Download The Rise of Dictators

America and
the World
Chapter 24 Section 1
Totalitarian State
• The govt. controls the political, economical,
social, and cultural lives of its citizens
– Led by a single leader and a single political
party
– Conquer the minds and hearts of the people
through mass propaganda
Fascism
• Glorifies the state above the individual
– Emphasizes the need for a strong central govt.
led by a dictatorial ruler
• Strongly anticommunist
– Europeans feared Communism
– Mussolini exploited this fear
• Fascism b/g to stand for the protection of
private property and of the middle class
Fascist Italy
• Benito Mussolini b/c the Fascist leader
of Italy
– He promised Italy would return to the
glories of the Roman Empire
• The Italian Parliament persuaded the
king to appoint Mussolini as the premier
– Once in office Mussolini set up a
dictatorship
• Benito Mussolini
– Ruled 1922-1943
The USSR
• 1917 – the Russian Revolution gets rid of
Czar Nicholas II
• The Bolshevik Party est. a Communist
govt. in Russia
– Vladimir Lenin is the leader of the Bolsheviks
– 1922 – they rename Russia the Union of
Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)
• Lenin dies in 1924
• Joseph Stalin takes over in 1926
• Joseph Stalin
– Ruled 1928-1953
Hitler and the Nazis
• Adolf Hitler
– Strong anticommunist and admirer of Mussolini
– Fought for Germany in WWI
– Had a true hatred for the Allies and the German
govt. that accepted the treaty that ended WWI
• The chaos in Germany after WWI led to the
rise of a new political party
– National Socialist German Workers’ Party (the
Nazi Party)
– Hitler was one of their first recruits
In Prison
• 1923 – the Nazis tried to seize power by
marching on city hall in Munich, Germany
– The plan was to seize power locally then
march on to Berlin
• The plan failed and Hitler was arrested
• In prison Hitler wrote his autobiography
– Mein Kampf (“My Struggle”)
Mein Kampf
• Unification of all Germans under one govt.
• Claimed that Germans belonged to a master
race called Aryans
– Especially blond, blue-eyed Germans
• Argued that Germans needed more living space
– Germany to expand East into Poland and Russia
• B/l that Jews were responsible for many of the
world’s problems
– Especially for Germany’s defeat in WWI
Hitler b/c Chancellor
• After released from prison Hitler decided
the best way to seize power was to get
Nazis elected to the Reichstag
– Reichstag – German Parliament
– By 1932 the Nazis were the largest party in
the Reichstag
• 1933 – German President Hindenburg
appoints Hitler as chancellor
Hitler = Fuhrer
• With the help of intimidation by Storm
Troopers, voters gave Hitler dictatorial
powers
• 1934 – Hitler b/c president (Hindenburg
had died)
– Hitler gave himself the title of fuhrer
(leader)
• He b/g to rebuild Germany’s military
– In violation of the Treaty of Versailles
• Adolf Hitler
– Ruled 1933-1945
Hitler speaks in the Reichstag
Japan
• Japan was having major economic
problems after WWI
– Military officers blamed corrupt politicians
• Most officers b/l…
– Japan was destine to dominate East Asia
– Democracy was “un-Japanese” and bad for
the country
Military Japan
• 1931 – Japanese army invaded
Manchuria
– Japanese prime minister b/g negotiations,
but the officers assassinated him
• The Japanese military now had control
of Japan
• Military officers were appointed to serve
as prime minister
• Hirohito
– Emperor 1926-1989
• Hideki Tojo
– Prime Minister 1941-1944
• Admiral Yamamoto
– Commander in Chief
of the Japanese
Navy 1939-1943
New Alliances
• Rome-Berlin Axis
– Hitler and Mussolini become allies
– Pledged to cooperate on several international
issues
• Anti-Comintern Pact
– Germany and Japan
– Promising a common front against communism
– Required the two countries to exchange info about
communist groups
America Turns to Neutrality
• Isolationism
– The US should avoid international
commitments that might drag the nation into
another war
• Neutrality Act of 1935 – made it illegal for
Americans to sell arms to any country at
war
– Based on the idea that arms sales helped
bring the US into WWI
Roosevelt and Internationalism
• Roosevelt
– Not an isolationist
– His first priority was ending the Depression
• Roosevelt supported internationalism
– Internationalism – idea that trade b/w nations
creates prosperity and helps to prevent war
– Internationalists also b/l that the US should try to
preserve peace in the world