Dictators
Q: What party did Mao Zedong lead to power?
A: The Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Q: What was the Long March (1934–1935)?
A: A retreat by the CCP to escape the KMT, during which Mao emerged as the leader of the communists.
Q: When did Mao declare the founding of the People’s Republic of China?
A: 1949.
Q: What was the Great Leap Forward (1958–1962)?
A: Mao’s policy to industrialize and collectivize agriculture, which led to mass famine and the deaths of 20–45 million people.
Q: What was the goal of the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976)?
A: To purge “counter-revolutionaries” and eliminate traditional and capitalist influences.
Q: Who were the Red Guards?
A: Student-led groups who attacked intellectuals, officials, and cultural symbols during the Cultural Revolution.
Q: What were the results of the Cultural Revolution?
A: Widespread chaos, destruction of cultural artifacts, persecution of millions, and a damaged education system.
Adolf Hitler
Q: What party did Hitler lead?
A: The National Socialist German Workers' Party (Nazi Party).
Q: What book did Hitler write in prison, and what was its purpose?
A: Mein Kampf; it outlined his beliefs, including Aryan racial superiority and anti-Semitism.
Q: How did Hitler gain dictatorial powers in 1933?
A: Through the Enabling Act, passed after the Reichstag Fire.
Q: What were the Nuremberg Laws (1935)?
A: Laws that stripped Jews of German citizenship and banned marriage between Jews and non-Jews.
Q: What was the Holocaust?
A: Hitler’s genocide of 6 million Jews and millions of others, as part of the Final Solution.
Q: What did Hitler mean by lebensraum?
A: “Living space”; his belief that Germany needed to expand eastward for its people.
Q: What event triggered World War II?
A: Germany’s invasion of Poland in 1939.
Q: What happened to Hitler at the end of WWII?
A: He committed suicide in 1945 as Germany faced defeat.
Fidel Castro
Q: Who did Castro overthrow to come to power in 1959?
A: Fulgencio Batista, the corrupt dictator of Cuba.
Q: What were Castro’s key reforms after taking power?
A: Land redistribution, nationalization of industries, and free healthcare and education.
Q: How did Castro align Cuba during the Cold War?
A: He formed an alliance with the Soviet Union and adopted communism.
Q: What caused the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962?
A: Castro allowed the Soviet Union to place nuclear missiles in Cuba, leading to a standoff with the U.S.
Q: What were the results of the Cuban Missile Crisis?
A: The Soviet Union removed the missiles, and the U.S. agreed not to invade Cuba.
Q: How did Castro improve healthcare and education in Cuba?
A: By making them free and accessible, improving literacy rates and life expectancy.
Q: What were some downsides of Castro’s rule?
A: Lack of political freedoms, censorship, imprisonment of dissidents, and economic struggles due to the U.S. trade embargo.
Comparisons
Q: How did Mao and Castro gain support from peasants?
A: Both promised land reform and wealth redistribution.
Q: What did Hitler and Mao have in common regarding propaganda?
A: Both used propaganda to promote their ideologies and consolidate power.
Q: How did the policies of Hitler and Castro differ?
A: Hitler pursued racial purity and expansion, while Castro focused on social reforms like healthcare and education.
Q: Which dictator caused the most deaths through famine?
A: Mao Zedong, during the Great Leap Forward.