WWII Notes 1: Rise of Totalitarianism
What is Totalitarianism?
•Pre-dated the Great Depression of 1929
 Totalitarianism: a term used to describe modern dictatorships that differ from earlier tyrannies
–Use of technology and different goals made them ‘new’
–Goals: _______________________________________________________ – especially enthusiastic
control
–_______________________________ and ideological faith and conviction
Similarities in Totalitarian Regimes:
•______________________________
•Dynamic ____________________________________ that were animated into constant motion to
make their prophecies come true
–In English = “Our ideas are perfect, see how well they’re doing because we make everything
we say is going to happen actually happen”
•Goals of ______________________________
•Prolific use of _________________ to fulfill their prophecies
•______________________________as exercisers of terror
•Institution of the ______________________________
•_________________ of believers and elites
•Preyed on lonely, lost individuals who were susceptible to _________________
•_________________________dwarfing the individual and other forms of propaganda
Effects of WWI on the Rise of Totalitarianism
•WWI shook the ideology of _________________________, so people looked for something else
•_________________________________________ worked into totalitarianism – the systems were
already in place
Mussolini and Fascist Italy
Post WWI Italy
•Italy was in a –_______________________________:
–Bad results from the peace
–_________________________
–Rural conflict over land reform
–_________________________
Mussolini
•Born July 29, 1883
•____________________________________– VERY active in the party
-Before WWI decided that socialism was not an effective option and that it was dying
World Wars – Hamer
Page 1
March 29-30, 2010
WWII Notes 1: Rise of Totalitarianism
•____________________________________
–Was hit by a mortar in 1917
Rise of Fascism
•March 1919: Mussolini organized groups of like-minded people (typically former soldiers) who became
known as Fascidi Combattimento - _________________________
•Fascism rapidly gained support by advocating for _________________________ instead of class
warfare
–Didn’t want to get rid of the classes or create equality though
•Grew so quickly that it became the ____________________________________
What is Fascism?
•Fascio means ____________________________________
•Also is the name of a Roman symbol of _________________________ – axe surrounded by a bundle
of sticks
–A bundle of sticks fused into unity is much stronger than one stick
–Can be seen in front of the Lincoln Memorial
Goals of Fascism in Italy
•Praised _________________________
•____________________________________
–When asked what fascism was, Mussolini responded “me”
•A strong and _________________________
–Individual was subordinated to this
•_______________________
–Gathering people into unities
•_______________________
•Praised war as _______________________________________________________ of a state and a
people
Black Shirts
•Squads often composed of former Italian ______________________ gained their goals by
______________________ those who opposed them: ______________________, communists, others
in the streets
How did the Fascists Take Over?
•Were saving Italy from the ______________________:
–Some created by Black Shirt violence
•Saving Italy from the ______________________
•Rapidly growing party
World Wars – Hamer
Page 2
March 29-30, 2010
WWII Notes 1: Rise of Totalitarianism
March on Rome
•October 1922 – ____________________________________
•____________________________________– because Mussolini taking power had been coordinated
behind the scenes
–Mussolini coordinated this with conservative elites
–King gave Mussolini the job of Prime Minister
Fascism Moves Forward
•Then Mussolini began to prepare his people for ____________________________________
•Admired by would be ______________________ all over Europe
–______________________
•Is Nazism best understood as a ______________________ of fascism?
–Marxists saw them both as the same
•Or did Nazism draw its inspiration from fascism and then become something
______________________?
–Importance of racism to Nazism
Hitler and Nazi Germany
Post WWI Germany
•______________________ from the terms of the Treaty of Versailles
–Economy would quickly crumble under the strains of the Treaty
•January 1919 – ____________________________________was founded in Munich by nationalists
Adolf Hitler
•Abusive father, weird childhood …
•______________________, but since his father was loyal to Austria, Hitler considered himself
______________________ instead of German-Austrian
•Wanted to go to art school, orphaned, moved to Germany…
•____________________________________in a Bavarian unit once WWI started
–Blindness caused by a gas attack caused Hitler to “see” that
____________________________________of saving Germany
Hitler and the Rise of Nazism
•Adolf Hitler remained in the army after WWI
–He was sent to ______________________ the new DAP, but then soon
______________________ by September 1919
•Hitler quickly rose in the ranks of the party based on his ____________________________________,
including his ability to inspirationally recount the experiences of WWI.
–He referred to himself as a ____________________________________in WWI.
World Wars – Hamer
Page 3
March 29-30, 2010
WWII Notes 1: Rise of Totalitarianism
•Hitler reshaped and renamed the party:
_______________________________________________________ (NSDAP) to envelop the left and
right – they weren’t really socialist of course
The Brown Shirts
•In imitation of Mussolini – organized squads of muscle
–___________________________________ (SA) –Stormtroopers (name from WWI) wore brown
shirts
•Supposedly Hitler wanted black shirts like Mussolini, but the military surplus store was out of black
and had plenty of brown…
–Were very important to Hitler’s rise to power, but would be
___________________________________ after that
Growing Popularity of Nazism
•Began to attract ___________________________________ like General Ludendorff and fighter ace
___________________________________
–Goring would be one of the first leaders of the SA
Beer Hall Putsch
•Failed attempt at a _________________________________________________
•Supposed to be a re-creation of the March on Rome
•During his time in jail, Hitler rethought his tactics to ___________________________________
–Instead he would _______________ democracy to ______________________ democracy
•Post Beer Hall Putsch propaganda promised a revival of the _________________________
_____________________________
•This was set in terms of ___________________________________ Volksgemeinschaft (people’s
community)
–This would exclude the ______________________ (Jews)
Nazism
•______________________ the Versailles Treaty
•Endorsed the “___________________________________” legend
–German Jews were ______________________ for Germany’s problems
•Impact of ________________on Nazis
–Hierarchical _________________________________________________, rituals,
____________________, glorification of war
Nazis Come to Power in Germany
•January 1933 Hitler came to power as ______________________ of Germany
–Nazi Party won election and elected Hitler as their chancellor
–___________________________________ helped boost Nazis into power
World Wars – Hamer
Page 4
March 29-30, 2010
WWII Notes 1: Rise of Totalitarianism
Hitler’s War Aims
•Hitler wanted a war that would be a replay of the Great War with a
___________________________________
–New war aims included a _______________________________________________
___________________________________________________
–______________________ of Germany would prevent a repeat of the Stab in the Back
•Would eventually lead to purification to create a master race
–Nazi elite was proud of its ______________________, unsentimental efficiency, and coldness
–Outside Germany, Hitler claimed that he wanted ______________________, since he was a
former soldier and everything… Inside Germany he ______________________
___________________________and Germans celebrated nationalistic events in WWI
Stalin and Totalitarianism in the Soviet Union
Stalin Takes Leadership of the Soviet Union
•_________________________________________________
•By 1927 Stalin had established himself as the ___________________________________________
–Bye bye ______________________ – he ran away to Mexico where he was killed … by an ice
pick!
Stalin’s Changes to the Soviet Union
•Stalin began to prepare the country for the __________________ he knew was coming
–Since WWI was a capitalistic war, there would have to be another one since
____________________________________________________________________________
•Society was “______________________” during the late 1920’s and into the 1930’s:
•_________________________________________________
–Stalin got rid of all of those he though were ______________________ him or Communism
•Violent ______________________ of the countryside
•_____________________________________
•All cost ______________________ of lives
Stalin’s Attitudes
•Stalin and his supporters were _____________________who were _____________________________
in pursuit of their goals
–Historians claim that this ethos had shaped younger Bolsheviks during the
_____________________________ of the Russian Civil war
–Seen in the _____________________________ Stalin’s ______________________ – “enemies,
campaigns, the fronts of the battle for industrialization…”
Stalin’s Plans for the Coming War
•New goal was to ___________________________from the coming war – let the capitalists fight it
out
–Repetition ___________________________in the last stages of WWI – Brest-Litovsk
World Wars – Hamer
Page 5
March 29-30, 2010
WWII Notes 1: Rise of Totalitarianism
–Would allow the Soviet Union to ___________________________
–Led to an alliance with Hitler in the
_________________________________________________August 1939
•Partnership with ______________________ enemies
•Fit into Stalin’s idea of staying out of the war
•Total ______________________ since Hitler attacked in 1941
Tojo and Militarism in Japan
The Meiji Restoration
•In the 1800’s, Japan chose to _______________________________________________ instead of face
China’s fate of being carved up by Western powers:
–Made Japan ______________________ as well
–Caused a rapid development and modernization of Japan’s __________________________________
–Caused Japan to want to be valued on the world ______________________ scene
The Washington Naval Treaty of 1922
A battleship tonnage limit was achieved with this ratio:
US
Britain
Japan
France
Italy
5
5
3
1.67
1.67
•Japan got a guarantee that the US and Britain would __________________________________their
Far East territories (including the Philippines).
•Loophole - ____________________________________________
•Angered Japan that they were not accepted as ______________________ to America and England
Japan as an Imperialist Power
•Ideas circulated at the turn of the century that Japan needed to expand itself through
______________________
–This would take care of __________________________________and Japan’s
__________________________________
–By the Inter-war Years, Japan could not generate enough ______________________ to feed
its population and it could never generate enough raw materials
•This prompted the idea of a __________________________________to help Japan take over other
areas
The Manchurian Incident – 1931
•________________ was the obvious next step
–Currently ________________ country that had already let itself get taken over for the last
100 years or so
•__________________________________in Manchuria took it over - without instructions from the
__________________________________
World Wars – Hamer
Page 6
March 29-30, 2010
WWII Notes 1: Rise of Totalitarianism
The China Incident 1937-1938
•By 1938, Japan had taken over _________________________________________
–Yellow and Yangtze River Valleys
–Peking and Nanking
•__________________________________December 1937-January 1938
Militarism
•Japan was ruled by an __________________________________ (led by an emperor), but during this
time, militarists __________________________________control of the country.
Militarism is a type of government that uses the strength of the military to further the goals of
the country – the goals of a militarist country are nationalistic.
•Militarists also believe that ______________________(like that found in the military) is necessary for
the proper functioning of society.
Hideki Tojo
•General in the China Incident
•Became Vice-Minister of War in 1938
–Encouraged ______________________
–Nationalist, but not as radical as some
•Became _________________________________________________________
•_______________________________________________________– ruled Japan through the war
Franco and Fascism (Falange Party) in Spain
Fascism in Spain
•In 1936, a group of Spanish army officers led by Generalisimo Francisco Franco rebelled against the
Spanish republic.
•This began the __________________________________, which ended after half a million deaths in
1939; Franco was victorious.
•The Spanish Civil War aroused sympathies all over the world. For those who wanted to ___________
_________________________________________________________, this seemed like the perfect
opportunity.
•Even though many individuals from other countries went to help those fighting Franco, fascism still
won in Spain.
•Hitler and Mussolini __________________________________to help Franco. This connection helped
_________________________________________________________
Even though Spain did not join in WWII, why is the Spanish Civil War important to WWII?
World Wars – Hamer
Page 7
March 29-30, 2010