Totalitarianism and the Outbreak of World War 2

Totalitarianism and the Outbreak of World War II
I. The Rise of Totalitarianism, 1919-1939
A. WWI was not the “ war to end all wars” because events from 1919 to 1939 led to another world war
1. The punishing terms of the Treaty of Versailles led to resentment in Germany
2. Huge reparations slowed Germany’s ability to rebuild after the war
3. Britain, France, and other members of the League of Nations wanted to avoid another war
4. The Great Depression meant no American money for rebuilding and a world-wide depression in Europe
B. In the 1920s and 1930s, nationalism increased and totalitarian dictators came to power
1. Totalitarianism
a. Totalitarian leaders came to power by promising jobs and promoting nationalism
b. Dictators controlled all aspects of the nation by eliminating rivals, denying liberties,
using censorship, secret police
2. Joseph Stalin in the Soviet Union
a. After Vladimir Lenin’s death in 1924...Joseph Stalin gained control of the Soviet Union
b. Stalin was communist and seized all property, farms, factories in order
to control the economy and create equality
c. He used a secret police and the Great Purge to eliminate rivals
d. Stalin’s Five Year Plans transformed the Soviet Union into an industrial and military power by 1939
3. Fascism
a. Not all totalitarian dictators were Communists...In Italy, Germany, and Spain, people turned to an extremely nationalist gov’t called fascism
b. Fascist governments were controlled by dictators who demanded loyalty from citizens
c. Fascists did not offer democracy and used one party to rule the nation
d. Unlike Communists, fascists believed people could keep their property
4. Benito Mussolini in Italy
a. In Italy, Benito Mussolini’s Fascist Party seized power by promising to revive the economy,
rebuild the military, and create a new Roman Empire
5. Adolf Hitler in Germany
a. The Nazis were a fascist group in Germany that wanted to overthrow the disloyal Weimar Republic
b. Adolf Hitler was an early Nazi recruit and quickly rose to power in the party
c. Hitler was impressed by Mussolini and used many of his ideas to make the Nazi Party strong in Germany
d. Hitler’s Mein Kampf outlined his plans for Germany
i. He wrote that Germans were members of a master race called Aryans and all non-Aryans were inferior
ii. He declared that Germans needed lebensraum (living space) and should conquer Eastern Europe and Russia
iii. He called the Treaty of Versailles an outrage and vowed to regain land taken from Germany after the war
e. In 1933, Hitler was named chancellor (prime minister) of Germany and used his power to become dictator
f. Hitler put Germans to work by building factories, highways, weapons, and increasing the military
g. He created the gov’t protection squad called the SS and a secret police called the Gestapo to eliminate rivals and control all aspects of Germany
h. Anti-Semitism and violence towards Jews
i. In 1935, Hitler began a series of anti-Semitic laws called the Nuremburg Laws that deprived German Jews of the rights of citizens, forbade mixed Jewish marriages, and required Jews to wear a yellow star
ii. In 1938, Hitler ordered Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass) a series of attacks on Jewish
synagogues and businesses
6. Hideki Tojo in Japan
a. After WWI, Japan was the strongest nation in Asia and was ready to conquer new lands to provide resources for Japanese industry
b. Emperor Hirohito, gave full control of the Japanese military to Hideki Tojo who served as a military dictator
II. The Outbreak of World War II
A. In the 1930s, Japan, Italy, and Germany began aggressively expanding in Africa, Asia, and Europe

1. Japan invaded Manchuria in 1931 and mainland China in 1937
2. In 1935, Mussolini began his campaign to create an Italian Empire by invading Ethiopia
3. The League of Nations condemned Japan and Italy but did nothing to stop the attacks in order to maintain world peace
4. The failure of the League of Nations to stop Italy or Japan, encouraged Hitler to expand Germany too
a. By 1936, Hitler had expanded the German military and moved troops into the Rhineland
b. In 1938, Germany annexed Austria and the Sudetenland
c. In 1939, Hitler invaded Czechoslovakia
5. The League of Nations used appeasement to avoid war with Germany, Italy, and Japan
a. In 1939, Hitler demanded the return on Poland to Germany but wanted to avoid a war with the USSR
b. Stalin and Hitler agreed to the Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact, promising to divide Poland
and to never to attack each other
c. On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland
d. On September 3, 1939, Britain and France declared war on the Axis Power
(Germany, Italy, and Japan) and World War II began
B. World War II
1. When World War II began, German blitzkrieg tactics led to the conquest of Poland, Denmark, Norway, Netherlands, Belgium, France, the Balkans...the Axis Powers seized North Africa
2. In 1941, Hitler broke the Nazi-Soviet Pact and invaded the Soviet union
3. By 1941, Germany and Italy controlled most of Europe and North Africa
4. Meanwhile, Japan conquered new territories in Asia and threatened Guam and the Philippines
5. From 1939 to 1941, the United States remained neutral, but not isolated, from the global conflict