Individual Political Affects On Major World War One Players And An Introduction To Facism

What was fascism and what were its key characteristics

Fascism was an anti democratic political system featuring a single party dictatorship upheld by terror and secret police It aimed to silence opposition protect middle class and small business interests and reject liberal democracy and socialism

How did Benito Mussolini rise to power in Italy

Mussolini used violence and intimidation through his Black Shirts In 1922 the Black Shirt March on Rome pressured King Victor Emmanuel III to appoint Mussolini as Prime Minister

What actions did Mussolini take to consolidate power in Italy

Mussolini ended the legislature in 1924 dissolved all opposition parties by 1926 and had rivals assassinated He created a totalitarian state controlled by propaganda and secret police

How did the Great Depression impact Italy under Mussolini

The economic crisis led Mussolini to implement corporatism where labor and management were organized into syndicates controlled by the state effectively eliminating trade unions

What were Mussolini's imperial ambitions

Mussolini sought to expand Italy's empire attacking Ethiopia in 1935 and aligning Italy with Germany in 1936 to form the Rome Berlin Axis

What was the Weimar Republic

The Weimar Republic was Germany's democratic government established after WWI 1918 to 1933 It faced severe instability hyperinflation and opposition from both communists and right wing nationalists

What caused the German economic crisis after WWI

Germany was required to pay 132 billion gold marks in reparations When it could not pay in 1922 inflation soared as the government printed more money The French occupied the Ruhr to force payments worsening unrest

What was the Dawes Plan

The Dawes Plan was a 1924 US led initiative providing loans to Germany to stabilize its economy so it could continue reparations payments to France and Britain

What was the Spartacist Uprising of 1919

It was a communist revolt attempting to seize control of the German government It was crushed by the right wing Free Corps militias composed of former WWI soldiers

What was the Kapp Putsch of 1920

A failed right wing military coup in Germany that briefly seized Berlin before collapsing due to lack of public support

What was the Beer Hall Putsch 1923

An attempted coup led by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party to overthrow the Weimar Republic It failed and Hitler was imprisoned where he wrote Mein Kampf

How did Hitler gain political power

Despite his failed coup Hitler built popular support By 1932 the Nazis were the largest party in the Reichstag In 1933 Hitler was appointed Chancellor and used intimidation and violence to consolidate power

What was the Enabling Act of 1933

A law passed by the Reichstag giving Hitler unlimited power and allowing him to rule by decree effectively dismantling the Weimar Constitution

What role did propaganda and terror play in Nazi Germany

The Nazis used mass propaganda and secret police SS and Gestapo to control society silence dissent and spread racist ideology including antisemitism

What were the Nuremberg Laws of 1935

Laws that stripped Jews of citizenship and defined Jewish identity based on ancestry marking the beginning of state sponsored racial persecution

What was Kristallnacht 1938

Also known as the November Pogrom it was a coordinated attack on Jewish homes businesses and synagogues across Germany resulting in widespread destruction and arrests

How did Hitler consolidate total control over Germany by 1934

Hitler outlawed strikes dissolved unions purged rivals in the Nazi SA during the Night of the Long Knives and forced professionals to conform to Nazi ideology creating a totalitarian regime

What were Nazi eugenics policies

Nazi racial hygiene targeted Jews Slavs Roma disabled individuals and others deemed asocial They promoted sterilization and concentration camps for unfit populations to create a pure Aryan race

How did Hitler build popular support in Germany

Hitler reduced unemployment with massive public works projects promoted Nazi youth and women's organizations and fostered a sense of unity under the concept of Volksgemeinschaft peoples community