Concetti Chiave
- Post-WWI Britain saw a political shift with the Liberal Party's decline, replaced temporarily by the Labour Party, though Conservatives retained power until WWII.
- King Edward VIII's abdication in 1936, due to his intended marriage to Wallis Simpson, led to George VI's reign during WWII.
- The League of Nations struggled due to US isolation, Soviet hostility, and Germany's defiance, with Japan and Italy's withdrawals further weakening it.
- Britain's rearmament was seen as necessary to negotiate with militarily ambitious Germany, as authoritarian regimes spread across Europe.
- The Spanish Civil War saw General Franco's Nationalists, backed by Germany and Italy, triumph over the Republicans, establishing an authoritarian regime.
La transizione politica post-bellica
After the war, the General Election of 1918 saw the Liberal Party disappear. Its place was taken temporarily by the Labour Party. Although the Labour Party took office as a minority government for two short periods, power between 1922 and the Second World War was still in the hands of the Conservatives.
George V died in 1936, succeeded by his son Edward VIII. The new king was extremely popular, but after ten months he abdicated in order to marry a twice-divorced American lady, Mrs Wallis Simpson, despite the opposition of public to such marriage. He went into exile as the Duke of Windsor, and it was his brother, George VI, who ruled England during the hard but glorious years of the terrible conflict.
Il fallimento della Società delle Nazioni
As already mentioned, the Treaty of Versailles included the Covenant of the League of Nations, but its activities were undermined by the isolation and lack of the cooperation by the United States, the hostility of Soviet Russia and the continuous attempts of Germany to evade its obligations.
In 1933 Japan withdrew from the League in the same year the German dictator, Adolf Hitler, announced the withdrew of Germany and, in opposition to the terms of Versailles, re-established military conscription. Italy attacked and conquered Abyssinia in 1936, and the opposition of the League was useless, only leading to Italy's withdrawal, too. In England most Conservatives were favorable to conciliation and concessions, hoping that such policy would bring Germany and Italy back to peaceful cooperation.
While a great part of Europe adopting authoritarian political systems, the British Parliament to support the rearmament of Britain when only a position of military strength could give England the potential for negotiation. It was clear, besides that Germany intended to acquire global power, in retaliation for its defeat in 1918. In Spain, too, after a brief period of democratically elected reformist government, authoritarian forces took control.
La guerra civile spagnola
In 1920s and 1930s Spain still had a political system based on Parliament (the Cortes), dominated by the rural elites, the Catholic Church and the Army. The latter, in 1923, had overthrown the weak constitutional monarchy of Alfonso XIII, and General Primo de Rivera became military dictator of the new republic. But De Rivera was in turn overthrown and the Republic made reforms which disestablished the Church, reduced the size of the Army and the power of the rural elite.
As a consequence there were political murders, riots and land seizures, which made Spain ungovernable. In July, 1936, the Nationalist Army Officers attempted a cup d'etat, and a civil war broke out between the Nationalists and the Republican forces. The Nationalists were supported by Germany and Italy, but the Republicans could only have volunteers support from the International Brigades.
The National Army was led by General Francisco Franco (1892-1975), whose forces were victorious. The war ended in March 1939 and Franco became the ruler of all Spain, imposing an authoritarian regime which lasted till his death. Many Europeans and American intellectuals went to Spain during the conflict as war correspondents or as volunteers.
Domande da interrogazione
- ¿Qué partido político tomó el lugar del Partido Liberal en Gran Bretaña después de la Primera Guerra Mundial?
- ¿Por qué abdicó el rey Eduardo VIII?
- ¿Qué impacto tuvo la retirada de Japón y Alemania de la Liga de las Naciones?
- ¿Cómo influyó la Guerra Civil Española en el panorama político de España?
- ¿Qué papel jugaron los intelectuales europeos y americanos durante la Guerra Civil Española?
Después de la Primera Guerra Mundial, el Partido Liberal desapareció y su lugar fue tomado temporalmente por el Partido Laborista, aunque el poder entre 1922 y la Segunda Guerra Mundial permaneció en manos de los Conservadores.
El rey Eduardo VIII abdicó después de diez meses para casarse con la estadounidense dos veces divorciada, la señora Wallis Simpson, a pesar de la oposición pública a tal matrimonio.
La retirada de Japón y Alemania de la Liga de las Naciones debilitó sus actividades, ya que Alemania también reestableció el servicio militar obligatorio en oposición a los términos de Versalles.
La Guerra Civil Española resultó en la victoria de las fuerzas nacionalistas lideradas por el General Francisco Franco, quien impuso un régimen autoritario que duró hasta su muerte.
Muchos intelectuales europeos y americanos fueron a España durante la Guerra Civil como corresponsales de guerra o como voluntarios, apoyando a las fuerzas republicanas.
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