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HIS 121. Chapter 6 World War II. Right after World War I, many countries tried democracy; however, they later moved towards dictatorship Poland in 1926 Yugoslavia in 1929 Romania in 1938 Portugal in 1930 Spain in 1936.
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HIS 121 Chapter 6 World War II
Right after World War I, many countries tried democracy; however, they later moved towards dictatorship • Poland in 1926 • Yugoslavia in 1929 • Romania in 1938 • Portugal in 1930 • Spain in 1936
By 1939 only 2 major states in Europe, France & Britain plus some smaller countries remained democratic • Italy and Germany had become Fascist • Soviet Russia operated under Stalin’s dictatorship • Others like Spain, Japan, Argentina, and Brazil were under authoritarian rule
The modern totalitarian state: • Governments controlled the economy, politics, personal freedoms, social and intellectual aspects, and culture • They wanted active loyalty, not just passive obedience • They used propaganda and modern communications • They wanted the hearts and minds of the people • Countries were led by a single leader or a single party • Governments had extensive police powers that imposed its will The USSR , Germany, and Italy were totalitarian
Fascism • begun by Benito Mussolini in Italy in 1919 • Italy was in dire straits after World War I • problems were attributed to moral decay and the materialism of capitalism • some Italians were seen as selfish, weak, and irreligious See additional handout on Fascism
Mussolini • was a rebel since youth • came from a radical family • was a socialist until he backed Italy’s entry into World War I • fought in the army during World War I • was outspoken about conditions in Italy after the war
On 23 March 1919, Mussolini and 145 of his followers founded the first Fascist Party • By 1922 there were 300,000 fascists; mostly the unemployed and the disillusioned • 1922- they began to demand a share of the government • Fascist street gangs took over many areas of Rome • King Victor Emmanuel III made Mussolini Prime Minister in October 1922 only because he felt Mussolini was weak • This was the first wave of revolution
In the second phase, Mussolini established a dictatorship and became known as Il Duce • By 1926: • He dissolved all opposition parties and independent unions • He had strict press censorship • Parliament had to submit to his will
Propaganda stated that Mussolini had created a successful alternative to capitalistic democracy and soviet communism • Most Italians did not like what he was doing • People made little money • They were controlled at work and after work • Women were encouraged to stay at home and have babies • Many Italians went to the U.S. and sent little money back to Italy as they once did
Fascists weren’t delivering on their promises • So Mussolini tried to divert Italians’ attention from the problems at home • He tried to take over Ethiopia in 1935 and did so only after Germany stepped in to help
Germany • Led by the Weimar Republic after the First World War that was plagued by problems • 1923- Weimar seemed ready to collapse • Adolf Hitler, leader of the new Nazi Party, and his Stormtroopers (S.A.) took advantage of the weaknesses and tried to take over Bavaria; Hitler failed and was jailed
Adolf Hitler • Born in Austria • Moved to Vienna at age 18 to go to art school but wasn’t accepted • Blamed the Jews on the committee for not allowing him to attend the school • Developed 2 basic beliefs while in Vienna: • Germany & Austria should be united, so there could be one German nation • He felt the Jew was Germany’s worst enemy
Joined the German army and fought in World War I • After the war, he was hired by army intelligence to infiltrate the National Socialist German Workers’ Party or Nazi Party • He liked it and became its leader • He found that he was very charismatic and could express people’s rage • He stated that Germany was destined to rule Europe because of its racial superiority • He saw Communists, Socialists, Catholics, Democratic politicians, and above all, the Jews as Germany’s enemies
Hitler used emotion and not reason to reach the German people • At first, people thought he was crazy, especially after Hitler’s book Mein Kampf that spoke of his plan to take over Europe; he still gained followers In 1928 the Nazis gained 12 seats in the German Reichstag or parliament with 3% of the popular vote Followers were mainly those who found it hard to adjust to civilian life after the First World War. They became Hitler’s Stormtroopers or S.A. (brownshirts)
Because of the Depression, Paul von Hindenburg was ruling by emergency powers by 1930 • S.A. troops were fighting it out in the streets for control • By 1932 unemployment was extremely high, 40% • Communists were gaining new members as were the Nazis • By the summer of 1932, Nazi membership in the Reichstag had risen from 12 seats in 1828 to230
Fellow Nazis wanted Hitler to overthrow the government • Hitler, like Mussolini waited for power to be handed to him • On 30 January 1933, Hindenburg made Hitler Chancellor of Germany and head of a coalition government • Many felt the Nazis could restore law and order
Hitler was in office only a month when the Reichstag burned to the ground • Nazis said the Communists did it • More today believe the Nazis staged it, so they could take more power • Hitler declared an emergency, suspended personal freedoms, had the communists arrested, and established a dictatorship
Dictatorship meant • rival parties were outlawed • the federal system was abolished • The new constitution was whatever Hitler wanted it to be • Hitler would be known as the Fuhrer
Hitler rose to power with the help of the S.A., but he wanted a more elite, personal army; one that was well-disciplined, the S.S. • To avoid further problems between the S.A. and the S.S., Hitler destroyed the S.A. during the Night of the Long Knives, 30 June 1934
Nazi Society • Hitler received obedience through peer pressure • There was “Nazification” of every aspect of life – clubs, activities like the Hitler Youth • He dissolved trade unions • He consolidated Protestant Churches under Nazi rule • Population was controlled from the top • Hitler had total control, in your face control
Nazi Economy • Lowered unemployment rate from 6 million in 1932 to 164,000 in 1938. • How? • Used deficit spending • Economy was under tight government control • Worked to make Germany self-sufficient • Industrial workers, farmers, and small businessmen, the original supporters of Nazism, were rewarded the least • Hitler’s greatest rewards went to factory owners because to have a great, modern, & powerful Germany, it needed technology, industry, and change
Road to War • Hitler was determined to dismantle the Treaty of Versailles and did so without much resistance from the democracies • Without resistance, Hitler became more and more aggressive • Remember Mein Kampf and his design for aggression
Social Darwinism • “Survival of the Fittest” • “Survival of the Fittest Race”, the Aryan race • Hitler believed all Germans needed to be in one country • Germans needed land in which to breathe and to breed • Hitler believed he’d have to destroy France because it would oppose him
Hitler’s Destruction of the Treaty of Versailles • 1933 – Hitler withdrew from disarmament talks because Germany was the only country disarmed • 1935 – Hitler created the German Luftwaffe, air force, and expanded the army to 5x its permitted size • 1936 – Hitler remilitarized the Rhineland • 1938 – Germany annexed Austria called theAnschluss or annexation • 1938 – Hitler wanted and got the Sudetenland as a result of talks with Neville Chamberlain of Britain and Appeasement; 6 months later, Hitler took the rest of Czechoslovakia
Then Hitler wanted Poland; to do so and to avoid a 2-front war, he made the Nazi-Soviet Pact with Joseph Stalin (they would split Poland between them) • 1 September 1939 – Hitler attacked Poland using the blitzkrieg (lightning war) • 3 September 1939 - England and France hesitated for 2 days and then declared war on Germany, a defensive war • This was really a Phony War for the first 6 months because France and Britain dropped leaflets over Poland telling Germany to get out and waited for Germany to attack them
Hitler used the blitzkrieg to quickly take over Poland • Used fast-moving tanks, closely supported by aircraft, to shatter any opposition • Germans moved in on the western half of Poland and the Soviets into the eastern part
While the French and British were preparing for war and waiting to be attacked, Hitler had his own plans • April 1940 – Hitler occupied Denmark and Norway • May 1940 – Germans then took the Netherlands and Belgium • May 1940 – Germany began its attack on France; France fell 6 weeks later in June 1940
When Hitler took France, he satisfied much of the revenge he wished to take against the Treaty of Versailles • Hitler occupied all but the southern 2/5 of France for a few years • That 2/5 of France was called Vichy France under Marshall Philippe Petain; he replaced democracy with authoritarianism and cooperated with the Germans
Hitler had great respect for the British and gave them a chance to surrender without attack; the new Prime Minister, Winston Churchill vowed to resist • The Battle of Britain began in the summer of 1940 • Britain was never taken • After the Battle of Britain, Britain knew it would need an ally to help them fight Hitler, so Britain turned to the U.S. • The United States entered World War II on 7 December 1941 after being attacked by the Japanese
