Lecture:Interbellum

Exactly, no one really would. Except maybe Russia.

Excellent job as always! Perhaps you could've said that the IRA was responsible for Mountbattens death

You're again "Thatamericanguy!  Weren't you for a while General Sherman?

I had been referencing Mountbatten's death by the IRA in almost every folder how could you miss that?

Sorry guys, we won't be talking about the Middle East today. There just isn't enough to cover for a whole lecture. So that stuff will be for next time.

But today, we will be talking about the Rise of Fascism. We'll be covering a few examples of fascism in Europe and the conflicts they started, as well as a few notable attempts to create a fascist state in other countries.

First, the Italian State:






After WWI, Italy fell into chaos. The war had caused massive instability in the country and they needed a strong leader to lead them. That leader was Benito Mussolini, head of the Fascista party. He was given absolute power in 1925, and created a totalitarian state. His secret police, the Blackshirts, hunted down any and all opposition of the regime and silenced it. He turned Italy into a modern industrial state during his rule. Many actually praised Mussolinis rapid industrialization which turned Italy away from an Agrarian society, including some American capitalists. The Great Depression actually did not hit Italy too hard due to the mass employment needed for the mass industrialization. In 1935, Italy invaded the African kingdom of Abyssinia. They annexed the country in 1936 and put down all virtually all resistance by 1937. They succeeded in the war using utter brutality. Other noteworthy events:The Italians brutally out down resistance in Libya, again through brutality, slaughtering Libyans left and right. Finally, in 1938, Germany annexed Austria. Mussolini was pissed because Austria was an important trading partner with Italy and was an ally. 

Next off, Germany and Hungary.






After WWI, Germany and Hungary lost a huge amount of land and, in Germany's case, had to pay a bunch of reparations. After WWI, the Weimar Republic was established and was an extremely weak Republic. After the Great Depression, up rest grew and more people grew radical and supported the Nazi party, a fascist party which was anti-Semite. In 1933, Adolf Hitler was voted into government by a majority of votes (Not a majority of the population. Only like 40% voted for Hitler but because of all the different parties involved the Nazis still won the election). Hitler and Hindenburg ruled a government together until Hindenburg died in 1933 and Hitler declared himself supreme leader of Germany. Hitler, just like Mussolini, started more social projects which employed more people. Roads were created which would allow for quick transportation of troops and trucks, military equipment was created which went against the Treaty of Versailles, and bridges were built for, again, transport of troops, only over rivers and water. Hitler also used propaganda on a grand scale. Mussolini had used Propaganda, but not to the extent of Hitler. Nazi propaganda permeated all throughout Germany. Hitler also expanded his borders, taking Austria in 1938 and taking control of Bohemia and Moravia later that year due to the Treaty of Munich. He also militarized the Rheinland, an important industrial hub, in 1936. In Hungary, Miklos Horthy came to power due to a disgruntled Hungarian population and followed Mussolini's General model. In 1938, he expanded Hungarian borders by asking over Carpatho Ukraine from CzechoSlovakia, as well as some Slovak land. 

Next, the Spanish Civil War and Francisco Franco.




In the early 30's, the Second Spanish Republic was established after a military junta in the 20's. The Great Depression made the republic very weak, however. Fascists gained more power, which made all the Leftist parties in Spain run on a coalition based platform in 1936. The leftist coalition won, which caused Fascist uprising throughout the country. Most of the generals the republic feared would support fascism were de facto exiled elsewhere, including Francisco Franco, who was sent to 'command' the Spanish forces in the Canary Islands. The first fascist rebellion took place in the Rif, as Spanish troops who were tired of fighting Morrocan guerrillas turned against the government. Franco went to the Rif, but wasn't able to get to the mainland due to the fact that the Spanish Navy remained loyal to the Republicans. So the Nationalists (Fascists) seeked support from Germany, Italy and Portugal (Run by Antonio Salazar). The Luftwaffe was sent to the Rif to transport the Nationalists to the mainland. While the Nationalists had the upper hand, the Republic still hand control of Madrid and Barcelona. The powers of Europe decided not to intervene in the war, but when it became apparent that Italy and Germany were still aiding the Nationalists, the USSR decided to intervene on behalf of the Republicans. Mexico also aided the Republicans, providing food stuff. The most support that the Republic got was actually volunteers from around the world such as America and England. The Luftwaffe bombed Spanish targets as practice, in one case obliterating the Basque town of Guernica. There was infighting between the republicans, between Communists, Anarchists, and Republicans. There were also atrocities committed by both sides. In 1938, the Nationalists took Barcelona, a key point of Spain, and took the capital, Madrid, in 1939, ending the war. The war destroyed Spain, and strengthened the position of Fascism in Europe. Franco became the El Caudillo (Leader) of Spain.

Finally, fascist attempts at taking over the government. 






In America, there was actually a plot to depose of FDR and replace him with a fascist government run by capitalists who would follow Italy's model and adopt the gold standard again. Thankfully it failed due to the officer they wanted to orchestrate the coup ratting them out. In the Netherlands, Anton Mussert ran the fascist party, but was unsuccessful. In Norway, Vidkun Quisling also tried to make Norway into a fascist state, but also failed. Why did these fail? More than likely because all these countries were stable and didn't have to deal with reprecusions like Germany or Spain did. Instability is a breeding ground for extremism. Also important to note:Anton Mussert, Quisling, and other fascist politicians in later Nazi occupied areas would became collaborators of the Nazis.

Next time, well wrap up this unit.

Could you explain Imperialism and Japan expansion in 1937?

I already talked about that in the failure of the League of the Nations, but I will talk about more about the Second Sino-Japanese War next time.