Rise of Totalitarianism

What are the characteristics of a totalitarian state?

-Dictator

-One party Rule

-Primacy of the state

-Economic control

-Secret Police

-Censorship

-Propaganda

What is primacy of the state?

When right of the individual are considered to be less important than the aims of government policy, and when it is considered to be the duty of the individual to serve the state

What are some examples of primacy of the state seen in this unit?

Russia’s 5 year plans that led to agricultural decline leaving people famished

Mao Zedong’s plan that led to the people being famished

What was propaganda used for?

It was a way to present the dictator and the state policy in a positive light/terms through party controlled newspapers, radio stations, films, and other publications. They also used propaganda to present opponents of the regime in a negative way

Who were the two fascists in the unit?

Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini

Who were the two communists in the Unit?

Joseph Stalin and Mao Zedong

How did Adolf Hitler rise to power?

: After WWI, Germany was left humiliated and in debt because of the conditions of the Treaty of Versailles. Because of this, Hitler was able to gain popularity, support, and power due to his ideas. He was able to bring together the German population by telling them that Germany would not accept defeat and humiliation. He also gained popularity with the people by creating a positive image about himself and about the Nazi regime. Through propaganda, he was able to tell the people that he was fighting for “peace and obedience”. He used bandwagoning as a way to get people to support him.

How did Joseph Stalin Rise to power?

 Once Tsar Nicholas II abdicated the throne and WWI ended, the russian government was in shambles. The provisional government took control after the abdication of Tsar Nicholas but were overthrown by the Bolsheviks, a russian political party consisting of the poorest people of Russia that was led by Vladimir Lenin. After the Bolsheviks took control of the government and Vladimir Lenin died, Joseph Stalin took control of the government. 

How did Mao Zedong rise to power?

After the communists were kicked out of China’s major cities after attempting to get the factory workers to revolt, they reached the countryside where they gained the support of the peasants while Mao Zedong planned another revolution. During the Japanese invasion of China, the communists and nationalists cooperated until after WWII when a civil war started between them. By 1949 the communists had driven the nationalists( which had taken Chinas gold reserve and money) out of China.

Who was Leon Trotsky?

Leon Trotsky was Vladimir Lenin’s second hand and was believed to be the one that would take over the government after Lenin’s death. He had different views than Stalin.

What were some strategies Hitler and the Nazis used to gain power?

-Used propaganda

-Scapegoating and blaming Jews and other minorities for their defeat

What were three forms of Nazi Propaganda?

-Nazi Party rallies (military parades)

-Book burnings

-Radio communications

What were some things that the Nazis did to exclude Jewish people?

Hitler created the Nuremberg laws which took away the rights of Jews living in Germany. You would also be considered jewish even if you were 3rd generation and they weren’t allowed to marry germans. The nazis also promoted the idea of a “superior race” to exclude the jews

What was Mao Zedong’s Great Leap Forward?

It was a 5 year plan that planned for China to rapidly industrialize

What was Mao Zedong’s cultural Revolution?

It was a time when Mao would brainwash teenagers and give them military titles, used violence to intimidate the Chinese population, and he he consolidated full control of the government. He used propaganda as a form of brainwashing his people to ensure that they wouldn’t go against him.

What were some ways that Mao Zedongs Great Leap Forward failed?

-He was so focused on industrializing China and meeting the goals, that the Chinese population was left famished and neglected.

-The amount of agricultural production decreased because workers were spending a lot of time producing materials for industrialization.

What were some things that Russia and Communist China had in common when it came to their five year plans?

They were both not able to meet the overall goals of their plans, and their plans resulted in famine for their people.

What happened during Stalins Great Purge?

It was a period of extreme persecution and oppression during the 1930’s. Stalin accused millions of people of betraying the USSR and executed, exiled, and sent people to gulags. The NKVD was enforced, which was Russia’s secret police

What were Gulags?

They were Russian prison/labor camps where people were sent after being accused of being against or betraying the USSR

How was the 1936 Berlin Olympics a form of Nazi propaganda?

It was a form of propaganda because Hitler used it to show how strong Germany was in terms of nationalism and militarism. During that time period nations around the world did not know about what Hitlers real plan was, since he was lying and claimed that he wanted peace and tolerance for Germany.

What were backyard furnaces during the Great Leap Forward?

Mao Zedong established that the Chinese people should produce steel in order to industrialize China and they had to meet quotas.

What was collectivization in Russia?

This was a time in Russia when landowners and peasants had to give up their farms and join large collective farms where they had to share equipment and animals with other farmers.

What caused the ukranian famine “holodomor”?

The famine was a result of stalins drive to collectivize soviet agriculture. Even though food production was decreasing, stalin still ordered for his officers to continue to take away the grain from the peasants to support the cities.