Download Rise of Dictators

Fascism and
Totalitarian States
Things highlighted in yellow need
to be written in your chart!!!
What is Totalitarianism?
• In a totalitarian state, citizens are expected to be
completely loyal and actively engaged in supporting
the goals of the state.
• Individual freedoms are subordinated to state goals.
• Promoted through use of propaganda.
Hitler on Totalitarianism
“We must develop organization in which an individual’s
entire life can take place. Then every activity and every
need of every individual will be regulated by the
collectivity represented by the party. There is no longer
any arbitrary will; there are no longer any free realms in
which the individual belongs to himself…. The time of
personal happiness is over.”
USSR
• The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
(USSR) is one example of totalitarianism
– 5 Year Plans: aimed to industrialize USSR
– Collectivization of farms
• 26 mil family farms  250,000 collective farms
• Peasants who resisted were starved to death (10 mil died 1932-33)
– People who opposed regime (8 mil) sent to Siberian labor camps
– Supposedly all done in “the people’s” interest—as it was a
Communist country.
Benito Mussolini
• 1919 - formed the “Fascio di Combattimento”
(League of Combat)
– Upset about not gaining more in WWI
– Attacked Socialists (physically!)
• 1922 – threatened to march on Rome.
– King made him Prime Minister
• By 1926 he was the dictator of Italy.
– Known as “Il Duce” (the leader)
Italian Fascism
• Mussolini set up a Fascist Dictatorship.
– Fascism is a form of totalitarianism
• Businesses are supposed to serve the needs of the state.
– Youth groups set up to spread message
– Freedom of press suspended
– Prime Minister could make laws
– Police can imprison people w/o charges
– Anti-fascist political parties outlawed
Adolf Hitler
• Fought on the Western Front
WWI.
• By 1921, took control of Nazi Party
• (National Socialist German Workers Party—NSDAP)
– “SA” (Storm Troops) were used to attack rival parties
• 1923 - Jailed after failed uprising against Munich govt.
– Wrote “Mein Kampf” (My Struggle) while in jail
during
Nazi Beliefs
• Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” outlined his basic philosophy:
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Nationalist
Anti-semitic
Anti-communist
Social Darwinist
• “Superior” nations have a right to more living space
– Believed Germans had the most pure Aryan blood
• “Superior” individuals should lead the masses
Nazi Consolidation of Power
• Jan 30, 1933 – Hitler becomes chancellor and forms new
fascist government.
• Mar 23, 1933 – “Enabling Act” allows Hitler to ignore
the constitution for the next 4 years
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Jews kicked out of government
Nazi opponents sent to concentration camps
Opposition parties and unions dismantled
Public officials forced to swear loyalty to Hitler
Francisco Franco
• Spanish General
• Was one of the leaders in an attempted coup after the 1936 election
gave the “Popular Front” power
• Popular front included socialists, republicans, anarchists, etc.
• The coup failed, but this led to the beginning of the Spanish Civil War
– Franco’s side was called the Nationalists (or the Rebels)—right wing politicians
and much of the army.
– The Popular Front was also sometimes called the Loyalists or Republicans (loyal
to the elected republican government).
The Spanish
War
Civil
• Lasted from 1936 to 1939.
• Approximately 500,000 died.
• Rebels/Nationalists were aided
by
Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany.
• Loyalists/Republicans/Popular Front were aided by USSR.
• Also the “International Brigades”—socialists, anarchists, and other left-wing folks from
around Europe and elsewhere—supported the Loyalists
– US volunteers (2,800) were known as the Abraham Lincoln Brigades
• Some African Americans joined as a way to fight against fascism (after Mussolini
had attacked Ethiopia).
– Oliver Law was the first African American to lead an integrated military force
in U.S. history.
The Bombing of Guernica
• April 26, 1937
• Defenseless town of low strategic
value
• Attacked by German Luftwaffe (Air
Force)
– “Terror Bombing”—aimed at
breaking the will of civilians
– Used to test weapons and tactics
in preparation for WWII.
Franco after the Civil War
• 1939 – Franco won the war.
• He remained as dictator until 1975.
– Resistance continued in many forms throughout this time.
• Officially neutral in WWII, but supported Germany in
relatively minor ways.
– However, Spain was a safe haven to which many Jews
escaped from Nazi-controlled territories
• (They were lucky that Franco never finalized a deal with Hitler to
enter the war!)