World War Two: The Rise of Totalitarianism

This set of vocabulary flashcards covers the rise of totalitarianism in the USSR, Italy, Japan, and Germany following World War I, including key leaders, ideologies, and methods of control.

Dictatorship

A government where one dictator or political group holds absolute power.

Totalitarianism

A government system that attempts to gain total control of citizens’ lives, including actions, thoughts, and feelings, usually through a single dictator and police violence.

Fascism

A radical right-wing political ideology based on extreme nationalism (ultranationalism) and the use of violence against political opponents.

Nazism

Short for National Socialism, a racist and antisemitic fascist ideology that believes in a superior Aryan race and seeks to expand German territory.

Communism

The state-approved ideology of the Soviet Union (USSR) that focused on state control and led to harsh totalitarian rule under Stalin.

Militia/paramilitary

An unofficial military group, such as the Blackshirts or Brownshirts, used to threaten and intimidate political opponents.

Scapegoat

A person or group made to bear the blame for others or to suffer in their place, such as the Kulaks in the USSR or the Jewish population in Nazi Germany.

Cult of personality

A leadership style where a dictator is presented to the public as a god-like, all-knowing, and infallible figure who requires unquestioned loyalty.

Bolsheviks

The communist party led by Vladimir Lenin that took power during the 1917 Russian Revolution.

Soviet Union (USSR)

The name given to Russia in 1922 after the Bolsheviks won the Russian Civil War.

Joseph Stalin

The totalitarian dictator of the Soviet Union who took power in 1928 after a struggle with Leon Trotsky.

Five Year Plan

Stalin’s economic plans introduced in 1928 with the two main goals of industrialization and the collectivization of agriculture.

Collectivization of agriculture

The process of merging small peasant farms into huge, state-owned collective farms in the Soviet Union.

The Holodomor

A genocide meaning "Death by Hunger" in Ukrainian, resulting in the famine-related deaths of approximately 5 million people due to Stalin’s agricultural policies.

Kulaks

Wealthier peasants who opposed collectivization and were used as scapegoats, resulting in their execution or imprisonment by Stalin.

NKVD

Stalin’s secret police used to eliminate opposition to his rule and carry out the Great Purge.

The Great Purge

A period from 1936-38 where Stalin ordered millions of Soviets, including Bolshevik colleagues and Red Army officers, to be killed or sent to gulags.

Gulag

A harsh prison labour camp mostly located in the frozen regions of Siberia.

Mutilated Victory

The term used by Italian veterans and nationalists to describe their dissatisfaction with WWI results after failing to receive promised territorial gains.

Benito Mussolini

The leader of the Fascist Party in Italy who became Prime Minister after the March on Rome and was known as "Il Duce."

Blackshirts

The violent paramilitary wing of Mussolini’s Fascist party, mostly composed of armed and trained WWI veterans.

March on Rome

A 1922 event where 30,000 Blackshirts marched to the Italian government demanding Mussolini be made Prime Minister.

OVRA

The Fascist secret police in Italy, standing for Organization for Vigilance and Repression of Anti-Fascism.

Meiji Restoration

The 1868 event where Emperor Meiji regained control of Japan and began rapid industrialization and modernization to avoid Western colonization.

Ultranationalism

A Japanese political movement that believed the Japanese were a superior race and wanted the Emperor and military to rule as absolute dictators.

Manchukuo

The puppet state established in Manchuria (Northeastern China) after the Japanese army invaded in 1931 without government approval.

Kenpeitai

The Japanese military police corps used mostly to eliminate opposition in Japanese colonies.

Tokko

The Japanese "Special Higher Police," or "Thought Police," used to suppress opposition within Japan.

Nanjing Massacre

A 1937 atrocity where the Japanese army killed over 200,000 Chinese civilians and committed mass sexual assaults in the Chinese capital.

Axis Powers

The 1940 alliance formed between Japan, Germany, and Italy.

Aryan

The race considered superior or a "master race" by the Nazis, who viewed all other races, especially Jews, as subhuman.

Lebensraum

A Nazi goal meaning "living space," referring to the expansion of German territory and empire.

The Holocaust

The genocide committed by the Nazis during WW2 against Europe's Jewish population.

Brownshirts (SA)

The violent paramilitary wing of the Nazi party, also known as Stormtroopers.

Mein Kampf

The biographical book written by Adolf Hitler while in jail, outlining his fascist, racist, and antisemitic beliefs.

Joseph Goebbels

The Nazi politician who served as the head of propaganda and media censorship.

SS

The elite security and surveillance agency of the Nazi party used to terrorize and eliminate opponents.

Gestapo

The secret police of Nazi Germany used to maintain control and suppress dissent.