Download Task #1: The Gathering Storm: The Era of Totalitarians (a brief

Mr. Walter
US History 2
This document has three distinct sections. The first one you will read and highlight, the second has
some definitions you need to be familiar with, and the third is a set of questions you will need to
use a few select websites to answer in short paragraphs. This assignment is worth 15 pts.
Task #1: The Gathering Storm: The Era of Totalitarians (a brief introduction to people and
philosophies)
A lineup of totalitarian dictators: Stalin, Mussolini, and Hitler.
All nations in the world were devastated by the Great Depression. While Americans preserved
democracy and elected a President, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who experimented with new ideas
and programs and used the power of the federal government for relief, recovery, and reform, other
nations were not so lucky.
Many of them turned over their liberties to totalitarian governments and dictatorships. It is this
type of government that led the world to the greatest crisis in human history: World War II. There
are three major types of totalitarian government from this era: Fascism, Nazism, and Communism.
A. First, some definitions and descriptions. Read this section carefully.
Totalitarianism: A form of government in which all of the resources of the nation are totally
controlled by the state in an effort to control all aspects of public and private life through the use
of terror, propaganda, and technology. Totalitarian movements of different types developed in
the 1920s and 1930s as people around the world suffering from the effects of war and depression
looked for drastic solutions to their problems. Totalitarian governments demand conformity.
These societies are controlled by one political party, do not have free elections, and are usually
dominated by a single charismatic leader. The education system and the press are controlled by
the sole political party and are used to spread official government propaganda. A secret police
force ensures obedience. The citizens of the country, and especially the children, are
indoctrinated into the belief system of the dominant group through education, sports, and cultural
groups. Totalitarian states demand not only obedience, but agreement with their ideals: thoughts
as well as actions. Totalitarian governments still exist today.
Specific forms of totalitarianism
Communism: The system of social organization in which property is held in common and
social classes are eliminated. With an uppercase C, the term refers to the movement that
has sought to overthrow capitalism through revolution. The modern Communist political
movement began when the Russian Social Democratic Labor party split (1903) into two
factions. The Bolsheviks, led by V.I. Lenin, called for armed revolution. After their triumph
in the 1917 Russian Revolution, the Bolsheviks formed the Communist party (1918) and
established a party dictatorship. In the 1930s, Joseph Stalin dominated the Soviet Union,
executing approximately 1 million of his own people for suspected disloyalty in what
became known as the “Great Purge.” Communism was most often seen as the primary
enemy of fascist states. After the beginning of WWII, Stalin formed an alliance with Great
Britain and the United States against Hitler.
Fascism: A type of totalitarian government that glorifies the nation at the expense of the
individual. Its name was derived from the fasces, an ancient Roman symbol of authority
consisting of a bundle of rods and an ax. Fascist nations have aggressive military policies
and believe in an authoritarian leader who embodies the ideals of the nation. Fascists
promise to insure “law and order” for powerful elites and protect capitalists and
landowners. In fact, a fascist state is characterized by an alliance between the
government, the military, and corporations. Fascist countries employ special police forces
to instill fear. The term was first used by the party started by Benito Mussolini, who ruled
Italy from 1922 until the Italian defeat in World War II, and has also been applied to other
right-wing movements, such as National Socialism in Germany and the Franco regime in
Spain.
A specific type of Fascism was:
National Socialism (Nazism): The doctrine and policies of the National Socialist
German Workers' party, which ruled Germany under Adolf Hitler from 1933 until
Germany's defeat in 1945. The Nazis appealed to the masses through nationalismespecially by playing on the humiliation suffered by Germany after its defeat in
World War I and by a vicious antisemitism. It attracted the bankers and
industrialists by its anti-Communism and by its promise to rebuild the German
economy. Among the principles of the party were the superiority of the Aryan
master race led by an infallible Führer (leader); the establishment of a panGermanic Third Reich, which would last a thousand years; and the destruction of
Germany's greatest enemies, the Jews and Communists. After Hitler took power,
the Nazis became the sole legal party. Their policy was enforced by the Gestapo
(secret police), the SS (storm troops), and the SA (the Führer's elite bodyguard).
During World War II, the Germans imposed their system on Europe by force.
Millions of Jews, Poles, Russians, and others were interned in concentration camps
and later executed. Millions more were used for forced labor. Nazism represented a
brutality unprecedented in history.
Task #2: Nazi key terms and concepts: a glossary.
The following is a list of important vocabulary words and Nazi organizations you should familiarize
yourself with so as to better understand what we will be reading about and discussing throughout
our unit on WWII.
A. Nazi Vocabulary
Weimar Republic: the democratic form of government in Germany from 1919-1933, overthrown
by the Nazis.
Chancellor: In Germany, the title of the “head of government”
President: In Germany, the title of the “head of state”
Fuhrer: “Supreme Leader,” the title Hitler gives himself when he takes total power in 1934.
National Socialist German Worker’s Party: NSDAP, or in English, the Nazi Party, which existed
between 1919-1945.
Third Reich: Germany under the reign of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party, 1933-1945.
Reichstag: German Parliament
Swatiska: “hooked cross,” an ancient symbol adopted by Hitler as the symbol of the Nazi Party.
Anti-semitism: prejudice and hatred toward Jews; the official policy of the Nazi Party.
Aryan: a Caucasian (and non-Jewish) person of Northern European descent, typically with blue
eyes and blond hair. The Nazi racial ideal.
Eugenics: the study of improving genetic qualities by selective breeding.
B. Paramilitary Organizations
Nazism made use of paramilitary organizations to maintain control within the party, and to
squelch opposition to the party. Violence and terror fostered compliance. Among these
organizations were the:
S.A. (Sturmabteilung): Stormtroopers (also known as "brown-shirts") were the Nazi paramilitary
arm under Ernst Rohm. It was active in the battle for the streets against other German political
parties.
S.D. (Sicherheitsdiest): the Security Service under Reinhard Heydrich.
S.S. (Schutzstaffel): Defense Corps, was an elite guard unit formed out of the S.A. It was under the
command of Heinrich Himmler.
Gestapo (Geheime Staatpolizeil): the Secret State Police, which was formed in 1933.
Hitler-Jugend (Hitler Youth): Mandatory paramilitary organization with separate groups for both
boys and girls. The goal of the Hitler Youth was to indoctrinate youngsters into Nazism and
prepare them to be future soldiers.
Task #3: The Rise of Hitler (read and use the web to answer the questions in one short
paragraph each)
Introduction
It is arguable that no other individual had a more significant (and destructive) impact on the 20 th
Century than Adolf Hitler. Although he has been dead for 70 years, the evils that he perpetrated
on the world in the 1930s and 1940s still reverberate today. Hitler reshaped the world in
countless ways, altering the path of history, and leading to the deaths of untold millions.
Interestingly, the story of his rise parallels that of FDR. Both men rose to power in 1933. Both of
them died in 1945.
Over the next few weeks, we will focus our attention on World War II: the events that led to it (it
officially started on September 1, 1939), the two year period before the U.S. entered the conflict,
and of course, the ultimately triumphant American phase of the war, from 1941-1945. Before we
do so, it is important to take some time to explore and answer a few important questions:




Where did Hitler come from?
How did Hitler develop his ideology?
How did he rise to prominence?
How did he become the singular supreme power in Germany?
It is also important to understand how the nations of the free world, including the United States,
stood by and watched it happen in the 1930s as they suffered through the ills of the Great
Depression.
Read about the early life of Adolf Hitler and answer the following questions. Use this site:
 http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/riseofhitler/
You may also want to check out these sites as well:
 http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/hitler_01.shtml
 http://www.remember.org/guide/Facts.root.hitler.html
Answer the following questions in a short paragraph each. Use several key concrete details.
1. How did Hitler’s childhood and early life (1889-1913) shape him? Identify and describe
key events and his reaction to them.
2. Describe Hitler’s experience during World War I. Explain how the results of the war
impacted his political beliefs and led to his transformation into a radical leader (19141923).
3. Why was Hitler sentenced to prison in 1924? Describe the “blueprint” for Germany’s
future that Hitler created in jail. After his release from prison, what did he do that
increased his fame and the popularity of the Nazi party (1923-1929)?
4. What effect did the stock market crash and the beginning of The Great Depression have
on Hitler, the Nazi Party, and the German elections of 1930 and 1932 (1929-1932)?
5. How did the German democratic republic collapse and Hitler become the Chancellor
of Germany? (1932-1933).