The 1930s Crisis and the Rise of Totalitarianism
The Crisis of the 1930s
1. The Crack of the New York Stock Exchange
The stock was very overrated. It was enough that investors knew this fact, so they wanted to sell and recover their money. This is what happened in October 1929, when there was a massive sale of stocks on Wall Street (home of the New York Stock Exchange). Thirteen million shares were sold in one day, prompting the collapse of its value. Millions of people lost their fortunes or their savings. It was the stock market crash in New York.
2. The Great Depression
The effect of the stock market crash of New York extended to London’s stock exchange and then the rest of Europe, which had serious consequences. The United States defended its products to the outside. This protectionism adversely affected trade relations and the economy. The Americans recovered the invested capital in Europe. Investment ceased, which caused the closure of companies, and in turn, caused the bankruptcy of banks. The effects of bankruptcy led to the increase in the number of unemployed workers. There was an unprecedented economic depression.
3. The Fight Against Depression in the New Deal
The United States was one of the countries most affected. Faced with this situation, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt presented a program (New Deal) to exit the crisis. The measures were:
- Aid to farmers by paying subsidies and indemnities.
- Unemployment benefits.
- Increased wages and reduced working hours.
- Intervention in the banks by the state.
- Investment in public works.
The Rise of Totalitarianism
1. Fascist Totalitarianism
Italian and German totalitarianism gained the support of all social classes and managed to create a mass movement. In both, a totalitarian state was introduced that opposed liberal democracy, rejecting it as ineffective in addressing the economic crisis. They rejected socialism, communism, and the labor movement. They used strategies to terrorize and manipulate the masses. The methods of action were:
- Worship of a charismatic leader.
- Establish a social hierarchy divided into corporations.
- Preferentially exalt military labor: militarism.
- Resorting to nationalism and revanchism.
- Show degenerated into racism.
2. Italian Fascism
During the interwar period in Italy, there was a situation of social disorder that weakened the democratic system, and Mussolini rose to power. It was characterized by:
- Internal policy was imposed in the absolute power of Mussolini: the great advice to the fascist parliament.
- Ultranationalist ideology translated into aggressive action in society.
- Corporatism was promoted, and labor rights were terminated.
3. Nazi Totalitarianism
The crisis left Germany in a difficult economic and social situation in the 1930s. In 1933, the National Socialist leader Adolf Hitler imposed a dictatorship and founded the Third Reich. He joined the winners of the First World War and was characterized by racism and a fanatic anti-Semitism.
- Pan-Germanism Interior Policy: Birth control with a political police party (Gestapo).
- Foreign Policy: Withdrawal from the Treaty of Versailles.
- Autarkic policies in the economy through investment in public works.
- Promotion of a high birth rate in society.