Telangana SSC Social - Interwa

Cheatsheet Content

### Introduction This cheatsheet outlines key events and developments in the world between World War I and World War II, as presented in the Telangana SSC Board Social Studies Class 10 Textbook, Chapter 12: "The World Between World Wars (1900-1950)". ### Key Timeline (1914-1945) - **1914:** Beginning of First World War - **1917:** Russian Revolution - **1918:** End of First World War - **1919:** Treaty of Versailles - **1922:** Formation of USSR - **1929:** Great Depression - **1933:** Hitler becomes the Chancellor of Germany - **1939:** Beginning of Second World War - **1945:** End of Second World War - **1945:** Formation of UNO ### First World War: Causes (1914-1918) - **Aggressive Nationalism:** Pride in one's nation and hatred for others. Italian Fascism (from 1923) and German Nazism were destructive forms. - **Imperialism:** European countries (Britain, Germany, US) needed raw materials, markets, and places to invest capital for industrial capitalism. This led to a race for colonies and tension over re-division of colonies. - **Secret Alliances:** - **Triple Alliance (1882):** Germany, Austria, Italy (Bismarck's alliance to isolate France). - **Triple Entente (1907):** Russia, France, Britain (formed to counter Triple Alliance). - These created an atmosphere of fear and 'armed peace'. - **Militarism:** Belief that military power ensures security. Massive standing armies, competition in weapons, and promotion of war as a solution. Military expenditure increased over threefold between 1880 and 1914. - **Balkan Politics:** Tense situation in the Balkan Peninsula (small kingdoms under Ottoman Turkey). Austria, Germany, Turkey, Russia competed for supremacy, with Russia and Turkey vying for control of the Black Sea and Mediterranean. Austria suppressed Serbian rebels in Bosnia. - **Immediate Cause (June 28, 1914):** Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary by a Bosnian Serb. Austria declared war on Serbia (July 28, 1914) after an unsatisfactory reply. - **Warring Sides:** - **Central Powers:** Austria, Germany (and their allies). - **Allied Powers:** Serbia, Britain, France, Russia. - **Key Events:** - Central Powers initially had the upper hand. - **1917:** Russia withdrew from the war due to internal revolution (treaty with Germany). - **1917:** USA joined Allied Powers after German troops sank its commercial ship Lusitania. - Allied Powers became victorious. ### The World After First World War - **The Treaty of Versailles (1919):** - Signed after WWI by victorious Allies (USA, UK, France, Italy, Japan). Socialist Russia and defeated powers (Germany, Austria, Turkey) were not invited. - Imposed heavy penalties on Germany: - Monetary: War indemnity/compensation. - Territorial: Lost colonies in Africa and European areas (Alsace and Lorraine) to France. - Military: Army strength reduced to 100,000 (from 900,000); restrictions on submarines and naval strength. - Dissolved Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman Turkey empires, creating new nation-states (Austria, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, Estonia, Latvia, Finland). German Empire broken, replaced by a democratic republic. Ottoman Empire replaced by Republic of Turkey. - **The League of Nations (1920):** - First international organization, established on January 11, 1920, to prevent future wars. - Aimed to settle disputes through negotiation, ensure disarmament, and work for development, labor welfare, and health. - Had 58 members but neither Russia nor Germany were invited. USA did not join. - Limited success; failed to prevent Germany, Japan, and Italy from violating international agreements and starting WWII. ### The Russian Socialist Revolution (1917-1922) - **Early 20th Century:** Russia ruled by Tsars (emperors), vast Euro-Asian power, third largest population, largely agricultural. - **Impact of WWI:** Russian economy suffered, two million soldiers and civilians died by 1917. Food shortages in cities. - **February/March Revolution (1917):** - **March 8 (February 23 Old Style):** Women workers in St. Petersburg protested for 'Peace and Bread'. Workers joined. - Tsar Nicholas II ordered suppression, but soldiers joined demonstrators. - Tsar abdicated; a Provisional Government was formed. - **October/November Revolution (1917):** - Provisional Government continued the war, causing public discontent. - People organized into Soviets (councils of soldiers, workers, rural people). - Bolsheviks (Russian Communist Party) led by Vladimir Lenin gained support by demanding peace, nationalization and redistribution of land, and control over prices and factories. - Soviets under Bolshevik leadership seized power from Provisional Government. - Immediately ended war and redistributed land. - **Civil War:** White armies (monarchists, anti-communists) supported by Britain, France, USA, Japan fought against Bolsheviks until 1920. Bolsheviks won. - End of Russian empire, nations granted independence (though many later joined USSR). - **Formation of USSR (1922):** Union of Soviet Socialist Republics established by the Soviet government of Russia. - **Rise of Stalin:** - **1924:** Lenin dies; Joseph Stalin consolidates power. - Established totalitarian control, suppressed opposition. - **1928:** Launched planned economic development with Five-Year Plans: rapid industrialization and collectivization of agriculture. - **1930s:** Great Purge (Great Terror) to eliminate opponents. - **Impact on the World:** Inspired movements for equality and national liberation globally. ### The Economic Depression (1929-1939) - **Beginning:** End of 1929, lasted until 1939 (start of WWII). - **Causes:** Decline in demand and fall in prices, leading to factory closures and unemployment. Cyclical effect of reduced purchasing power. - **Key Event:** Wall Street Stock Market Crash (USA) in October 1929. Affected almost every country. - **Consequences:** - Massive unemployment (25% in USA, 33% in other countries). - Reduced agricultural prices (up to 60%), pauperizing farmers. - Increased poverty, desolation, homelessness. - Political instability due to government failures. - **Theories on Causes/Solutions:** - **Marxist economists:** Crisis inherent to capitalism, preventable by socialism. - **JM Keynes:** State intervention needed to stimulate demand (invest funds, generate employment) to revive economy. - **Response in USA (New Deal):** - Franklin Roosevelt's program: Relief for victims, Reform of financial institutions, Economic Recovery through public works. - State expenditure on armaments during war boosted factory production. - Introduced social security system (universal retirement pensions, unemployment insurance, welfare benefits for handicapped/needy children). - **Response in Britain:** - Already had unemployment insurance and old-age pension schemes before Depression. - Adopted social security measures (unemployment doles, sickness coverage, health schemes, childcare) towards end of WWII. - Idea of a 'Welfare State' emerged: ensuring basic dignified life, food, housing, health, child/old age care, education, and employment for able-bodied citizens. ### Economic Depression in Germany - **Worst Hit:** Due to war damages and reparations. - **Inflation:** Government printed currency notes on a large scale, leading to hyperinflation (people needed carts of money for a loaf of bread). - **Impacts:** - Industrial production reduced to 40% of 1929 level by 1932. - Over 6 million unemployed. - Middle classes (salaried employees, pensioners, small businessmen) lost savings as currency value plummeted. - Fear of pauperization among middle classes. - Women unable to feed children. - Political instability. - **Nazi Exploitation:** Hitler and Nazis used this economic crisis and public despair to gain support, promising employment and restoration of dignity. ### Rise of Fascism and Nazism - **Post WWI Ideology:** Emerged in defeated countries, fueled by Treaty of Versailles and economic depression. - **Core Ideas:** - Extreme nationalism, unity, expansionism, military conquest. - Totalitarian state, dictatorial rule, suppression of opposition. - Worshipping of the state, strong leader (Hitler), mass mobilization. - Anti-communism, anti-liberalism. - State-controlled capitalism (though textbook mentions abolition of private industries, which is more communist). - Stronger nations have right/duty to expand territory. - **Timeline of Rise:** - **1922:** Benito Mussolini's Fascist Party gains power in Italy. - **1933:** Hitler's Nazi Party comes to power in Germany. - **1939:** General Franco comes to power in Spain after civil war. - Japan develops its own militarist ideology and campaigns in China, Korea. - **Hitler's Rise to Power:** - Powerful speaker, promised to undo Versailles injustice, restore dignity, provide employment, and fight 'foreign conspiracies'. - Used rituals and spectacle (rallies, Nazi salute, red banners with Swastika) to mobilize masses. - Targeted Jews, Gypsies, Communists, and Capitalists (seen as Jewish conspiracies). - Nazi Party votes increased from less than 2.6% (1928) to 37% (1932), becoming largest party. - **January 30, 1933:** Hitler appointed Chancellor. - **March 3, 1933 (Enabling Act):** Established dictatorship, gave Hitler powers to sideline Parliament, banned all political parties/trade unions except Nazis. - Established state control over economy, media, army, judiciary. - **Surveillance and Security Forces:** Gestapo (secret state police), SS (protection squads), criminal police, Security Service (SD) used to arrest, torture, and deport opponents (Communists, Jews, minorities). Built a state of horror and fear. - **Nazi Economic Recovery:** - Hjalmar Schacht responsible for economic recovery. - State-funded work-creation programs: German superhighways, Volkswagen. - Improved living standards for some Germans, but created "sub-human conditions" for persecuted groups. - Heavy investment in armaments for employment. - Required aggressive foreign policy and war to sustain. - **Nazi Indoctrination:** - Taught children racial superiority, greatness of Hitler, hatred for Jews. - Boys (6-10) underwent preliminary Nazi training, took loyalty oath to Hitler. - German Labour Front ensured continuous indoctrination from childhood to grave. - **Women under Nazis:** - Confined to traditional roles: childbearing, homemaking. - Seen as contributors to racial purity through motherhood ("eternal self-sacrifice"). - Hitler's rhetoric emphasized distinct spheres for men (courage on battlefield) and women (preserving the folk through children). - **Persecution of Jews:** - Targeted as main cause of problems. - Discriminatory laws (e.g., Nuremberg Laws 1935). - Arbitrary arrests, torture, concentration camps. - Jews were a small minority (0.75% of German population). ### Second World War: Causes (1939-1945) - **Underlying Causes:** Aggressive nationalism, militarism, imperialism, secret alliances (similar to WWI). - **Specific Contexts:** - **German Challenge:** Desire to undo Versailles Treaty, regain lost territories, restore dignity, control Central Europe, and end arms restrictions. Germany rebuilt massive army and armament industry (could only be served by war). - **Fear of Socialism/Russia:** Western capitalist countries (Britain) feared spread of socialism after Russian Revolution. Encouraged Hitler and Nazis as a bulwark against USSR (policy of 'appeasement'). - **Immediate Cause (September 1, 1939):** Germany invaded Poland (punishment for refusing to hand over Danzig port). - **Declarations of War:** Britain and France declared war on Germany (September 3, 1939) due to defense pact with Poland. - **Axis vs. Allied Powers:** - **Axis Powers:** Germany, Italy, Japan (supported each other's military conquests). - **Allied Powers:** England, USA, France, USSR. - **Key Events:** - **1941:** Japan attacked Pearl Harbor (USA). - **1942:** Hitler attacked USSR. - USA and USSR joined the war against Germany and Japan. ### Defeat and End of Second World War - **Turning Point:** German armies defeated at the Battle of Stalingrad (early 1943). - **End in Europe:** Soviet forces liberated Eastern Europe, captured Berlin. Hitler and associates committed suicide. - **Post-War Germany:** Divided into: - German Democratic Republic (GDR) - under USSR influence. - Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) - under USA influence. - **End in Asia:** Japan surrendered to USA after atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (August 1945). - **Post-War Japan:** USA occupied Japan but allowed Emperor to remain. Japan became a Constitutional Monarchy with an elected parliament (DIET). - **Nuremberg Trials:** Nazi generals and leaders tried for war crimes. Eleven leading Nazis sentenced to death, many imprisoned. Punishment considered minimal compared to brutality. ### Consequences of the World Wars - **Enormous Human Cost:** - WWI: ~10 million people killed. - WWII: ~20-25 million people killed. - Deadly race for nuclear and chemical weapons began. - **Political Changes:** - End of large monarchic empires (Austro-Hungarian, Russian, Ottoman, German). - Many new countries formed after WWI. - End of large colonial empires after WWII (India, China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, Nigeria gained independence by 1950). - Britain became a secondary power. - Emergence of two superpowers: USA and USSR. - **Democratic Principles Asserted:** - Danger of undemocratic governments recognized. - Increased need for democracy. - **Change in Balance of Power:** - Map of Eastern and Central Europe redrawn after WWI. - Ex-colonies became independent after WWII, changing global map. - **Enfranchisement of Women:** - Women gained right to vote (British women in 1918). - Increased participation in workforce during wars (factories, shops, offices, hospitals) as men were on battlefields. - Raised voices for equality. - **New International Organizations:** - **United Nations Organization (UNO) - 1945:** Established after WWII. - **Principles:** Preserving peace, upholding human rights, respecting international law, promoting social progress. - **Agencies:** UNICEF, UNESCO, WHO, ILO. - Managed to prevent wars and maintain peace, despite being accused of being a tool of great powers.