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Dictators Come to Power

Dictators Come to Power. Effects of World War I and the Great Depression. Upheavals in countries led to the rise of dictators and totalitarian states. Government During the 1920s. Many nations embraced oppressive dictatorships and totalitarianism

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Dictators Come to Power

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  1. Dictators Come to Power

  2. Effects of World War I and the Great Depression • Upheavals in countries led to the rise of dictators and totalitarian states

  3. Government During the 1920s • Many nations embraced oppressive dictatorships and totalitarianism • A theory of government in which a single party or leader controls the economic, social, and cultural lives of its people. • This was a 20th Century phenomenon • It was more extreme than a simple dictatorship • Why do you think it was able to take hold in the years leading up to WWII?

  4. Repression in the Soviet Union • 1917 Lenin establishes the first totalitarian state which results in starvation, famine, and death of millions • Joseph Stalin becomes leader of the Communist Party in 1924 • Suspicious, cruel, ruthless, tyrannical • Great Terror- Stalin purged the Communist party of real and suspected traitors • Propaganda kept Stalin in power

  5. Repression in Italy • Totalitarianism was a result of war and treaties • Returning veterans could not find jobs, postwar economic depression, and a weak government allowed for the growth of the Communist Party. • 1919 Benito Mussolini formed the Fascist party- it trumpeted nationalism and promised to make Italy great again. • Followers were known as Black Shirts • He outlawed political parties, took over the press, created secret police, organized youth groups • Opposed liberalism and socialism

  6. Germany • Post WWI Germany= Democracy • Weimar Republic (government) struggled during the 1920s • Anger over the Treaty of Versailles and internal disunity plagued the new government

  7. Germany • National Socialist German Workers’ Party (Nazi) threated the Republic • They opposed communism, socialism or anything that promoted class interests or workers’ rights above German ethnic solidarity • Led by Adolf Hitler • “Mein Kampf”- “My Struggle”- states Hitler’s explanations for the problems facing Germany • Communists and Jews • Hitler was anti-semitic- prejudice against Jews

  8. Germany • How the Nazi Party succeeded • Unemployment • Homelessness • Hunger • Hitler appointed Chancellor of Germany in 1933 • Became President and ruled uncheck by the German Parliament (Reichstag) • State controlled press • Secret police • State controlled education system • Political initiatives restricted freedoms

  9. Japan • 1920s was a period of increased Democracy and peaceful change • Reduced military power, all men the right to vote, trade unions, political parties • Ended with the Great Depression • Military leaders believed expansion would solve Japan’s problems and grant security • Never became when totalitarian state • Constitutional Monarchy head by an aloof emperor

  10. Japan- Expansion • Aggressive military expansion • 1931- attacked Manchuria • Northeastern China • Puppet State • Japan controlled domestic and foreign policy and natural resources • 1937- Gained control over Chinese railroads and coastal areas • Japanese soldiers acted with brutality • Rape of Nanjing- murdered residents and burned the city

  11. Dictators Turn to Aggression • Germany and Italy resorted to acts of aggression similar to Japan • League of Nations- no real power to enforce the decrees • America never joined • Long on words, short on action • Hitler enlarged his army, navy, and air force in direct defiance of the Treaty of Versailles • Goal of moving all people into one Reich (state) • Expand to gain Lebensraum (living space) • Sent troops to the Rhineland- direct challenge to the League- no response • Mussolini invaded Ethiopia and succeeded

  12. Appeasement • Policy of granting concessions in order to keep the peace • Why would France and Britain appease the fascist powers? • Didn’t want to start another war • Believed Soviet Union was a greater threat • Believed a strong Germany would be a buffer for Soviet Union • U.S. maintained isolationist policy • Anschluss- Hitler brought Austria into the Reich • Due to lack of commitment from U.S., France, and Britain

  13. Munich Conference • British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and France appeased Germany and sacrificed the Sudetenland • Munich Pact- agreement reached at the conference • Chamberlain declared it had, preserved “peace for our time” • Postponed the war for 11 months

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