All Against All

More about the book

This narrative history captures the transformative winter of 1933, a time when global tensions escalated towards an unwanted war. It explores the power of misguided ideas and collective mentalities that drove nations from a postwar to a prewar mindset between November 1932 and April 1933. Historian Paul Jankowski illustrates how popular beliefs, rather than rational national interests, influenced this pivotal period. During these six months, delusions permeated societies, as mass participation and crowd mentality surged in both liberal and authoritarian regimes. Key events unfolded: Hitler's rise to power, Japan's invasion of Jehol, Mussolini's ambitions in Africa, Roosevelt's election, and France's governmental instability. The victors of World War I clashed over debts and tariffs, while a planned world economic conference collapsed as the US pursued its own path. Jankowski connects these seemingly disparate events, revealing their interrelatedness in hindsight. His work serves as a cautionary tale for contemporary western democracies, reflecting on the threats posed by dictatorial regimes and ideological challenges akin to those of the 1930s. As today's global crises unfold, the lessons from that era remind us of the potential consequences of collective failures, which ultimately led to the Second World War.