{"id":923,"date":"2017-11-01T16:26:54","date_gmt":"2017-11-01T16:26:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/schoolshistory.org.uk\/topics\/?page_id=923"},"modified":"2026-05-23T10:42:05","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T10:42:05","slug":"the-great-depression-global-issues","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/schoolshistory.org.uk\/topics\/world-history\/interwar-period-c1918-1945\/the-great-depression-global-issues\/","title":{"rendered":"The Great Depression: Global issues"},"content":{"rendered":"

What was the impact of the Depression on International Relations?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The\u00a0Great Depression<\/a>\u00a0that followed the\u00a0Wall Street Crash<\/a>\u00a0had a great impact on International relations. High levels of unemployment\u00a0contributed<\/span>\u00a0to an increase in extremism in many countries. Loans such as the Young Plan<\/a> that had been in place prior to the financial meltdown were no longer viable. The downturn in economic fortunes led some to look to history for reasons for, and solutions to, their problems.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Germany<\/p>\n

The mid to late 1920’s had seen a softening in attitude of the Allies towards Germany. Under the leadership of men such as\u00a0Gustav Stresemann<\/a>\u00a0the German nation began to recover economically and in terms of its International Reputation. In 1924\u00a0the Dawes Plan<\/a>\u00a0had been introduced. This provided loans to the Germans which enabled them to make their reparations payments; stablised their currency; provided\u00a0Allied<\/span>\u00a0support for the restructuring of the Reichsbank and promoted economic growth in Germany. Whilst making the German economy reliant on the US, it ensured that the German economy had the basis to recover and begin to prosper. As this recovery took place through the period 1924-1929 unemployment levels dropped and Germans enjoyed a cultural revival. The longer the revival lasted, the less some Germans dwelt on the end of the First World War<\/a>.\u00a0The Dawes Plan<\/a>\u00a0was replaced by a new plan to support the German economy in 1929. The new plan, the Young Plan, provided similar support to Germany as had been in\u00a0the Dawes Plan<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The changing attitude of the Allies in the 1920’s also helped to improve things. The Dawes Plan led to the removal of French and\u00a0Belgian<\/span>\u00a0troops from the Rhineland;\u00a0The Locarno Pact<\/a>\u00a0saw agreements relating to borders and allowed the admission of Germany into the League of Nations<\/a> and the Kellog-Briand Pact of 1928 saw a widespread renunciation of war. The economic boom of the 1920’s was contributing to warmer, more positive relations between countries.<\/p>\n

The Wall Street Crash<\/a>\u00a0and the subsequent worldwide depression changed the situation. No longer could the US afford to support the German economy to the same levels. As economies around the world suffered the consequences of the crash there were reductions in exports and a subsequent loss of jobs in many nations. Economically this was disastrous for Germany. The government tried and failed to tackle rising unemployment and more and more people looked to parties that offered\u00a0alternatives<\/span>\u00a0to the failing democratic system. These parties, particularly the right wing parties, were still angry about the terms of the Treaty of Versailles<\/a>. They saw reparations as unfair, the land losses unjustified, restrictions on the size of the\u00a0armed forces<\/span>\u00a0as humiliating. They vowed, if they ever got into power, to rectify the situation.<\/p>\n

The Depression also impacted on Japan. No longer were other nations buying Japanese goods in large quantities and as a result Japanese industry was struggling to source raw materials at affordable\u00a0prices<\/span>. In the past, when there had been economic problems in Japan, many people had chosen to migrate to America. However one US response to the Depression was to restrict the number of migrants allowed into the country. These issues led the Japanese to look for\u00a0alternative<\/span>\u00a0ways of ensuring that they were a powerful nation:\u00a0expansion<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Key Points:<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the prosperous mid to late 1920’s there was increased\u00a0communication<\/span>\u00a0between the Allies and the Germans.<\/p>\n

Financial aid was provided to Germany by the US under the Dawes and Young Plans. After the Wall Street Crash the US could not afford to support Germany in this way.<\/p>\n

The Depression was one of the main reasons why Hitler was able to get into power. The economic problems led to many Germans viewing the Peace settlement as a cause of the problems, leading to more assertive foreign policies.<\/p>\n

International Relations in the Inter-war Years<\/a><\/h3>\n

Treaty of Versailles, 1919<\/a> – League of Nations<\/a> – The Dawes Plan, 1924<\/a> – Locarno Pact<\/a> – Kellogg-Briand Pact<\/a> – The Young Plan<\/a> – Litvinov Protocol<\/a> – Wall Street Crash<\/a> – Impact of the Great Depression<\/a> –\u00a0Manchurian Crisis, 1931<\/a> – Abyssinia Crisis, 1935<\/a> – League of Nations response to Abyssinia and Manchuria<\/a> – Spanish Civil War, 1936<\/a> – Hitler’s Aims: Lebensraum and Grossdeutschland<\/a> – Reoccupation of the Rhineland: International Response<\/a> – Anschluss<\/a> – Appeasement<\/a> – Sudetenland plebisite<\/a> –\u00a0Munich Agreement<\/a> –\u00a0Allied Pre-War policy towards Poland<\/a> – Nazi Soviet Pact<\/a> – Pact of Steel<\/a><\/p>\n

China 1930 \u2013 1976<\/a> –\u00a0Germany 1919-1945<\/a> –\u00a0USA 1919 -41<\/a> –\u00a0 History of the Soviet Union<\/a><\/p>\n

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What was the impact of the Depression on International Relations? The\u00a0Great Depression\u00a0that followed the\u00a0Wall Street Crash\u00a0had a great impact on International relations. High levels of unemployment\u00a0contributed\u00a0to an increase in extremism in many countries. Loans such as the Young Plan that had been in place prior to the financial meltdown were no longer viable. The downturn… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":146,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"off","neve_meta_content_width":100,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-923","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t