ITALY, GERMANY, SPAIN
Fascism
Both
Communism
Believe in social classes
Dictators
Want classless society
Nationalists
One-party politics
Internationalists
No individual rights
Strong nationalistic
feelings
 Definition: a
political movement that
promotes an extreme form of nationalism,
a denial of individual rights, and a
dictatorial one-party rule
 Economic
distress
 Fear of Communism
 Appeal to nationalism
 Weak government
• No democratic tradition
 Fascism
begins in Italy under the
leadership of Benito Mussolini
 Focuses on loyalty to country and leaders
 Eventually spreads to other countries
• Spain: Francisco Franco
• Germany: Adolf Hitler
 “Il
Duce” = the leader
 Abolished democracy
 Secret police galore
 Created a model
Fascist State
 Desire
to create colonial empire
• Invaded:
 Ethiopia (1935)
 Albania (1939)
• The League of Nations
 Condemned Italy’s actions
 but didn’t do anything to stop it.
The Rise of Adolf Hitler
 National
Socialist
German Workers’ Party
• Swastika for a symbol
• Brownshirts = storm
troopers (militia, not
star wars)
Hitler became der
Führer of NAZI party
 Attempted coup failed

• Lesson learned: Had to
take power legally
 Hitler
imprisoned for
treason
• Wrote book Mein Kampf (My
Struggle)
 Germans
were master
race (called them
“Aryans”)
 Non Aryans were inferior
 Vowed to reverse the
Treaty of Versailles
 Conquer eastern Europe
and Russia
• Gain “lebensraum” or “living
space”
 During
depression, Hitler rose in prestige
and prominence
• Widespread fear of communism
 President
appointed Hitler chancellor
 Hitler asked for dictatorial powers for 4
years
 Banned
all other political parties
 SS (schutzstaffel)- elite military force loyal
only to Hitler
 Gestapo = secret police
 Took control of economy
 Propaganda
 Book burning
 Hitler Youth and League of German Girls
 Targeted
the Jewish
population for failure in
WWI
 Anti-Semitism already
engrained in German
(and all European)
society
 Deprived Jews of their
rights
 Kristallnacht- “Night of
the Broken Glass”
• Attack on Jewish owned
businesses
• A “pogrom”- gov’t
sponsored violence against
Jews
1935- began rebuilding military
1936- took the Rhineland
1938- Anschluss
1938- Munich Conference
• Germany, French, and British leaders met to
discuss the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia
• GB & F said G could have Sudetenland if Hitler
promised not to invade Czechoslovakia
• Policy of appeasement
19391939-
took Czechoslovakia
invaded Poland, start of WWII
 1920’s-
government struggled
 Depression hit Japan hard
• Relied on exports to foreign nations
• Drought which led to extreme famine
• Government efforts to boost economy
 Spent less on the military
Right-winged military leaders mad
 Throughout the 1930’s a series of
militaristic Prime Ministers
• Hideki Tojo
 Extreme nationalism
• Belief in “chosen-ness” of Japanese
people
• Asia should be dominated by the
“superior” Japanese
• “Asia for Asians”- anti-European
Imperialism

 Belief
Earth
that Emperor is god on
• Emperor had little political power
 Desire
to save
economy by foreign
expansion
 1931- Japan invaded
Manchuria
• Sought resources
 Iron and coal
 1937-
China
Japan invaded