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1930s

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The 1930s were described as an abrupt shift to more radical and conservative lifestyles, as countries were struggling to find a solution to the Great Depression, also known as the World Depression.

The decade started off economically unsteady, with the stock market dropping late in 1929. However, late in 1930, stocks and the economy dropped more, and this time it didn't become better. Many people blamed then President Herbert Hoover for the things that were happening in the economy, along with the Great Depression. People began to feel the effects of the plunging stock market in 1931, and the situation grew progressively worse until reaching the low point in 1933. The gloomy conditions that arose led to a rise of political extremes between ultra-conservatism and radical political parties. After 1933, the economy began a gradual recovery which wouldn't reach the level of prosperity of 1930 until World War II. In both Central Europe and Eastern Europe, Fascism, Nazism, and Stalinism dominated as the solution to these problems: the first two adopted war-oriented economic policies while the latter adopted sweeping industrialization programs such as Stalin's Five-Year Plans, all of them described as totalitarian regimes. In East Asia, the rise of militarism occurred.

In Western Europe, Australia and the United States, more progressive reforms occurred as opposed to the extreme measures sought elsewhere. Roosevelt's New Deal attempted to use government spending to combat large-scale unemployment and severely negative growth. Ultimately, it would be the beginning of World War II in 1939 that would end the depression.

Technology

Many technological advances occurred in the 1930s, including:

War, peace and politics

Economics

Literature and Art

* most notable were Gone With The Wind, The Wizard of Oz and Dark Victory, of over 20 classics released in 1939;

* the soundtrack and photographic technology prompted many films to be made or re-made, such as the 1934 version of Cleopatra, using lush art deco sets which won an Academy Award (see films 1930-1939 in: Academy Award for Best Cinematography);

* the horror films (or monster movies) included many cult classics, such as Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, Jekyll/Hyde, King Kong, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and other films about wax museums, vampires and zombies, leading to the 1941 film The Wolf Man (wolfman);

* recurring themes included: Laurel and Hardy, the Marx Brothers, Tarzan, Charlie Chan, Alfred Hitchcock films, Our Gang, and the filming of "superheroes" such as The Phantom and Superman;

* hundreds of notable films were made in the 1930s (see: "1934 in film" or "1939 in film").

Popular Culture

Others

People

World leaders

Sports figures

British Commonwealth

United States

References

Updated Nov. 19, 2007

External links



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