The Chaos of the Interwar Period

Paper Summary:

The paper examines the social and political struggles in various European countries and America during the Twenties. It describes the social crises and class conflicts that led to the rise of communism in Russia, the chaos in Germany, and the rise of fascism in Italy. The paper also describes the growth of nationalism around Europe and in America, and their contributions to the general chaos. It reviews the economic collapse of the Great Depression of the Thirties, and concludes that this was the last straw, plunging the world into a state of desperation and leading to bloodshed in World War II.

From the Paper:

"The class conflict in the interwar years did create massive chaos in Europe. Prior to World War I, parliamentary democracy appeared to have been sweeping through Europe, with Russia beginning to establish parliamentary institutions and Italy extending suffrage to all adult males. Indeed, "the war that ended with the victory of the democracies might have been expected to confirm the superiority of the parliamentary form of government." (1) However, with the Russian revolution of 1917 establishing the Bolsheviks in power, democracy seemed endangered. The prosperity of the pre-war calm was merely a myth, as Marxist teachings had grown popular in such regions as Germany, with the Social Democratic Party, in Britain with the British Labour movement, and in France. However, these movements, as reactions to the exploitation and sharp division of socio-economic classes growing out of the mass industrialization of the nineteenth century, first caused sweeping change in Russia, a nation backwards in terms of Europe, with legalized slavery in the form of serfdom. By appealing not to workers, but severely disenfranchised peasants, the Communists achieved victory."

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