2.4 The Great Depression

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2.4 The Great Depression

Have you ever heard of the Great Depression of 1929?

No

Maybe

Yes

Goals for this lesson

At the end of this lesson you can...

• explain the Wall Street Crash.
• Show the consequences of the Wall Street Crash using sources.
• explain how the Wall Street Crash led to the growth of anti-democracy parties in Germany.

Five terms to understand the crash

• Stock
• Credit
• Mortgage
• Bankrupt
• Dole 

Five terms to understand the crash

• Stock - the shares in the owning of a business or company.
• Credit - the right to buy things at the present time and not pay until later.
• Mortgage - A mortgage is a special type of loan used to buy a house.
• Bankrupt - to not have enough money to pay debts.
• Dole - a distribution of food, money, or the like to needy people.

Causes

•  Mass production and advertisements led to mass consumption.
• To buy everything people started buying with borrowed money.

Wall Street Crash

• 24 October 1929
• Shares on the New York Stock Exchange lost a lot of their value.
•  How: Panic selling of stocks and shares by professional and small investers.

Consequences (1/2)

• Loss of confidence in the economy.
• People try to save money instead of spending it ->
• Fewer workers are needed and unemployment rises.
• Compared to 3,7% in the Netherlands in 2025.

Consequences (2/2)

• Unemployed people can't repay their loans and mortgages.
• Banks have insufficient funds and go bankrupt.

How does this influence Germany?

But then the US economy loses 30 $ billion in one day

Germany

• The USA didn't want to loan money to Germany anymore.
• -> German economy suffered and collapsed.
• Germany entered the Great Depression as well. 

Homework next lesson

• Next lesson: Take with you book 1 and book 2. You will hand in book 1 for the first year student.
• We will use book to conclude 2.4 next lesson.