World War II: Dictators & Totalitarianism (Section 1)

7/25/2019 World War II: Dictators & Totalitarianism (Section 1)

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WORLD

WAR IISECTION 1: DICTATORS AND WAR



WHY IT MATTERS

The effects of World War I and the Great Depression touched

almost every corner of the world. In some countries, these

upheavals led to the rise of a new kind of brutal dictatorship

—the totalitarian state. Led by aressive dictators, these

states would destroy the peace established after World War Iand spark a new, even deadlier, lobal conflict.

!ur "ocus #uestions$

%. Why did totalitarian states rise after World War I, and

what did they do&

'. (ow do World War I and World War II connect&



A BITTER PEACE

UNRAVELS

• In )ovember %*%+, World War I ended when Germany

surrendered to the llies.

• In %*%*, deleates from '- nations met in ersailles to

hammer out a peace areement, but only /ritain, "rance,

and the 0nited 1tates had a real say in most of theimportant decisions.

• Germany and 2ussia were not even present.

• "rom the first, many Germans resented the resultin

Treaty of ersailles.• !ther nations also were upset with the peace settlements.



• Italy and 3apan, both llies, had e4pected far more land for

their sacrifices. The war that merican 5resident Woodrow

Wilson had called 6a war to end all wars7 had left behind a

mountain of bitterness, aner, frustration, and despair, often

capped by a burnin desire for revene.

• Durin the %*'8s, many nations moved steadily toward

democracy and freedom. !thers, however, took the opposite

direction, embracin repressive dictatorship and

totalitarianism, a theory of overnment in which a sinle

party or leader controls the economic, social, and cultural lives

of tis people.

• Throuhout history there have been dictatorships, but

totalitarianism was a twentieth century thin. Totally new.

• It was more e4treme than a simple dictatorship.



• ll that to say, W(9 W:2: T!TLIT2I) 2:GI;:1

/L: T! T<: (!LD I) T(: 9:21 L:DI)G 05 T!

W!2LD W2 II& Well, I think it=s because of the

shenanians and bitterness left behind by World War I and

the desperation caused by the Great Depression. That=swhat World War I left behind.



REPRESSION IN THE

SOVIET UNION AND ITALY

• The %*%- communist revolution in 2ussia inauurated the

first totalitarian state. The communist leader ladimir

Lenin created the beinnins of a totalitarian system of

control to maintain power. (is prorams resulted in civil

war, starvation, famine, and the death of millions of2ussians.

• 1TLI)=1 G2I5 !) T(: 1!I:T 0)I!)$ fter Lenin=s

death in %*'>, 3oseph 1talin took Lenin=s place as the

head of the ?ommunist 5arty. In 2ussian, 1talin means

6man of steel,7 and it is a pretty solid description of hispersonality. /ut he W1 )!T 1uperman. Like, at all.

)ever.

• 1talin was suspicious, cruel, ruthless, and tyrannical.



STALIN (CONTINUED)

• (e did not think twice about killin rivals or sentencin

innocent people to death.

• (is efforts to transform the 1oviet 0nion into an industrial

power and form state@run collective farms resulted in the

deaths of at least %8 million people.

• In what became known as the Great Terror, 1talin pured

the ?ommunist 5arty of real or suspected traitors in the

%*A8s, orderin the deaths or imprisonment of up to a

million people.

• combination of fear and massive propaanda kept 1talin

in power.



MUSSOLINI’S FASCIST

PARTY CONTROLS ITALY

• Italian totalitarianism was in many ways a direct result of

the war and the peace treaties. lthouh Italy was on the

winnin side, it did not et the land alon the driatic coast

it had hoped to obtain from the division of ustria@(unary.

• dded to this frustration, the postwar economic depressionmade it difficult for returnin veterans to find Bobs, a

communist movement was rowin and the overnment

seemed weak and totally inept.

• It was durin this period that /enito ;ussolini entered the

world stae. In %*%*, ;ussolini founded the Fasci diCombattimento CI think that=s how I spell it. )o idea <

"ascist 5arty, a riht@win oraniEation that trumpeted

nationalism and promised to make Italy reat aain.



• "ollowers of ;ussolini were known as /lack 1hirts and

fouht in the streets aainst socialists and communists.

• "earin a revolution, in %*'', Italian <in ictor :mmanuel

III asked ;ussolini to form a overnment.

• ?allin humself Il Duce or 6the leader7 ;ussolini

consolidated his control over the overnment and the

army within a few years.

• (e outlawed political parties, took over the press, created

a secret police, oraniEed youth roups to indoctrinate the

youn, and suppressed strikes. (e opposed liberalism and

socialism.

• ::) WIT( LL T(I1, his hold over Italy was never as

powerful as 1talin=s rip on the 1oviet 0nion.



AGGRESSIVE LEADERS

IN GERMANY AND JAPAN

• fter World War I, Germany became a democracy. The

Weimar 2epublic, named after the town Weimar where the

overnment was created, struled throuhout the %*'8s

to establish a functional democracy.

• (owever, Germany was beset by severe economictroubles in the %*'8s, includin runaway inflation.

• ner over the Treaty of ersailles and internal disunity

also plaued the youn overnment. The Weimar

2epublicFs ship of state was slowly sinkin.



THE NAZIS RISE

• In the early %*A8s, the worldwide Great Depression hit the

Weimar 2epublic hard, worsenin the problems that already

e4isted.

• Increasinly, antidemocratic parties on the riht, especially the

)ational 1ocialist German Workers= 5arty, or )aEi 5arty,threatened the republic.

• 2eardless of the party=s name, )aEis were not socialists. They

bitterly opposed socialism, communism, or any other ism that

promoted class interests or workers= rihts above German

ethnic solidarity.

• dolf (itler led the )aEi 5arty.

• (e was the son of a minor ustrian civil servant and was a

failed artist. (e was a wounded and decorated World War I

soldier, and a person who teetered on the brink of madness.



• (itler Boined the small )aEi 5arty after the war and soon

ained control of it.

• While in prison after the party attempted a rebellion, (itler

dictated the book Mein Kampf C;y 1trule in which he

stated his e4planations for the problems facin Germany.

• (e criticiEed many people, political prorams, and

ideoloies, but his sharpest assaults were aainst the

communists and 3ews.

• (itler was violently anti@1emitic. This had troubled :uropefor centuries.

• Mein Kampf became a national bestseller and he Bust ave

his blueprint of hatred to the world



HITLER SEIZES

POWER

• The shattered German economy—the widespread

unemployment, homelessness, and huner—played into

the )aEis= hands.

• 2eoraniEin the power of (itler=s party, in 3anuary %*AA,

the president of the Weimar 2epublic appointed (itlerchancellor of Germany.

• !ver the ne4t two years, (itler became president as well

as chancellor, consolidated his power, and ruled

unchecked by the 2eichsta, or the German parliament.

• /y %*AH, the democratic institutions of the Weimar

2epublic were silenced and (itler spoke alone as the

voice of Germany .



• Like 1talin and ;ussolini, (itler was the symbol of his

totalitarian reime.

• ided by a secret police that crushed all opposition, a

state@controlled press that praised his accomplishments,

and a state@controlled educational system thatindoctrinated the youn, (itler assumed a odlike aura.



THE JAPANESE EXPAND

THEIR EMPIRE

• In 3apan, as in Germany, the %*'8s was a period of

increased democracy and peaceful chane. The 3apanese

overnment reduced the power of the military, passed laws

to ive all men the riht to vote, lealiEed trade unions, etc.

• This period ended when the Great Depression discredited3apan=s civilian leaders in the %*A8s.

• s the power shifted toward military control, 3apan started

on a course of aressive military e4pansion.

• 3apan, however, did not become a totalitarian dictatorship.

)o charismatic leader like 1talin or (itler emered. Instead,3apan continued as a constitutional monarchy headed by an

emperor who was not all that reat.



JAPANESE EXPAND

THEIR EMPIRE

• 3apan attacked ;anchuria, a reion in northeastern ?hina,

and established a puppet state.

• The new nation was named ;anchukuo.

• 3apan controlled its domestic and forein policies as well

as its abundant natural resources.

• In %*A-, 3apan moved aainst ?hina, ainin control over

maBor ?hinese railroad links and coastal areas.

• In the then@capital city of )anBin, 3apanese soldiers acted

with such brutality—murderin more than '88,888residents and burnin a lare section of the city—that

incident became known as the 62ape of )anBin.7

•



DICTATORS TURN TO

AGGRESSION

• In the %*A8s, Italy and Germany resorted to acts of

aression similar to those of 3apan in sia.

• Throuhout the decade, neither the Leaue of )ations nor

democratic nations succeeded in stoppin the

aression.



WEAKNESS OF THE

LEAGUE OF NATIONS

• In many ways, the Leaue of )ations never recovered

from merica=s refusal to Boin it.

• The Leaue was also handicapped by its own character.

• It had no standin army and no real power to enforce

anythin really.

• Leaue of )ations J "ailure. I mean, obviously.



HITLER AND MUSSOLINI

THREATEN THE PEACE

• "rom the beinnin, (itler focused on restorin Germany=s

strenth. s we discussed, he was incredibly bitter about the

end of WWI and the Treaty of ersailles provisions.

• "rom %*AA@%*AK, he rebuilt the German economy and

dramatically enlared the army, navy, and air force in directdefiance of the Treaty of ersailles.

• In the mid@%*A8s, (itler bean to move toward his oal of

reunifyin all Germanic people into one REICH . C;iss 1ees

What the heck does 2:I?( mean& 9ou keep sayin it and (itler

keeps sayin it in his speeches, but I am lost and confused and

Bust don=t want to ask in front of all these kids It means state.

• (e often spoke of e4pandin Germany so that they can have

more room. 9a know. Like when you uprade from a smaller

house to a bier one.



• In %*AK, in a direct challene to The Leaue of )ations,

(itler sent German troops into the 2hineland. The Leaue

did nothin.

• 1!;ussolini commenced his own imperial plans. In

%*AH, Italy invaded :thiopia, an independent country ineast frica.

• Its :mperor, (aile 1elassie, appealed to the Leaue of

)ations for support..

• They did nothing. Ethiopia fell.



AGGRESSION CONTINUES

TO GO UNCHECKED

• The policy that "rance and /ritain pursued aainst

aressive nations durin the %*A8s is known as

appeasement.

• What is appeasement? It’s a policy of grantingconcessions to a potential enemy in the hope that it will

maintain peace. It’s just…giving into them ma!ing them

happy so that they stop giving you a hard time.

"ppeasement.



• 0nfortunately, appeasement only spurred the fascist

leaders to become more bold, adventurous, and

aressive.

• Why did "rance and /ritain appease fascist powers&

• There were many reasons. #!ay. $o remem%er World War

I? #f course you do. World War I was awful. &orri%le. $o

horri%le that some leaders vowed never to allow such a

war to %rea! out again.

• $ome people thought the $oviet 'nion was a %igger threat

than (a)i *ermany.

• They thought a strong *ermany would provide a %uffer

against the $oviet menace. #thers +li!e the 'nited $tates,

-uestioned their resolve. "" It was no %ig deal/



• /ack at home, "ranklin Delano 2oosevelt pursued a Good )eihbor

policy with Latin merica and improved relations with the 1oviet

0nion.

• (e really didn=t o aainst Germany completely. Instead, he wished

to practice isolationism and deal with the problems at home.

• (itler took advantae of this lack of commitment and unity amon

"rance, /ritain, and the 0nited 1tates. In the sprin of %*A+, he

brouht ustria into his 2eich. ustria had no choice but to accept

the union called nschluss.

• /ritain and "rance continued to appease Germany.

• /ritish 5rime ;inister )eville ?hamberlain and "rench premier:douard Daladier told people of the ;0)I?( 5?T that it would

reserve peace.

• )ope. Wron. It would only postpone war for %% months.



HOMEWORK

World War II: Dictators & Totalitarianism (Section 1)

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