Great Depression and War

In this chapter, Tripathi focuses on Germany after the Great War, and the sense of humiliation the settlement imposed on Germany under the Treaty of Versailles caused in the population. The dissolution of the German Empire, the short-lived experiment of the Weimar Republic in the interwar years, its failure, and the rise of Adolf Hitler during the Great Depression (1929–1939) are analyzed. Also examined are the failure of the League of Nations, the predecessor of the United Nations, and the outbreak of the Second World War when international diplomacy failed. Hitler’s aggressive nationalism and successes of Nazi Germany leading the Axis Powers in the war come under the spotlight, as well as how America’s late entry turned the Second World War in favor of the Allies.