What factors led to the rise of the authoritarian regimes?

2. What factors led to the rise of the authoritarian regimes?

3. Political factors • Redistribution of land and resources after World War I caused political shifts and discontentment • New nations felt threatened by the larger nations and uncertain that the League of Nations would be able to protect them • New nations had to set up a government, and establish an economy • Several countries had a democratic government that was ineffective • Authoritarian regimes promised a strong government

4. Social factors • War had caused social upheaval • During the war, rigid gender and class divisions were blurred • After the war, tensions arose between those who wanted to return to the old ways and those who wanted to keep their new-found status • Authoritarian regimes tended to offer order in society

5. Economic factors • Economies of many countries suffered badly during and after the war • War damage was great; costs of rebuilding were extremely high • Trade was disrupted; various currencies were hit by inflation • Unemployment was high • Authoritarian regimes offered stability and hope

6. Effects of the Wall Street Crash • US stock market collapsed in the Wall Street Crash in 1929 • Rest of the world was affected, except USSR and countries that were too poor to trade • Authoritarian regimes used the discontent arising from economic problems to seize power • They offered stability and security with confidence

7. Communist Russia:How did Stalin come to power and what was life like under the Stalinist regime?

8. How did Stalin come to power and what was life like under the Stalinist regime? • February 1917 revolution overthrew the Tsar and threw Russia into chaos • A Provisional Government took over, but was very weak: • Faced tough opposition from Soviets (those who organised the revolution) and those who wanted to put the Tsar back in power • Did not solve critical issues like food and fuel shortages that had sparked the revolution • Instead, it made liberal reforms (freeing political prisoners, allowing free speech), allowing critics the chance to attack

9. How did Stalin come to power and what was life like under the Stalinist regime? • The Bolsheviks, one of the most popular opposing parties, campaigned against the government • Led a second revolution in October 1917, seizing power from the government • Signed Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany, taking Russia out of the war • Renamed themselves the Communist Party (CP) and Russia became the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)

10. How did Stalin come to power and what was life like under the Stalinist regime? • Russia was out of World War I but was swept into a Civil War • Red Army (Bolsheviks) had to fight off many opponents before winning the Civil War in 1921 • War communism imposed during the Civil War – everything owned by the state • After the war, people allowed more freedom – they could own land and small businesses

11. How did Stalin come to power and what was life like under the Stalinist regime? • The Russian economy gradually improved • However, Lenin’s health worsened and he died in 1924 • Main contenders to take over: Trotsky and Stalin

12. Why did Stalin win the leadership contest? • Stalin focused on consolidating his power more than the running of the country • His post as General Secretary helped – it was a sign of Lenin’s favour

13. How did the Five-Year Plans build up USSR’s industry? • Five-Year Plans introduced to make USSR an autarky – self sufficient, not relying on trade with other countries • Stalin’s economic committee, GOSPLAN • Drew up the plans • Set targets for industrial and agricultural growth • Created a command economy – the state told factories what to produce and farmers what to grow

14. Three Five-Year Plans • First plan (1928 to 1932) • Concentrated on expanding industry, transport and the power supply • Second plan (1933 to 1938) • Focused on more manufactured goods, in addition to first plan • Third plan (began in 1939 but interrupted by outbreak of war) • Production of ‘luxuries’ like bicycles and radios

15. Controlling the workers • Local party workers set up committees and supervised all levels of industry • Food was rationed by the state. Ration cards, wages and housing were allocated by committee • Workers who met targets were rewarded in the form of extra rations. Those who were thought to not be working hard enough had their rations cut • Food was in very short supply – an effective way to control workers

16. Problems with the Five-Year Plans • Problem 1: the quality of goods suffered • Rapid production led to poor quality of goods • Workers were not trained properly • Stalin desperately sought help from Western experts • Problem 2: human cost • People were crowded into new industrial towns to live and work in appalling conditions • Living conditions were cramped with little running water or sanitation

17. How did collectivisation change farming life? • Collectivisation • Stalin took all farmland and set up huge state-run farms called collectives (kolkhozy) • Peasants kept enough for themselves and sold the rest to the state • Could not own land or sell food privately • Had fixed hours and wages • State provided homes, food, fuel, and clothing for the peasants

18. Resistance • Many peasants resisted collectivisation • As a result, food production went down, leading to another famine in 1932. • Stalin sent soldiers to force collectivisation on the people • Land was taken from the kulaks (people with the biggest farms) and millions were sent to labour camps. • By 1930, the kolkhozy had been changed • No longer huge state-run farms, but smaller collectives run by the local CP.

19. Did collectivisation work? • By 1940,almost all farms were collectives • Some collectives had good production figures and were used as model examples • However, some peasants reverted to traditional, inefficient farming methods when their tractors broke down. • On the whole, collectives were producing enough food to feed peasants and workers in the industrial towns • Thus, Stalin’s main aim of keeping the industry going was met

20. How did Stalin use propaganda to control people? • Propaganda: the deliberate spreading of ideas and information for the purpose of promoting a specific cause • The Bolsheviks used propaganda to start the Revolution • Stalin used propaganda to convince people he was a closer friend of Lenin than he really was • Stalin increasingly used extreme propaganda and censorship to control the people

21. False information • In his rise to power, Stalin lied to make Trotsky look like a bad person • During the Five-Year Plans, published statistics were made up to make the economic situation look good • Newspapers, radios and posters gave out state-controlled information • There was state censorship of everything • Writing, art, music and plays were censored • School textbooks were changed on a regular basis

22. How did propaganda increase industrial production? • The Five-Year Plans encouraged everyone to exceed their targets • Alexei Stakhanov • A coalminer who mined 102 tons of coal with his work gang in one shift in 1935 • Posters, newspapers and radio reports presented him as a hero, urging Russians to follow his example • Later, Stalin admitted that Stakhanov had been working on an easy seam of coal with the best equipment

23. How did Stalin use fear to control people? • Stalin’s policies were hard on the people • Despite state propaganda convincing people to make sacrifices, opposition grew in the 1930s • Hardships due to his policies were worsened by the 1932 famine, increasing opposition • Stalin stamped out opposition ruthlessly through the use of fear

24. Finding the opposition • Opponents of Stalin • Arrested, tried, sent off to labour camps (gulags) or just ‘disappeared’ • Stalin used the secret police to hunt down his opposition • Arrested, questioned and shot people to order • People were encouraged to inform against friends, neighbours and family. • People were arrested for even trivial examples of opposition. • E.g. telling anti-Stalin jokes warranted an arrest

25. Show trials • Stalin put his political rivals in public ‘show trials’ • Many, including former allies Kaminev and Zinoviev) were accused of plotting against Trotsky • Many of those on trial confessed to crimes they had not committed, often after torture or threats to their families

26. Purges • Stalin’s purges were supposed to clean out enemies of communism in USSR • However, Stalin used them to get rid of his opponents • People were arrested and sent to labour camps without anyone knowing what had happened to them • Many arrested were members of the CP – some were even loyal supporters of Stalin

27. Effects of Stalin’s purges

28. Nazi Germany:How did Hitler come to power and what was life like under the Nazi regime?

29. The rise of Hitler and the Nazis • Hitler • Leader of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party • Tried to take over Germany by force in the Munich putsch in 1923 but failed • Arrested, tried and sent to prison for five years • Released only nine months later

30. Hitler’s ideas about empire and race

31. Political takeover

32. How did the Nazis rebuild the German economy? • To build the Third Reich’s empire, Hitler needed a large, well-provisioned army • He also wanted Germany to be as self-sufficient in raw materials and food as possible • A radical Four-Year Plan was drawn up by Hermann Goering to meet Hitler’s objectives

33. The Four-Year Plan • Geared towards being ready for war in four years, but presented instead as a way of revitalising the economy • Most important aims: • Rearmament • Autarky • Provided work for the unemployed by hiring them in factories • Introduced agricultural reforms to increase production to meet the needs of a growing population

34. Working for Germany • The Nazis took control of the workforce • Unemployed had little choice about the work provided • Factories were told what to produce • Banned trade unions as they were seen as threats to Nazi control • Everyone had to join the German Labour Front (DAF) • DAF’s aim: • To indoctrinate the Germans in the Nazi state mentality so they would support the state

35. Children and Schooldays • The Nazis wanted hardworking, obedient, healthy Aryan citizens for their empire • They controlled children’s lives from the moment they were born so they would grow up believing in Nazi ideals • Nazi control tightened in school • Curriculum was determined by Nazis • When not in school, children were expected to join a youth group and to spend as little time as possible on their own

36. How did the Nazis use propaganda to control the people?

37. The Nazis act against Jewish people • Used propaganda against Jewish people and also acted against them • Laws were passed to increasingly isolate them and make them less part of the community – this made them easier targets • The SA attacked Jewish people, broke up their shops and arrested them for no reason • All people were encouraged to do the same

38. How did the Nazis use fear to control the people? • Hitler used fear through: • The SA (Sturmabteilung or ‘stormtroopers’) • The SS (Schutzstaffel or ‘protective squadron’) • Gestapo (secret police force) • Night of the Long Knives • By 1934, SA had three million members • SA seen as a threat to the regular army • Hitler needed the army’s support • Ernst Rohm, leader of SA criticised Hitler’s policies • Hitler had Rohm and other SA leaders arrested and shot

39. How did the Nazis use fear to control the people? • The Nazis used party officials to watch and report on the people • Neighbours, even family members, were encouraged to report on ‘suspicious’ behaviour • Prison camps were used to ‘re-educate’ prisoners to accept Nazi ideas

40. Effects of Nazism

41. Fascist Japan:How did the fascists come to power in Japan and what was life like under their regime?

42. How did the fascists come to power in Japan and what was life like under their regime? • Japan • Small country with little land and no raw materials • To expand, it had to take over land elsewhere • Government that took power in 1868 focused on economic and territorial expansion • Determined not to become part of Western colonisation • Looked to the West for trade and ideas for modernisation • Went to war with China (1894) and Russia (1904) and won both wars

43. World War I • Japan’s alliance with Britain meant that it was pulled into World War I • Japanese industries took over trade from Europe as Europe was preoccupied with war • However, wartime economic growth benefitted only the rich industrialists • Rapid industralisation led to growing towns • Demand for food rose but fewer people in agricultural to grow the food

44. Widespread discontentment due to: • Food shortages • Rising prices • Bad working conditions and wages • Workers formed unions and went on strike on a large scale • Ordinary people formed political groups to express their discontentment with the government

45. Japan and the Treaty of Versailles • Japan was allowed to keep German possessions it had captured during the war • However, the League of Nations did not have a clause about racial equality • 1921 Washington Naval Conference limited size of Japanese fleet to no more than 60% of the smallest US or British fleets • Japanese felt they were unfairly treated • However, Japan still traded with Western powers which enabled its industries to flourish

46. The Japanese economy • Japanese industry worked on a two-tier system • Top-level industrial firms called zaibatsu: favoured by the government and had connections with banks • Smaller firms: survived by providing services for zaibatsu on their terms • Most trade with the West, and therefore the greatest profits, went to the zaibatsu

47. Japanese control of trade gave Japan a large income: • Controlled trade routes in Pacific and Indian Oceans • Controlled much trade in and out of China • This made USA uneasy of Japan’s intentions in China • USA hoped that the threat of losing valuable imports from them would make Japan reluctant to do anything to upset them

48. Economic disaster • Japan was deeply affected by the Wall Street Crash in 1929

49. Economic depression meant other countries could no longer afford Japanese goods • The silk industry was badly hit • By 1932, silk prices fell to less than 20% of their 1923 prices • Many businesses collapsed; unemployment rose • Contact with the West was no longer seen as a good thing • Nationalist politicians argued that dependence on the West for trade and an adoption of their ways had damaged Japan economically and culturally

50. Why did nationalism become so powerful in Japan? • Since 1868, Japan had been governed by a constitutional monarchy • However, the government was very disorganised and unstable: • Many different parties meant the government changed often • Emperor only a figurehead • Real power held by a cabinet of ministers • Politicians more interested in building power than governing