After the First World War,
throughout
much of the Western world there was a turn to authoritarian political
figures who
promised to provide final solutions to major social and political
problems,
such as unemployment, inflationary trends, alleged moral decline and
political gridlock. In many cases, the rise to power of these
authoritarian leaders, usually dictators, was often aided by the
creation
of imaginary enemies as scapegoats for a country's problems
(for example, Hitler's anti-Semitic propaganda campaigns blaming the
Jews for Germany's travails). Only a few countries, such as the
United States, Great Britain and France, remained functioning
democracies by the late 1930s, but even democratic countries faced
political trouble trying to deal with the effects of the Great
Depression. The emergence of fascism and national socialism did
not bode well for peace in Europe, as both movements lauded war as a
glorious national activity. Hitler, in particular, having served
in the German army in World War I, possessed a deep belief in the
cleansing powers of modern war and was always intent on war. (See, for example, his Reichstag
Speech of 20 February 1938.)
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