Peace In Their Time

Episode 44 - The Dominions

I've stressed in past episodes the importance of France and the United Kingdom in putting together a peaceful world order in the 1920s. That preeminence was a result of both countries acquiring gigantic empires reaching into every part of the globe, and today we're going to start covering those empires and how they played into the decisions of their rulers. In this episode we're covering the British Dominions, the most un-colonial parts of Britain's empire. They were already starting to go their own way, but were still considered essential components. This'll be more an overview today, as I won't be getting too in depth for such a large group, but this'll give you a good intro to where each of the emerging nations stand in relation to their mother country and what their own priorities were. 

 

Bibliography for this episode: 

1. Brown, Judith & Louis, Roger The Oxford History of the British Empire: Volume IV - The Twentieth Century Oxford University Press 1999
2. Roberts, AD The Cambridge History of Africa: Volume 7 from 1905 to 1940 Cambridge University Press 1986
3. Darwin, John The Empire Project: The Rise and Fall of the British World System 1830-1970 Cambridge University Press 2009
4. Bothwell, Robert The Penguin History of Canada Penguin Books Ltd 2006

 

Questions? Comments? Email me at peaceintheirtime@gmail.com

 

Episode 43 - Rocky Hellas

We conclude our little tour of central Europe with Greece. Like their neighbors, they struggled over territorial claims and reconciling their adopted monarchy. But their greater ambitions only lead them into one disaster after another, and reduced their regional ambitions into that of another grasping state in south-central Europe, dependent on the fragile peace to keep outside aggressors at bay.  

 

Bibliography for this episode: 

1. Beaton, Roderick Greece: Biography of a Modern Nation University of Chicago Press 2019
2. Berend, Ivan Decades of Crisis: Central and Eastern Europe Before World War II University of California Press 1998
3. Glenny, Misha The Balkans: Nationalism, War, and the Great Powers 1804-1999 Penguin Books Ltd 1999

 

Questions? Comments? Email me at peaceintheirtime@gmail.com

Episode 42 - New Great Bulgaria

In the big histories of the 30s and 40s, Bulgaria doesn't get mentioned a whole lot. And the reason for that is because they were effectively kneecapped by their neighbors! The Balkans in the early 1900s was a scramble for land, and despite trying their hardest, the Bulgarians were the odd man out. Once an assertive country, they would wallow in the throes of internal chaos. And like Hungary, they would be left waiting for the new order of the 20s to be undone. 

 

Bibliography for this episode: 

1. Berend, Ivan Decades of Crisis: Central and Eastern Europe Before World War II University of California Press 1998
2. Glenny, Misha The Balkans: Nationalism, War, and the Great Powers 1804-1999 Penguin Books Ltd 1999

 

Questions? Comments? Email me at peaceintheirtime@gmail.com

Episode 41 - Family Feuds

Say what you will about all the dysfunction across Europe in the 1920s, at least all the nations I've been covering have survived after some... uh, adjustments. Yugoslavia though? Not so much. Yugoslavia's story in this episode might be the most familiar, simply because the same issues of sectarianism sprung up again within living memory. And now you'll get some context for that as today I'll be covering the beginnings of those conflicts and the troubled birth of the country in general.  

 

Bibliography for this episode: 

1. Berend, Ivan Decades of Crisis: Central and Eastern Europe Before World War II University of California Press 1998
2. Lampe, John Yugoslavia as History: Twice There was a Country Cambridge University Press 2000
3. Glenny, Misha The Balkans: Nationalism, War, and the Great Powers 1804-1999 Penguin Books Ltd 1999

 

Questions? Comments? Email me at peaceintheirtime@gmail.com

Episode 40 - Into the Balkans We Go

On the continued Central European overview I stop in on Romania and Albania! Romania is a fun one because unlike a lot of other countries, they managed to get pretty much everything they ever wanted in the aftermath of WWI. It shouldn't come as a surprise though that this came at the cost of antagonizing several neighbors, which included the Soviet Union. Albania on the other hand was so wracked by division that it barely played any role in the events of the day, and I focus on how it became an Italian outpost in the region. 

 

Bibliography for this episode: 

1. Berend, Ivan Decades of Crisis: Central and Eastern Europe Before World War II University of California Press 1998
2. Hitchins, Keith A Concise History of Romania Cambridge University Press 2014
3. Glenny, Misha The Balkans: Nationalism, War, and the Great Powers 1804-1999 Penguin Books Ltd 1999

 

Questions? Comments? Email me at peaceintheirtime@gmail.com

Episode 39 - Despair on the Danube

It's a double feature today as I cover the former imperial partners Austria and Hungary. Their mutual defeat in the Great War ruined both and left them at the tender mercies of both their former subjects and enemies. After initial bursts of social upheaval that so characterized the early 20s in Europe, the pair would settle politically into right-wing dominance, making them future playthings of the larger Fascistic powers later on. 

 

Bibliography for this episode: 

1. Berend, Ivan Decades of Crisis: Central and Eastern Europe Before World War II University of California Press 1998
2. Gerwarth, Robert The Vanquished: Why the First World War Failed to End Farrar, Straus, and Giroux 2016
3. Hoensch, Jorg A History of Modern Hungary 1867-1994 Longman Group Ltd 1996
4. Bischof, Gunter, et al From Empire to Republic: Post-World War I Austria University of New Orleans Press 2010

Episode 38 - Polish Reboot

Out of all the unlucky nations I cover on this podcast, probably none had it quite like Poland. After over a century of non-existence, the interwar era saw the Polish nation birth itself back into being. Born in conflict, this version of Poland would never quite find its footing, whilst being wedged between two large nations who would love to partition the country yet again. But as I'll cover, much of their misfortune was self-inflicted, and the young state would tragically do itself few favors. 

 

Bibliography for this episode: 

1. Berend, Ivan Decades of Crisis: Central and Eastern Europe Before World War II University of California Press 1998
2. Gerwarth, Robert The Vanquished: Why the First World War Failed to End Farrar, Straus, and Giroux 2016
3. Davies, Norman God's Playground: A History of Poland, Volume II Columbia University Press 2005
4. Kochanski, Halik The Eagle Unbowed: Poland and the Poles in the Second World War Penguin Books Ltd 2012

 

Questions? Comments? Email me at peaceintheirtime@gmail.com

Episode 37 - The Other Guys

Overviews ahoy! Today we start a miniseries doing quick coverage of notable events in the long string of European nations that found themselves stuck between the two future Axis powers and the Soviet Union. This area would eventually become the killing fields of Europe, and knowledge of local histories is important to understand how each place fit into the bigger picture. Today I'll be focusing on a broad group of nations, Finland, the Baltic States, and Czechoslovakia, and how they struggled into existence during the 20s. 

 

Bibliography for this episode: 

1. Berend, Ivan Decades of Crisis: Central and Eastern Europe Before World War II University of California Press 1998
2. Gerwarth, Robert The Vanquished: Why the First World War Failed to End Farrar, Straus, and Giroux 2016
3. Jones, Nigel The Birth of the Nazis Constable & Robinson Ltd 2004

 

Questions? Comments? Email me at peaceintheirtime@gmail.com

Episode 36 - The Wilderness Years

The last episode on Nazis for a while! Fresh out of prison, Hitler has to reckon with a changed Germany in the back half of the 20s. After recovering from a cataclysmic economic collapse, nobody seemed receptive to a political message predicated on violence and social upheaval. This should be the time that the Nazi party disbands and Hitler fades back into obscurity, but he and his gang were a stubborn lot and stuck it out long enough to exploit the next disaster. 

 

Bibliography for this episode: 

1. Kershaw, Ian Hitler, 1889-1936: Hubris W.W. Norton & Company, Inc 1998
2. Toland, John Adolf Hitler, Volume 1 Doubleday & Company Inc 1976
3. Evans, Richard The Coming of the Third Reich Penguin Books, 2003

 

Questions? Comments? Email me at peaceintheirtime@gmail.com

Episode 35 - The Beer Hall Putsch

I would say it's funny that such a half-baked coup actually went ahead, except we all know how this ends up. This should have been the end for Hitler, yet the failings of Weimar meant that he'd eventually get his (much more important) second act. 

Bibliography for this episode: 

1. Kershaw, Ian Hitler, 1889-1936: Hubris W.W. Norton & Company, Inc 1998
2. Toland, John Adolf Hitler, Volume 1 Doubleday & Company Inc 1976

 

Questions? Comments? Email me at peaceintheirtime@gmail.com