1920 - 1929
During
the decade 1920 to 1929 political unrest began to escalate. The
struggle for power in Italy produced the "March on Rome"
an event which helped to bring Mussolini to power. Adolf Hitler
would write "Mien Kampf" while in prison and by the end of
the decade would rise to power as Germany's dictator. This decade
saw the birth of the Dada art movement in Germany, which was not
very popular with the government. The Dadaist used their art as a
way of political protest. During this time Charles Lindbergh would
fly across the Atlantic and Amelia Earhart would be the first woman
to fly across the Atlantic.
1920
- League of Nations
International alliance for
the preservation of peace. The league existed from 1920 to 1946. The
first meeting was held in Geneva, on November 15, 1920, with 42
nations represented. The last meeting was held on April 8, 1946; at
that time the United Nations (UN) superseded the league. During the
league's 26 years, a total of 63 nations belonged at one time or
another; 28 were members for the entire period.
1921
- Lenin introduces New Economic Policy in Russia (NEP). New Economic
Policy (NEP)
A policy of temporary
economic liberalization in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
(USSR) from 1921 to 1928. NEP was introduced to revitalize the
economy, increase food production, and permit business growth after
several years of civil war.
1921
- Revolt of sailors in Kronstadt
The unsuccessful
Kronshtadt rebellion of 1921, the first important anti-Soviet revolt
after the civil war (1918-1921), was notable in influencing the
government to adopt the reforms known as the New Economic Policy.
During World War II, Kronstadt played a major role in the defense of
Leningrad against the Germans (1941-44). Population (1995) 40,525.
1922
- Soviet states form USSR
The Soviet Union was
formed in December 1922 as a federal union of the RSFSR and those
neighboring areas under its military occupation or ruled by branches
of the communist movement. Initially it consisted of four Soviet
states, or union republics: the RSFSR, the Transcaucasian SFSR, the
Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (Ukrainian SSR; also known as
Ukraine), and the Belorussian SSR (Belorussia). The number of union
republics and exact boundaries of the USSR shifted over time.
1922
- "March on Rome" Mussolini forms Fascist regime
Mussolini and other young
war veterans founded the Fasci di Combattimento in March 1919. This
nationalistic, antiliberal, and antisocialist movement attracted
lower middle-class support and took its name from the fasces, an
ancient symbol of Roman discipline. Growing rapidly after mid-1920,
fascism spread into the countryside, where its black-shirt militia
won support from landowners and attacked peasant leagues and
socialist groups. Opportunistically, fascism shed its initial
republicanism, thereby winning sympathy from the army and the king.
When Fascists marched on Rome, King Victor Emmanuel III invited
Mussolini to form a coalition government (October 28, 1922). By 1926
the Fascist leader had transformed the country into a single-party,
totalitarian regime.
1924
- Socialist Matteotti murdered in Italy
After the violence of the
1924 elections and the murder of the Socialist Party deputy Giacomo
Matteotti in 1924, Mussolini moved to suspend constitutional
government. He proceeded in stages to establish a dictatorship by
forbidding the parliament to initiate legislation; by making himself
responsible to the king alone; by ordering parliament to authorize
him to issue decrees having the force of law; by establishing
absolute censorship of the press; and, in 1926, by suppressing all
opposition parties.
1924
- Hitler writes "Mien Kampf"
While in prison, Hitler
dictated the first volume of Mien Kampf (My Struggle,
translated 1939); after his release he continued with a second
volume. This work contained many of his basic ideas. Hitler believed
that history was the record of struggles among races. He held that
the superior Aryan race, centered in Germany, would be the final
victor and would rule the world. But to win this struggle, Germany
would have to be ruled by a dictator and would have to be racially
aware. Racial awareness would come through a process of mobilizing
the masses with propaganda that appealed to their feelings, not
their reason, and aroused their hatred for all other allegedly
inferior races, especially Jews. No class or other distinctions in
German society mattered.
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