4/26 rise of the dictators 37 - mr. hunter's...

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4/26 Rise of the Dictators 37

EQ: What accounted for the rise of

totalitarian states after World War 1?

The Rise

Dictators

Totalitarianism: A government in which a ruling

elite holds all power and controls all aspects of

society, allowing no opposition and maintaining

power with the use of terror and secret police

WHAT LED US DOWN THIS PATH?

The horrible economic conditions after WWI caused huge

problems for the populations of European countries.

Between war debts, high taxes & low wages, and the

worldwide depression that hit in the 1930s, people looked for

anything that could provide relief.

EQ: What accounted for the rise of totalitarian states after World War 1?

People were desperate, would listen to anyone

who could promise better times ahead.

This allowed figures such as Franco, Mussolini, and

Hitler to emerge.

People followed these

leaders because these men

were able to convince them

that their problems were

someone else’s fault.

And despite the hatred that

they preached, they did

improve living conditions

for the people.

These leaders promised better times

and gave the people a sense of

belonging. Symbols, uniforms, and

parades gave the illusion of a strong

people unified in a good cause.

They also made sure

the people had

someone to hate and

blame their

problems on.

Communism

Review

In the Soviet Union, the

years after WWI were

spent consolidating

control over the country.

After the Civil War, the

communists tried to

establish a strong

“temporary” central

government. Lenin

believed that

communism would

spread and become

accepted in the world.

When Lenin died in 1924, a struggle between his two

lieutenants, Stalin and Trotsky, began over control of the USSR.

Leon Trotsky was a brilliant

theorist and father of the Red

Army. He believed that

socialism could not stand

alone in one country, as

Stalin argued, and said that

the revolution must spread

beyond Russia’s borders.

Trotsky also believed that a

form of representation for the

people was necessary for

communism to work.

Joseph Stalin was a ruthless man

who opposed Trotsky’s ideas

He believed that the government

should have total power and operate

without regard for personal liberty.

This type of government is called

totalitarianism.

By 1928, Trotsky had lost, and he

was exiled from Russia. He fled to

Mexico, where Stalin had him

murdered in 1940.

WHO? - Stalin

Once Stalin was in

control, he “purged” the

government of anyone

who could be a threat to

WHO? - Stalin

Tens of thousands were

exiled to work camps in

Siberia, where thousands

died of disease and exposure.

Others were simply shot.

WHO? - Stalin

Stalin increased the number

of factories in Russia,

speeding up

industrialization.

Stalin also forced peasants

to work on “collective”

farms, trying to run

agriculture like a factory

system.

It is estimated that 30

million peasants died of

starvation.

WHO? - Stalin

Fascism

Italy was not prosperous after

WWI. They accumulated a

huge war debt fighting Austria

in the Alps. And despite their

sacrifices, Italy got hardly

anything from the Treaty of

Versailles.

This created a lot of anger against

the other Allies and caused

protests. Coupled with the strikes

and riots that accompanied the

shifting economy, this meant

there was a lot of discontent in

Italy.

Benito Mussolini was a veteran

of WWI who blamed the weak

government for the treaty. He

hated communism, which

began to grow in Italy after the

Benito Mussolini was a

bombastic public speaker who

was good at getting people

angry. He began to convince

them that a single leader was

necessary for a strong Italy.

WHO? - Mussolini

Mussolini formed a new party, called the

Fascist Party. It believed in one ruler with

absolute power and was anti-communist.

The symbol of the Fascists was the fasces,

the bundle of sticks used by the Roman

emperors to show their total power over the

tribes of Rome.

Mussolini also formed his own army of

enforcers, called the “blackshirts.” They

threatened anyone who stood up to

Mussolini.

WHO? - Mussolini

In 1922, Mussolini led

his blackshirts and other

supporters in the “March

on Rome.” Thousands of

supporters turned out to

hear Mussolini speak.

Mussolini said there

would be violence unless

he became prime

minister—and the king

gave in. Mussolini ruled

until 1945.

Mussolini became

known as Il Duce,

or “The Leader.”

He began to change

the government so

that he could wield

absolute power, as

the fascists believed

he should.

WHO? - Mussolini

To keep tight control;

-he censored the press,

-outlawed other political

parties,

-jailed or executed

thousands who disagreed

with him. Any opposition

was crushed violently.

WHO? - Mussolini

Mussolini wanted to make Rome strong again, the way it was in

Roman times. He even had a huge model of imperial Rome built

to remind him of Italy’s former glory. He began to build up the

Italian military.

Spain’s inefficient and

corrupt government was

widely hated by the

people. When the Great

Depression hit in the

1930s, the government did

little to ease the burden on

the people.

Several groups arose

which promised solutions

to the suffering of the

people. In 1936, Spain

erupted in civil war.

The war was fought between

loyalists of the government,

republicans, monarchists, and

the nationalists. It dragged on

for three years, and hundreds

of thousands died.

Many foreign powers sent aid,

like Germany and Russia, and

thousands of citizens of other

countries enlisted to fight on

one side or another. Ernest

Hemingway, the American

author, was one of these.

The leader of the

nationalists was

Francisco Franco.

When the nationalists

won the war, he

became the leader of

Spain.

He became known as

El Caudillo, which

means “The Leader.”

Japanese

militarism

Japan’s leaders in

the 1920s had

supported

westernization. By

the time of the

Great Depression,

however, people

had begun to

question this

course. They

believed that the

move away from

traditional Japanese

values caused the

tough economic

times.

The military had

learned from WWI that

the entire country

needed to be mobilized

to fight a total war.

Many leaders began to be

convinced that they needed

more control of the

government if Japan were to

prosper.

In 1930, Japan’s liberal

Prime Minister, who had just

agreed to a treaty limiting

Japanese naval power, fell

victim to an assassination

attempt. The military used

this as an excuse to take over

the government completely.

The emperor and the

military now ruled Japan.

WHO? - JAPAN

Under the new leadership, Japan

began to become ultra-nationalistic

and militaristic. Children learned to

fight for their emperor in school. The

military was enlarged.

Loyalty to the

emperor and to

Japan was

absolute.

WHO? - JAPAN

Japan realized that in order

to prosper in the

imperialistic age, they

needed the resources that

Japan itself lacked.

They began to believe that it

was Japan’s destiny to dominate

Asia, bringing its people and

resources under their control.

They called this the “Greater

East Asian Co-Prosperity

Sphere.” The slogan was “Asia

for the Asians.” They meant

“for the Japanese.”

In 1931, Japan

invaded Manchuria

to the north of

China. They set up

a puppet

government,

renaming it

Manchukuo.

Manchurian

resources began to

flood into Japan,

which further

expanded its

military.

WHO? - JAPAN

Totalitarian

government

in germany

Germany was crippled

by the Treaty of

Versailles. The

reparations payments

completely decimated

the economy, and

rampant inflation ruined

the value of the currency.

The Weimar Republic

could do little to curb the

economic problems.

HITLER

Adolf Hitler was an Austrian

who volunteered to serve in

the German army during

He served as a courier and rose to the

rank of corporal. He was temporarily

blinded in a gas attack at the end of the

war. From his hospital bed, he listened

to the news of Germany’s surrender

with disbelief. He became extremely

bitter about the loss, like many German

people.

HITLER

Hitler began to look for an

outlet for his anger. In the

early 1920s he became part

of a new political movement

called the National Socialist

German Workers’ Party, or

National Socialists. We

know them from the

abbreviation of their German

name—the Nazi Party. Hitler

quickly became their leader

and spoke out against the

Weimar government, calling

for change.

HITLER

Early photo of the Nazi Party in Munich

Hitler blamed defeat in the war on cowards and traitors back

home—a theory called Dolchstoss, or “stab in the back.”

He also blamed the Weimar government for accepting a treaty that

“humiliated all loyal Germans.”

HITLER

In 1923, Hitler tried to

stage a takeover of the

government. He stood up

in a beer hall in Munich

and declared that the Nazis

were taking over. It was

put down violently. This

failed attempt became

known as the Beer Hall

Putsch.

HITLER

Hitler turned the trial into a

condemnation of the evils of the

Weimar government.

Instead of being executed for

treason, Hitler was sentenced to

five years in Landsberg Prison

because of his popularity.

He only served nine months.

HITLER

While he was in prison, Hitler

passed the time by writing a

book called Mein Kampf,

which means “my struggle.” It

preaches about the superiority

of the German people and the

evils of bad politicians and

traitors.

Mein Kampf is full of anti-

Semitism (hatred of Jews).

Hitler came to blame the Jews

for all of Germany’s problems

and accused them of wanting

to take over the world.

HITLER

Hitler learned one very

important thing from his

putsch: the German people

would never allow a coup

d’etat. If he were to gain

power, it had to be legal.

He spent the rest of the 1920s

and early 1930s building

power in the Nazi Party and

working to gain votes in the

Reichstag, or German

Parliament.

HITLER

Hitler recognized the

appeal of symbols and

uniforms to a people

starving for order in

their lives. He chose

the swastika, an

Aryan symbol of

prosperity, as the

symbol of the Nazi

Party. He promoted

nationalism—German

pride in their heritage.

HITLER

Hitler believed that the

Germans were a “master

race” who were superior

to all other people.

Germans were taught that

they were superior to all

other races, but especially

despised were Jews, slavs,

and gypsies. This extreme

form of nationalism led to

frightening ideas from the

top Nazis—such as the

right to exterminate

inferior people.

HITLER

The Nazi flag was red, symbolizing

the polluted blood of other races,

with a white circle representing the

purity of the Aryan race. The

Nazis, as leaders of the Aryans,

were in the center.

HITLER

Like Mussolini, the Nazis

had their own private army

of enforcers called the

brownshirts.

The brownshirts would

intimidate anyone who

stood up to Hitler. They

roamed the streets in gangs,

terrorizing anyone who

didn’t fit their idea of the

perfect German. Jews were

a favorite target.

HITLER

As Nazi popularity grew, symbolism became even more important.

The Nazis would hold rallies with tens of thousands of people

attending. The swastika was everywhere.

By 1933, the Nazis controlled

a third of the seats in the

Reichstag. Their only rivals

were the communists, who

also were popular. President

Paul von Hindenburg was

forced to choose between the

man Hitler, whom he

despised, and the ideas of the

communists, which he

detested.

He picked Hitler, who became

Reichskanzler (Chancellor) in

January of 1933.

One month later, under

mysterious circumstances,

a fire broke out in the

Reichstag building, the

home of the German

Parliament.

Marinus van der Lubbe, a

Dutch immigrant and

known communist, was

blamed for the fire. The

Nazis told everyone it was

the start of a communist

takeover.

HITLER

In the wake of the fire, a law was passed giving Hitler

emergency powers to act as needed to help the country in the

time of national crisis. He never gave the powers up. When

President Hindenburg died, Hitler carried on without him. He

became known as Der Führer (“The Leader”).

HITLER

With the passage of the law, Hitler now had the power to do

anything. The Nazis rounded up all of the communists and other

“enemies of the state.” The Reichstag now held a Nazi majority

and followed whatever Hitler said. Hitler’s henchmen censored

the press. His Gestapo rounded up and tortured anyone who

spoke out against him.

HITLER

Hitler promised to return Germany’s strength. He envisioned a

Germany where the perfect Aryan people lived, a superior “Third

Reich,” or German Empire.

HITLER

The Nazis realized that

indoctrination of the

youth was very

important in the

establishment of their

perfect society.

They set up programs,

such as the Hitler Youth,

which brainwashed

young Germans into

being ultra-loyal to

Hitler and trained them

in military skills.

HITLER

totalitarianism

1. Why do you think that people supported

Hitler and the other dictators? What did they

offer that people needed?

2. Why did people continue to support these

dictators even when they censored the press

and got rid of civil liberties?

3. Are there any figures in US history that have

risen because of popularity and have turned

out to be less than honorable?

It’s time to elect a new world leader. Here are your choices:

Candidate A - Associates with crooked politicians and consults

with astrologists. He's had two Mistresses. He also chain smokes

and drinks 8 to 10 martinis a day.

Candidate B - He was kicked out of office twice, sleeps until

noon, used opium in college and drinks a quart of whiskey every

evening.

Candidate C - He is a decorated war hero. He's a vegetarian,

doesn't smoke, drinks an occasional beer and never cheated on

his wife.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Winston Churchill

Adolf Hitler

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