Leading up to World War IIThe rise of Fascism

Italian Fascism

Benito Mussolini became the ruler of Italy in the 1920s, and he described his government as totalitario “All within the state, non outside the state, none against the state”

From this we get the term Totalitarian: a government that restricts individual rights and makes everyone subordinate to the government.

Fascism is a form of totalitarianism that emphasizes national and racial superiority.

Benito Mussolini - Background

Was a WWI veteran, started fascist party in Italy

Under his leadership black-shirted veterans (known as the Black Shirts) attacked communists, socialists and members of other political parties, claiming to restore order to Italy

Government officials and Italians did little to stop them, because they had concerns about communism

He persuaded the king to appoint him prime minister in 1922 and then used intimidation and violence to rig future elections

Benito Mussolini - actions

In 1925 Mussolini abandoned democracy and took control of the government. People who spoke out were harshly punished

Under Mussolini Italy underwent economic changes, he improved wheat harvests, hydroelectric development, and railways and expanded auto and aircraft industries = Italians happy

He invaded the independent Ethiopia, believing he could unify Italy’s colonies by controlling it

Russian Communism

Many Russians were unhappy with the toll WWI taking on the country and so dethroned the czar in the Russian Revolution of 1917

In 1917 the communist Bolshevik’s led by Vladimir Lenin overthrew the government that had taken over after the czar, and established a “dictatorship of the proletariat” –labourers who earned wages

Lenin proposed the “New Economic Policy” that started the process of industrialization in Russia

He died in 1924 after several years of illness

Josef Stalin

In 1924 Josef Stalin became the leader of the Communist Party after Lenin’s death

He united Russia with surrounding states to form the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)

He was a ruthless dictator who used force to eliminate opposition. Millions of Soviet citizens were executed, imprisoned, deported or starved to death under Stalin

The Rise of Fascism in Spain

After the Depression caused widespread poverty, Spain was divided between different political groups, and erupted into civil war

On one side was the Nationalists, led by General Francisco Franco and supported by Hitler and Mussolini. They used terror tactics to scare people into submission

On the other side were the Republicans, who were supported by Mexico and the Soviet Union

The League of Nations did little to stop the fighting, following a policy of non-intervention in foreign affairs

Francisco Franco

The Nationalists slowly begin to gain territory thanks to support from Hitler, who some say was using this war to practice for later invasions

By 1939 250,000 Republicans had fled to France, and a few weeks later they surrendered and gave power to Franco

Once in power, Franco started a ruthless, totalitarian regime

He silenced opposition with censorship and violence, torture, long prison sentences, forced labour and concentration camps

Totalitarianism in Japan

By the late 1920s militarists were in power in Japan who thought democracy was “un-Japanese”

WWI had taught the Japanese that natural resources were necessary to fight wars, but they didn’t have any. Manchuria in Northern China supplied many resources

In 1931 Japanese forces invaded Manchuria

When China appealed to the League of Nations, they condemned Japan’s actions but took no action, Japan withdrew from the League in response

War in China

In 1932 Japanese forces invaded Shanghai and in 1937 started a full-scale war between Japan and China

Japanese leaders ordered bombings of civilian targets, causing millions of deaths, and used chemical weapons during the war

These atrocities caused the US and other countries to develop negative attitudes towards Japan

The Rise of Fascism in Germany

After WWI, the Allies removed the monarchy and established a democracy in Germany: but the people were not happy with this imposed government

Many Germans resented the war guilt clause

The country was struggling financially due to the war reparations, and there was hyperinflation in 1922

As a result, poverty was widespread and people were openly frustrated

Germans wanted a leader who could fix their problems

Adolf Hilter

In 1920 war veteran Adolf Hitler joined a new political party – the National Socialist German Worker’s Party (aka the Nazis), and became its leader in 1921

A powerful speaker, Hitler was supported by the unemployed and upset Germans, who were then hit by the Great Depression

He believed that those who supported democracy were traitors, and that Aryans (fair-haired blue eyed people) were a superior race, and some groups such as Jews, Roma, communists, homosexuals and people with disablities were inferior

Adolf Hitler

By 1933 the Nazis became the largest party in German parliament and Hitler was appointed Chancellor

Once in power, he took over the country: suspending the constitution, abolishing all parties but the Nazis, and created a secret police force called the Gestapo

He built concentration camps to hold prisoners and other “undesirables”. Anyone could be arrested and held without charge or trial

Adolf Hitler

He also rebuilt Germany’s army (a violation of the Treaty of Versailles) and invaded small neighbouring areas and countries like Austria

He made Jews a particular target, creating the Nuremberg Laws which outlawed marriages between Aryans and Jews, and making it illegal for them to practice law or medicine or perform music

During the night of November 9-10 Jewish communities were attacked in what became known as Kristallnacht – the night of the broken glass.

What did Canada do?

Haile Selassie the emperor of Ethiopia appealed for help, but William Lyon Mackenzie King refused to condemn Italy’s actions because it didn’t want to go to war

Although Canadian government refused to become involved in the Spanish War, many Canadians joined the International Brigade (volunteers from the UK, Us and Canada who went to Spain to fight for the Republicans)

What did the International Community do?

The League of Nations and world leaders did nothing to stop Hitler, afraid to start another war.

They followed a policy of appeasement: a policy of trying to stop aggressive behaviour by giving the aggressor what is wanted

This policy was used in the face of most totalitarian governments