World War I had cost America a great deal but nothing compared to what it cost Europe and Russia. Most of the fighting on the Western front took place in France and the countryside was ravaged. One third of the men below the age of thirty were casualties and France was bankrupt.
The 20s were a turbulent period, with the public torn between the radicals and conservatives and there were periods when there was no government at all.
Finally Daladier, a seasoned mid-stream politician, took command. In the 30s, when Hitler was pulling Germany out of the depression by putting everyone to work building armaments, Daladier watched in alarm as Hitler acquired the Rhineland and Austria. The French were allied with Czechoslovakia. And now Prague was in the center of German sights and it was shortly to fall. Daladier could see the writing on the wall and it was in old-fashioned Gothic script.
With the help of the Czechs, he built the Maginot Line and, in return, put Czech pilots through flight school. He began mobilizing the army but he had little public support. The First World War was too fresh in memory. When Daladier went along with Chamberlain's treaty with Herr Hitler, the French were overjoyed. War had been averted.
It was the last concession France would grant Hitler. A week after Munich, Daladier began arming the country, putting down strikes, increasing armament production, and otherwise preparing the people for what was to come but it was late. In 1939, the French had 500 airplanes capable of flight, to Germany's three thousand. France would lose the war against Germany.
The program uses an informative narration but is largely made up -- about half and half -- of comments and explanations from talking heads, and newsreel footage of the period. It's compact and concise.
The 20s were a turbulent period, with the public torn between the radicals and conservatives and there were periods when there was no government at all.
Finally Daladier, a seasoned mid-stream politician, took command. In the 30s, when Hitler was pulling Germany out of the depression by putting everyone to work building armaments, Daladier watched in alarm as Hitler acquired the Rhineland and Austria. The French were allied with Czechoslovakia. And now Prague was in the center of German sights and it was shortly to fall. Daladier could see the writing on the wall and it was in old-fashioned Gothic script.
With the help of the Czechs, he built the Maginot Line and, in return, put Czech pilots through flight school. He began mobilizing the army but he had little public support. The First World War was too fresh in memory. When Daladier went along with Chamberlain's treaty with Herr Hitler, the French were overjoyed. War had been averted.
It was the last concession France would grant Hitler. A week after Munich, Daladier began arming the country, putting down strikes, increasing armament production, and otherwise preparing the people for what was to come but it was late. In 1939, the French had 500 airplanes capable of flight, to Germany's three thousand. France would lose the war against Germany.
The program uses an informative narration but is largely made up -- about half and half -- of comments and explanations from talking heads, and newsreel footage of the period. It's compact and concise.