The Rise of Totalitarianism and the Causes of WW2

Ms. Campbell

Socials 11

The Rise of Totalitarianism

A dictator is a ruler with unrestricted power who has no democratic restrictions. A totalitarian philosophy is one that puts the state above all else

Thus a Totalitarian State is a dictatorship where the government uses violence, intimidation, and a police force to control all aspects of life

The USSR

In 1924 Joseph Stalin was leader of the Communist Party in the USSR

The USSR

The Five Year Plan was how Stalin planned to develop the economy of the USSR

The USSR

In the late 1930s there was the Great Purge Stalin eliminated anyone he believed opposed the communist government or his powerMillions convicted of crimes against the statehundreds of thousands executed

Italy In Italy Benito

Mussolini took control after World War One by establishing the Fascist Party

This party was a totalitarian and nationalistic authoritarian government

Italy Mussolini created the Blackshirts a gang

of fascists who intimidated opponents and attacked Communists in the streets

Italy

The National Fascist Party won 35 seats in the 1921 election

The 1922 March on Rome was when 26,000 Blackshirts demanded the government be turned over to Mussolini

Soon after Il Duce (The Leader) turned Italy into a totalitarian state

The March on Rome

Germany

After World War One a democratic government called the Weimar Republic was established in Germany

People distrusted this government because it had signed the Treaty of Versailles

Germany In 1920 Adolf Hitler

joined the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (the Nazis) and in 1921 he became the leader

The gained support by criticizing the Weimar Republic

Germany Hitler promised to make Germany a great

nation again

In 1932 the Nazis became the largest party in the Reichstag

Germany In 1933 Hitler

became chancellor of Germany and called himself the Fuhrer (The Leader)

He rules through intimidation and fear

Germany A secret police called the Gestapo are

formed

Germany

Hitler defied the terms of the Treaty of Versaillesstops reparation paymentsbegins to rebuild the German military

Germany

The Nazi Party believed Germans were a “master race” of Aryans

The master race” did NOT include Jewish people, Roma, or Slavs; people with mental or physical disabilities; Communists; and homosexuals

As early as 1933 the Nazis created concentration camps to isolate these people from the larger German society

Germany

Hitler particularly hated Jewish people

The Nuremberg Laws forced Jewish people to wear the Star of David at all times, banned marriage between Jews and Aryans, and restricted employment for Jews

Violence against Jewish people was also encouraged

Germany

November 9, 1938: Kristallnacht

Nazi mobs attacked Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues

Sidewalks everywhere were covered with broken glass

Kristallnacht

Kristallnacht

Spain

Fascist rebels led by General Franco (called Nationalists) tried to overthrow the Socialist government that had been elected in 1936

Spain The Spanish Civil War would last three years

Guernica - Picasso

Spain

More than 1200 Canadian volunteers fought even though the government passed a law that made it illegal for them to fight in foreign wars

Franco won the war and became ruler in 1939 and was in power until 1975

Japan

Japanese totalitarianism was influenced by European Fascism

Japanese Emperor Hirohito

r. 1926-1989

Causes of WW2

Hitler wanted lebensraum – or “living space”

Hitler slowly took over areas that had been banned by the Treaty of Versailles (p. 124 map) 1) Rhineland (1936) 2) Anschluss with Austria (1938) 3) The Sudetenland (1938) 4) Czechoslovakia (1939)

Causes of WW2

Causes of WW2

Britain and France used a policy of appeasement essentially giving Hitler whatever he wanted

Causes of WW2

In 1939 Hitler and Stalin signed the Nazi-Soviet Non-aggression PactThey promised not to attack each otherThey decided to divide Poland between them

Causes of WW2

On September 1, 1939 Germany invaded Poland

Britain and France responded immediately and by September 3, 1939 Europe was at war again

Causes of WW2

Causes of WW2

1931 Japan invaded and the Chinese government appealed to the League of Nations but they took no action other than condemning Japan’s by 1937 Japan and China were at war

Causes of WW2

The League of Nations imposed sanctions but did not include oil!