Europe 1880-1945

539 Pages·2000·3.589 MB·English

by  J. M. Roberts

A GENERAL HISTORY OF EUROPE
Europe 1880–1945
J. M. Roberts Third edition
General Editor: DENYS HAY
Formerly Emeritus Professor of Medieval History in the University of Edinburgh T E
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Europe 1880-1945 surveys the continent when it was at the apogee of its power. 8
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In these sixty-five years Europe’s political and economic domination of the globe
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came to a climax and then crumbled. Europe’s internal divisions and failure
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to solve internal problems brought it twice to the brink of self destruction. 1
9
European quarrels detonated two World Wars and the struggle to dominate
4
Europe dictated the course of both. 5

Europe 1880-1945 is the classic survey of the period. Social, economic and
cultural history are integrated within a firm framework of political narrative and
the major themes around which the text is organised are presented through
sharp and striking detail. These general themes link together the history of
individual countries; it is a true history of Europe as a whole.

For this new edition, John Roberts has revised the text in the light of the latest
scholarship and added a new guide to further reading.

John Roberts taught for twenty-five years at Oxford, before becoming Vice
Chancellor at University of Southampton and then returning to Oxford to
become Warden at Merton College. He is the author of many successful books,
including The History of the World and recorded a thirteen part television series
for the BBC, Triumph of the World.
Europe 1880–1945
R Third edition
Cover Image ©The Illustrated London News o
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J. M. Roberts
www.routledge.com
A GENERAL HISTORY OF EUROPE
CVR_ROBE7454_03_SE_CVR.indd 1
Europe
1880–1945
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A GENERAL HISTORY OF EUROPE
General Editor: Denys Hay
For many years the volumes of Denys Hay’s distinguished
General History of Europe have been standard recommendations
for university students, sixth formers and general readers. They
offer broad surveys of European history, in which the detailed
discussion (on a regional or continent-wide basis) of social,
economic, administrative and intellectual themes is woven
into a clear framework of political events. They set out to
combine scholarship with accessibility in texts which are
both attractively written and intellectually vigorous. Now
the series is being revised and refreshed again, with many
of the books being relaunched – reset, redesigned, and in a
larger, more reader-friendly format.
Currently available:
A. H. M. Jones, The Decline of the Roman World
Christopher Brooke, Europe in the Central Middle Ages 962–1154
(Third Edition)
John H. Mundy, Europe in the High Middle Ages 1150–1300
(Third Edition)
Denys Hay, Europe in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries
(Second Edition)
H. G. Koenigsberger, George L. Mosse, and G. Q. Bowler,
Europe in the Sixteenth Century
(Second Edition)
D. H. Pennington, Europe in the Seventeenth Century
(Second Edition)
M. S. Anderson, Europe in the Eighteenth Century
(Third Edition)
Franklin L. Ford, Europe 1780–1830
(Second Edition)
Harry Hearder, Europe in the Nineteenth Century 1830–1880
(Second Edition)
J. M. Roberts, Europe 1880–1945
(Third Edition)
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A GENERAL HISTORY OF EUROPE
Europe
1880–1945
THIRD EDITION
J. M. Roberts
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First published 1967 by Pearson Education Limited
Second edition 1989
Third edition 2001
Published 2013 by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA

© J. M. Roberts 1967, 2001
The right of J. M. Roberts to be identified as author
of this Work has been asserted by him in accordance
with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or
by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission
in writing from the publishers.

Notices
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broaden our understanding, changes in research methods, professional practices, or medical
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ISBN 13: 978-0-582-35745-7 (pbk)
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Roberts, J. M. (John Morris), 1928–
Europe, 1880–1945 / J. M. Roberts.—3rd ed.
p. cm. — (A General history of Europe)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0–582–35745–4 (PPR) — ISBN 0–582–35746–4 (CSD)
1. Europe—History—1871–1918. 2. Europe—History—1918–1945. I. Series.
Set in 9.5/12.5pt Stone Roman 00–035706
Typeset by 35
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Contents
List of abbreviations and acknowledgements x
Preface xi
Maps xiii
1 What this book is about 1
European and world history, p. 1 – Perspectives, p. 5.
2 Europe in 1880 8
States and peoples: Europe’s political organization, p. 8 –
Population structure and trends, p. 11 – Mortality, p. 13 –
Towns, p. 16 – The economy before 1914: its foundations, p. 17
– Agriculture, p. 19 – Industry, p. 21 – The movement of the
economy 1880–1914, p. 22 – Overall expansion, p. 24 – The
‘advanced’ economies, p. 27 – Transport, p. 29 – The machinery
of capitalism, p. 31 – Europe and the world: the domination of
her culture, p. 32 – Colonies, p. 33 – Europe’s place in the world
economy, p. 35 – Revolutionary influences spreading from
Europe, p. 36 – Vitality of European civilization, p. 40.
3 The ancien régime 41
Society: institutions and assumptions, ‘market’ and ‘status’
societies, p. 42 – Elites and masses, p. 42 – The diffusion of
bourgeois ideas and standards, p. 44 – Politics: acceptance of
the sovereign state, p. 46 – Monarchy, p. 47 – Nationalism,
p. 49 – Racialism, p. 50 – Antisemitism, p. 51 – Spread of formal
democracy, p. 52 – Increase of legislation, p. 52 – Religion: p. 53
– Anticlericalism and Roman Catholicism, p. 55 – Leo XIII,
p. 56 – Protestantism, p. 58 – Jewry, p. 59.
4 International competition, 1880–1901 60
The setting of international relations: the sources of rivalry,
p. 60 – Armies, p. 60 – Navies, p. 63 – The roots of policy in the
great powers, p. 64 – Common assumptions, p. 67 – Public
opinion and foreign policy, p. 69 – Bismarck’s Europe: the Berlin
settlement, p. 70 – Bismarck’s alliances, p. 72 – The Egyptian
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Contents
question, p. 74 – Balkan troubles, p. 75 – Austro-Russian rivalry,
p. 76 – The beginning of imperial rivalry, 1880–90: the new
imperialism, p. 78 – Anglo-French rivalry, p. 81 – The ‘scramble
for Africa’, p. 82 – Anglo-Russian tension in Central Asia, p. 86
– Popular feeling, p. 87 – Imperialism and capitalism, p. 88 –
Realignments in the 1890s: the Franco-Russian alliance, p. 89 –
Austro-Russian relaxation, p. 92 – Great Britain’s isolation, p. 93
– The Far East, p. 94 – Fashoda, p. 96.
5 Before 1914: Constitutional states 97
The United Kingdom: political institutions and ideas, p. 98 –
Party struggles, p. 102 – Ireland, p. 104 – Social legislation,
p. 106 – The labour movement, p. 108 – Queen Victoria dies,
p. 109 – The House of Lords struggle, p. 110 – Social unrest
and suffragettes, p. 112 – Ireland again, p. 113 – France: social
foundations of the Republic, p. 114 – Political institutions,
p. 116 – Divisions, p. 118 – Boulanger, p. 121 – The Ralliement,
p. 122 – Dreyfus, p. 124 – Church and state, p. 124 – Spain and
Italy: their similarities, p. 127 – Contrasts, p. 128 – Spanish
politics, p. 129 – The growth of social unrest, p. 131 – Catalonia,
p. 132 – Italy’s divisions, p. 134 – The problem of the south,
p. 135 – Depretis and Crispi, p. 137 – Giolitti, p. 141.
6 Autocracy and conservatism 144
Imperial Russia: the peasants, p. 144 – The tsars, p. 146 –
Officialdom and arbitrary rule, p. 147 – Terrorism and repression,
p. 148 – Industrial change, p. 149 – Social Democracy, p. 150 –
The 1905 revolution, p. 152 – The Dumas, p. 154 – Stolypin,
p. 155 – The Habsburg Monarchy: the dual structure, p. 156 –
National problems, p. 157 – Hungary, p. 158 – Franz Joseph
and the politicians, p. 162 – Taaffe, p. 162 – The South Slav
problem, p. 165 – Imperial Germany: its achievement, p. 167 –
Prussia, p. 168 – Sham constitutionalism, p. 169 – Bismarck,
p. 170 – The SPD, p. 172 – William II, p. 173 – German
chauvinism and conservatism, p. 175.
7 Anti-traditional forces 178
Intellectual and cultural: the natural sciences, p. 178 – Relativity,
p. 181 – Psychology, p. 183 – Popular education, p. 183 –
Innovation in the arts, p. 184 – Irrationalism, p. 185 – Political
and social: anti-parliamentarianism, p. 187 – Political violence,
p. 190 – Anarchism, p. 191 – Socialism and the Second
International, p. 192 – Feminism, p. 197.
vi
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Contents
8 International relations, 1901–14 200
Arbitration and factors mitigating competition, p. 200 – The
United States in world affairs, p. 201 – The crystallizing of the
Entente: the Anglo-Japanese alliance, p. 204 – Anglo-French
agreement, p. 205 – The Russo-Japanese war, p. 206 – The first
Morocco crisis, p. 207 – Anglo-Russian rapprochement, p. 208 –
German naval expansion, p. 210 – The re-emergence of Balkan
issues: the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, p. 212 – The
outbreak of war: The second Morocco crisis, p. 213 – The Italo-
Turkish war, p. 214 – The Balkan wars, p. 215 – Sarajevo, p. 217.
9 The Great War 220
The character of the war: nationalist fervour, p. 220 – The new
scale of warfare, p. 221 – The new military technology, p. 222 –
Fighting at sea, p. 224 – Economic demands, p. 225 – The spread
of the war, 1914–1917: Turkey, p. 228 – Italy, p. 231 – Gallipoli,
p. 233 – Rumania, p. 234 – The crisis of the war, 1916–1917:
peace attempts, p. 236 – American entry to the war, p. 239 –
The Russian revolution, p. 240 – The revolutionary war of 1918:
the Russian collapse, p. 242 – Brest-Litovsk, p. 243 – Habsburg
misgivings, p. 246 – New nationalities, p. 248 – The last German
effort, March 1918, p. 249 – Bulgaria sues for peace, p. 250 –
The break-up of the Habsburg monarchy, p. 251 – The German
armistice, p. 252.
10 Postwar Europe 253
Europe in 1918: economic and spiritual exhaustion, p. 253 –
Peace-making, 1919–23: The Peace Conference and the treaties,
p. 254 – New states, p. 260 – Reparations, p. 261 – Intervention
in Russia, p. 263 – The Polish settlement, p. 265 – The Turkish
settlement, p. 266 – Pacific problems, p. 268 – The search for
stability: revisionism, p. 270 – Italy’s demands, p. 271 – Russian
foreign policy, p. 272 – The League of Nations, p. 275 – The
Saar, p. 276 – Vilna, p. 276 – Upper Silesia, p. 277 – France and
Germany, p. 278 – Locarno, p. 282 – The last years of optimism,
p. 283.
11 Economy and society, 1918–39 285
Economic maladjustments, p. 285 – Destruction of the prewar
structure of trade, p. 286 – Inflation, p. 288 – Recovery in the
later 1920s, p. 289 – World economic collapse, p. 290 – Partial
recovery, p. 291 – Structural change: population trends, p. 292 –
The family, p. 295 – Urbanization, p. 297 – Agriculture, p. 297
vii
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Contents
– Land distribution in eastern Europe, p. 298 – Russian
collectivization, p. 299 – Industrial stagnation, p. 301 – Energy,
p. 302 – Transport, p. 303 – The industrial countries: the United
Kingdom, p. 303 – Germany, p. 304 – France and Italy, p. 304
– Russia, p. 305 – The withering of laissez-faire, p. 306 – Europe
and the world, p. 307 – Anti-European movements, p. 308 – The
rise of Japan, p. 310 – Colonial difficulties, p. 310 – The Muslim
world, p. 311.
12 Democratic Europe 314
Democracy between the wars: its prestige in 1918, p. 314 –
Its failure by 1939, p. 315 – The smaller democratic states,
p. 315 – France: society and the political system, p. 316 –
Poincaré saves the franc, p. 318 – The new right, p. 319 –
The Popular Front, p. 320 – Social reform, p. 321 – The United
Kingdom: wartime politics, p. 323 – Lloyd George and the end
of the old Liberal party, p. 324 – The General Strike, p. 328 –
1931, p. 329 – Long-term social trends, p. 331 – Foreign policy
and domestic politics, p. 332.
13 Totalitarianism and dictatorship 336
Russia: the background to the Revolution, p. 336 – The crisis
of 1918–21, p. 340 – NEP and famine, p. 343 – Stalin, p. 344 –
Collectivization and the Five Year Plans, p. 346 – The Terror,
p. 347 – Authoritarians and Fascists: some distinctions, p. 349 –
The drift to the right, p. 351 – Eastern Europe, p. 352 – Spain
and Portugal, p. 353 – Franco, p. 357 – The failure of democracy:
Italy, p. 358 – Postwar Italy, p. 359 – Mussolini takes power,
p. 361 – Fascism, p. 363 – The Lateran treaties, p. 365 – Fascist
economic policy, p. 366 – The failure of democracy: Germany,
p. 367 – The SPD divided, p. 368 – The army, p. 369 – Cultural
decadence, p. 369 – Political violence, p. 371 – Hitler, p. 372 –
Brüning’s chancellorship, p. 374 – The Nazis come to power,
p. 375 – The 1934 purge, p. 376 – The nature of the regime,
p. 377 – Relations with the army, p. 379 – Racial policy, p. 380.
14 Social and cultural change, 1918–39 382
Ways of life: major trends, p. 382 – Education and mass
communications, p. 383 – Material improvement, p. 384 – New
attitudes to the family and sex, p. 385 – New strains, p. 389
– Self-conscious Europe: the natural sciences, p. 390 – Anti-
liberalism and anti-objectivism, p. 392 – Philosophy, p. 393 –
viii
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Contents
The arts: the cinema, p. 395 – Architecture, p. 395 – Painting,
p. 396 – Surrealism, p. 397– Music, p. 398 – Literature, p. 398 –
The shaking of liberal society: violence and irrationalism, p. 399 –
Communism, p. 401.
15 The approach to the second world war 404
Power politics, 1930–36: responses to economic collapse,
p. 404 – Manchuria, p. 405 – The disarmament failure, p. 407 –
German rearmament, p. 408 – Italian foreign policy, p. 409 –
Ethiopia, p. 410 – The German problem, 1935–38, p. 413 – The
remilitarization of the Rhineland, p. 416 – The Spanish Civil
War, p. 417 – British policy and appeasement, p. 420 – The
Axis, p. 422 – Russian policy, p. 423 – The Anschluss and
Munich: Austrian policy, p. 425 – The Anschluss, p. 429 – Neville
Chamberlain, p. 429 – The Sudeten question, p. 430 –
The Munich agreements, p. 434 – Hitler’s Europe 1938–41:
elimination of Czecho-Slovakia, p. 434 – British guarantees to
Rumania and others, p. 435 – The Nazi–Soviet pact, p. 437 –
Poland invaded and second world war begins, p. 438 – German
victories in 1940, p. 439 – Italy’s defeats, p. 440 – Yugoslavia and
Greece invaded, p. 440 – The launching of Barbarossa, p. 442.
16 Europe and the second world war 443
The nature of the war in Europe: the Blitzkrieg, p. 443 – Air warfare,
p. 444 – Economic and social demands of the war effort, p. 445
– Inter-Allied cooperation, p. 448 – 1942 the turning point,
p. 450 – Wartime Europe: the United Kingdom, p. 451 – Occupied
Europe, p. 453 – Extermination policy, p. 453 – The Resistance,
p. 455 – Europe and the world in 1945: new political divisions,
p. 457 – Eastern Europe, p. 458 – Greece, p. 459 – The end of
Fascist Italy, p. 459 – De Gaulle and the recovery of France,
p. 460 – Germany in defeat, p. 463 – The crumbling of European
empire, p. 463 – American policy, p. 464.
17 Beyond this book: reading further 466
Some problems: p. 466 – Aids to study: p. 471 – The useful and the
stimulating: p. 474.
Appendix 488
1. Estimated populations of European countries 1880–1940 488
2. Production of basic industrial materials 489
Index 491
ix
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