History 12
Ms. Lacroix
Name ___________________________
TOTALITARIANISM
From time to time in history small groups with fixed ideas sufficiently
ally themselves together to penetrate the political, economic, and
social life of a nation. By taking advantage of some general disaster,
they suddenly emerge as the force triumphant. Their real aims remain
disguised until the very last moment and the population abruptly fids
itself oppressed by special interest men holding all key posts and all
forces.
Learning Outcomes
 Identify, discuss, and compare the elements of totalitarianism, fascism
and democracy
 Identify and evaluate the forces which produced fascism in Italy and
Nazism in Germany
 Evaluate the impact of totalitarian fascism upon society and the individual
Tasks to be completed
 Document based questions
 Film analysis
 Quiz
Terms to know
Totalitarianism
Italia Irredenta
Acerbo Law
Kapp Putsch
Lebensraum
Von Papen
Gestapo
Heinrich Himmler
ideology
fascism
democracy Mussolini
Blackshirts
March on Rome
Il Duce
Lateran Accords
Corporate State
Munich Putsch
Nazi
Brownshirts
Aryan myth
Hindenburg
Enabling Act
Night of the Long Knives
Nuremburg Laws
Herman Goering
Josef Goebbels
Shutzstaffel (SS)
Anti-Semitism
Readings
Howarth (Grey) text:
Chapter 12  pp. 51-53
Chapter 25  pp. 110-116
DeMarco (Red) text:
Chapter 5  pp. 67-79
Chapter 6  pp. 80-92
Chapter 7  pp. 93-103
History 12
Ms. Lacroix
Name ___________________________________
TOTALITARIANISM – CHAPTER QUESTIONS
Come prepared each class with answers to these in order to engage in meaningful
discussion.
Lesson 1 – Italian Fascism under Mussolini, “Il Duce”
1. Why was Italy disgruntled at the end of the Great War? (H 51)
2. What difficulties did parliamentary democracy face in the new Italian state? (H 52)
3. To which group did Mussolini make his popular appeals? (H 52)
4. Describe what fascism was for and against. (H 52)
5. Why would Emmanuel III refuse to sign an emergency decree? (H 52)
6. What did the Acerbo Law guarantee for Mussolini and his party? (H 53)
7. What was the OVRA? (H 53)
8. What was the “Corporate State”? (H 53)
Lesson 2 – The Weimar Republic Collapses
1.
Who were the “Spartacists” and what was their goal? (D 80)
2.
Make notes about the failed “Kapp Putsch”. (D 81)
3.
Make notes about the failed “Munich Putsch”. (D 83)
4.
What happened to the Weimar, under Bruning, when the world economy collapsed
and the US called back its loan from Germany? (D 85-86)
5.
Describe the importance of the Enabling Act. (D 89)
Lesson 3 – The Nazis
1.
Describe the growth of the NSDAP (Nazi Party). (H 110)
2.
What was the role of the Gestapo? (D 93, H 113)
3.
Who were the anti-social elements? (H 113)
4.
Describe the ‘poison-dwarf’ Joseph Goebbels. (H 114)
5.
What happened on the “Night of the Long Knives”? (H 112, D 94)
6.
Familiarize yourself with the Nuremburg Laws. (H 115-116, D 97-98)
7.
What is “autarky”? (H 118)
8.
Describe Germany’s rate of remilitarization. (H 118, D 99-100)