Soviet Totalitarianism & Japanese Authoritarianism

ADD SOVIET SIGNIFICANCE

When (ST)

1928-1953

Where (ST)

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

Who (ST)

Joseph Stalin

What (definition) (ST)

Soviet Government took total and centralized control over every aspect of public and private life in the Soviet union. He used methods of enforcement like indoctrination, terror, and censorship to force obedience.

Example 1 (Police Terror)

Police terror was when they used terror and violence to force obedience from civilians. Like Stalin’s secret police used tanks and armored cars to stop riots. Many were sent to the Gulag which is a network of prison camps set up across the country. About 14 million people passed it but 1.6 million died.

Example 2 (Industrialization)

Stalin sped up the tempo of Industrialization because if they ‘slacken’ the tempo, they would fall behind. He wanted to catch up to the ‘advanced countries’ in 10 years, put them in a good economic position and almost eliminated unemployment. The “5 year plan” was Stalin’s idea of how to ‘catch up’.

Significance (industrialization)

Strengthened the soviet Union’s economic position and turned it into a powerful industrial state. In 1937, the industrial output of the USSR was 5.8 times larger than in 1913. That rate exceeded capitalist countries.

When (JA)

1931-1945

Where (JA)

Imperial Japan

Who (JA)

Emperor Hirohito, Hideki Tojo

What (definition) (JA)

Japanese Authoritarianism was driven by many small groups that believed in extreme nationalism, rejecting democracy, and loyalty to the emperor as a powerful, almost god-like leader. They wanted Japan to be ruled by a strong elite, not by votes or parliaments. These groups also pushed for foreign expansion, wanting Japan to grow its empire through military power.

Example 1 (Manchurian Incident)

The Manchurian incident occurred in 1931 when Japanese military leaders detonated explosives near a Japanese railway and then blamed it on the Chinese. They staged this and used the explosion as an excuse to mobilize their army, invade all of Manchuria, and rule the region.

Example 2 (Rape of Nanjing)

In late 1937, over a period of six weeks, Imperial Japanese army forces brutally murdered hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians in Nanjing. Tens of thousands of women and girls were sexually assaulted. Nanjing, then the capital of Nationalist China, was left in ruins.

Significance (Manchurian Incident)

China’s population decreased and tensions between Japan and China were still high, pulling Japan out of its economic depression as it continued to expand Japanese power across the far east. It also exposed the weakness of the league of nations, as it failed to stop Japans aggression.

Significance (Rape of Nanjing)

The rape of Nanjing severely damaged Sino-Japanese relations and remains a source of and and controversy today. It exposed the extreme brutality of Japanese forces during WWII and became a lasting symbol of wartime atrocities.

Significance (Police Terror)

It solidified his control and ensured the soviet regime. About 14 million people passed through but about 1.6 million died.