How did the great depression contribute to Germany’s role in causing WW2?

How did the great depression contribute to Germany’s role in causing WW2?

Introduction.

The great depression refers to the decline in the global economy that resulted in widespread poverty and mass unemployment. It lasted from 1929 to 1939. It originated in the United States of America (USA) after the Black Tuesday (so named because the crash of the stock market occurred on that day). The industrial base of industrialized countries was destroyed, thus reducing the volume of the international trade. This impeded construction. Also, crop prices plummeted, thereby causing farmers to make massive losses. Western European nations faced an impending economic collapse, as the political class was unable to manage the impact of the slowdown of the global economy (Frank 98).

The great depression provided an opportunity for the Nazi party to take power in Germany, and thereafter ensure that Germany rescinded on its obligation, as outlined by the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, and thereby remilitarize after a short period of massive rearmament. The Nazis then pursued their quest for territorial expansions, which ultimately contributed to Germany causing the Second World War (Carlsten 80).

The great depression and, the role of Germany in the Second World War.

Historians have shown that there exists a complex relationship between the great depression, the collapse of the Weimar Republic, appeasement of the Nazis, and the role of Germany in causing World War II (Carlsten 31). The great depression contributed to Germany’s role in causing World War II through interplay of six main factors. These factors are discussed below.

1.      Loans advanced to the Weimar Republic.

            The recall of the short-term credit advanced to the German republic by the American government contributed to the bankruptcy of the Weimar republic as is explained below. This bankruptcy created conditions that were favorable for the ultimate collapse of the Weimar republic and the concurrent rise of Nazism.

In 1923, Germany experienced hyperinflation and a looming economic collapse. Germany turned to the US for financial assistance. The Weimar government was then able to sustain the vibrancy and vitality of the German economy using the loans provided by the US government. These loans were offered as part of the Dawes and Young plans. However, the Wall Street crash and the subsequent great depression drained the coffers of the US government. As a way of raising money for her national coffers, the US asked Germany to repay her loans. Devoid of sources of foreign cash injections, the government of the Weimar republic went bankrupt; and Germany’s economy collapsed. Industries closed, and most industrial workers were laid off. This created mass unemployment and disillusionment with the political class (Weitz 336).

The disillusionment of the unemployed German males, who shouldered family responsibility, inclined them to join the extreme political parties (such as the Nazi party and the German Communist party) which offered hope to the people. Fear of a communist takeover of the government forced wealthy German businessmen to finance the Nazi party, which was then seen as a bulwark against communism. Hence, the Nazi party emerged from the fringe of German politics to become one of the main parties in Germany (Hermann 72).

Ultimately, the Nazis took power, and the economic policies of Nazism stabilized the German economy and created employment for the entire German workforce.  German industries need cheap raw materials in order for them to sustain a healthy German economy. The Nazi government decided to invade Poland, which was as a potential source of raw materials. The invasion of Poland in 1939 marked the beginning of the Second World War. Hence, the great depression created a favorable environment for the rise of Nazism, and the Nazi government invaded Poland in order to avert economic collapse that would have occurred had the supplies of raw materials dried up (Burleigh 27).

2.      Unemployment.

The great depression created economic turmoil in Western Europe and the USA. The economic turmoil led to the collapse of industries, and massive layoffs of workers. This created unemployment at an unprecedented scale. The political class of the respective countries was unable to appropriately address the issue of unemployment, and therefore there was mass disillusionment among the civilian populations. This created domestic crisis. The western nations were pre-occupied with their domestic crisis, and they were thus unable to notice the threat posed by the development of fascism (Carlsten 57).

Also, the disillusioned populations were attracted to the extremists’ parties, and they enabled such extremists’ parties to take power. Thus, unemployment enabled the political system to be radicalized. This is exemplified by the fact that extreme right-wing parties were able to take power in about 25 countries during the period of the great depression. In Germany, the Nazi party advocated racial superiority and eugenics, which meant that the superior race had a responsibility to subjugate and destroy members of the inferior races, and thereafter confiscate their properties and land. This was the basis of lebensraum. Such message reverberated well with the disillusioned masses. Also, after coming to power, the Nazi party masked the true intentions of German militarization by stating that remilitarization would enable Germany to get out of the great depression. The well-armed Wehrmacht was thereafter able to pursue the Nazi policy of lebensraum, which ultimately led to the commencement of the Second World War (Weitz 337).

3.      National politics.

The great depression created a domestic crisis in Germany. Aspiring politicians found it rewarding to stir up people emotions by stating that the German nation was being sabotaged by an invisible ever-present enemy. Such statements gave the politician an edge of political mileage as the national psyche of Germany was permeated with the concepts of betrayal and disillusionment (Carlsten 69).

Nazi politicians stated that the treaty of Versailles was unnecessarily harsh and cruel to the German people. They pointed out to the fact that the reparations payments had caused the hyperinflation and economic crisis. These politicians stated that the current domestic crisis was created by the same nations that formulated the treaty of Versailles. The treaty of Versailles was hated in Germany, and most Germans accused it of causing the economic mess that Germany found itself in after the First World War. Moreover, the Nazi politicians used the Jews as the scapegoats for Germany’s problems. These politicians openly stated that the Jews sabotaged German’s war effort during World War I, and that the international Jews had hand-twisted the American government into withholding credit that was supposed to be given to Germany. Hence, it is clear that some German politicians used the crisis created by the great depression to advocate hatred against foreign nations, foreign treaties and the Weimar’s republic foreign policy (Burleigh 151).

Moreover, Nazi politicians stated that Germany should regain its dignity using any way possible. These politicians advocated the concepts of racial superiority of the Aryan race and the need for the German people to subjugate the inferior people. Such sentiments enabled some of these politicians to be elected into the Reichstag, where they sought to right the perceived injustices of the treaty of Versailles by invading and punishing the nations that were parties in that treaty. Therefore, Germany adopted an aggressive stance after the Nazis took power, and this aggressiveness was never placated by the adopted policy of appeasement; and ultimately Germany started the Second World War in order to regain her national pride and dignity (Burleigh 153).

4.      Territorial expansion.

The great depression and its effects on the German economy convinced some German philosophers, foreign-policy experts and politicians that there was a need for Germany to create its own empire, which would insulate Germany from the uncertainties of the global financial market. Such an empire would act as a secure source of raw materials, cheap labor and ready market for German goods. Principles for the creation of such an empire were laid down in the lebensraum. Thus, the economic crisis resulting from the great depression laid down the foundation for the acceptance of the philosophy of lebensraum by the German people. Attempts to achieve this lebensraum led to the Second World War (Carlsten 91).

5.      Self-interest and self-preservation.

The great depression led to the adoption of protectionist policies by most industrialized countries. The stated aim for enacting such protectionist policies was that protectionism will ensure that the self-interests of the nation are protected in accordance to the principles of self-preservation. Protectionism decreased the volume of international trade, and in the process gradually destroyed international relations among nations. This led to a lack of co-operation among nations in the League of Nations. Thus, they could not find a collective solution to the great depression. Moreover, the League of Nations was unable to prevent and punish territorial aggressions of Italy and Japan. This led to the incapacitation of the League of Nations (Burleigh 231).

The Nazi leadership in Germany perceived this incapacitation as a sign that their aggression would not be condemned or punished. This enabled Germany to annex territories from neighboring countries. This annexation was met with a muted response from the League of Nations. This increased the boldness of the Nazi leadership, and they decided to annex Poland, an act that led to the Second World War. Hence, the great depression promoted self-interest and self-preservation thus causing the collapse of international co-operation, and promoting territorial aggression which ultimately culminated in a world war (Burleigh 245).

6.      Weakening of traditional European powers.

The great depression weakened the economies of the two traditional European powers: Britain and France. None of these countries wanted a confrontation with Nazi Germany and they adopted the policy of appeasement in order to avoid another European war. Their economies could not support any other war. The Nazi leadership noticed this weakness, and they exploited it to get the maximum concessions from these nations, for instance, Germany negotiated its way out of its obligations under the treaty of Versailles, and it also asserted its right to militarization. Hence, the overall weakness and the noncommittal nature of the foreign policies of France and Britain enabled the relatively strong German nation to invade its neighbors, thereby causing the Second World War. The weakness and ambiguity of the foreign policies were due to the near-total economic collapse caused by the great depression (Carlsten 111).

Conclusion.

The great depression destroyed the industrial base of developed nations thereby reducing international trade. This caused the Weimar republic to go bankrupt, and the ensuing domestic crisis enabled the Nazis to seize power. The great depression contributed to Germany’s role in causing World War II through interplay of the factors stated hereafter. First, discontinuation of loans to the Weimar Republic led to economic collapse and the rise of Nazism. Secondly, the economic collapse caused mass unemployment and disillusionment with liberal governments. Thirdly, German politicians used the crisis created by the great depression to advocate hatred against foreign nations, foreign treaties and the Weimar’s republic foreign policy. Also, the economic crisis resulting from the great depression laid down the foundation for the acceptance of the philosophy of lebensraum by the German people. Moreover, the great depression promoted self-interest and self-preservation thus causing the collapse of international co-operation, and promoting territorial aggression which ultimately culminated in a world war. Finally, great depression weakened the economies of France and Britain thereby removing the major bulwark against German military resurgence. The resurgence of the German military led to the Second World War.

Works cited.

Frank, Robert. Principles of Macroeconomics. Boston: McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2007. Print.

Weitz, Eric. Weimar Germany: Promise and Tragedy. Princeton: Princeton University Press,

            2007. Print.

Hermann, Beck. The Fateful Alliance: German Conservatives and Nazis in 1933: The

            Machtergreifung in a New Light. New York: Routledge, 2008. Print.

Burleigh, Michael. The Third Reich: A New History. London: Pan MacMillan, 2001.Print.

Carlsten, Francis. The Rise of Fascism. San Francisco: University of California Press, 1982.

 Print.