Peace In Their Time

A sudden transformation of the economy needed collaborators to be carried out in such a short time frame as the Nazis were demanding. And it also demanded a closer relationship between the state and capital, leading to an unholy alliance that brought out the worst in both the German business class and the upper echelons of the Nazi government.    Bibliography for this episode:  Tooze, Adam Wages o...

One of the most striking accomplishments of the Nazi state during the 1930s was the speed with which it built an army capable of conquering Europe. It wasn't a perfect army mind you, but it was capable all the same. And given that it was built up from the weak interwar army in just six years, well something unusual was afoot in Germany. And that something was a startling overhaul of the economy to...

I bring my coverage of the Italo-Ethiopian war to a close today with a two-topic episode. First I cover events and changes in Italy brought on by the war, and then I give a general overview of the brutal regime and resulting insurgency in Ethiopia.    Bibliography for this episode:  Mockler, Anthony Haile Selassie's War Oliver Branch Press 2003 Pearce, Jeff Prevail: The Inspiring Story of Ethiopia...

One immediate effect of the Italians invading Ethiopia was that it kicked the international crisis that had formed beforehand into overdrive. Most governments might have preferred to keep to a light touch response, but public outcry was such that governments had to either respond or face actual consequences. But despite public pressure and the downfall of some politicians, help was badly lacking f...

Today I conclude the events of the initial Italian invasion of Ethiopia. It's an anti-climatic affair, with the collapse of the main Ethiopian armies the big challenge facing the invaders were the distances and geography involved. Still, there were numerous half-hearted gestures that delayed the Italians establishing their rule for many months after proper hostilities had concluded, and which set...

Today I cover the big battles of the war, and sad to say, they do not go Ethiopia's way at all. Despite promising tactical successes in the first few months of the conflict, the weight of Italian firepower finally overwhelmed the defenders on all fronts.    Bibliography for this episode:  Mockler, Anthony Haile Selassie's War Oliver Branch Press 2003 Pearce, Jeff Prevail: The Inspiring Story of Et...

Today I finally begin covering the actual Italian invasion of Ethiopia, which will take three installments. The first few months of the invasion were marked by a slow Italian advance, Ethiopia getting its army together, and the invaders quickly turning to chemical weapons.    Bibliography for this episode:  Mockler, Anthony Haile Selassie's War Oliver Branch Press 2003 Pearce, Jeff Prevail: The In...

This week I cover the other two branches of the Italian military, the navy and air force. Like the army, the get bad reputations. Also like the army, there are reasons for this, which I get into during the episode.    Bibliography for this episode:  Gooch, John Mussolini and His Generals Cambridge University Press, 2007 Bagnasco, Erminio and Mark Grossman Regia Marina: Italian Battleships of World...

It's finally time to take a hard look at the fighting forces of one of the major players in our story. And since this is a new kind of episode for me, I'm happy that I'm taking the baby step of talking about one of the smaller examples. Italy gets maligned a lot during this period, and there are good reasons for this, but today I not only want to cover how its army worked, but also where these def...

I'm trying something new today, and this episode isn't intended to advance the narrative at all, but it is intended to give a crash-course on military organization and important kinds of equipment. It's not intended for everyone, as some of you already know everything that I cover, and many of you who do not are not going to be interested in the material. And that's OK! I just wanted to throw this...

The Ethiopian Crisis kicked off over a border incident in the village of Walwal in October-December 1934, and then proceeded to slow-burn develop until the Italian invasion actually came in October 1935. It was a period of diplomatic maneuverings, and served to deliver a fatal blow to the system of collective security that had been so painfully built up during the 1920s.    Bibliography for this e...

Ethiopia was not Mussolini's preferred target in the early 1930s. His expansionist ambitions gravitated more towards the Balkans, and Yugoslavia in particular. But diplomatic and military realities, the pressure of an emerging fascist rival, and Italy's own weakness forced his attention towards East Africa as an alternative.    Bibliography for this episode:    Gooch, John Mussolini and His Genera...

I wrap up the intro to Ethiopia this week by covering the key points of Menelik's successful reign, and the rise to power of Ras Tafari Makonnen. Who before this episode is finished will have established himself under his much more famous royal name of Haile Selassie. His reign would see forceful attempts at modernization, which was carried out against a ticking clock, as there always seemed to be...

Today marks the start of another new miniseries, this time cover the Italian invasion of Ethiopia. But before I get going on the main topic, I'm going to be spending the next two episodes introducing modern Ethiopia. If you missed the overview histories from last season, you're in luck as this is a crash course how the country unified and survived the scramble for Africa.    Bibliography for this...

Given all the misfortune to have befallen the Roosevelt administration going into the 1934 mid-terms, you'd probably think FDR and the Democrats were going to pay a political price. Well, turns out their opposition wasn't exactly the most effectual. Or in the case of Huey Long it was complicated by actually being a Democrat at the time. Anyway, today I'm looking at the early opposition figures to...

One of the big criticisms of the New Deal, and one of the most valid, was the fact that it didn't do much of anything to try and tackle the plight of African-Americans. Sure, the relief efforts and public works projects were mostly made available to all Americans. But these efforts didn't reckon with the institutional discrimination of the country, nor the fact that they had toiled as second-class...

Organized labor might as well have been pronounced dead during the 1920s, and the Depression didn't seem like it'd be a big help in rejuvenating it. But thanks to a dramatic policy change from the Roosevelt administration, unions got a new lease on life. This would of course be challenged by the owner class, and the first couple years of worker resurgence would be met with physical force.    Bibli...

By 1933 the bright golden haze on America's meadows had been dimmed down to a featureless beige. Twelve years of bad times, which included four years of outright Depression, had wrecked the nation's farms. It would take unprecedented levels of intervention and organization to bring the truly lean years to a conclusion, and the collateral damage would be severe.    Bibliography for this episode:   ...

Possibly the most defining programs of the New Deal were the public works projects that created well-paying jobs for millions of Americans in the depths of the Depression. This shouldn't be a surprise, much of the nation's most iconic infrastructure, still in use in many cases to the modern day, was built through these programs. But they were not without controversy as today I'll be covering today...

The great economic straight-jacket of the 1920s and 30s was the Gold Standard, which created a global system that seemingly locked everybody into a stable system. I've talked about that enough already, so today I'm talking about how the Roosevelt administration began distancing itself from the old ways. Bibliography for this episode:    Kennedy, David M. Freedom From Fear: The American People in D...

The narrative of the New Deal really kicks off here, as I discuss the work of the National Recovery Administration. Okay, that's not totally accurate. I'm mostly talking about the public antics of its boss, former brigadier general Hugh Johnson. Who will easily win the award for most self-destructive character in this mini-series.    Bibliography for this episode:    Kennedy, David M. Freedom From...

Wherein the special session of Congress of 1933 concludes, and I can stop making blurbs about bills and government agencies.    Bibliography for this episode:    Kennedy, David M. Freedom From Fear: The American People in Depression and War 1929-1945 Oxford University Press 1999 Hiltzik, Michael The New Deal: A Modern History Simon and Schuster 2011 Schlesinger Jr, Arthur M. The Age of Roosevelt V...

The reforms in Washington, DC keep coming and this week we tackle public relief, housing, and farm management.    Bibliography for this episode:    Kennedy, David M. Freedom From Fear: The American People in Depression and War 1929-1945 Oxford University Press 1999 Hiltzik, Michael The New Deal: A Modern History Simon and Schuster 2011 Schlesinger Jr, Arthur M. The Age of Roosevelt Volume II: The...

Probably the most consequential legislative session in United States history was the special session of Congress that was summoned for the first 100 days of the FDR administration. Today, and for the next two episodes after, I'll be breaking down the major pieces of legislation that constituted the New Deal's first round. Both what they were and what they hoped to accomplish in the face of the Gre...

Getting back onto the chronological history of the United States, I take a look at the lame-duck period leading up to FDR's swearing-in. Unlike other lame-duck periods, things actually happened during this one. The economy entered a last freefall that might have spelled the end of the nation, the population sunk into despair, and Hoover tried to sabotage the incoming administration. But it didn't...