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RISE OF DICTATORS. DICTATORS. Dictator - a leader who rules a country with absolute power, usually by force Dictators are usually able to take power in countries that are suffering economically and socially
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DICTATORS • Dictator - a leader who rules a country with absolute power, usually by force • Dictators are usually able to take power in countries that are suffering economically and socially • The conditions in The Soviet Union, Germany and Italy made it easy for these dictators to assume power
The Five Year Plan • The aim was to build industry, improve transportation, and increase farm output • Command Economy - government officials controlled all economic decisions • Industry - USSR was successful with heavy industry but failed to produce competitive consumer goods ie clothing, cars and appliances
The Five Year Plan cont. • Stalin brought agriculture under government control • Forced peasants to work on collectives • Collective were large farms owned and operated by groups of peasants • They were allowed to keep their houses but all animals and machinery were turned over to the collective
Ukraine Famine • Peasants resisted the plan by killing farm animals, destroying tools and burning crops • The government responded with brutal force • Angry peasants often grew only enough food to feed themselves • Stalin responded by seizing the grain and leaving the peasants to starve • Famine spread across the USSR and over 8 million Ukrainians died • Over the years the situation did not improve much
The Great Purge • Stalin was always fearful of rival party members plotting against him • In 1934 he launched the Great Purge • In his reign of terror, Stalin and his Secret Police cracked down on old Bolsheviks • He then targeted generals, writers, industrial managers and ordinary citizens • They were charged with a wide variety of crimes, from plotting to overthrow Stalin to not meeting production quotas
Show Trials • Stalin staged a series of “Show Trials” • They were public trials where people were forced to confess (often through torture and threats to family) to crimes against the Stalin regime • Many were executed publicly and other were sent to the Gulag - a series of forced labor camps throughout the USSR but mainly in Siberia • This increased Stalin’s power as old revolutionary member were replaced with young members loyal to Stalin and fearful of his wrath
What is Fascism? • It was a term used by Mussolini rooted in extreme nationalism • It glorified violence, discipline and blind loyalty to the state • It is anti-democratic and communist
In Power • Mussolini ran Italy like a dictatorship upheld by terror • Critics were thrown in prison, exiled or killed • Secret police and propaganda supported the regime • He preserved capitalism but much of the economy was under gov’t control • Workers suffered
Social Policies • In Fascist Italy the individual was only important as a member of the state • Men were urged to be warriors for Italy • Women were pushed out of the workforce and told to focus on being mothers • Children were molded to obey strict military discipline by Fascist youth groups
Mussolini • At first he was received in both Italy and around the world • Once his policy changed toward foreign conquest other nations lost support of him • Italy’s failure in WWII and the fact that his people saw him as a pawn of Hitler lead to his demise • He was captured and publicly executed
Hitler’s Third Reich • He removed all socialist and communists, suspended civil rights and made Germany a single party state • He predicted his Third Reich would rule Germany for 1000 years • He created a totalitarian state • The Fuhrer’s rules were enforced by a brutal system of terror and repression • The SS troops were the main enforcers • The Gestapo - his secret police, removed all of his opposition
The Third Reich • To help Germany recover economically Hitler launched a huge public works campaign • He violated the Treaty of Versailles by rearming the nation but this created jobs • Capitalism was kept but big businesses and labor were brought under gov’t control
Society Under Hitler • Societal expectation under Hitler were very similar to Mussolini’s • Men were to be strong and fight for their country • Women were to produce as many “pure” children as possible; were rewarded • Children were trained to be loyal Germans and to destroy all enemies • Religion was despised and replaced with the Nazi racial creed
Hitler • He was able to rebuild Germany in under 10 years • He tried to expand the German Empire • Nazi foreign aggression set the stage for WWII
Regimes • Mussolini built a model for Hitler and Stalin • All three regimes were different but had several things in common • Single party dictatorship • Use of terror to enforce policy • Government control of the economy • Strict media censorship
Similarities in Dictators/Dictatorships • Used scapegoats to rise to power • Killed “enemies” who were in their way • Used the Great Depression and other crises to rise to power • People were desperate and supported them • Came to power legally and through elections • Made empty promises, used propaganda, and paranoia • Promoted fascism or communism to get support • Censorship and few rights for people • Built up the military and economy
