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EvilCon:
The Rise of WWII Dictators
By Teachers of Liberty
Objective: Students will investigate World War II dictators from Europe and Asia in order to
analyze the impact of totalitarianism on the state, its citizens, and the rest of the world, and
explain how the rise of these dictators led to the outbreak of World War II.
Suggested use 1:
1. Distribute readings to four groups as a jigsaw activity. Each group will become a
dictator on their assigned dictator.
2. After becoming experts, students will jigsaw what they have learnd.
o Students meet in expert groups to learn about chosen dictator and then meet
in teaching groups to teach their dictator to others.
o Allow 3-5 minutes per dictator as students explain who he was, when he
came to power, what he promised his people, what crimes he committed, and
how his reign ended. Stress to students to try and steer away from looking at
their notes as they’ve had time to review it; They want to speak in their own
terms.
3. After all four dictators have been presented and discussed, field any questions
students may have on the rise of these dictators.
Suggested use 2:
Instead of jigsawing in small groups, have expert groups take what they have learned and
write a short speech as their dictator that hits on all the key points of their dictator. Then
have a member of each group act as the dictator or the dictator’s spokesperson to deliver
the speech to the class as part of “EvilCon” – a convention of evil dictators. This method
allows students to be creative and is very engaging. You just need the time and the right
students to do execute this well.
This is an excellent lesson to begin a discussion of World War II in both U.S. History and
World History classes. It is recommended that students have prior knowledge on ideologies
that will consume the world in the mid twentieth century – mainly fascism and communism.
Enjoy!
Adolf Hitler
a.k.a. Der
Führer
In Germany, Adolf Hitler firmly established a totalitarian government that tried to exert
complete control over its citizens. In a totalitarian state, individuals have no rights, and the
government suppresses all opposition.
At the end of World War I, Hitler had been a jobless soldier drifting around Germany. In
1919, he joined a radical group called the National Socialist German Workers’ Party, better known as
the Nazi Party. But even before finding the Nazis, Hitler was an active supporter of socialist ideas.
While in prison in the mid-1920s for trying to lead an overthrow of the government, Hitler wrote his
book, Mein Kampf (My Struggle). There, Hitler set forth the basic beliefs that became the plan of action
of his Nazi Party. Nazism, the German brand of fascism, was based on extreme nationalism. Hitler, who
had been born in Austria, dreamed of uniting all German-speaking people in a great German empire.
But Hitler and the Nazis wanted more than just a united Germany. Hitler also wanted to enforce
racial “purification.” In his view, Germans – especially blue-eyed, blond-haired Germans – formed a
“master race,” called the Aryans, which were destined to rule the world. “Inferior races,” such as Jews,
Slavs, and all nonwhites, were deemed fit only to serve the Aryans. Hitler was extremely anti-Semitic
(hostile towards Jews) and made them the scapegoats for Germany’s troubles. He even blamed former
Jewish leaders as the ones that signed the Treaty of Versailles after World War I and “stabbed
Germany in the back.”
A third aspect of Nazism was national expansion. Hitler believed that for Germans to prosper,
they needed more “living space”. One of the Nazis’ aims, as Hitler wrote in Mein Kampf, was “to secure
for the German people the land and soil to which they are entitled on this earth,” even if this could be
accomplished only by “the might of a victorious sword.” In other words, Hitler was determined to
conquer the surrounding lands for the German people.
By mid-1932, the Nazis gained support, with Nazi candidates more frequently elected to the
national government; the Nazis had become the strongest political party in Germany. Hitler proved to
be such a powerful public speaker and organizer that he quickly became the party’s leader.
In January 1933, Hitler was appointed chancellor (a position similar to president). Once in
power, Hitler quickly dismantled Germany’s democracy, called the Weimar Republic. In its place he
established the Third Reich, or Third German Empire. According to Hitler, the Third Reich would be a
“Thousand-Year Reich” – it would last for a thousand years. Hitler became the dictator of Germany,
calling himself Der Führer – “the leader” – and granting himself absolute power.
The end of WWI and the Depression helped the Nazis come to power. Because of war debts
and dependence on American loans and investments, Germany’s economy was hit hard and many
Germans were left unemployed. The German dollars, called deutschmarks, were so worthless people
wallpapered their homes with them. The German people were desperate and turned to Hitler as their
last hope. Der Führer promised to bring Germany out of chaos and depression.
After nearly succeeding in taking over Europe under his Third Reich – beginning World War II –
and exterminating over 11 million (including 6 million Jews) in the Holocaust, Hitler found himself
surrounded in Berlin by the Soviet army. On April 30, 1945, he committed suicide with his mistress
before he could be captured by either the Red Army (the Soviets). He knew what they would do to him
if they found him alive; he had not been so kind to Soviet citizens throughout the war.
Benito Mussolini
a.k.a. Il Duce
Benito Mussolini firmly established a totalitarian government in Italy that tried to exert complete
control over its citizens. In a totalitarian state, individuals have no rights, and the government suppresses
all opposition. In 1922, Mussolini declared that Italy was in Year One of the Third Roman Empire.
But how did it happen? While the United States’ depression was still a decade away, Italy was
already suffering from unemployment and inflation during the 1920s. These problems caused bitter strikes
– some communist-led. These strikes alarmed the middle and upper classes and they soon demanded
stronger leadership than the limited monarchy that was in place at the time. Mussolini took advantage of
this situation. A powerful speaker, Mussolini knew how to appeal to Italy’s wounded national pride. He
played on the fears of economic collapse and communism (ironically, Mussolini was a socialist and his
ideology was very similar to communism). In this way, he won the support of many unhappy Italians.
By 1922, Mussolini had established the Fascist Party. Fascism was a form of socialism that stressed
extreme nationalism and placed the interests of the state (or country) above those of individuals. To
strengthen the nation, Fascists argued, power must rest with a single strong leader and a small group of
devoted party members. Mussolini promised to restore Italy to its former power under the Roman Empire.
He also blamed much of Italy’s problems on the fact that Italy was “cheated” by its Allies in WWI in the
Treaty of Versailles and not treated fairly under its terms.
In October 1922, Mussolini marched on Rome with thousands of his followers, whose black
uniforms gave them the name “Blackshirts.” When important government officials, the army, and the
police sided with the Fascists, the Italian king – scared for his life - appointed Mussolini head of the
government. Just like that; it was that easy.
Calling himself Il Duce, or “the Supreme Leader,” Mussolini gradually extended fascist control to
every aspect of Italian life. Outsiders thought Mussolini was doing wonders for Italy. Tourists marveled that
Il Duce had even “made the trains run on time” which hadn’t been the case in years. Mussolini achieved
this efficiency, however, by crushing all opposition and by making Italy a totalitarian, socialist state. Anyone
who opposed Mussolini was simply killed or disappeared.
But what about that empire Mussolini promised? In 1935, Italy attacked Ethiopia, one of Africa’s
few remaining independent countries. This completely violated the Treaty of Versailles and should have
sent the League of Nations in to intervene. But the League did little else but ask Italy not to go any further.
Yeah, right; in the spring of 1936, Ethiopia fell to Italy. In desperation, Haile Selassie, the ousted Ethiopian
emperor, begged the League of Nations to do something, but nothing was done. “It is us today,” he told
them, “It will be you tomorrow.” (Well, how about that for foreshadowing!)
As Adolf Hitler, the leader of Germany, began defying the League of Nations and taking over parts
of northern Europe, Mussolini decided to remain neutral. He couldn’t very well condemn him since he was
doing the same thing. But once he saw that Hitler was winning, Mussolini allied himself with Nazi Germany
and formed an alliance called the Axis Powers (Japan would join them shortly after).
As World War II raged on, and the Allied Powers (including the United States) arrived in Southern
Italy and began making its way towards Rome, Mussolini’s people began to turn against him. He was
eventually caught by Italian communists and shot along with his mistress. Their bodies were then taken to
the city of Milan and hung naked upside down in the public square – the ultimate insult. It is clear Italians
realized their mistake in choosing fascism and Il Duce as their leader. Too bad it was so late!
Joseph Stalin
a.k.a. “Man of Steel”
In 1917 Russia, hopes for success in the new republic that overthrew the czar quickly gave way to
civil war. This resulted in the establishment of the first communist state, officially called the U.S.S.R. or the
Soviet Union, in 1922. The ideology of communism was that the community as a whole would all be equal
with no social classes, and share in the fruits of labor. However, in order for this to work, the Communist
Party must take complete control of the government and the people. Instead of utopia, the people got a
propaganda-driven oligarchy. Communism is a form of totalitarian government. In a totalitarian state,
individuals have no rights, and the government suppresses all opposition.
After the leader of this communist revolution, Vladimir Lenin, died in 1924, Joseph Stalin (the “Man
of Steel”) took control of the country. Stalin wanted to create the model communist state, and then expand
communism internationally – with force when necessary. In order to accomplish his first task, Stalin
abolished all privately owned farms and replaced them with collectives – large government-owned farms,
each worked by hundreds of families at once.
Stalin also moved to transform the Soviet Union from a backwards, rural nation into a great
industrial power. In 1928, the Soviet dictator outlined the first of several “five-year plans,” to direct
industrialization. All economic activity was placed under government control. By 1937, the Soviet Union had
become the world’s second-largest industrial power, surpassed in overall production only by the United
States (with a complete opposite system of government and economy – go figure!). The human costs of this
transformation, however, were enormous as millions of Soviet comrades died from communist policies that
did not worry for the individual (communism’s term for a fellow communist was comrade since it means
“friend”). Moreover, much of the Soviet successes were exaggerated through Soviet propaganda that
simply faked the statistics. In reality, the USSR may have been producing much, but the quality was low and
citizens suffered because of it. – wait, wasn’t the whole idea of communism to help the working class?
By 1939, Stalin had firmly established a totalitarian government that tried to exert complete control
over its citizens. Stalin kept control through propaganda, influencing people’s beliefs and hiding the truth.
The Communist Party controlled the press and restricted all freedoms. Stalin’s face, along with procommunist symbols were seen everywhere throughout the Soviet Union.
Stalin was also paranoid. In Stalin’s drive to purge, or eliminate, anyone who threatened his power,
Stalin did not spare even his most faithful supporters. His rivals simply disappeared, never to be seen again.
Not only were many millions killed, but some were sent to gulags, horrific Soviet work camps located in
Siberian badlands. Then, all records of their existence were wiped out – as if they were never born. While
the final toll will never be known, historians estimate that Stalin was responsible for the deaths of over 20
million people – and many new historical finds push this number to perhaps more than 30 million. Millions
more died in famines caused by communist economic plans – the worse being in Ukraine.
The leader of Germany, Adolf Hitler, despised communism (although his Nazi ideology in reality was
quite similar). However, the two leaders both wanted to take over the world. In order to not stand in each
other’s way, the two ruthless dictators signed a non-aggression agreement, called the Nazi-Soviet Pact in
1939, promising not to attack each other. But this only lasted two years; you can’t trust bad guys. Hitler
broke the truce and attacked Stalin’s forces in Poland as he looked to conquer Eastern Europe. Ironically,
Stalin suddenly became an Allied Power as he now joined the fight against Nazi Germany.
Unlike the democratic Allies, however, Stalin decided to keep all the territory he won from Germany
after the war ended. In doing so, all of Eastern Europe became gripped by harsh communist control until
the end of the Cold War forty years later. As for Stalin, perhaps the greatest mass-murderer of all time, he
died peacefully of natural causes in 1953. His successor, Nikita Kruschev denounced Stalin as a monster, but
Stalin’s dark legacy would last for the remainder of the Soviet Union’s existence.
Hideki Tojo
a.k.a. “The Razor”
Halfway around the world from the totalitarianism spreading in Europe, military leaders were trying to
take control of the imperial government of Japan. The imperial government was already a monarchy – led by
Emperor Hirohito. However, the emperor was young, and military leaders could easily influence policies. These
leaders believed in the need for more “living space” for the Japanese population. By 1941, Prime Minister Hideki
Tojo became the most powerful leader in a totalitarian Japanese government. In a totalitarian state the
government exerts complete control over its citizens. Individuals have no rights, and the government suppresses
all opposition. Moreover, Japan used brainwashing techniques and propaganda to “educate” the public.
Some historians have claimed that Emperor Hirohito was basically a powerless figurehead. Military
leaders only kept him in power because he was still a powerful and influential voice to the loyal Japanese
citizens – who believed that he was a god. They listened to everything he said as truth and never questioned.
However, there is still controversy on how much power Hirohito actually had during the war, and whether
decisions were made by him or the Prime Minister Tojo. Some historians suggest that Hirohito is as much to
blame – perhaps more – for Japanese atrocities as any other leader. Either way, Tojo’s leadership was very
important to the beginning of World War II.
Japan is a very small archipelago with little natural resources for an expanding empire. So, the Japanese
military launched a surprise attack on mainland Asia and seized control of the Chinese province of Manchuria in
1931 – by then it already controlled the Korean peninsula. Within months, Japanese troops controlled the entire
province, a large region about twice the size of Texas and rich in natural resources. The success of the
Manchurian invasion put the militarists and Prime Minister Tojo in complete control of Japan’s government, as
Hirohito trusted their leadership.
Unfortunately for the Chinese, the League of Nations was powerless – or at least unwilling - to stop
Japan. The Japanese Empire focused on conquering all of China. From 1937 to 1938, at least 360,000 Chinese
were killed by the invading Japanese in the fall of its capital city, Nanking. Known as the Rape of Nanking, the
Japanese military brutally raped and killed men, women, and children. The massacre was considered genocide,
the deliberate and systematic extermination of an entire group of people. The Japanese had no problems
brutally murdering and torturing because they considered the Chinese a sub-human race – an idea that was
taught to young Japanese children. In fact, the Japanese people were taught that they were the Master Race,
and all other races and nationalities were hardly human. Complete control and propaganda was used to keep
the public in support. It was illegal for any Japanese citizens to criticize the government.
For the next ten years, Japanese aggression spread across the Pacific unchecked, as Japan looked to
conquer all of the Southeast Asia and the South Pacific in search of resources. In 1936, Tojo led Japan into the
Axis Powers alliance with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy.
The United States protested Japan’s invasion of China. However, fearful of another world war, most
Americans opposed using any real force to help China. When Japanese forces captured French Indochina (now
known as Vietnam) in July 1941, President Roosevelt demanded that the Japanese withdraw. When they did not,
the United States froze Japanese funds held in U.S. banks and cut off exports to Japan.
Knowing that the United States would be forced to declare war if it began taking U.S. territory, such as
the Philippines, Japan decided to surprise attack the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in an attempt to
wipe out the U.S. Pacific fleet – the only way they could possibly defeat America. However, the attack only
motivated Americans to mobilize for war – one that would eventually end with a defeated and devastated
Japan.
As the war raged on, prisoners were treated harshly as Japanese soldiers were ordered to commit
torture, murder, and unspeakable atrocities in POW camps. In one early example, American and Filipino POWs
were forced on a deadly march to POW camps where many died. Towards the end of the war, as the U.S. began
to free Japanese-held territory, kill-orders went out to murder all POWs rather than let them fall back into U.S.
hands. In 1945, Hideki Tojo attempted suicide but failed. He was tried for war crimes by an international court,
convicted, and hung in 1948.
WWII - The Rise of Totalitarianism
Totalitarianism:
Dictator
Country
Germany
(Nazi Party)
Italy
(Fascist
Party)
Soviet Union
(Communist
Party)
Japan
(Military
Empire)
Date becomes
leader
Promises / Leadership
Actions / Crimes
Their End
WWII - The Rise of Totalitarianism
Totalitarianism: Government ruled by a single party and/or person that exerts unlimited control over its citizen's lives & uses propaganda to stay in control
Dictator
Country
Date becomes
leader
Promises
Crimes
Their End
1933
Germans belong to a superior “Aryan Race”
Would not obey the Treaty of Versailles and
would make Germany powerful again – would
get out of Depression and rebuild Germany’s
army
Place all blame on Germany’s problems on
scapegoats – mainly Jews
Anti-communist
Ends democracy in Germany
Makes it illegal to criticize the Nazi government
Breaks promises from Munich Conference; Expanded
Germany and started war: takes back the Rhineland,
then Austria, Czechoslovakia, and Poland; Breaks
Nazi-Soviet Pact and attacks Soviet Union; Declares
war on Britain and France; “Final Solution” –
Holocaust: 11 million exterminated (6 million Jews)
Commits
suicide
when
Allies enter
Berlin
1922
Felt Italy was cheated by Treaty of Versailles and
promised protection from those that betrayed
them (France and Britain). Promised the return
of a new Roman Empire and Italian greatness;
Promised to get out of the Depression
Anti-communist
Ends democracy in Italy when his army marches on
Rome and takes power
Makes it illegal to criticize the Fascist government
Violates the Treaty of Versailles and invades Ethiopia
in 1935
Hung by
Italian
mobs who
were fed
up with his
rule
1924
Promised to modernize Soviet Union’s economy
and relieve the country from Depression;
Promised a powerful Russia and a world
communist revolution
Great Purges (getting rid of opponents) – more than
30 million murdered; Ukrainian Genocide (starving
Ukrainians because of collective farming methods)
Placed opponents in Gulags – labor camps located in
Siberia
Died
peacefully
years after
the war
1941
Relieve problems of the Depression
promised greatness under a large Japanese
Empire - Will gain natural resources (coal and oil)
from Pacific territories
Become a world power like Britain and France
Used Emperor Hirohito (God-like to the people)
to persuade citizens to follow goals
Makes it illegal to criticize the Imperial government
Takes over Southeast Asia for resources
Takes over eastern China – commits countless war
crimes to civilians and Prisoners of War (POWs)
Hung for
war crimes
Adolf Hitler
Germany
(Nazi Party)
Benito
Mussolini
Italy
(Fascist
Party)
Joseph Stalin
Soviet Union
(Communist
Party)
Hideki Tojo
Japan
(Military
Empire)
Emperor Hirohito
Emperor Michinomiya Hirohito took the thrown after
his father died in 1926. He was the man on the
Japanese thrown as his nation decided to conquer
the Pacific. But when the Japanese surrendered in
1945, it was accepted that the Japanese emperor
actually had no real power; it was said his country
was actually run by ministers and advisers, against
whom he was helpless to contradict. This perception,
which was always mildly questioned in the years
following the war, has recently been brought back
into question by historians that argue that not only
did Hirohito know quite clearly the actions being
taken by his military, he had the power to rein them
in and chose not to do so.
So how responsible is Hirohito for Japanese atrocities? One of the arguments made for
Hirohito's lack of involvement is the fact that he rarely talked during the council meetings. In
typical Japanese fashion, his advisors determined his approval of policy by his body language. If
he seemed displeased with a certain course of action, the advisers could guide the discussion to
a different conclusion. This system was intended to both preserve the power of the council and
the purity of the emperor, who shouldn't be involved in such drudge work as argumentation.
Unfortunately for Hirohito's council, he was a master at the poker face, a skill he crafted at an
early age, probably in response to his own father's inability to hold his own tongue when he
became emotional – he had major “foot-in-mouth” syndrome, and Hirohito did not want to
repeat that. As a result of his practiced blank expression, Hirohito’s advisers rarely knew what
he was thinking and often had made decisions and hoped for the best. Hirohito, it seems, rarely
intervened in his advisers' discussions.
And yet there were times when he did intervene. He spoke so seldom in council that on one
occasion, highly displeased with some military action that was taking place, Hirohito suddenly
spoke lines from a relevant poem. Hirohito's decision to actually voice his disapproval, and
using a poem as metaphor instead of getting straight to the point, moved his advisers to tears
at the moment. Apparently it was pretty impressive.
So it is clear that Hirohito did not disapprove of the attacks in China or the invasion of
Manchuria in the 1930s, for he did nothing to stop it. It is also clear that he approved the attack
on Pearl Harbor in 1941, as well as many of the other military actions that followed this
declaration of war against the United States. When the quick victory promised by his advisers
didn't happen, he became critical against his advisers, leading to the removal of Prime Minister
Tojo in 1944. Even after the fall of Okinawa, Hirohito refused to force his council to surrender.
Only after the dropping of the atomic bombs in 1945 did Hirohito suddenly step in over his
military advisors. After a long debate, the emperor stated he could no longer bear to watch his
people suffer. Six days later, on August 15, 1945, the Japanese people heard the Hirohito's
voice for the first time on the radio as he
announced Japan's surrender. To the people, the
emperor was a god. The sound of his voice and
his command to surrender could not be
overridden by any other man.
Many of the allies wanted Hirohito to be tried
and executed as a war criminal. It only makes
sense to hold the leader of the nation responsible
for Japanese atrocities. However, General
MacArthur was now commander of occupied
Japan. He refused to hold Hirohito accountable
because he believed Hirohito was needed to help
his people get through the coming years of
reconstruction. Hirohito was never tried as a war
criminal, and his cooperation with Allied
command made the post-WWII transition toward
peace very beneficial for Japan. In the decades
that followed Japan prospered immensely.
Emperor Hirohito lived until 1989. Here he is in a visit
with U.S. President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy
Reagan
But was justice served this way? History is divided
on this question. Many Japanese veterans
blamed Hirohito for Japan's actions during the 1930-40s, believing him to be far more
responsible than Tojo or the other war criminals who were executed after the war. The skewed
nature of Japanese politics at that time means that it will never really be clear the extent of
Hirohito's involvement in actions before and during the war. And then, what irony could be
more fitting for an emperor who ruled in the time the Japanese called the Showa Era - an era
meaning, "Enlightened Peace."