Chapter 27: Dictatorships and the Second World War

In general, how did totalitarian states maintain power?

They were able to maintain power by suppressing other political parties, pushing crazy propaganda, and taking control of the economic, social, and cultural aspects of people’s lives.

What contributed to the rise in totalitarian regimes? Why?

It was World War 1. The reason was because many states had to limit people’s rights, food, money, etc. For example, there was rationing and industrial quotas set on by the German War Raw Materials Board.

What was the goal of Stalinism in the Soviet Union? How was it achieved? Also, who did it help the most?

The goal of Stalinism was to create a group of workers without wealth being in the picture. Essentially, Stalanism nationalized private property, pushed for industrialization, and collective agriculture to achieve this.

Stalinism helped the lower class the most, because now it was everyone’s duty to work.

What was the goal of Facism, which was promoted by ______ and _____?

Mussolini and Hitler; The goal of Facism was to improve the lives of ordinary workers. Essentially, Facist governments would intervene in communities and promote nationalism, with people working together to build up a nationalist state.

What was the main difference between Communism and Facism?

The main difference was race! Communists wanted to build a new world around destroying economic classes, while Facists wanted to build a new nation centered around a single race being superior to others.

What is eugenics? What nation is the perfect example of this?

Eugnenics is the practice of eliminating other races and people deemed undesirable through selective breeding. For example, if someone had genetic conditions, then they were not allowed to reproduce.

The perfect nation of this is Germany. Many Nazis believed that the German state had to be cleansed of all Jews, homosexuals, people with mental illnesses, etc. This is what gave rise to the Holocaust.

After ____ took control of Russia in the Bolshevik Revolution, what was Russia like?

Russia was horrible. There were horrible droughts which only made hunger worse (plus from war). Additionally, industries were broken down because of strikes by peasants and workers.

What did Lenin do to fix Russia?

Lenin first started by replacing War Communism (which nationalized industries, placed rationing) with a new economic system called New Economic Policy (NEP). This re-established economic freedom to rebuild agriculture and industry. It allowed peasants to sell their resources in free markets, and private traders were allowed to reappear.

When Lenin died, he chose no successor, so who were the two candidates and why did ____ win?

Stalin; The two candidates were Stalin and Trotsky.

The reason why Stalin won and not Trotsky was because of his political campaigning, which allowed him to gain support from the Bolshevik party. Additionally, Stalin won because he better related to Marxist teaching via his Socialism in One Country theory, arguing that the Soviet Union could succeed on its own, while Trotsky said all of Europe had to become socialist.

What was Stalin’s view on other ethnic groups within Russia (Soviet Union)?

He allowed them to exist, with permission to it being taught within schools. However, any idea of seceding was completely unacceptable.

What did Stalin start doing after he took power in 1924? Talk economics here! (hint: mention NEP)

Stalin ended up completely reforming the economy in 1927. He started by first destroying Lenin’s NEP, which he believed was too capitalistic. Instead, he created the five-year plan, which aimed to increase industrial production by 250%, agricultural production by 150%, and with 1/5 of the peasants to give up their private plots and join collective farms.

What did Stalin create in 1929 after fearing of the independent peasantry? What was it?

Stalin created the collectivizatoin of agriculture, where he forced individual peasant farms into state-controlled lands to rise agriculture. Using this policy, he required that peasants move off of their private property and join these collective farms.

There was a small group of people known as the ____, which benefitted from the NEP. What did Stalin do with them?

kulaks; Stalin ended up pushing his collectivization of agriculture plan on them first, where he seized their property and livestock. Then, he stated they COULD NOT work on state-controlled land, leading many of them to starve to death.

Was Lenin’s forced collectiviation of agriculture successful? What did people do?

Also, what happened in Ukraine as a result of Stalin seeing this?

His plan was not successful at all. During the first year of his five-year plan, the output of grain had barely increased and the same went for industry.

People ended up burning their crops and killing their livestock rather than turning it over to the government.

In Ukraine, Stalin ended up setting VERY STRICT agricultural quotas which led to widespread famine in 1932-33, killing over 3 million people.

Overall, did Stalin’s collectivization of agriculture plan work? Why?

It did end up working. Even though millions died, the government was able to claim 93% of peasant households onto collective farms. Also, the reason it worked was because of the resistance, which forced the government to give some freedoms back to people, like owning small family plots (this weakened the resistance thereafter).

How was the industrialization in the Soviet Union under Stalin’s ______?

five-year plan; Industrialization was actually incredible. Through the State Planning Commission, the Gosplan was created to set production goals and control any incoming raw materials and exported materials. This resulted in the Soviet Union producing about 4 times as many resources in 1937 than 1928.

What resource did the Soviet Union work on the most? How did this affect people?

It was steel! In terms of people, the Soviet Union ended up creating a labor force almost over night. Using this group, the government could assign workers to any job it needed, with an internal passport system ensuring that people could only move with permission.

Where did many Soviets live when they were being plaed all throughout the USSR for industrial work? Did people like these conditions?

Many Soviets ended up living in quickly built cities, like Magnetic Mountain City, which actually ended up working greatly. People were given their own community and were educated, so revolting was decreased!

What did Stalin use to maintain power?

To maintain his power, Stalin used purging which allowed him to gather evidence using party administrators and the Red Army and then use it to put individuals to trial (usually for execution).

For example, in 1936, 16 individuals confessed that they were going against Stalin and all of them were executed.

What happened after WW1 with Italy? Specifically, talk about what effects the Treaty of Versailles had on it!

After WW1 ended and negotiations were opened up via the Treaty of Versailles, Italy wasn’t actualyl given a ton of new territory. THis angered the Italian Socialist Party who then followed the Bolshevik example, and ultimately revolted in a bottom-up mannor in 1920.

After revolution by ______ (group), (this man)______ rose to power. What did he start by doing?

the Italian Socialist Party, Mussolini rose to power.

Mussolini started by forming a Black Shirt organization, which violently enforced his new Facist ideology by destroying anything socialist related—newspapers, buildings, socialist headquarters. Ultimately, this band of armed Fascists marche dinto Rome to threaten the king (Victor Emmanuel III) and force him to appoint Mussolini as Prime Minister.

How did Mussolini maintain his political power WITHIN the government?

He ended up using his Italian allies to pass laws in Parliament, like having the winning party gain 2/3 majority in Parliament. Additionally, Facist extremists went around suppressing the socialist party, even killing Giacomo Matteotti, a popular socialist. This allowed Mussolini to maintain his power!

How did the people view Mussolini? WHY? (mention propaganda and nationalism)

The people looked up to Mussolini because they were TAINTED with propaganda. Many newspapers would display Mussolini as a powerful strongman who represented the values of the Italian people. People went so far as to giving up their wedding rings to support the Italian war effort.

Mussolini ended up invading Ethiopia in 1935, and through people’s support (like giving wedding rings), he won in 1936, proving that nationalism was back and that union was strong.

What very ting extremist group did Adolf Hitler join in 1919? What did they do?

This group was called the German Workers’ Party (SOON to be Nazi Party). Other than denouncing Jews, Marxists, and democrats, the party promised German National Socialism to destroy capitalism and create a people’s community.

How did Hitler gain support for his Nazi Party?

It was mainly through his speeches, which were filled with attcks on the Versailles treaty, Jews, people who profited from the war, and the Weimar Republic. Additionally, he used propaganda to ralley people together, showing how capitalism destroyed Germany.

What was Hitler’s first attempt to overthrow the _____ Republic that currently stood in Germany?

Weimar; His first attempt was through the Beer Hall Putsch. This was an armed rising that Hitlier supported in Munich. Even though it failed, it demonstrated the creation of National Socialism.

Hitler was arrested for this!!!!

What happened after Hitler was arrested following the ____ _____ _____? (hint: mention leban…)

Beer Hall Putsch; After his arrest, Hitler craeted Mein Kampf where he laid out his basic ideas of racial purification and territorial expansion through National Socialism. Within this book, Hitler claimed the Germans were a master race and needed to defend its pure blood from groups like Jews, Slavs, and others. He pushed that the German race needed Lebanstraum (living space).

How was the state of Germany around 1929, aka it’s Great Depression? How did this help Hitler’s cause?

The state of Germany was horrible at this point. Because bankruptcies, unemployment, and food shortages increased, Hitler vowed that the Nazi Party would fix all of this—and it showed. By 1932, the Nazi Party ended up gaining a majority in the Reichstag, where they used democracy to destroy democracy.

After gaining control of the ______ (Parliament) in 1932, what did Germany’s Nazi Party do? ALSO, who helped get more votes for Hitler?! (name)

Reichstag; Individuals started to break down democracy using democracy. Chancellor Heinrich Buining helped to overcome the economic crisis in 1929 by cutting back government spending and forcing down prices/wages. Because this only worsened Germany’s economic collasp, many voters subscribed to Hitler

In 1933, Adolf Hitlerw was appointed ____ by President _____.

Chancellor; President Hindenburg of Germany.

What happened with Hitler after the Reichstag caught on fire?

After part of the building was burned, Hitler blamed the Communists and convinced president Hindenburg to sign emergency acts that would limit freedom of speech and assembly, as well as many personal liberties.

If political power started slipping, like it did in 1933, what did Hitler do?

Hitler ended up outlawing the Communist Party and arrested its parliamentary representatives. This came after the Nazi Party only won 44% of the vote in elections. Additionally, Hitler created the Enabling Act, which gave Hitler dictorial power to create laws without the Reichstag for 4 years.

After the Nazis had complete control and command, mainly after the ____ ___ which gave Hitler 4 years of dictorial power, what did they start doing?

Enabling Act of 1933; The Nazis started to eliminate any political opposition or enemies like teh Communists, Social Democrats, and trade-union leaders. These individuals were forced out of their jobs or arrested. The Nazis then reinforced his by banning all strikes and labor unions, which became replaced by the German Labor Front (Nazi controlled).

What group had around 3 million soldiers, fought the Communists, and beat up Jews before the Nazis took power? How did Hitler respond to these conflicts?

The group that achieved this was called the Nazi Storm Troopers (the SA). After achieving this goals to please Hitler, they demanded top military positions, with some even talking about a possible second revolution to obtain it.

In response to this, Hitler used his personal guard, called the SS, to arrest and execute about 100 SA leaders. Under the leadership of Heinrich Himmler, the SS took control of the SA and the concentration camp system.

There were two types of individuals that Hitler saught after to achieve Germany purification. What were they? What did Germany do with them?

The two groups included the hereditarily ill and the asocials. The hereditary ill were a group of individuals with mental/physical disabilities or conditions (bipolar, depression, autism, “feeblemindedness”). The asocial group contained common criminals, prostitues, alcoholics, and people begging for money.

Germany did horrible things to these people in their practice of eugenics. They prevented them from reproducing and segregated them from everyone else.

How did Germany respond towards Jewish people? (this was BEFORE concentration camps, specificall around mid 1930s)

Their response was horrible. Jews were heavily stigmatized using propaganda and even banned from entering public areas, like parks. Additionally, Nazi authorities created the Professional Civil Service Restoration Act, which banned Jews from working in government jobs. The party also created the Nuremburg Laws to classify a Jewish person based on their ancestry or being married to another Jewish person.

What happened after the Nazis passed both the Nuremburg Laws and the Professional Civil Service Restoration Act?

The Nazi party continued to push on the Jews. In a violent event called Kristallnacht, Nazis smashed windows and robbed over 7000 Jewish-owned shops, homes, and burned down religious buildings, killing dozens of Jews.

Why did millions of Germans support the Nazi Party, which was clearly repressive and racist? Be specific here in mentioning jews

It was mainly because of the promises that Hitler made, and the fact that anyone who was thought of going AGAINST his views was imprisoned. Hitler promised to save the economy and he did so by creating jobs to work on highways, offices, stadiums, and public housing.

Additionally, the expulsion of over 500k Jewish individuals meant that job openings became available in a process called Aryanization.

How did the Nazis gain popular support for their national socialism?

The nazis ended up creating a process called Volksgemeinschaft (a “peoples community”) where the party would set up massive organizations to spread Nazi ideology and enlist volunteers for the Nazi cause. Millions of Germans ended up joining the Hitler Youth, League of Germany Women, and the German Labor Front.

think the car—volkswagen

How were women treated in Germany under Nazi rule?

Many women were expected to return back to traditional family values. The Nazi party ended up banning abortion and discouraged women from holding any jobs. They were meant to be the protectors of home and raise young bonds and girls in terms of Nazi ideals.

How did Germany respond toward the Treaty of Versailles? (how did some nations respond)

They responded by essentially ignoring its conditions. Hitler ended up creating a military draft and started building up a German army. Because many nations were growing worried of Germany’s power, some countries like Great Britain created a system called appeasement, which granted Hitler what he wanted to avoid war.

After building his army, Hitler marched it into the Rhineland in 1936, and neither France or GB acted on it. Sensing that nations couldn’t do anything about it, Hitler created the Rome-Berlin Axis in 1936 with Italy. This was a military and political alliance.

After marching into the Rhineland with his army, what did Hitler plan on doing? (describe how he takes Austria here)

Hitler wanted to tkae control of both Austria and Czechoslovakia. With his threats to the Austrian government, Hitler forced the Austrian chancellor to put Nais in control of the government in 1938. The very next day in the Anschluss (annexation), Germany moved armies into Austria, ready to capture Czechoslovakia.

How does Germany take control of Czechoslovakia?

Because appeasement was so high between the Nazis and other nations, the British PM, Neiville Chamberlain, and the French agrred that Germany should take over the territory.

Both France and GB thought that by allowing Germany to take this territory, they both secured everlasting peace. (i wonder how that turned out)

How did Napoleon gain control of France?

Napoleon gained power through his military victories, like in Italy, during the French Revolution. Then in 1799, he overthrew the weak Directory in a Coup d’etat to create the First Consul, giving him control of France.

After Napoleon gained control of France, what did he do?

Napoleon first started by appeasing powerful groups in France by offering them favors in return for loyalty, known as the Napoleonic Code. Specifically, he gave all males the right to vote, and in return they would support him. Additionally, he allowed thousands of emigres to migrate back to France on the condition that they support Napoleon.

He also helped to establish the Bank of France in 1800 to help both the state and financial stability.

How did Napoleon stay in power?

He was able to stay in power by consolidating his rule. He would elect new minsters and mayors, making sure that NOBODY from the old nobility remained (out of fear that they woudl revolt).

How were women treated under Napoleon?

Many women ended up losing the gains they made earlier. Under his Napoleonic Code, women were expected to prioritize their roles as mothers, allowing the males to handle work and money. He wanted a traditional family structure, where the power of the husband was absolute over the wife and children (just like Napoleon was over his subjects).