The decline of international cooperation in the 1930s

• Men like Hitler offered simple solutions - 'Freedom, work and bread', giving the illusion that they had simple solutions to problems
• In dictatorships the state ran everything - more likely to care for the unemployed than democracies
• Dictators promised to take land by force for extra space, food and resources, something that democratic leaders wouldn't do
• Dictators distracted people with promises of victories overseas to restore national pride
• Dictators also found people to become scapegoats for their problems, e.g. Hitler and the Jews in Germany
• The Great Depression left the League of Nations in an undetermined position, with key members distracted by their own international and economic problems. One of the main tactics that the League could use - economic sanctions - was undermined by the fact that everyone was struggling economically and didn't want their own economies to suffer by imposing sanctions
• Britain was already struggling to pay off the debts it had built up as a result of WWI, and the Depression made matters far worse. By 1933, unemployment had risen to 2.5 million (25% of the workforce). Britain's main focus was now sorting out its economy; settling international disputes became a lower priority
• Germany was particularly badly hit by the Depression. Unemployment rose to over 6 million and this caused widespread poverty. It weakened people's faith in the Weimar Republic and led to an upsurge in support for extremist parties such as the Nazis and the Communists. In 1933 Hitler became Chancellor. He stated that he would create jobs and improve the economy as well as ignore the Treaty of Versailles, rebuild the German army and take back land that Germany had lost
• The Depression did a great deal of damage to Japan's economy. Demand for silk, Japan's main export, dropped as Americans had less money to spend on luxury goods. Army leaders started to plan to increase the size of Japan's Empire so that the country could get the raw materials it needed and increase trade
• Most countries around the world traded with the United States and many had borrowed large sums of money from US banks to rebuild their economies after WWI. As a result of the Wall Street Crash, the USA traded far less with other countries and US banks started to recall loans they had made overseas. The US had never joined the League of Nations, and the Depression made the USA even less likely to help sort out international disputes
• In France, unemployment increased and the government struggled to increase wages and cut the hours people worked. As a result, over 2 million workers went on strike and support for the Communist Party increased. The French government became very worried about political problems at home. Settling international disputes became a low priority
• In Italy, unemployment rose to over 1 million. The fascist government worked hard to support banks that were struggling and helped businesses survive by cutting wages. It also reduced unemployment by spending money on public works programmes - building new bridges, roads, hospitals and schools. This managed to save many small firms from bankruptcy and created the impression that Mussolini's strong leadership had saved Italy from the big economic problems some other countries were facing