELP? Sadly, some German Protestants

supported Hitler.“The swastika on our breasts, the Cross in

our hearts.”Some discarded the Bible because it was

written by Jews.Only Aryans could be church members.Said Jesus wasn’t really a Jew.Hitler was seen as the “second messiah.”

Romans 1:25They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.

NAZI FOUR YEAR PLANS End unemployment through

rearmament (build the military) Create public works projects –

autobahnen Make Germany economically self-

sufficient (strikes illegal, set wages & settle labor disputes)

Indoctrinate young people – Hitler Youth Result: a very strong totalitarian

state

ERA OF DISILLUSIONMENT

DISILLUSIONMENT Artists reacted against the

industrialization of society. Rejected conventional art forms. Embraced new, experimental

techniques. Reflected the death and destruction

of the war period. Expressed feelings of despair. Portrayed a pessimistic and

disjointed view of man, his world, and the future.

PAINTING - EXPRESSIONISM Expressionism –

paint how one feels

Henri Matisse Color is the real

subject. Expresses

emotion

“Vase of Sunflowers”--Matisse

The ScreamBy Edvard Munsch

PAINTING - CUBISM Figures reduced to

various geometric shapes.

Portray several perspectives at once.

Deliberately tried to shock the viewer.

Pablo Picasso“Femme”- Picasso

ARCHITECTURE New building materials (concrete, glass,

steel) Skyscrapers Sense of openness

SKYSCRAPER Louis Sullivan –

developer of the skyscraper.

Design of a building should match its purpose.

Wainwright Skyscraper in St. LouisBy Louis Sullivan

FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT

Kaufmann House, “Falling Water”

Guggenheim Museum in NYCBy Frank Lloyd Wright

MUSIC Igor Stravinsky –

father of modern music, polytonality

The Rite of Spring

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1anfbfOHozk&feature=related

Jazz – dissonance

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITbuFIG4Xvc

LITERATURE T.S. Eliot – “The

Waste Land,” portrays desolation and meaninglessness of modern life.

James Joyce – Irish

Stream of consciousness

William Faulkner

FROM “THE WASTE LAND”Here is no water but only rockRock and no water and the sandy roadThe road winding above among the mountainsWhich are mountains of rock without waterIf there were water we should stop and drinkAmongst the rock one cannot stop or thinkSweat is dry and feet are in the sandIf there were only water amongst the rockDead mountain mouth of carious teeth that cannot spitHere one can neither stand nor lie nor sitThere is not even silence in the mountainsBut dry sterile thunder without rainThere is not even solitude in the mountainsBut red sullen faces sneer and snarlFrom doors of mudcracked houses…

Why were people disillusioned? What ideals had they believed in

previously that were destroyed by World War I, the world wide economic depression, and the rise of totalitarian governments?

What is the Biblical view of the reason bad things happen? (Genesis 3)