Contestant #1
I am a womanizer, have
self-interested policies
and unfortunately suffer
from ailing health.
Contestant #2
I have a drinking habit and
a defiant tongue or attitude
Contestant #3
I am a decorated war hero,
do not drink and want
to create a stable economy
Contestant #1
Contestant #2
Contestant #3
Treaty of Versailles
Black Tuesday
1929
- stock market crashes
Total Control
of State by a
Dictator
Great Depression
during
1930s
Increasing influence of new
political parties that emphasize
state control
-For example: Communism,
Nazism, Fascism
What
is it?
Describe its
characteristics…

Government establishes complete control of all aspects of the state
(political, military, economy, social, cultural)

Highly nationalistic (flags, salutes, rallies, uniforms)

Strict controls and laws

Military state (secret police, army, military)

Censorship (opposing literature and ideas)

Propaganda (media – radio, newspapers, posters)

One leader (dictator); charismatic

Total conformity of people to ideas and leader

Terror and Fear
Nazism
Totalitarianism
Communism
Fascism
*These theories, specifically Communism and Fascism,
are completely different theories that are bitterly
opposed; however they exhibit the same behaviour
I am Joseph Stalin, the leader of the
Soviet Union from 1922-1953.
What is Communism?
• LEFT WING
• based on theory by Karl Marx
• revolutionary idea of a political,
economic and social system that
creates a “classless society”
• state ownership and control of the
means of production (no private
ownership)
• Soviet Communism or “Stalinism”,
was more of a totalitarian and
military state combined with
elements of communism
I am Benito Mussolini the leader (Il
Duce) of Italy from 1922 to 1943.
What is Fascism?
• RIGHT WING
• intense nationalism and elitism
• totalitarian control
• interests of the state more important
than individual rights
• maintain class system and private
ownership
Interesting Fact: Fascism name was derived from
the fasces, an ancient Roman symbol of authority
consisting of a bundle of rods and an ax
I am Adolf Hitler the leader (der Fuhrer)
or dictator of Germany from 1933 to
1945.
What is Nazism?
• extremely fascist , nationalistic and
totalitarian
• based on beliefs of the National
Socialist German Workers Party
• belief in the racial superiority of the
Aryan, the “master race”
• belief that all Germans should have
“lebensraum” or living space in Europe
•Violent hatred towards Jews and
blamed Germany’s problems on them
• GESTAPO:
the Secret State Police
• SS (Schutzstaffel): Defense Corps “black shirts”, an elite guard
unit formed out of the SA
• SA (Sturmabteilung): Stormtroopers "brown-shirts" early
private Nazi army that protected leaders and opposed rival
political parties
• Lebensraum (living space): concept that emphasized need for
territorial expansion of Germany into east
• Wehrmacht:
German army
• HJ (Hitler Jugend): Hitler Youth
• Einstazgruppen: Nazi Death Squad; mobile killing units
• Volk: all inclusive concept of nation, people and race, implying
the superiority of German culture and race; led to policy of
Volksgemeinschaft (idea of a harmonized racial Nazi community
in government policies and programs)
This Nazi propaganda poster reads,
‘Behind the enemy powers: the Jew.
“The Eternal Jew”
Depiction of a Jew holding gold coins in one hand
and a whip in the other. Under his arm is a map of
the world, with the imprint of the hammer and
sickle. Posters like this promoted a sharp rise in
anti-Semitic feelings, and in some cases violence
against the Jewish community.
Policy of Appeasement
Appeasement
 willingness to surrender to an aggressors’
demands to avoid war
 reduction of international tensions through
removal of causes of friction; concessions to
disgruntled nations to lessen their tendency to
take aggressive actions
How was it used prior to World War II?
 Acceptance that Hitler could not be stopped and
needed to be negotiated with (even at the
expense of the smaller independent countries)
 Accepted because of sympathy and guilt felt by
Britain and USA of unjust Treaty of Versailles
Reality
 Blindness to true nature of Hitler’s agenda
program for Eastern Europe
 Positive and Negatives Reasons for
appeasement?
From W. Robson, “Twentieth-Century History”,
1973.
There had been nothing weak or foolish about the
attitude of the Western leaders. They tried to settle
differences by discussion and conciliation, methods
that had been highly successful in the 1920s. Their
failure was due to the fact that Hitler took
consolation for weakness and found that he could
get his own way. He could have been stopped
earlier but only at the risk of war. Discussion was
the method of gentlemen, which explains why
Chamberlain and the Western leaders favoured it
and Hitler did not
Steps to War






Was the Treaty of Versailles
truly the cause of World War
II?
How did appeasement
contribute to World War II?
Why did the League of Nations
fail?
What role did “isolationism”
play?
Could Hitler have been
‘contained’ at any time prior to
1939?
How did World War II begin?
What were the steps to war?