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A history podcast dedicated to examining the global history of the 1920s and 30s in order to explain the causes of World War II, both large and small. As you might imagine, there’s a lot of ground to cover just to contextualize how the conflict got so out of control. If you love historical deep-dives and play-by-plays of nations in way over their collective heads, this is the show for you. Best niche history podcast out there! PROTIP: If you’re a new listener and are hopelessly confused by m ...
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The aggression and militarization of society in Nazi Germany may have been most openly expressed in its rearmament and bellicose foreign policy, but a critical element too was in how that state engaged with its own people. Getting everyone onboard with a general war was no small task for a state in its infancy, and this week I start taking a look a…
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It seemed that after the re-occupation of the Rhineland that Hitler had gotten the measure of the UK and France, and that what had seemed impossible previously was now quite the opposite. To that end, he was finally able to achieve one of the biggest goals of both the Nazis and German nationalists in general: the unification of Austria to Germany. …
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The name of the game for 1930s Germany was escalation. Not just in armaments, but in diplomatic moves as well. From small moves to prevent coalitions forming against them, to major plays to bring down the Versailles order, the Nazis only grew bolder as they began to realize the West lacked the wherewithal to stop them. Bibliography for this episode…
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We all know the Germans annexed Austria in 1938, but the story of how they tried to overthrow their southern neighbor in 1934 doesn't get as much attention. Today I'll be covering the politics and instability that created a window of opportunity, or perhaps more the scant impression of one, to be exploited by the Nazis. Bibliography for this episod…
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Military conquest was always an ambition of Hitler and the Nazis, a central thesis of theirs was that war was necessary to strengthen their nation. But while the military was built-up almost from scratch, victories were sought on the diplomatic front. Which is the new facet of German aggression being moved onto. Today specifically be about the Gene…
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For the 200th episode I'm taking a dive into the minutia of the German Army's arsenal. Ironically, some of the most famous German weapons were only introduced in the later half of the war, when they were losing ground left and right. The years of their build-up and conquest were marked by much more modest pieces of equipment that nevertheless had t…
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Was the German Army of WWII the unstoppable demon army of military myth? Or were they the luckiest flock of goose-steppers ever to visit Paris? Turns out they were simply a professional force that brought just enough new ideas to the table that they made everybody else look bad there for a while. Today I break down the broad strokes of German doctr…
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I know that half the military history internet is devoted to the technical specs of the German military in WWII, but for completions sake I'm going to be adding to that pile. Today I cover the organization, doctrine, and models of weapon used by the two supporting branches of the German military. Bibliography for this episode: Deist, Wilhelm The We…
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In the second half of this installment, I wrap up the woes the Wehrmacht faced by the end of the 30s, problems that would never be fully resolved. Also covered is the Blomberg-Fritsch Affair, two unrelated scandals that nevertheless Hitler used as cover to solidify control of the army. Bibliography for this episode: Tooze, Adam Wages of Destruction…
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I've been slacking a lot on the release schedule, so enjoy a second episode for this week. Today I'm still talking about rearmament, but this time it's just the planning on the military side. Turns out expanding your army to support thirty times more troops, all the while building a world-class air force from scratch, and half-heartedly constructin…
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The reality of Nazi Germany's bid to conquer Europe and dominate the world was that it simply lacked the economic capacity to actually do those things. That didn't stop Hitler from trying though, and he pushed the economy to the breaking point getting as many weapons and the biggest army he could. Bibliography for this episode: Tooze, Adam Wages of…
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A sudden transformation of the economy needed collaborators to be carried out in such a short time frame as the Nazis were demanding. And it also demanded a closer relationship between the state and capital, leading to an unholy alliance that brought out the worst in both the German business class and the upper echelons of the Nazi government. Bibl…
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One of the most striking accomplishments of the Nazi state during the 1930s was the speed with which it built an army capable of conquering Europe. It wasn't a perfect army mind you, but it was capable all the same. And given that it was built up from the weak interwar army in just six years, well something unusual was afoot in Germany. And that so…
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I bring my coverage of the Italo-Ethiopian war to a close today with a two-topic episode. First I cover events and changes in Italy brought on by the war, and then I give a general overview of the brutal regime and resulting insurgency in Ethiopia. Bibliography for this episode: Mockler, Anthony Haile Selassie's War Oliver Branch Press 2003 Pearce,…
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One immediate effect of the Italians invading Ethiopia was that it kicked the international crisis that had formed beforehand into overdrive. Most governments might have preferred to keep to a light touch response, but public outcry was such that governments had to either respond or face actual consequences. But despite public pressure and the down…
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Today I conclude the events of the initial Italian invasion of Ethiopia. It's an anti-climatic affair, with the collapse of the main Ethiopian armies the big challenge facing the invaders were the distances and geography involved. Still, there were numerous half-hearted gestures that delayed the Italians establishing their rule for many months afte…
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Today I cover the big battles of the war, and sad to say, they do not go Ethiopia's way at all. Despite promising tactical successes in the first few months of the conflict, the weight of Italian firepower finally overwhelmed the defenders on all fronts. Bibliography for this episode: Mockler, Anthony Haile Selassie's War Oliver Branch Press 2003 P…
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Today I finally begin covering the actual Italian invasion of Ethiopia, which will take three installments. The first few months of the invasion were marked by a slow Italian advance, Ethiopia getting its army together, and the invaders quickly turning to chemical weapons. Bibliography for this episode: Mockler, Anthony Haile Selassie's War Oliver …
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This week I cover the other two branches of the Italian military, the navy and air force. Like the army, the get bad reputations. Also like the army, there are reasons for this, which I get into during the episode. Bibliography for this episode: Gooch, John Mussolini and His Generals Cambridge University Press, 2007 Bagnasco, Erminio and Mark Gross…
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It's finally time to take a hard look at the fighting forces of one of the major players in our story. And since this is a new kind of episode for me, I'm happy that I'm taking the baby step of talking about one of the smaller examples. Italy gets maligned a lot during this period, and there are good reasons for this, but today I not only want to c…
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I'm trying something new today, and this episode isn't intended to advance the narrative at all, but it is intended to give a crash-course on military organization and important kinds of equipment. It's not intended for everyone, as some of you already know everything that I cover, and many of you who do not are not going to be interested in the ma…
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The Ethiopian Crisis kicked off over a border incident in the village of Walwal in October-December 1934, and then proceeded to slow-burn develop until the Italian invasion actually came in October 1935. It was a period of diplomatic maneuverings, and served to deliver a fatal blow to the system of collective security that had been so painfully bui…
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Ethiopia was not Mussolini's preferred target in the early 1930s. His expansionist ambitions gravitated more towards the Balkans, and Yugoslavia in particular. But diplomatic and military realities, the pressure of an emerging fascist rival, and Italy's own weakness forced his attention towards East Africa as an alternative. Bibliography for this e…
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I wrap up the intro to Ethiopia this week by covering the key points of Menelik's successful reign, and the rise to power of Ras Tafari Makonnen. Who before this episode is finished will have established himself under his much more famous royal name of Haile Selassie. His reign would see forceful attempts at modernization, which was carried out aga…
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Today marks the start of another new miniseries, this time cover the Italian invasion of Ethiopia. But before I get going on the main topic, I'm going to be spending the next two episodes introducing modern Ethiopia. If you missed the overview histories from last season, you're in luck as this is a crash course how the country unified and survived …
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Given all the misfortune to have befallen the Roosevelt administration going into the 1934 mid-terms, you'd probably think FDR and the Democrats were going to pay a political price. Well, turns out their opposition wasn't exactly the most effectual. Or in the case of Huey Long it was complicated by actually being a Democrat at the time. Anyway, tod…
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One of the big criticisms of the New Deal, and one of the most valid, was the fact that it didn't do much of anything to try and tackle the plight of African-Americans. Sure, the relief efforts and public works projects were mostly made available to all Americans. But these efforts didn't reckon with the institutional discrimination of the country,…
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Organized labor might as well have been pronounced dead during the 1920s, and the Depression didn't seem like it'd be a big help in rejuvenating it. But thanks to a dramatic policy change from the Roosevelt administration, unions got a new lease on life. This would of course be challenged by the owner class, and the first couple years of worker res…
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By 1933 the bright golden haze on America's meadows had been dimmed down to a featureless beige. Twelve years of bad times, which included four years of outright Depression, had wrecked the nation's farms. It would take unprecedented levels of intervention and organization to bring the truly lean years to a conclusion, and the collateral damage wou…
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Possibly the most defining programs of the New Deal were the public works projects that created well-paying jobs for millions of Americans in the depths of the Depression. This shouldn't be a surprise, much of the nation's most iconic infrastructure, still in use in many cases to the modern day, was built through these programs. But they were not w…
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The great economic straight-jacket of the 1920s and 30s was the Gold Standard, which created a global system that seemingly locked everybody into a stable system. I've talked about that enough already, so today I'm talking about how the Roosevelt administration began distancing itself from the old ways. Bibliography for this episode: Kennedy, David…
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The narrative of the New Deal really kicks off here, as I discuss the work of the National Recovery Administration. Okay, that's not totally accurate. I'm mostly talking about the public antics of its boss, former brigadier general Hugh Johnson. Who will easily win the award for most self-destructive character in this mini-series. Bibliography for …
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Wherein the special session of Congress of 1933 concludes, and I can stop making blurbs about bills and government agencies. Bibliography for this episode: Kennedy, David M. Freedom From Fear: The American People in Depression and War 1929-1945 Oxford University Press 1999 Hiltzik, Michael The New Deal: A Modern History Simon and Schuster 2011 Schl…
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The reforms in Washington, DC keep coming and this week we tackle public relief, housing, and farm management. Bibliography for this episode: Kennedy, David M. Freedom From Fear: The American People in Depression and War 1929-1945 Oxford University Press 1999 Hiltzik, Michael The New Deal: A Modern History Simon and Schuster 2011 Schlesinger Jr, Ar…
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Probably the most consequential legislative session in United States history was the special session of Congress that was summoned for the first 100 days of the FDR administration. Today, and for the next two episodes after, I'll be breaking down the major pieces of legislation that constituted the New Deal's first round. Both what they were and wh…
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Getting back onto the chronological history of the United States, I take a look at the lame-duck period leading up to FDR's swearing-in. Unlike other lame-duck periods, things actually happened during this one. The economy entered a last freefall that might have spelled the end of the nation, the population sunk into despair, and Hoover tried to sa…
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FDR takes the national stage with his appointment to Assistant Secretary of the Navy, and he's off to the races. No, that's not a crack on his bout with polio, although I finally get around to covering that today. Even with health and marital setbacks, FDR never lost sight of the high office he coveted, which carried him through to the triumph of 1…
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The time has finally come to return to the United States and kickoff the history of the New Deal. But what would the New Deal be without the blue-blooded president with the gumption to defy convention? Today starts a quick two-parter covering the life of Franklin Delano Roosevelt up to his election to the presidency in 1932. Bibliography for this e…
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To close out this miniseries on the First Five-Year Plan I'm covering Soviet diplomacy during the early 30s. The Great Depression came at a good time for the USSR and covered up much of its weakness during the dislocations of the period, but there was still threats that needed addressing. Haslam, Jonathan Soviet Foreign Policy 1930-33: The Impact o…
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Life in the Soviet cities might not have wracked up the fatality count during the early 1930s that the countryside did, but it had its share of suffering all the same. Food shortages, goods shortages, black markets, all became painful facts of life that urban Soviets acclimated to. Bibliography for this episode: Fitzpatrick, Sheila Everyday Stalini…
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Turning more towards the culture of the Soviet Union during the early 30s, I take a look at the Cultural Revolution carried in the USSR from 1928-1931. It was a brief, but critical event that brought the most active and passionate in the Party into Stalin's camp. Which in turn gave him the foot soldiers necessary to bring the bureaucracy and intell…
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Taking a break from the thrilling world of statistics, today I zero in on the crown jewel of Soviet industrial expansion, the construction of the industrial city of Magnitogorsk. From an empty steppe there was built an entire city with the purpose of cranking out the steel and iron that would help fuel Soviet industry. It was no small task, and the…
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If collectivization was the great failure of the 1st Five-Year-Plan, then rapid industrialization was its great success. But don't worry, there was still enough mayhem during those days to make the story of building factories an interesting one. Bibliography for this episode: Allen, Robert C. Farm to Factory: A Reinterpretation of the Soviet Indust…
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To wrap up this look at collectivization in the USSR, I focus in on the famine years of 1932-33. Why it happened, how it affected people, how the state responded. Really kind of hard to describe the scale of it, although I give it a shot. Bibliography for this episode: Fitzpatrick, Sheila Stalin's Peasants: Resistance & Survival in the Russian Vill…
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The first year of collectivization was a wild time, even before the massive famine of 1932-33. The world of the peasantry was turned upside down, and modes of life that had predominated for generations were changed forever. And a bunch of people got deported and a band of Communist faithful showed up to lend a hand. Bibliography for this episode: F…
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The massive swing towards collectivized agriculture during the 1930s was one of the Soviet Union's most defining moments. Where the state had been previously weak in the countryside, the movement of the peasants onto the collective farms (the kolkhoz) changed that for the rest of the USSR's history. It also created dislocations and conflicts that w…
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The commencement of the 1st Five Year Plan in the USSR signaled quite a break from state policy as it was in the 20s. And by that, I mean kicking the NEP to the curb. This shift caused no small debate within the Soviet hierarchy, and Stalin would use the divisions as a wedge against his enemies. Bibliography for this episode: Allen, Robert C. Farm …
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New miniseries! Today I begin covering the First Five Year Plan, the mother of all five year plans. You might have heard about them in places other than the USSR, you might even have one of your own. But there isn't anything like this one. I break down why the Plan was so central to Soviet history, as well as take time to introduce the supporting p…
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Today's episode is a double-conclusion as both the Long March and this miniseries come to a close. The northern course of the March was more notable for adverse climates and geography, which was probably worse than what the Nationalists could throw at them. Bibliography for this episode: Short, Philip Mao, A Life Henry Holdt and Company LLC 1999 Wi…
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By autumn 1934 it was clear that the Communists could not stay in southeast China. The solution was to step out for a walk, a long one. Bibliography for this episode: Short, Philip Mao, A Life Henry Holdt and Company LLC 1999 Wilson, Dick The Long March 1935: The Epic of Chinese Communism's Survival The Viking Press 1971 Chung-gi, Kwei The Kuominta…
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