Russian Revolution & The Rise of Fascism

Joseph Stalin

Russian leader who succeeded Lenin as head of the Communist Party and created a totalitarian state by purging all opposition. He took control over the USSR after Lenin's passing.

Vladimir Lenin

Russian founder of the Bolsheviks and leader of the Russian Revolution and first head of the USSR

Leon Trotsky

Supporter of Lenin who helped in the takeover of Petrograd (Petersburg) and the Bolshevik revolution. He was a rival towards Stalin in getting control of the USSR after Lenin's passing.

Brest-Litovsk Treaty

a treaty between Russia and Germany stating Russia's withdrawal from the war and letting German gain Poland, Ukraine and other territories to the Germans. (OCCURRED DURING WWI)

How Stalin enforced his control

Created Secret Police that followed his & his order only, enforced Indoctorination upon people, enforced propaganda & censorship upon everything entering the country, enforced Religious Persecution upon people who didn't follow his rule, etc.

Great Purge

A campaign of terror directed at eliminating anyone who threatened Stalin's power

Five Year Plan

A plan launched by Stalin in 1928, and termed the "revolution from above," aimed at modernizing the Soviet Union and creating a new Communist society with new attitudes, new loyalties, and a new socialist humanity.

Kulaks

Rich peasants in the Russian Empire who owned larger farms and used hired labour. They were their own class. They later suffered as Stalin took action upon them for going against his rule. (Led to famine & caused millions to die)

Woman gain rights

Women gained the rights during the Bolshevik Revolution & they were given the opportunity to gain higher education, usually in medicine, science, & engineering. (Most went into Medicine)

Totalitarianism

A form of government in which the ruler is an absolute dictator (not restricted by a constitution or laws or opposition etc.)

Nationlism

excessive pride in one's nation

Dictatorship

A form of government in which the leader has absolute power and authority.

Command Economy (Communism)

an economy in which production, investment, prices, and incomes are determined centrally by a government.

Collective Farming

many small farms combined into one under government control. (Happened to the Ukrainian Kulaks)

Coalition government

When two or more parties join together to form a majority in a national legislature. This form of government is quite common in the multiparty systems of Europe.

Weimar Republic (Germany's Democratic Government)

German republic founded after the WWI and the downfall of the German Empire's monarchy.

Great Depression causes

factory overproduction, wealth inequality, bank failures, overuse of credit, stock speculation, war debts

Great Depression

the economic crisis beginning with the stock market crash in 1929 and continuing through the 1930s (Affected everyone on the planet)

Recession

period of reduced economic activity. This led to job loses, reduced consumer spending, etc.

Herbert Hoover

Republican candidate who assumed the presidency in March 1929 promising the American people prosperity and attempted to first deal with the Depression by trying to restore public faith in the community. (He failed Badly)

Franklin D. Roosevelt

32nd US President - He began New Deal programs to help the nation out of the Great Depression, and he was the nation's leader during most of WWII

WPA (Works Progress Administration)

key New Deal agency that provided work relief through various public-works projects

TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority)

gave jobs rebuilding the Tennessee Valley; brought flood relief and hydroelectric power to the area

John Maynard Keynes (Keynesian Economics)

British economist and dominant economist in America for 50 years starting during the Depression, father of Keynesian Economics which predicted that depression and recessions can be less frequent if the government is involved

Keynesian Economics

Theory based on the principles of John Maynard Keynes, stating that government spending should increase during business slumps and be curbed during booms.

Capitalism vs. Communism

Capitalism: an economic system where private ownership profites owner

Communism: a political philosophy that creates a classless society where everything is government owned

Dawes Plan

A plan to revive the German economy, the United States loans Germany money which then can pay reparations to England and France, who can then pay back their loans from the U.S. This circular flow of money was a success.

Stock Market Crash of 1929

A severe downturn in stock prices that occurred in October of 1929 in the United States, and which marked the end of the "Roaring Twenties." Despite a few attempts at recovery, the stock market continued to languish, eventually falling almost 90% from its peak in 1929. It took over 25 years for the stock market to get back to the highs of the 1929 market, as the U.S. economy suffered through the Great Depression. Major new legislative and regulatory changes (New Deal) were enacted in an effort to prevent the same situation from happening again.

Soup kitchens & Bread lines

soup kitchens were set up offering free of low cost food. breadlines were lines of people waiting to receive food provided by charitable organizations

Isolationist policy (isolationism)

a policy of national isolation by abstention from alliances and other international political and economic relations

Tariffs

Taxes on imports or exports

Trade War (Caused by the Great Depression)

The U.S. sent massive tariffs upon imports & exports. (Why? To keep USD in America) This set a chain reaction upon other nations which led to them putting massive tariffs upon one another.

National Government

British response to Depression; multiparty coalition passed tariffs, increased taxes, and regulated currency

Popular Front (France)

This was a short-lived new deal inspired alliance(between the communists, socialists, and radicals)which was in France. It encouraged the union movement in launch the far-reaching program of social reform

Scandivania Countries Response (Denmark, Sweden, Norway)

These countries built recovery plans, sponsored massive public projects which led them to gain more debt (Keynesian Economics). They enforced taxes upon people & then used it to fund these projects. (This plan worked allowing these countries to grow a strong economy during that harsh period)

Authoritarian

A government in which one leader or group of people holds absolute power.

Fascism

an authoritarian and nationalistic right-wing system of government and social organization.

Benito Mussolini (Il Duce)

The Italian founder of the Fascist party who came to power in Italy in 1922 and allied himself with Adolf Hitler and the Axis powers during the Second World War.

Treaty of Versailles

the treaty imposed on Germany by the Allied powers in 1920 after the end of World War I which demanded exorbitant reparations from the Germans. (Left the Germans poor & led to WWII)

Fascist Party of Italy

This was an Italian political party, created by Benito Mussolini as the political expression of fascism. He would later inspire Hitler to create his own version of Fascism.

October 1922 March on Rome

Mussolini & his followers (30,000 people) marched on Rome & forced the Ruler of Italy (King Victor Emmanuel III) to give up his power to Mussolini & make him prime minister. (The start of his control over Italy)

Survival of the fittest

Process by which individuals that are better suited to their environment survive and reproduce most successfully; also called natural selection. (This influenced Hitler's thoughts as he believed in this)

Totalitarianistic

When a leader has complete control over the daily lives on the people

Black Shirts (Italy)

Mussolini's private militia that destroyed socialist newspapers, union halls, and Socialist Party headquarters, eventually pushing Socialists out of the city governments of northern Italy.

National Unity

a sense of common purpose and direction among a nation's citizens. (The Fascist Regimes demands this)

Democracy

A political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to represent them.

Blitzkrieg

"Lighting war", typed of fast-moving warfare used by German forces against Poland in 1939 (This is the event that started up WWII)

Nazism

Adolf Hitler used fascism to create this type of government based on totalitarian ideas and was used to unite Germany during the 1930s. He was inspired by Mussolini and used some of his ideas for Nazism.

Nazi Party

the political party founded in Germany in 1919 and brought to power by Hitler in 1933

Nazi

a member of the National Socialist German Workers' Party.

March on Munich

An attempt to take over the government just like Mussolini did but it didn't end up succeeding. Hitler was arrested and tried for treason after attempting to seize power in 1923

Mein Kampf (My Struggle)

Work written by Hitler while in prison in 1923; the book outlines his policies for German expansion, war, and elimination of non-Aryans

Anti-Semitism in Germany

-Jews compose less than 1% of Germany's population

-Bismarck (although Liberal) and Wilhelm II encourage anti-semitism

-Jews blamed for societal changes brought by industrialization

-also pigeonholed as economic beneficiaries (just bc they were the easiest to blame)

Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany

January 30, 1933. Once this happens Hitler has control over Germany but he still desired total control over the German Citizens.

Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass)

Mobs ransacked more than seven thousand Jewish shops and synagogues, 91 died, 30,000 were sent to concentration camps.

Hitler's Final Solution

The answer to "The Jewish Question". It was a mass murder of all Jews. He set up extermination camps and forced millions of Jews to enter gas chamber, ovens, and fire pits.

Juan Peron (Argentina)

President of Argentina (1946-1955, 1973-1974). As a military officer, he championed the rights of labor. Aided by his wife Eva Duarte Peron, he was elected president in 1946. He built up Argentinean industry, became very popular among the urban poor. (He was inspired by Mussolini & Hitler and took some of their ideas back to Argentina)

Italian invasion of Ethiopia

1935, Mussolini's testing of the power of the League of Nations by taking over an African country. (He ended up seizing power and controlling the territory)

Germany and Russia- non aggression pact

Hitler invades Poland and gives part of it to Russia--> France and Britain declare war on Germany.

Axis Powers (WWII)

Germany, Italy, Japan

Lenbensraum

Theory that territory is needed for the natural development of a state or nation, especially associated with Nazi Party.

What event changed the American attitude from isolatioism to full-out involvement in World War II?

Attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese on December 7, 1941

Red Front

Communist army

Allied powers WW2

US, Great Britain, Soviet Union, France (These are the main ones but I would also say "The world" as many countries united just to fight back against the Axis Powers)

Rhineland

A region in Germany designated a demilitarized zone by the Treaty of Versailles; Hitler violated the treaty and sent German troops there in 1936

Self-determination

Concept that ethnicities have the right to govern themselves

Avanti Newspaper

Avanti is an Italian daily newspaper, born as the official voice of the Italian Socialist Party, published since 25 December 1896. It took its name from its German counterpart Vorwärts, the newspaper of the Social Democratic Party of Germany.