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Unit 7 Frames
Unit 7 Frames
What were the causes, and effects, of both world wars? Let’s see how our three frames can help us understand this question.
As this video progresses, key ideas will be introduced to invoke discussion.
Think about the following questions as you watch the video
How did nationalism help cause World War I?
What is internationalism?
How did new ideas about community in the 1930s lead to violence in World War II?
How were global networks weakened by World War I?
How did production and distribution systems change between the wars?
: The First World War was called the “war to end all wars.”
: But the fact that we call it “The First” world war, should give you a hint that it did not end wars.
: In fact, just twenty years after the first, the Second World War engulfed the world.
: And both wars witnessed horrific atrocities that stain the pages of human history.
: Now history books often divide these two wars and the twenty years of the interwar period in between
: into three distinct events.
: But in this course, we ask you to think about them together,
: as a single, thirty-year period of global conflict, from 1914 to 1945.
: And of course, with the three frames, we can better understand the connections that link this period of global conflict.
: For example, we can begin to understand the causes of both wars through the Communities frame.
: As you learned in Units 4 and 6, nationalism emerged as a transformative force in the long nineteenth century.
: But while helping people to unite, nationalism also caused resentment between states
: –resentment that simmered under European politics.
: In 1914, these nationalist tensions erupted into conflict.
: And, as a result of the war, several large empires crumbled, while new nations emerged.
: But as the victorious powers carved up the spoils of war,
: they also attempted to create a new system of internationalism.
: They wanted to create organizations like the League of Nations that would bind communities to each other
: in peaceful cooperation.
: However, nationalist rivalries did not disappear.
: In fact, in many places, nationalism intensified between rivals.
: Racism, ethnic chauvinism, fear, and bitterness turned people against the populations of rival states abroad
: and against minorities at home.
: And in the end, internationalism failed in the face of this extreme nationalism.
: So in the 1930s, ideologies like fascism and authoritarianism gained increasing power
: in many countries, including Italy, Germany, and Japan.
: New leaders rose to power,
: and they called for a nationalism that advocated militarism and territorial expansion and racist policies.
: These ideas about community laid the groundwork for the Second World War
: and the atrocities that followed, especially the Holocaust.
: Now switching to the networks frame can help us make sense of these atrocities
: as well as the failures of international politics that led to them.
: The devastation of the First World War diminished global networks.
: During the war, the exchange of ideas between opposing powers nearly came to a halt.
: People had less ability to travel,
: communications were censored,
: and distrust broke apart relationships across borders.
: The control of European empires over their distant colonies also diminished.
: But at the end of the war networks and exchange grew again.
: Relationships, from the diplomatic to the personal, resumed quite quickly.
: And colonialism was rapidly reasserted.
: Now many leaders hoped that networks of doctors, scientists, and diplomats
: could work together for the betterment of all and help prevent another war.
: But they learned, ironically, the ideas of extreme nationalism
: moved along the same kinds of networks as those of internationalism.
: Can looking at production and distribution also help us to understand this period?
: Maybe.
: Many historians refer to the two world wars as “total” wars.
: The phrase “total” war indicates a war in which
: all of the society’s political, social, and economic systems commit to warfare.
: The economic cost and devastation of two global total wars
: reshaped patterns of production and distribution everywhere.
: I mean in both wars, nations raised armies in the millions,
: drawing from their colonies as well as their homeland.
: And production of consumer goods slowed everywhere as the war effort
: consumed resources to the tools of war.
: This sort of large-scale industrialized warfare had never been seen before,
: and in fact it only intensified between the wars.
: The threat of defeat by the Axis powers brought together leaders of the two great systems of production and distribution in the world.
: The Western, capitalist states and the communist Soviet Union
: created a political alliance
: and mobilized massive wartime production to win the war.
: By 1945,
: this period of global conflict had killed tens of millions of soldiers and civilians
: and left economies everywhere in tatters.
: In its wake, the world was left with huge questions.
: Was it possible to have national communities without extremism?
: Could international networks be built to avoid a future war?
: And what kind of production and distribution system would allow the world to rebuild?