Download World Leaders and Dictators

World Leaders and Dictators
Mr. White’s US 2
History Class
Failures of the Treaty of
Versailles
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When World War I ended, the victors had made
Germany sign Treaty of Versailles
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Blamed Germany for the war
Germany had to pay war reparations
Germany wasn’t allowed to have much of an army
Questions to consider: How would Germans in general
feel?
Germans Unhappy!
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Germans felt Treaty of
Versailles was too harsh
on them
Many felt that Germany
hadn’t been defeated;
armies hadn’t
surrendered
War reparations, effects
of the Depression, and
runaway inflation put
German economy in
ruins
Josef Stalin and the Soviet
Union
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Soviet Union was a
communist country
Stalin came to
power after Lenin,
founder of Soviet
Union
Wanted to make
Soviet Union into an
industrial power
Josef Stalin’s Purges
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Stalin used “5-year
plans” to advance the
country toward an
industrial power
Used secret police to
purge country of people
he felt were not loyal to
him
Over 1.2 million of
Stalin’s own people
were imprisoned and
killed in these purges
Communist Soviet Union
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Communism –
government controls
all property and
production
(factories, farms,
everything)
Evenly distribute
property
Highly restricted
personal freedoms
Benito Mussolini

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Benito Mussolini
takes power as
dictator in Italy
Charismatic leader
Wanted to bring
back days of Roman
empire for Italy
Fascist Italy
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Fascism was a system of
government that emphasized the
glory of the nation over the rights
of the individual
Extremely nationalist
Private property was strongly
controlled by the government
Expand using the military
Anticommunist
Adolf Hitler
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Young artist from Austria;
wanted to be a painter
Fought during World War I;
was gassed in the trenches
Joined Nazi party in
Germany
Was imprisoned after joining
the party; wrote Mein
Kampf, “My Struggle,”
explaining the basic beliefs
of Nazism
Hitler’s Rise to Power
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As Nazi leader, quickly
gained support of the
people
Powerful and
charismatic speaker
Believed German
people were part of a
master race that
should rule the world
Was elected
Chancellor of Germany
by the German people
Nazi Germany
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“Aryan” race was master race
Germans needed “lebensraum” or living space
Would expand by military force, if necessary
Strong support by the people (why?)
Imperial Japan

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Japan had been
modernizing for
several decades,
since mid-1800s
Country was taken
over by military
Hideki Tojo (left)
became prime
minister, head of the
government
Japanese Expansion

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Japan wanted to expand over the Pacific Ocean and
eastern Asia (China, Korea, Vietnam)
Would use their military power to take over islands in
the Pacific and land in Asia
United Kingdom

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United Kingdom was
a democratic
country with a
capitalist economy
Run by Prime
Minister Neville
Chamberlain
Was very wary of
Hitler, Mussolini, and
Stalin
Big Questions
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Why did the people of Germany and Italy
allow these dictators to rise to power?
Evaluate the United States’ decision to remain
neutral with all these dictators running
around. Should the United States have
stepped in to help stop these dictators, or
was this not their fight?