The Gathering Storm Reading Focus Taking Notes

• What kind of dictatorship did Stalin set up in the Soviet Union?

Key Terms

totalitarian state Fascism aggression

Copy the table below. As you read complete the table with informa_ ' tion about the world in the 1930s.

• How did authoritarian gov-ernments come to power in Italy, Germany, and Japan?

• Why did the United States adopt a policy of isolationism?

Nazis scapegoat concentration camp Neutrality Acts Good Neighbor Policy

COUNTRY Soviet Union Italy Germany Japan United States

n Idea In the 1930s, as dictators elsewhere embarked ::::=. on a path of aggression, the United States tried to stay out of

the' conflict.

LEADER GOVERNMENT!

POLICIES -----. --.

Selling the Scene A man strutted onto a balcony in Rome. A sea of people cheered in the plaza below. He thrust his jaw forward, puffed out his chest, raised his arm, and began a fiery speech. "Ducef Ducef" the crowd cried. "Leader! Leader!"

In the 1920s, Benito Mussolini set the style for a new breed of dictators, men with absolute power and visions of conquest. Some Americans worried about the war clouds gathering in Europe and Asia. But most hoped to isolate themselves from the conflict.

Stalin's Totalitarian State As you have read, Lenin had set up a communist government in the Soviet Union. After Lenin's death in 1924, Joseph Stalin gained power. Stalin ruled as a totalitarian dictator. In a totalitarian u"i;ate, a single party controls the government and every aspect of people's lives. Citizens must obey the government without question. Criticism of the government is severely punished.

Stalin took brutal measures to modernize Soviet industry and agriculture. He ordered peasants to hand over land and animals to government-run farms. Millions who resisted were executed or sent to labor camps. Stalin also staged trials and executions of his politi· cal enemies. Many confessed to false charges under torture.

Fascist Italy Totalitarian leaders also came to power in Italy and Germany. Unlike Stalin, these dictators were Fascists (FAR shists). Fa cism was rooted in militarism, extreme nationalism, and blind loyalty to the state. Fascist dictators vowed to create new empires. While Communist~ drew much of their support from the working classes, Fascists foun allies among business leaders and landowners.

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l\'1ussolini In 1922, Benito Mussolini and his Fascist party seized power in Italy. He played on anger about the Versailles Treaty end-ing World War 1. Many Italians felt cheated because the treaty did not grant Italy the territory it wanted. Mussolini also used economic unrest and fears of a communist revolution to win support.

Once in power, Mussolini outlawed all political parties except his own. He controlled the press and banned criticism of the govern-ment. Critics were jailed or simply murdered. In schools, children recited the motto "Mussolini Is Always Right!"

Conquering Ethiopia In the 1930s, Mussolini used foreign con-quest to distract Italians from economic problems. Promising to restore the greatness of ancient Rome, he embarked on a program of military aggression. Aggression is a warlike act by one country against another without just cause.

Mussolini invaded the African nation of Ethiopia in 1935. The Ethiopians fought bravely. However, their cavalry and outdated rifles were no match for Italy's modern tanks and airplanes.

Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie (HI lee suh LAS ee) asked the League of Nations for aid. The League responded weakly. Britain and France were caught up in their own economic problems and unwill-ing to risk another war. Without help, Ethiopia fell to the invaders.

Nazi Germany In Germany, Adolf Hitler brought the National Socialist German Workers' Party, or Nazis, to power. Like Mussolini, Hitler played on anger about the Versailles Treaty. Germans bitterly resented the treaty because it blamed their country for World War I and made them pay heavy war costs.

Hitler Becomes Dictator Hitler assured Germans that they had not lost the war. Rather, he said, Jews and other traitors had "stabbed Germany in the back." The argu-ment was false, but in troubled times people were eager to find a scapegoat-a person or group on whom to blame their problems.

Hitler was a powerful speaker and skillful politician. By the time depression struck, many Germans looked to him as a strong leader with answers to their problems.

In 1933, Hitler became chancellor, or head of the German government. Within two years, he ended democratic rule and created a mili-taristic totalitarian state. In Nazi Germany, the government controlled the press, the Schools, and religion.

Soviet Propagan-da Poster The Soviet totalitarian state was built on the glorification of Stalin (left) . This poster celebrated the adoption of a new Soviet constitution in 1937. Evaluating Information What emotions did this propaganda poster try to stir in the Soviet people?

The following year, Hitler organized a Week-long rally in Nuremberg. Crowds chanted slogans praising Hitler. Uniformed soldiers

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Viewing History

Nazi Germany Adolf Hitler (left) was determined to build a mighty military machine. Here, lines of German troops march at the 1934 Nuremberg rally. Their ban-ners display the swastika, symbol of the Nazi party. Drawing Conclusions What impact do you think pictures like these had on Germans? On people in neighboring countries?

marched in endless parades and engaged in mock battles. American reporter William Shirer described the Nuremberg rally:

" It is difficult to exaggerate the frenzy of the three hundred thousand German spectators when they saw their soldiers go into action, heard the thunder of the guns, and smelt the powder. "

-William L. Shirer, Berlin Diary

Attacks on Jews Hitler preached that Germans belonged to a race that was biologically superior to Jews, Gypsies, and other peoples. The Nazi government singled out the Jews for special persecution. Jews were deprived of their citizenship, forbidden to use public facilities, and driven out of almost every type of work. Later, Jews were rounded up and sent to concentration camps, prison camps for civilians who are considered enemies of the state. In time, as you will read, Hitler would unleash a plan to kill all the Jews in Europe.

The Nazi War Machine Hitler claimed that Germany had a right to expand to the east. In defiance of the Versailles treaty, he began to build up Germany's armed forces. Although the League of Nations condemned his actions, Hitler predicted that the rest of Europe would "never act. They'll just protest. And they will always be too late."

In 1936, German troops moved into the Rhineland, near the bor-der with France and Belgium. France and Britain protested, but they took no action.

Military Rule in Japan Jap an's economy suffered sev rely in th e Great D epression. As rna~~ Japanese grew impa tien t "'lith th eir democratic governmen t, 1l1~~ tary leaders tool< p weI'. Like Hi tler th es lead r preached raCl d superiori ty. They b elieved that the Japanese were purer than, an superior to, other Asians as well as non-Asians.

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The military rulers set out to expand into Asia. In 1931, Japanese forces seized Manchuria in northeastern China. Manchuria was r ich ifJ coal and iron , two resources care in Japan. The J apane e e t up

stat in Manchuria called M anchukuo. a. China called on the League of Na tions for help. The League con-demned Japanese aggression but did little else. The United States refused to recognize Manchukuo but took no action.

American Isolationism In the United States, the strong isolationist mood of the 1920s con-tinued. (See page 721.) As war clouds gathered overseas, Americans were determined to keep from becoming involved.

Neutrality Acts In 1935, Congress passed the first of a series of Neutrality Acts, which banned arms sales or loans to countries at war. Congress also warned Americans not to travel on ships of coun-tries at war. By limiting economic ties with warring nations, isola-tionists hoped to stay out of any foreign conflict.

Good Neighbor Policy Closer to home, the United States tried to improve relations with Latin American nations. In 1930, President Hoover rejected the Roosevelt Corollary. (See Chapter 23.) The United States, he declared, no longer claimed the right to intervene in Latin American affairs.

Franklin Roosevelt also worked to build friendlier relations with Latin America. Under his Good Neig'hbor Policy, FDR withdrew American troops from Nicaragua and Haiti. He also canceled the Platt Amendment, which had limited the independence of Cuba.

As world tensions increased, the need to strengthen ties in the Americas became more pressing. On a visit to Argentina, Roosevelt warned that any foreign aggressor "will find a hemisphere wholly prepared to consult together for our mutual safety."

Primary Source The Good Neighbor Policy

In this speech, President Roosevelt describes the results of his policy toward Latin America: "The whole world now knows that the United States cherishes no predatory ambitions. We are strong; but less powerful nations know that they need not fear our strength. We seek no conquest: we stand for peace .. .. The twenty-one American republics are not only living together in friendship and in peace-they are united in the determination to so remain."

-Franklin D. Roosevelt, Speech at Chautauqua, New York,

August 14, 1936

Analyzing Primary Sources According to FDR, was the Good Neighbor Policy a success? Explain.

AnlR YOU READ

~ .Se~tion i Assessment-* ~- -Recall 1. Identify Explain the signifi-

cance of (a) Joseph Stalin, (b) Fascism, (c) Benito Mussolini, (d) Adolf Hitler, (e) Nazi, (f) Neutrality Acts, (9) Good Neighbor Policy.

2. Define (a) totalitarian state, (b) aggression, (c) scapegoat, (d) concentration camp.

Comprehension 3. Describe Stalin's totalitarian

rule in the Soviet Union. 4. What factors helped dictators

come to power in (a) Italy, (b) Germany, (c) Japan?

5. What were the goals of American isolationists?

Critical Thinking and Writing 6. Exploring the Main Idea

Review the Main Idea state-ment at the beginning of this section. Then, make a list of at least two arguments for and two arguments against American isolationism in the 1930s.

7. Drawing Inferences Write a paragraph explaining why you think so many people were willing to reject democracy and turn to dictators in the 1930s.

Drawing a Political Cartoon Draw a political cartoon about the nature of totalitarian dictator-ships. You might focus on how the government of a totalitarian state differs from the American system of government.

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