RISE OF DICTATORS

DICTATORS Dictator - a leader who rules a country

with absolute power, usually by force Dictators are usually able to take power

in countries that are suffering economically and socially

The conditions in The Soviet Union, Germany and Italy made it easy for these dictators to assume power

Joseph Stalin

Stalin’s Rise to Power Stalin was imprisoned several times and sent

to Siberia for spreading socialist ideas Stalin became a follower of Lenin He did not play a major role in the Bolshevik

Revolution but in 1923 he became the the General Secretary of the Party

When Lenin died in 1924 there was a power struggle between Stalin and Trotsky, a brilliant Marxist thinker and speaker

Rise to Power cont. Both had different views on the Future

of Communism Trotsky - worldwide revolution Stalin - Build Socialism at home Lenin had doubted Stalin; called him rude Stalin isolated Trotsky and by 1929 he

became an absolute dictator Trotsky was forced to flee the country

The Five Year Plan The aim was to build industry, improve

transportation, and increase farm output Command Economy - government officials

controlled all economic decisions Industry - USSR was successful with heavy

industry but failed to produce competitive consumer goods ie clothing, cars and appliances

The Five Year Plan cont. Stalin brought agriculture under

government control Forced peasants to work on collectives Collective were large farms owned and

operated by groups of peasants They were allowed to keep their houses

but all animals and machinery were turned over to the collective

Ukraine Famine Peasants resisted the plan by killing farm

animals, destroying tools and burning crops The government responded with brutal force Angry peasants often grew only enough food to

feed themselves Stalin responded by seizing the grain and leaving

the peasants to starve Famine spread across the USSR and over 8

million Ukrainians died Over the years the situation did not improve much

The Great Purge Stalin was always fearful of rival party members

plotting against him In 1934 he launched the Great Purge In his reign of terror, Stalin and his Secret

Police cracked down on old Bolsheviks He then targeted generals, writers, industrial

managers and ordinary citizens They were charged with a wide variety of

crimes, from plotting to overthrow Stalin to not meeting production quotas

Show Trials Stalin staged a series of “Show Trials” They were public trials where people were forced

to confess (often through torture and threats to family) to crimes against the Stalin regime

Many were executed publicly and other were sent to the Gulag - a series of forced labor camps throughout the USSR but mainly in Siberia

This increased Stalin’s power as old revolutionary member were replaced with young members loyal to Stalin and fearful of his wrath

Stalin Cult of Personality - propaganda used

by Stalin to make himself godlike Much of the art depicting Stalin made

him look strong and powerful Religion was banned and replaced by

communist icons like Lenin and Stalin

Benito Mussolini

What is Fascism? It was a term used by Mussolini rooted

in extreme nationalism It glorified violence, discipline and blind

loyalty to the state It is anti-democratic and communist

Rise of Mussolini After WWI Italy was a land of economic chaos and

political corruption Italian nationalists were upset that they were not

allowed to expand their territories People were inspired by the revolution in Russia Peasants took land, workers went on strike and

took over factories Veterans faced unemployment Trade declined and taxes rose Gov’t split into warring factions

Rise of Mussolini He stepped in to remedy the crisis He organized the veterans and other

nationalists into the Fascist Party 1919 He was a fiery speaker He promised to end corruption and

return order He also spoke of reviving Roman

greatness

Rise in Power Mussolini organized The “Black Shirts” They broke up socialist rallies, smashed leftist presses,

and attacked collective farms Many Italians were accepting of this because they had

lost faith in the constitutional gov’t In 1922 Mussolini organized a march on Rome to

demand gov’t changes Fearing a civil war, King Emanuel III asked Mussolini to

form a gov’t as Prime Minister By 1925 Mussolini assumed most of the power in Italy Takes the title “Il Duce”

In Power Mussolini ran Italy like a dictatorship upheld

by terror Critics were thrown in prison, exiled or killed Secret police and propaganda supported the

regime He preserved capitalism but much of the

economy was under gov’t control Workers suffered

Social Policies In Fascist Italy the individual was only

important as a member of the state Men were urged to be warriors for Italy Women were pushed out of the workforce

and told to focus on being mothers Children were molded to obey strict military

discipline by Fascist youth groups

Mussolini At first he was received in both Italy and

around the world Once his policy changed toward foreign

conquest other nations lost support of him Italy’s failure in WWII and the fact that his

people saw him as a pawn of Hitler lead to his demise

He was captured and publicly executed

ADOLF HITLER

Hitler’s Germany After WWI The nation was in turmoil after the war They lost land, the money was worthless, and the

military destroyed Hitler had served in the military during the war In 1919 he joined the Nazi Party and became its

leader in a year 1923 he tried to seize power; he failed and ended

up in jail While in jail he wrote Mein Kampf which became

the Nazi’s book of goals and ideology

Rise of Hitler Once out of jail he gained a loyal

following of veterans and lower middle class Germans

He promised them jobs and that he would rearm the military

Hitler was elected as Chancellor of Germany in 1933; he was supported by conservatives that feared communism

Hitler’s Third Reich He removed all socialist and communists, suspended

civil rights and made Germany a single party state He predicted his Third Reich would rule Germany for

1000 years He created a totalitarian state The Fuhrer’s rules were enforced by a brutal system

of terror and repression The SS troops were the main enforcers The Gestapo - his secret police, removed all of his

opposition

The Third Reich To help Germany recover economically Hitler

launched a huge public works campaign He violated the Treaty of Versailles by

rearming the nation but this created jobs Capitalism was kept but big businesses and

labor were brought under gov’t control

Society Under Hitler Societal expectation under Hitler were very

similar to Mussolini’s Men were to be strong and fight for their country Women were to produce as many “pure”

children as possible; were rewarded Children were trained to be loyal Germans and

to destroy all enemies Religion was despised and replaced with the

Nazi racial creed

Hitler He was able to rebuild Germany in

under 10 years He tried to expand the German Empire Nazi foreign aggression set the stage

for WWII

Regimes Mussolini built a model for Hitler and

Stalin All three regimes were different but had

several things in common Single party dictatorship Use of terror to enforce policy Government control of the economy Strict media censorship