authoritarian states

IB history

Adolf hitler

Nazi Germany – Led by Adolf Hitler (1933–1945)

Joseph Stalin

Stalinist Soviet Union – Led by Joseph Stalin (1924–1953)

Mao zedong

Maoist China – Led by Mao Zedong (1949–1976)

Benito mussolini

Fascist Italy – Led by Benito Mussolini (1922–1943)

How Hitler ruled

• Used propaganda, censorship, and terror (e.g., the Gestapo) to control the public.

• Banned opposition parties, controlled the press, and enforced Nazi ideology.

• Persecuted minorities, especially Jews, leading to the Holocaust.

• Created a totalitarian state through fear and loyalty to the Führer.

How stalin ruled

• Joseph Stalin (Soviet Union)

  • Eliminated political rivals through purges and show trials.

  • Used the NKVD (secret police) and labor camps (Gulags) to suppress dissent.

  • Enforced strict censorship and a cult of personality.

  • Controlled the economy with forced collectivization, leading to famines.

How Mao Zedong ruled

Mao Zedong (China)

• Established one-party rule under the Communist Party.

• Launched the Cultural Revolution to purge capitalist elements, using the Red Guards.

• Used mass propaganda and public struggle sessions to maintain control.

• Led policies like the Great Leap Forward, which caused widespread famine and death.

How Benito Mussolini ruled

Benito Mussolini (Italy)

• Formed a fascist dictatorship, using the Blackshirts to intimidate opponents.

• Censored the press and outlawed other political parties.

• Promoted nationalism and militarism while creating a personality cult.

• Allied with Hitler in WWII and expanded Italian imperialism.

hitler rise to power

Economic crisis, Treaty of Versailles resentment

stalin rise to power

Power vacuum post-Lenin, ideological positioning

rise to power Mao zedong

Civil war victory, peasant support

rise to power benito mussolini

Post-WWI instability, anti-communist sentiment

control mechanisms hitler

SS (Schutzstaffel), Gestapo, propaganda

Control mechanisms stalin

NKVD (peopple’s commissariat for internal affairs), purges, censorship

control mechanisms Mao

Red Guards, propaganda, purges

Control mechanisms mussolini

Blackshirts, censorship, propaganda

Ideological focus hitler

Aryan supremacy, anti-Semitism

ideological focus stalin

Marxism-Leninism, collectivism

Ideological focus moa

Maoism, class struggle

Ideological focus mussolini

Nationalism, corporatism

economic policies hitler

Rearmament, autarky

economic policies stalin

Five-Year Plans, collectivization

economic policies moa

Great Leap Forward, collectivization

economic policies mussolini

Corporate state, public works

social policies hitler

Youth indoctrination, anti-Semitic laws

social policies stalin

Suppression of religion, education control

social policies moa

Cultural Revolution, suppression of dissent

social policies mussolini

Promotion of traditional values, suppression of opposition

Authoritarianism

A type of government where one leader or a small group has all the power.
– People don’t get to vote them out and have limited freedoms.

Totalitarianism

– A stricter version of authoritarianism.
– The government controls everything: the media, the schools, what people can say, and even how they think.

Cult of Personality

– When the leader is shown as a perfect, god-like figure.
– The government uses posters, songs, speeches, and media to make people love and worship the leader.

Propaganda

– Information that’s spread to make the government look good, even if it’s not true.
– Used in posters, news, schoolbooks, and movies.

Censorship

– When the government blocks or removes information it doesn’t like.
– People aren’t allowed to read, watch, or say things that criticize the leader or ideas of the government.

Secret Police

– A hidden or special police force that spies on people, arrests them, and even kills them if they go against the government.
– Example: SS in Nazi Germany, NKVD in Stalin’s USSR.

Single-party state

– A country where only one political party is allowed.
– No real elections and no other opinions or ideas are accepted.

Indoctrination

– Teaching people, especially children, to believe what the government wants.
– They are taught not to question anything and to always support the leader.

Purge

– When the leader removes or kills people they see as a threat, even if they didn’t do anything wrong.
– Often done through fake trials, prison camps, or secret killings.

Collectivization

– Forcing farmers to give up their own land and animals and work on large farms owned by the government.
– Supposed to help food production but often caused famines and death.

Nationalism

– A strong belief that your country is the best and most important.
– Leaders used it to unite people and justify wars or harsh rules.

Militarism

– Believing the country should have a strong military and be ready to use it.
– Used to intimidate others and expand territory.

Charismatic Leadership

– When people follow a leader because they seem confident, powerful, or inspiring, not because they were voted in.
– These leaders often use emotion and promises to gain loyalty.

Opposition Suppression

– When the government shuts down anyone who disagrees with them.
– This includes arrests, violence, or banning groups.

Economic Control

– When the government controls how money is made, who works where, and what gets built or sold.
– Often limits personal freedom but gives leaders more power over society.

Adolf Hitler (Germany)

• Germany was suffering after losing World War I and going through the Great Depression.

• People were angry, poor, and wanted a strong leader.

• Hitler gave powerful speeches, blamed others (especially Jews), and promised to make Germany strong again.

• He was legally made chancellor in 1933, then took full control after the Reichstag Fire and passing the Enabling Act.

Joseph Stalin (Soviet Union)

• After Lenin died, there was a power struggle in the Communist Party.

• Stalin slowly took control by outsmarting rivals like Trotsky and gaining control over key positions.

• He used propaganda to show himself as Lenin’s chosen successor.

• By the late 1920s, he was the undisputed leader of the USSR.

Mao Zedong (China)

• China had a civil war between the Communists (Mao’s side) and the Nationalists.

• Mao gained support from peasants by promising land and equality.

• He was seen as a strong, determined leader during events like the Long March.

• In 1949, after winning the civil war, he became leader of the new Communist China.

Benito Mussolini (Italy)

• After World War I, Italy was poor and unstable, and people feared a communist revolution.

• Mussolini formed the Fascist Party and used violence and fear (with his Blackshirts) to gain attention.

• In 1922, he led the March on Rome, and the king invited him to be Prime Minister to avoid conflict.

• He then turned Italy into a dictatorship.

Adolf Hitler (Germany) lost in power

• Hitler started World War II and committed many atrocities, including the Holocaust.

• As Germany began losing the war and facing attacks from all sides, Berlin was invaded.

• In April 1945, Hitler killed himself in his bunker as the Allies closed in.

• Germany surrendered shortly after, and the Nazi regime collapsed.

Joseph Stalin (Soviet Union) lost in power

• talin ruled with fear until his death in 1953.

• He didn’t lose power during his life, but after he died, his crimes and harsh rule were exposed.

• Later leaders, like Khrushchev, denounced (spoke out against) Stalin's brutal methods.

Mao Zedong (China) lost in power

• Mao stayed in power until his death in 1976, even though some of his policies (like the Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution) caused chaos and millions of deaths.

• After he died, other Chinese leaders rejected his extreme ideas and moved China in a more practical direction.

Benito Mussolini (Italy) lost in power

• Italy struggled in World War II, and many people turned against Mussolini.

• In 1943, he was removed from power and arrested by the king.

• He later tried to escape but was captured and killed by Italian resistance fighters in 1945.

1919

• treaty of Versailles signed (creates anger in Germany)

1923

Beer Hall Putsch (Hitler’s failed attempt to seize power)

1933

Hitler becomes Chancellor; Reichstag Fire and Enabling Act give him full power

1934

• Night of the Long Knives (removal of Nazi rivals)

1939

Germany invades Poland → WWII begins

1945

Hitler dies by suicide; Nazi Germany surrenders

1924

Lenin dies; Stalin begins rise to power

1928

Stalin launches First Five-Year Plan (starts forced industrialization)

1934–1939

Great Purge (mass arrests and executions)

1939

Nazi-Soviet Pact signed

1953

Stalin dies

1949

People’s Republic of China established; Mao comes to power

1958–1962

Great Leap Forward causes famine and millions of deaths

1966–1976

Cultural Revolution begins; chaos and purges

1976

Death of Mao Zedong; end of the Cultural Revolution.

1922

March on Rome → Mussolini becomes Prime Minister

1925

Mussolini declares himself dictator

1935

Italy invades Ethiopia

1943

Mussolini removed from power and arrested

1945

• Mussolini captured and killed by Italian partisans