2 The World between Two World Wars
I. Choose the Correct Answer
1. With whom of the following was the Lateran Treaty signed by Italy?
- Germany
- Russia
- Pope
- Spain
Ans : Pope
2. With whose conquest did the Mexican civilization collapse?
- Hernan Cortes
- Francisco Pizarro
- Toussaint Louverture
- Pedro I
Ans : Hernan Cortes
3. Who made Peru as part of their dominions?
- English
- Spaniards
- Russians
- French
Ans : Spaniards
4. Which President of the USA pursued “Good Neighbour” policy towards Latin America?
- Roosevelt
- Truman
- Woodrow Wilson
- Eisenhower
Ans : Roosevelt
5. Which part of the world disliked dollar imperialism?
- Europe
- Latin America
- India
- China
Ans : Latin America
II. Fill in the blanks:
1. The founder of the Social Democratic Party was ________.
Ans : Mussolini
2. The Nazi Party’s propaganda was led by ________.
Ans : Josef Goebbels
3. The Vietnam Nationalist Party was formed in ________.
Ans : 1927
4. The Secret State Police in Nazi Germany was known as ________.
Ans : Gestapo
5. The Union of South Africa came into being in May ________.
Ans : 1910.
6. The ANC leader Nelson Mandela was put behind the bars for ________ years
Ans : 27 years
7. Boers were also known as ________.
Ans : Afrikaners
III. Choose the Correct Statement
1. i) During World War I, the primary task of Italy was to keep the Austrians occupied on the Southern Front.
ii) Germany took to Fascism much later than Italy.
iii) The first huge market crash in the US occurred on 24 October 1929.
iv) The ban on African National Congress was lifted in 1966.
- i) and ii) are correct
- iii) is correct
- iii) and iv) are correct
- i), ii) and iii) are correct
Ans : i), ii) and iii) are correct
2. Assertion : A new wave of economic nationalism which expressed itself in protectionism affected the world trade.
Reason : This was because the USA was not willing to provide economic aid to the debtor countries.
- Both A and R are correct
- A is right but R is not the correct explanation
- Both A and R are wrong
- R is right but it has no relevance to A
Ans : A is right but R is not the correct explanation.
3. Assertion : The Berlin Colonial Conference of 1884–85 had resolved that Africa should be divided into spheres of influence of various colonial powers.
Reason : The war between the British and Boers in South Africa, however, was in defiance of this resolution.
- Both A and R are right
- A is right but R is not the right reason
- Both A and R are wrong
- A is wrong and R has no relevance to A
Ans : Both A and R are right
IV. Match the following:
1. Transvaal | Germany |
2. Tongking | Hitler |
3. Hindenburg | Italy |
4. Third Reich | gold |
5. Matteotti | guerilla activities |
Ans : 1 – D, 2 – E, 3 – A, 4 – B, 5 – C |
V. Answer briefly
1. What do you know of the White Terror in Indo-China?
- In 1929 the Vietnamese soldiers mutinied, and there was a failed attempt to assassinate the French Governor-General.
- This was followed by a large scale peasant revolt led by the Communists.
- The revolt was crushed and thousands of rebels were killed. This incident is known as the ‘White Terror’.
2. Discuss the importance of Ottawa Economic Summit.
- The Great Depression of 1929 had a disastrous impact on British trade and business.
- Britain transmitted the effects of Depression to its colonies.
- Bilateral trade treaties between Britain and the Member States of the British Empire were signed at an economic summit in Ottawa in 1932, in which the participants (including India) agreed to give preference to imperial (British) over non-imperial goods.
3. What was the result of Mussolini’s march on Rome?
- In October 1922 in the context of a long ministerial crisis, Mussolini organised the Fascist March on Rome.
- Impressed by the show of force, the King invited Mussolini to form a government.
4. Point out the essence of the Berlin Colonial Conference, 1884-85.
- The interior of Africa was unknown to the outside world until the last quarter of nineteenth century. European colonisation began after about 1875.
- The Berlin Colonial Conference of 1884-85 had resolved that Africa should be divided into spheres of influence of various colonial powers.
- However the war between the British and Boers in South Africa was in defiance of this resolution.
5. How did Great Depression impact on Indian Agriculture?
- The ‘Great Depression’ dealt a death blow to Indian agriculture and the indigenous manufacturing sector.
- The value of farm produce, declined by half. But the land rent to be paid by the peasant remained unchanged. In terms of prices of agricultural commodities, the obligation of the farmers to the state doubled. Farmers and Indian manufacturers therefore had to sell their gold and silver reserves to subsist and survive.
6. Define “Dollar Imperialism.”
- Dollar Imperialism is the term used to describe the policy of the USA in maintaining and dominating over distant lands through economic aid.
- It was coined by the Soviet Union when the USA as a part of its plan to contain communism pumped in 13 million dollars into the European economy.
VI. Answer in detail
1. Trace the circumstances that led to the rise of Hitler in Germany.
- The origin of German fascism goes back to 1919 when a group of seven men met in Munich and founded the National Socialist German Workers’ Party. One of them was Adolf Hitler.
- Hitler had developed violent political biases against Jews. He associated Judaism with Marxism.
- During World War I, he served in the Bavarian army.
- In 1923 Hitler attempted to capture power in Bavaria.
- He failed in his attempt. He was arrested and sent to jail. During his time in prison he wrote ‘Mein Kampf’ (My Struggle), an autobiographical book containing his political ideas.
- In the Presidential election of 1932, the Communist Party polled about 6,000,000 votes. Alarmed capitalists and property owners tilted towards supporting fascism. Hitler exploited this opportunity to usurp powers.
- Republican government fell, as the Communists refused to collaborate with the Social Democrats. Industrialists, bankers and Junkers prevailed upon President Von Hindenburg to designate Hitler as Chancellor in 1933.
- The Nazi state of Hitler, known as Third Reich brought an end to the parliamentary democracy. Germany was converted into a highly centralised state.
- All political parties except the Nazi party were declared illegal.
- The army of brown-shirted and jack-booted storm-troopers was expanded.
- The Hitler Youth was created, and the Labour Front set up.
- Trade unions were abolished, their leaders were arrested. Strikes were made illegal, wages were fixed by the government and the Labour Front was used by the Nazis to control industry.
2. Attempt a narrative account of how the process of decolonization happened in India during the inter-war period (1919-39).
- The decolonization process started in India from the beginning of the twentieth century with the launch of the Swadeshi Movement in 1905.
- The outbreak of the First World War in 1914 brought about rapid political as well as economic changes.
- In 1919, the Government of India Act introduced Dyarchy that provided for elected provincial assemblies as well as for Indian ministers to hold certain portfolios under Transferred Subjects.
- The Indian National Congress rejected the arrangements under Dyarchy and decided to boycott the legislature.
Lack of measures to industrialise India:
- There was no change in the colonial economic policy.
- The government of British India provided incentives to the British iron and steel industry by guaranteeing purchasing contracts.
- But in the case of indigenous industries, support was only in the form of providing technical advice and education.
- Even this policy was soon abandoned as many British enterprises were opposed to this.
India in the days of Great Depression:
- The ‘Great Depression’ had a disastrous impact on British trade and business.
- Foreign investments declined.
- For the colonial government the expansion of trade was the only ideal mode of economy, as it guaranteed easy access to indirect tax revenue and foreign currency.
- Britain transmitted the effects of Depression to its colonies.
Impact of Depression on Indian Agriculture:
- The value of farm produced, declined by half. But the land rent to be paid by the peasants remained unchanged.
- Therefore farmers and Indian manufactures had to sell their gold and silver reserves to subsist.
- The great fall in price prompted Indian nationalists to demand protection for the internal economy.
Government of India Act, 1935:
- To appease the Indian nationalists The Government of India Act was passed.
- Elections were conducted and the Indian National Congress won a resounding in most of the provinces.
- The decision of Britain to involve in the Second World War, without consulting the Congress ministries forced the latter to resign from office.
3. Describe the rise and growth of nationalist politics in South Africa.
- There were two main political parties: The Unionist Party which was mainly British and the South Africa Party which had largely Afrikaners (Boers).
- The first Prime Minister, Botha belonged to the South Africa Party ruled in cooperation with the British.
- But a militant section of the South Africa Party formed the National Party under Herzog.
- Herzog wanted a twin policy of supremacy of Whites over Blacks and Afrikaners over British.
- In 1920 elections, the National Party got 44 seats and the South Africa Party secured 41 seats.
- At this juncture the British-dominated Unionist Party merged with the South Africa Party.
- This gave Smuts a majority over the militant Afrikaner controlled National Party.
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