Europe, 1890-1945 Crisis and Conflict

by Winks, Robin W.; Adams, R. J. Q.

• ISBN13: 9780195154504
• ISBN10: 0195154509
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-02-13
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

The first half of the twentieth century was of one of the most turbulent periods in Europe's history. While social theorists challenged orthodox ways of thinking about the establishment of a "good society," scientists offered up new visions of the workings of the universe. Women fought forincreased power within the altered social landscape, and change and controversy reigned in the worlds of art and culture. The chaos of world politics ushered in the two great wars, which would forever alter Europe's position in the world. Europe, 1890-1945 offers a concise, accessible overview of this tumultuous time period. It provides a clear outline of the political events that shaped the age and offers a discussion of the seismic shifts in social and cultural landscapes. Topics covered include the rise of modernism in the arts,Social Darwinism and its effects on theories of race, the making of "national" identities, the origins of the modern ecology movement, and the changing roles of women in an era of war and violence. The authors thoroughly analyze the causes and effects of the two great wars, while reaching beyondEurope to discuss the events in the United States, Africa, and Asia that contributed to the evolving face of world politics. With nine maps for easy reference, chapter summaries to aid in reader comprehension, a detailed chronology, and twenty-four photographs, Europe, 1890-1945 is an ideal text forundergraduate courses that explore the crisis and conflict that governed the early twentieth-century European world.

Author Biography

Robin W. Winks is Randolph W. Townsend, Jr. Professor of History at Yale University. R. J. Q. Adams is Professor of History and Claudius M. Easley, Jr. Faculty Fellow in Liberal Arts at Texas A&M University

Table of Contents

The New Age	p. 1
European Peoples	p. 1
The Creative Passion	p. 4
The New Sciences	p. 9
New Visions of Society	p. 12
Freud and the Science of the Mind	p. 19
New Women	p. 21
Summary	p. 23
The Modernization of Nations	p. 26
Political Ideas	p. 27
Britain: Toward Democracy and Crisis	p. 28
France: The Third Republic, 1890-1914	p. 38
Italy: Unity and Frustration	p. 41
Germany: The Nation-State	p. 45
Austria-Hungary: Dividing Humanity into Nations	p. 49
Imperial Russia: The Struggle for Modernity	p. 57
The Autocratic Monarchies in 1914	p. 64
The United States: The Emerging Great Power	p. 65
Summary	p. 69
Great War, Great Revolution	p. 72
Causes of the War	p. 72
The Course of the War	p. 84
The Home Fronts	p. 93
The Peace Settlements	p. 96
The Russian Revolution of 1917	p. 105
The Environment	p. 119
Between the Wars: A Twenty-Year Crisis	p. 125
The First Triumph of Fascism: Italy	p. 129
The Weimar Republic: Germany, 1918-1933	p. 135
Germany Under Hitler, 1933-1939	p. 145
Authoritarianism in Iberia	p. 152
Successor States to the Habsburg Empire	p. 155
Other Authoritarian Regimes in Europe	p. 159
The Soviet Union	p. 160
Summary	p. 174
The Democracies and the Non-Western World	p. 176
Great Britain	p. 177
France	p. 183
The United States	p. 187
The East Meets the West: Western History and World History	p. 193
Summary	p. 207
The Second World War and Its Aftermath	p. 209
International Politics Between the Wars	p. 209
The Road to War, 1931-1939	p. 216
World War II, 1939-1942	p. 222
Victory for the United Nations	p. 236
The War in the Pacific	p. 245
Aftermath	p. 250
Summary	p. 255
Chronology	p. 256
Suggestions for Further Reading	p. 263
Index	p. 283
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