Essay Sample: Projecting Peace and Political Extremism: An Analysis of Europe’s Interwar Period

The task of reconstructing after World War I was an enormous struggle for Europe. After suffering massive losses, there were several attempts to establish peace. These would soon fall apart, however, as war torn countries with devastated economies saw a rise in extremism. These ideologies would not only bring upon revolution, but would outwardly reject peace. 

The first World War had originally started as conflict between rival alliances. In 1879, Germany agreed to protect Austria-Hungary. If Austria-Hungary were to be the victim of unprovoked aggression, Germany would come to their aid, and the same would be true for Germany. This alliance would eventually include Italy, a perfect pairing as both Germany and Italy were newly sovereign countries; Germany unified in 1871 and Italy in 1861. As a rebuttal to this, in 1894 Russia and France would form an alliance, which eventually Britain would also enter. In 1914 heir to the Austrian throne Franz Ferdinand visited Sarajevo for his wedding anniversary, where he was assassinated by Serbian terrorists. In an attempt to calm tensions between Austria-Hungary and Serbia, both Germany and Russia conferred on how to help move past the assassination. However, when Russia began to mobilize troops, Germany would declare war as this was seen as an aggressive act. This, in turn, triggered the remaining countries of either alliance to join the war as well. The war was a very modern war and saw the rise of several new technologies including tanks, poisonous gas or chemical warfare, and the most notable change in combat being the use of trench warfare. With these advances in technology came destruction like none had seen before, destruction that would scar Europe for years to come. Eventually in 1918 when faced with the threat of invasion, Germany requested an armistice. However, before fighting could stop, the Allies created a list of demands for Germany, which they agreed to on November 9th of 1918 .

The war had decimated Europe, so reconstruction necessitated a collective effort amongst nations which still held animosity towards one another. Therefore, the global nature of the war demanded a much more intense and often involved approach to reach peace. The Paris Peace conference had convened in January of 1919 in an attempt to do so. A memorandum given by David LLoyd George offers insight, or projection into how future conflicts may arise if proper measures regarding reparation are not followed, “You may strip Germany of her colonies, reduce her armaments to a mere police force and her navy to that of a fifth-rate power; all the same in the end if she feels that she has been unjustly treated in the peace of 1919 she will find means of exacting retribution from her conquerors.”. Ironically, he acknowledges that overly harsh conditions for Germany might backfire multiple times throughout the piece. 

As much as he stresses this, he also stresses the threat of Bolshevism, so much so that he suggests that it is the biggest threat facing Europe. He recognizes the appeal of the ideology in light of the recent war ongoing political tensions, “The whole existing order in its political, social and economic aspects is questioned by the masses of the population from one end of Europe to the other...Much of this unrest is healthy... But there is a danger that we may throw the masses of the population throughout Europe into the arms of the extremists whose only idea for regenerating mankind is to destroy utterly the whole existing fabric of a society.”. Similar sentiments regarding insecurity in current governments are given in the article, Political Extremism in the 1920s and 1930s: Do German Lessons Generalize?, “Combatants on both sides returned home feeling that their governments had failed adequately to protect them. Since they had been acclimatized by military service to authoritarian forms of organization, when they experienced hardships they blamed their governments for failing to provide adequate economic security and entertained authoritarian alternatives.”. David Lloyd George sees the enticing nature of extremism during these times, and is fearful of it. This fear of the spread of Socialism and Communism would in turn lead to the rise of another extreme; Fascism. 

Rather than the end of World War I bringing on stability, the disjointed assembly of both the Treaty of Versailles and the Paris Peace Conference left many unresolved feelings amongst Europe and specifically Germany. Post World War I Germany had attempted democracy via the Weimar republic, whose initial goals sought peace negotiations. This stance however was rather unpopular and viewed as weak, so a number of political uprisings on both the right and left of the political spectrum arose. While these coup d'etats initially fail, the 1919 Beer Hall Putsch started by the newly formed Nazi Party established the political career of former soldier Adolf Hitler. While Hitler was arrested and put on trial as a result of his participation in the putsch, he used his 1924 trial as an opportunity to speak and solidify his political standings and goals. He starts the speech by stating “I aimed from the first at something a thousand times higher than being a minister, I wanted to become the destroyer of Marxism.”. Hitler’s accosts of Marxists was a piggyback of anti-Marxist and Communist sentiments that had been brewing throughout Germany, as they had been blamed for depleting the morale of German soldiers during the war. 

Hitler’s lack of regard for politeness or making peace was a stark contrast to the weakness of the Weimar government, and garnered him credibility with the German public who were eager for change. He continues to encourage revolution “the army that we are building grows from day to day from hour to hour. Right at this moment I have proud hope that once the hour strikes these wild troops will merge into battalions, battalions into regiments, and regiments into divisions.”. Here, Hitler’s use of imagery to promote revolution speaks directly to Germans who felt they faced overly harsh repercussions for World War I and unfairly made to take on an immense amount of war guilt. Hitler continues to incite the public with his calls to nationalism, “I have hopes that the old cockade will be lifted from the dirt, that the old colors will be unfurled to flutter again.”. telling Germans who have been overwhelmed with guilt; no more, and to instead reinvigorate their pride in their country. During a time where so many were discouraged and dissatisfied post World War I, these unresolved emotions have led to political extremism. 

This sort of dissatisfaction is also seen throughout Italy, and political extremes would soon occur here as well. Post World War I, an attempt to maintain the alliance between France, Britain, Belgium, Italy and the United States emerged. This was rather short lived however as Italy had not received the land originally promised to them for their participation in the war. After feeling slighted by the Allies and facing economic hardships post World War I, it took a charismatic leader, Benito Mussolini, to revive feelings of nationalism. Mussolini who served during World War I garnered his following by promoting the militaristic unity he had found during his time as a soldier. This would become known as Fascism, he further defines this as; “Fascism, as it is generally regards the future and the development of humanity, and laying aside all considerations of present-day politics, does not believe either in the possibility or the utility of perpetual peace.”. Similar to Hitler’s speech, Mussolini starts with an almost absurd statement. Mussolini’s insistent rejection of peace seems to be a reaction to the destruction he and many Italians witnessed during World War I.

 For Mussolini and others the suggestion of finding “peace” after such destruction, would seem laughable. Instead, Mussolini and other fascists became infatuated with war, “Only war raises all human energy to the maximum and sets nobility of its peoples which have the virtues to undertake it.”. Mussolini's call for order under Fascism was the most enticing aspect of this ideology for those who had been so politically disillusioned. While Communism also offered this sort of order, most of Europe feared a revolution the likes of that in Russia, “Fearing and eventual Socialist takeover, as had occurred in Russia and Hungary, much of the Italian urban and rural middle class turned to Mussolini’s Fascists as a last defense.”. This fear is also likely a reflection of the anti-Communist sentiments of aforementioned leaders regarding the threat of Bolshevism. As an alternative, Fascism could provide a state with unyielding power and take the responsibility out of the hands of the citizens to collectivize. In turn, this authoritarian nature offered a sort of comfort,  “Never as in this moment have the peoples of the world been athirst for authority, for leadership, for order.”.  Mussolini certainly took advantage of this desperation for stability, and knew that the intensity of war could further unite Italians under his Fascist regime.

The global nature of World War I made reconstructing afterwards an extreme task ,and satisfying all involved proved to be impossible. This overall dissatisfaction, compounded with the general destruction of a post war society led those disillusioned by instability to resort to political extremes, both on the right and the left.