Group posting: Why the Great Depression led to WWII

The Great Depression was the worldwide economic downturn from 1929 to 1939, starting in USA and spreading to Europe. The economic disaster led to people turning to extreme leaders, eventually resulting in Hitler taking power in Germany. Thus, we can argue that the Great Depression was the key factor behind WWII.

It started in USA, where the stock market crash on October 29, 1929, also known as Black Tuesday, resulted in a domino effect throughout the world. Because of Black Tuesday, several investors were ruined due to their investments losing value drastically. Banks could not collect their debts and by 1933, 11 thousand of the 25 thousand banks in USA had collapsed. As the economy in USA worsened, consumers were spending less, to save up for the bad times. Production in industries were cut because of the reduced buying of goods. Consequently, people lost their jobs as companies reduced their production. By 1932, US manufacturing output fell to only 54% of the 1929 level, and unemployment rose to 25-30% of the workforce.

In Europe, Germany was hit the most badly. Because USA was facing great economic difficulties, they cut their loans to Germany. Germany, under the Weimar Republic, thus could not rebuild after WWI. With increasing unemployment and economic problems, the people turned to Adolf Hitler and the Nazis for extreme leadership as a solution.

In France, the situation was much better, with only some rioting, because the Treaty of Versailles had provided France with the means to support themselves.

In Britain, unemployment doubled, and trade fell by 50%. However, the Conservative Party managed to replace the Labour-led government, instead of an extremist party.

The Great Depression, thus, led to the Second World War, because the economy in Europe, and especially Germany, was crippled. The result was people turning to extreme parties for leadership, and the rise of Hitler, and with him, the beginning of WWII.

Resources:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/660629/causes_and_effects_of_the_great_depression_pg3.html?cat=3

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Depression_in_the_United_Kingdom
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Depression

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_great_depression

How the Great Depression Led to the Second World War

Yo!

heres my contribution.

Firstly, the GD was a very difficult period for many people. And radical times caused for desperate measures. The general atmosphere of poverty and slum led to political instability. The people were upset that the government were unable to alleviate the situation. As such, political upheavals were common. It was amidst this atmosphere of uncertainty that Adolf Hitler rose to power. The people were living in povert and were desperate for change! Little did that know that Hitler would go on to wage war against the other nations.

The GD had a negative impact on Europe, and many countries were hit and destabilized. Germany, still recovering from defeat afterWWI, had their recovery funds cut off as theUnited States were having problems with their own economy. As such, people turned to the extremist Hitler for leadership. With his rise to power in January 1933, the stage was arguably already set for the Second World War.

This post is derived from:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/660629/causes_and_effects_of_the_great_depression_pg3.html?cat=3

Origins of the Great Depression

The Great Depression was a worldwide economic downturn that began around 1929 and lasted until around 1939. It was the most severe economic slump during the 20th century. The Great Depression began in the United States and many historians believe that it can be traced to the catastrophic collapse of the stock market crash on October 29, 1929 or also known as Black Tuesday.

Stock prices fell drastically overnight, and many investors rushed to sell their stocks. This resulted in a sharp fall in stock values and many investors were ruined. As the value of these assets dipped, banks started to recall their loans and when they failed to do so, many had to close down. By 1933, 11,000 of the 25,000 banks in USA had failed. This failure of the banks and dip in confidence in the economy resulted in consumers cutting back on their spending, and thus encouraged less production. As a result, unemployment levels shot up and by 1932, US manufacturing output had fallen to 54 percent of its 1929 level, and unemployment had risen to 12 to 15 million workers, or 25-30 percent of the workforce.

Sources:
http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/depression/about.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Depression

Effects of Great Depression on Europe

As with the effects on USA, Europe faced great economic difficulties during the Great Depression. Also, USA's reduced trading with foreign countries worsened the situation in Europe. Heavy industries were hit hard, and people turned to extremists like Hitler and Mussolini for political change. This led to WWII.

In France, the effects were not drastic enough, since they were quite self-sufficient as a result of the Treaty of Versailles compensating for their losses in WWI. There were, however, some rioting.

However, in Germany, the Weimar Republic faced more problems. Because USA stopped their loads to Germany, German economy could not rebuild, and unemployment went up. The problems and unhappiness of the people led to Hitler's rise to power.

Britain was also hit badly, and the unemployment rate went up by more than 100%, while trade fell to about half. However, even though the Labour party-led government was overthrown, the Conservative Party took over and there was no mass support of extremist parties.

The Great Depression, therefore, caused economic downturns in Europe and led to several political changes. It was in Germany that Nazism took over as a result and led to WWII.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Depression_in_the_United_Kingdom

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Depression

Effects of the Great Depression on the USA

Hi everyone,

here are the findings based on my preliminary research online. And here are some effects of the GE.

With the onset of the Great Depression, investors and companies experienced a negative profit margin on their stocks, investments, and other businesses. As such, they were unable to pay back their loans from the banks. This situation led to the fall collapse of a fifth of the banks in America. This also meant that people were unable to withdraw their money from their bank accounts.

Another problem that surfaced was unemployment. Nearly one in four Americans were out of their jobs by 1933. Thirteen million people lost their jobs.

Certain industries were severely affected. Mining, logging and agriculture took the biggest hit.

The people were affected as well. Children were malnourished and diseases such as tuberculosis were rampant. It was a period of hardship.

Thats all for now guys!

My sources are from:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_great_depression

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/660629/causes_and_effects_of_the_great_depression_pg3.html?cat=3

Organization of team roles

Ok guys, now that we've got the blog all set up, here's how we're going to do this. We're supposed to
research on "Great Depression" as a cause of WWII. Let's split this up into four parts:

1) Origins of Great Depression - Me
2) Effects on USA - Alice
3) Effects on the rest of the world - Hamzah
4) How Great Depression led to WWII - Vignesh

Try to use Mr Chua's links first to source for material.
Post your findings in a new thread each, according to your assigned area.

John

History group project

Hi guys!! Our blog's up and running!