Economic Depression and Dictators: Crash Course European History #37

We're still leading up to World War II, but first we gotta talk about the rise of the dictators. Today we talk about the rise of militaristic dictatorships in Germany, the Soviet Union, Japan, and Spain, and the economic depression that set the stage for their rise.

Sources
-Hunt, Lynn et al. Making of the West: Peoples and Cultures. 6th ed. Boston: Bedford St. Martins, 2019.
-Kershaw, Ian. Hitler, A Biography. New York: W. W. Norton, 2010.
-Kotkin, Stephen. Stalin: Waiting for Hitler, 1929-1941. New York: Penguin, 2017.
-Slezkine, Yuri. The House of Government: A Saga of the Russian Revolution. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2017.
-Smith, Bonnie G. Europe in the Contemporary World, 1900 to the Present. 2nd ed. London: Bloomsbury, 2020.

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[xessenceofinsanityx]

"Even taxes aren't a sure thing, just ask amazon."

Sick burn.

[MichaelBrown-yieo]

"History isn't just something that happens it's something that each of us helps to make, a responsibility we all need to take seriously, "-John Green 15:56-16:07

Thank you John.

[thedailybellringer]

It's interesting how the Great Depression is sometimes viewed by Americans as strictly an American event. The global impact is amazing.

[katherinepagan]

Can anyone else feel John's increasing desperation as he describes the rise of fascism? He's practically begging the audience to please, for the love of God, connect the dots.

[ElectricKid]

As a grad student in military and European history, there’s no way I could cover as much as you did in such a condensed video. John Green, you are an inspiration. 📚 ✏️

[andrewgutmann]

John: “Nothing is a sure thing! ...Except death.”

*CGP Grey has entered the chat*

[TheFlygon]

Some constructive criticism for the CrashCourse writing team: Our history teachers taught us that "Kristallnacht" (literally translates to crystal night) is a cynical euphemism invented by the Nazis to glorify the destruction they caused that night. It's better to call it "Pogromnacht", since the word "Pogrom" describes an organised massacre of helpless people, which accurately described what happened.
Much love from Germany

[Trashplat]

I'm really proud about the way we deal with our past in Germany, how much our education system tries to teach us, how brutally honest and open we are in our portrayal of history. And I used to think that, for a human that is now four generations removed from the time of the rise of the Nazis, I had a good grip on how that played out and how people experienced it. But I'm sad to say that my empathy with the world back then has majorly increased over the last few years. Now, our democracy is robust and I'm in no way saying or thinking that the threat nowadays is in any way on that level. It's far far far from that. The Nazis were the Nazis, and those populists today are not. But seeing the open hate against muslims and jews, seeing how much people want to get rid of our liberal democracy, how fanatic people can get within their world view? That's sadly helped me understand the situation back then. Let me make this clear once again: Today is not then, today is not leading to a racist industrial genocide of millions, but I understand some phenomena that I only knew from my textbooks better now, simply because I can see them today as well. I can now relate to those times better, because more of it is mirrored by my present. Horrifying.

[akshaygowrishankar]

"Even taxes aren't a sure thing, just ask Amazon"




That's the keystone of my bridge of happiness :)

[DuranmanX]

Time for the fun part of history. Remember, this all happened within 100 years, which is within a human lifetime, and is a blink of an eye in the grand historical scale.

[Pinkerton]

I just want to say that calling that swastika a "Buddhist symbol" is an incredibly incomplete historical statement. Use of the swastika has been recorded as far back as 10, 000 BCE, and it has been found in Bronze and Iron age art throughout Asia AND Europe in pretty much every single culture, as well as some places in Africa. Yes, it was misappropriated and had its image destroyed, yes it was a Buddhist symbol, but the implication made with that statement is that the Nazi party based their use of it on an appropriation of the symbol FROM Buddhist art, but this is clearly not the case. They used it as a reference to historical Germanic art, where it was also prevalent. Along with Celtic art, Sami art, Greco-Roman art, Illyrian, Armenian, Slavic, Polish, Hindu, Jainist, Ashanti, and interestingly enough various native American cultures from Panama to Canada, including Navajo art, based on which it had been used on Arizona roadsigns.
In the time immediately preceding the rise of the Nazi party, it had been used in symbolism for the Theosophical society, a Danish brewery, an Icelandic shipping company, an Irish laundry company, both the Finnish and Latvian Air Forces, parts of the Polish military, a Swedish industrial company, the Oslo municipal power station, the 45th Infantry Division of the US Army...there is even a town in Ontario founded in 1908 which is named "Swastika".

The place where the Nazi party likely appropriated it from was the Order of the New Templars, which was the first to use it in the context of "racial consciousness" and "Aryan aesthetics". But that group also used the Fleur-de-Lys in their symbolism, so the Nazis could have easily taken and destroyed that symbol, as well.

Basically, the only point I am trying to make here is that I think it is incomplete to the point of inaccuracy to simply say that the swastika was a Buddhist symbol that had been misappropriated.

[mohamedali]

This episode's vibe is really scary and depressing 🤔

[brandonamyot]

This reminds me in many ways of the current situation in Hungary. Using the COVID-19 pandemic as a catalyst, the Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, basically just consolidated power further. Something he has been working on for years. He did this not on his own accord, but with parliamentary support. He has a majority in parliament. This goes to John's point: tyrants usually have some support, that's how they can carry out their acts.

[ashsides]

He just seems so depressed now. My social studies teacher used to assign his older videos for us to watch and take notes. He used to be so fun and jittery, but now he seems so depressed. I literally just went to this video because i missed John Green. I literally said, "i don't care what video i watch, i just wanna see John Green."

[masudaahmed]

Europe: *plays empire game
Japan: that looks fun
Europe: only we can empire

[brofenix]

Wow, that ending was very well written. We should take our role in creating history seriously.

[tgchubbs]

God these videos are so important. I look forward to them every week

[Hyenatempest]

I'M SO GLAD WE LEARNED FROM OUR MISTAKES!

[tannermcnabb]

"And what makes such evils so terrifying is not that tyrants can rise to power, but that they often do so with broad swathes of support.
History isn't just something that happens; it's something that each of us helps to make. A responsibility we ALL need to take seriously."


Got me right in the feels with


Have been banging my head against the wall trying to convey similar messages to folks these last few years

[xhackmasterx]

Love this. One thing I always wish people would mention when talking WWII is the history of British Imperialism that preceded it. It's all well and good to quote Churchill as he was an important figure, but we never talk enough about the atrocities he sanctioned against those under British Imperial rule in India and Africa among other places. Capitalism has had far reaching negative effects and it is often left out of conversations about what "lessons" we should be taking home from videos like these. We can learn from WWII but it would be a mistake to think we have ever learn our lessons. We are always making history.