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The Rise of Dictators and
World War II Aggression
TOTALITARIANISM
(a govt. that has total control over its people)
Communism
 government
owns the
businesses
and land
 Soviet
Union
Shared
Characteristics
• extreme
nationalism
• one strong leader
• one political party
• strong military
• secret police
• censorship
• propaganda
• indoctrination
(teaching young
people accepted
ideas of the govt.)
Fascism
• individual
people own the
businesses and
land
• Germany, Italy
Absolute Dictators – Methods of
Control
 Dictators often used
propaganda tools to
maintain power
(books, radio, the
press, films)
 People were
forbidden from
criticizing their
government
Nazi Propaganda
Benito Mussolini (Italy)
 Preached a government




called Fascism –
movement emphasizing
loyalty to the state and its
leader
Deeply anti-Communist;
strong support for Italian
corporations
Deep desire to make Italy
a great world power
Active Secret Police
would jail political
opponents
Linked to racism and
cultural superiority
Mussolini called himself “IL
DUCE” (The Chief)
Adolf Hitler (Germany)
 Joined politics after WWI




– wanted to avenge
Germany’s loss
Organized Nazi Party;
tried to seize power in
1923 – but was arrested
While in prison – wrote
Mein Kampf
Spoke about Germany
racial superiority (German
Aryans were superior; all
others – like Jews, Slavs,
Gypsies – were inferior)
Stated German need for
Lebensraum – living
space
Hitler in Power
 During 1920s-30s – a
severe depression in
Germany, Civil War broke
out
 Politicians in Germany
believed they could use
Hitler – so the German
president named him
Chancellor in 1933
 Once in office, he used
fear effectively to allow
the Nazis to win a
majority in Parliament
(Reichstag Building Fire)
 Rule became known as
“The Third Reich”
Hitler’s Policies
 Banned all political
parties
 Created a blackuniformed, secret
police unit called the
SS (Schutzstaffel)
 Massive building
program put millions
to work – ending the
Depression in
Germany
Hitler’s War on the Jews and other
 Nazi beliefs stressed the races
“purity” of the Aryan race
 Policies enacted to “purify” the




German race (sterilization of
undesirables like mentally ill
and disabled)
Anti-Semitism (hatred of the
Jews) was a major part of Nazi
beliefs
Jews were used as
scapegoats (blamed for
Germany’s problems) –
especially blamed for
Germany’s economic problems
after WWI
Nuremberg Laws deprived
Jews of their citizenship
Nazis first attempted isolating
Jews in ghettos, then resorted
to official, blatant attacks on
Jewish homes and
synagogues
The Versailles Treaty
A Weak League of Nations
The Ineffectiveness of the
League of Nations
 No control of major conflicts.
 No progress in disarmament.
 No effective military force.
The “Stab-In-The-Back” Theory
German soldiers are dissatisfied.
International Agreements
Locarno Pact – 1925
 France, Germany, Great Britain,
Italy



Guarantee existing frontiers
Establish DMZ 30 miles deep on East
bank of Rhine River
Refrain from aggression against each
other
Kellogg-Briand Pact – 1928
 Makes war illegal as a tool of
diplomacy

No enforcement provisions
The Great Depression
Movements Toward War
We need to understand the
“Aggressiveness” in four
countries/events to discover how and
why the war began
*Japan
*Italy
*Spain
*Germany
New Government for Japan
 Japan seemed peaceful and had a
democratic government in the 1920s
 However, few in government could control
the military (who reported directly to the
emperor)
 When hard economic times hit Japan
(caused by the Depression), the military
installed a new government that was
centered around the Emperor – who the
military would rule in the name of
Goals for Japan’s Militarists
 Expand empire overseas
 Improve economy through imperialism
 Begin a Pacific Empire that included China
 BENEFITS OF THE EMPIRE ARE…
Could access much needed raw materials
Could have an empire that included billions of
people to trade with
New empire would give “living space” for
rising population
Japan Invades Manchuria, 1931
Japan’s invasions
 1931 – Japan invaded
Manchuria (Northeastern
China - rich in natural
resources)
 League of Nations
protested action, but did
nothing to stop Japan
 Japan left League of
Nations in 1933
 1937 – Japan invaded
China (captured Beijing
and Nanjing – where
thousands of civilians
were killed) – “Rape of
Nanjing”
Manchuria
Mussolini’s Discontent
 Mussolini saw the
League of Nations do
nothing to stop Japan
 Envious of Britain &
France’s Africa holdings
 Invasion of Ethiopia in
1935 – the spears and
swords of Ethiopia no
match for tanks, guns,
and planes of Italy
 League of Nations – no
action taken to stop Italy
Germany Prepares
 1935 – Hitler
announces that
Germany will start to
rearm their military
 1936 – Confident by
lack of response,
Hitler ordered troops
to re-conquer the
Rhineland (Buffer
zone between
Germany and France)
German-Italian Alliance
 Germany and Italy
form the Axis Powers
in 1936
 Now – two dictators
with stated goals of
expansion are good
friends
 Japan soon joined the
alliance as well
Mussolini and Hitler
Spanish Civil War
 Gen. Francisco
Franco (Fascist)
revolted against the
elected government in
1936
 Civil War lasted for
three years
 With Italy and
Germany’s help –
Fascists won in Spain
by 1939
La Guernica
Hitler Expands Empire
 1938 – Hitler and the
Germans invaded Austria
(most Austrians spoke
German and welcomed
becoming a part of
Germany)
 But…Hitler and the
Germans were expanding
– and Versailles told them
not to
 Britain and France do
nothing
The Sudetenland
 After taking Austria –
Hitler wanted more
 His next desire is the
Sudetenland in
Czechoslovakia
 Small area of
Western Czech where
many Germanspeakers lived
 The Czechs didn’t
want to give this area
to Germany – nor did
France and Russia
“Appeasement” at Munich
 The British step in to
offer a peace and
avoid war
 British Prime Minister
Neville Chamberlain
meets with Hitler in
Munich, Germany
 They agree to give
Hitler the Sudetenland
 Hitler has to promise
he is done seeking
territory
Appeasement: The Munich
Agreement, 1938
British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain
Now we have peace in our time! Herr
Hitler is a man we can do business with.
Reactions to Munich
 Neville Chamberlain,
the British Prime
Minister who came up
with the agreement,
said that he had
achieved “peace in
our time”
 Winston Churchill, the
future Prime Minister,
said: “Britain and
France had to choose
between war and
shame. They chose
shame. They will get
war, too.”
Hitler breaks his promise: Germany
Starts the War
 After being given Sudetenland – Hitler takes the
rest of Czechoslovakia
 Hitler signs a Non-Aggression Pact with Stalin
and the Soviet Union (they agree to not make
war on each other) – now France and Britain
have lost an ally in Stalin
 Immediately after – Germany invades Poland
(France & Britain declare war on Germany)
WWII officially begins
Hitler breaks his promise: Germany
Starts the War
 After being given
The Non-Aggression Pact was publicly
a peace treaty, but in reality just a ploy
by Hitler and Stalin to divide up Eastern
Europe
Sudetenland – Hitler
takes the rest of
Czechoslovakia
 Hitler signs a NonAggression Pact with
Stalin and the Soviet
Union (they agree to not
make war on each other)
– now France and Britain
have lost an ally in Stalin
 Immediately after –
Germany invades Poland
(France & Britain declare
war on Germany) WWII
officially begins