GREAT BRITAIN Britain suffered in 1929 from the Wall Street Crash in US orld into an economic depression. ployment in Britain rose to 2.5 million (25 per cent of the 1933. Worst hit were the areas of heavy industry (eg el, shipbuilding) in Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England. These industries were already struggling because modernised after the war (WWI) and had been badly ompetition from other countries. The Depression meant e industries crumbled. ht industries such as chemicals, electrical goods, and amilies were okay, or even better. Prices fell from low emand and so these families could buy more! ritish government s response made things worse by mployment pay and raising taxes. nemployment Rates in Britain 1,217,000 2,745,000 2,159,000
FRANCE e was on the winning side during WWI, even though order was a war zone. Just like Britain the US Stock was felt all over Europe. The Great Depression in ot as harsh but its effects lasted longer than most war, France produced fewer goods which meant less for money with other countries. France s nt rate was much lower than countries who suffered ng the Depression (like US and Germany). e provides an example of a Great Depression with no In 1939 when WWII began, France was divided on nd to the Depression and unprepared for the war.
mployment Rates in France 15,000 308,000 376,000 Post- WWI ruins in France ITALY
was weak after fighting in WWI. With a weak economy when Benito Mussolini rose to power. His goals were to make Italy country. Mussolini had three plans on how to help Italy get back on its feet: for Land- turn unuseful land into useful land for farming, roads, and buildings. of the Lira (Italian money)- A powerful nation could not have a weak national currency. Mussolini of the lira making exports more expensive. This created unemployment at home as many industries and ll their goods. This battle proved a failure. e for Grain- Mussolini wanted to grown grain because it was cheaper to grow than fruits or vegetables. Itali me expensive at home and the price of bread rose. This hit the poor the worst as bread was a major part of mployment Rates in Italy 324,000 1,006,000 963,000 GERMANY mployment Rates in Germany 2,265,000 5,392,000 2,462,000
any was completely blamed for WWI in the Treaty of Versailles. They lost valuable land with resources like coal and iron, lions of dollars in war reparations to Germany and France, and suffered many damages from war themselves. Germany bor ) from the U.S. to help them bounce back from the war. However, when the Great Depression hit, American businesses ask hich left Germany with even less money. f the actions Germany took was to print more money, yet the inflation caused the money to be absolutely worthless! Unemp st in Germany during the Depression. Food shortages, disease, unemployment, and Treaty Versailles terms made life very ans looked for a strong ation they had been before er who could create jobs, ple, and make Germans at leader was Adolf Hitler. leader to help them return Czechoslovakia y Czechoslovakia is two countries- The Czech Slovakia. The Czechs and Slovakians are two ic groups in one country. 18 the western part of Czechoslovakia was more d modernized than the eastern part of the country. choslovakia didn t feel many of the effects that most t during the GD. n Czechoslovakia was one of the poorest areas of pe and were hit hard by the Depression. Some of the re impacted include: unemployment, weak and poverty. The Czechs and Slovaks didn t always
ch left them vulnerable to the fascist dictator, Adolf Hitler. mployment Rates in Czechoslovakia 39,000 554,000 677,000 Austria
on after WWI made Austria s money of little value. Austria was granted a loan from the League of Nations to avoid bankruptcy and he a stable economy. The country introduced a new type of money which was stable until the Stock Market Crash in the U.S. anstalt (biggest bank in Austria) had to declare bankruptcy on 11 May 1931. This was one of the first major bank failures that initiated Europe. Creditanstalt bankruptcy and its impact in producing a major global banking crisis provided a major propaganda opportunity for Adolf Nazi Party: it allowed them to further blame Jews for German and international economic and social troubles D Unemployment Rates in Austria 156,000 310,000 288,000
Poland WWI, was the first time in over 100 years that Poland was ot controlled by another country). Poland had mostly poor the Great Depression. The poor were hit the worst during because their incomes dropped 50% or more. overnment had few ideas on how to help the economic crisis of the ideas was to lessen the government s own spending were not receiving as much money from taxes. This was not assisting the Polish in need. Great Depression made life even more difficult in the mitism (hatred of Jews) became more common. Poland was ion Jews, the largest Jewish population in Europe. Jews r own community who suffered during the Depression, and n t need support were not hit as hard as most of the non- Hatred of Jews would support Adolf Hitler s anti-semitism ose to power in the 1930s. mployment Rates in Poland 126,000 256,000 342,000